CHAPTER IV.

AN HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF THE DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORATIONS IN ARCTIC

AMERICA.

A summary of Arctic explorations must be confined to a brief statement

of the objects and achievements of the various expeditions, and in

consequence loses the charm of the matter of fact manner in which the

dangers, difficulties and hardships are recorded in the different

narratives.

The history of the exploration of the American Arctics opens with the

first voyage of Sir Martin Frobisher, in 1576, and practically closes

with the return of Sverdrup in the _Fram_, in 1902. The great land

masses of the Arctic islands have now been outlined, and all that

remains to be done is to fill in minor details.

The acquirement by Spain of all the richer parts of America followed

close on the discovery of Columbus; at the same time Portugal laid claim

to the southern route, by the Cape of Good Hope, to India and China, in

consequence of the discoveries of Vasco da Gama.

England was thus debarred from these new fields of wealth, and it was

the search for a northern and unclaimed passage to the East which

stimulated, in the reign of Elizabeth, the awakening enterprise of

London and Bristol merchants to outfit expeditions under brave and

adventurous seamen.

The first attempt was made to the eastward, around the northern coasts

of Europe and Asia. Although failing in the main object, a large and

profitable trade was opened with northern Russia, which led to the

founding, by Sebastian Cabot, of the Muscovy Company of London in 1553.

This company, through selfish motives, was unfavourable to the

prosecution of a search for a northern passage to the westward, and

nothing was attempted in that direction until 1576. In that year Sir

Martin Frobisher, filled with enthusiasm by accounts of a mythical

Strait of Anian, which was said to afford a safe passage between the

Atlantic and Pacific, through the north temperate regions of America,

resolved to explore the strait. Aided by powerful friends, he overcame

the opposition of the Muscovy Company, and under the direct patronage of

the Queen, he succeeded in outfitting three small clumsy vessels, two

being of twenty-five tons burden each, the third being a pinnace of ten

tons. These he provisioned for twelve months, and with the combined

crews, numbering thirty-five persons, sailed from the Thames. High

pinnacle land, covered with snow, was seen on the 11th of July, in N.

latitude 61°. Off this land the pinnace foundered with all on board, and

his other consort, deserting, returned to England.

Continuing westward alone, in a leaky ship with a sprung mast, high land

was again seen on the 28th of July. Frobisher named this land Queen

Elizabeths Foreland, but it was not until the 10th of August that a

landing was effected. The following day, in N. latitude 63°, he entered

the bay which bears his name, thus being the first to reach the great

island of Baffin. He sailed a considerable distance up the bay,

believing the land on his right hand to be the coast of Asia, while that

to the left was the continent of America. The land on the north side of

the entrance to the bay he named the North Foreland, while Queen

Elizabeths Foreland forms the southern point. While in the bay four of

the crew landed without permission, and were never seen again; in

revenge for their supposed murder by the Eskimos, one of the latter was

seized and carried to England, where he died shortly after arriving.

On his return to England, Frobisher was greatly commended for his

voyage, especially for the hope he brought of a safe passage to China,

and the Queen named the lands bounding the supposed strait, Meta

Incognita.

A piece of ‘black earth’ picked up on Hall island was submitted to an

alchemist, Baptista Angello, who ‘by coaxing nature’ obtained some gold

from it, or said he did. On the strength of this discovery, money was

immediately raised for a second expedition, with the sole purpose of

bringing back ore. Three ships were again sent out under Frobisher, and

returned well laden with the supposed ore. During the stay of the

expedition in Frobisher bay several skirmishes took place with the

natives, a number of whom were killed.

Fifteen ships were fitted out in 1578 for the third voyage, to bring

home ore. Carried southward by strong currents, the fleet entered what

was later called Hudson strait, and sailed several days westward through

it before the mistake was discovered. If Frobisher had been on a voyage

of discovery he might easily have entered Hudson bay, but the search for

gold being the object he turned back, and entered Frobisher bay by

passing through the strait to the east of Resolution island. On the 1st

of August most of the fleet was assembled at the Countess of Warwick

island, where the ore was mined, and all the ships loaded by the end of

the month. The ore finally proving worthless, nothing further was done

to continue the discoveries of Frobisher.

Ten years after the last voyage merchants of London determined to fit

out another expedition to search for the northwest passage. The

enterprise was entrusted to John Davis, ‘a man well-grounded in the art

of navigation.’ Two vessels, the _Sunshine_ and the _Moonshine_, were

employed for the first voyage, with a combined crew of forty-two

persons. Davis, on his outward voyage, landed on the southern coast of

Greenland, and named the coast the Land of Desolation. One fiord in

latitude 64° 15´, where the mission stations of Godhaab and Nye Hernhut

are located, he named Gilbert’s Sound. Leaving here, Davis stood to the

westward and northward for five days, and on the 6th of August, 1585,

discovered land in latitude 66° 40´, quite free from ice. He anchored in

the mouth of Exeter sound under Mount Raleigh, calling the north

foreland Dier’s cape and the southern one Cape Walsingham. From here he

coasted southward along the land, and rounded the Cape of Gods Mercy

into Cumberland gulf, up which he sailed for sixty leagues to some

islands. On his return he discovered that Cumberland gulf was separated

from another long inlet, which, not recognizing as Frobishers bay, he

called Lumlie’s inlet. Having crossed the mouth of this inlet, Davis

then crossed to the south side of another great inlet, and renamed its

northern point Warwick’s Foreland, while the south cape was named after

John Chidley. Davis remarks on the strong tides met with in the entrance

to Hudson strait.

On his second voyage Davis coasted the American shore from the 67th to

the 57th degree of latitude, but added nothing to his previous

discoveries to the northward of Hudson strait. Keeping near the

Greenland coast, on his way northward, Davis on his third voyage reached

latitude 72° 15´. The northern coast of Greenland he called the London

coast. Leaving this, he sailed west for forty leagues, where he fell in

with the ice of the ‘middle pack’ of the whalers; a strong gale then

forced him south along the edge of the ice, so that no land was seen

either to the west or north.

George Weymouth was the next adventurer to seek the northwest passage.

He was fitted out by the Muscovy Company in 1602. On the 28th of June,

in the _Discovery_, he reached Warwicks island, between Frobisher and

Cumberland bays, and sailing northward he passed Cape Walsingham and

nearly reached the 69th parallel, when the crew mutinied and forced him

to return south. Passing around Hatton headland on Resolution island, he

sailed a considerable distance up Hudson strait, and then returned to

England, where he arrived on the 5th of August.

Captain John Knight, in the _Hopewell_, sailed in 1606, but the voyage

terminated speedily and disastrously by the death of Knight, his mate

and three of the crew, who were surprised and slain by the Eskimos.

Undeterred by these unsuccessful attempts, Sir John Wolstenholme and Sir

Dudley Digges, in 1610, resolved to employ the _Discovery_, of

fifty-five tons, in searching for the northwest passage, and nominated

Henry Hudson to the command. He had proved his worth on previous voyages

to Spitzbergen and to the Hudson river. On this, the last of his

voyages, he first sighted the south shores of Greenland; eleven days

later he entered Frobisher bay, but was soon turned back by ice, and so

passed south into Hudson strait, which he followed westward into Ungava

bay, where he was greatly obstructed by ice. Passing Akpatok island,

which he named Desire Provoketh, on the 11th of July, he reached the

islands of Gods Mercies, and thence sailed along the south shore of the

strait, naming it Magna Britannia. He passed into Hudson bay on the 2nd

of August, through a strait about two leagues broad. The southern head

of this was named Cape Wolstenholme and the northern one, on an island,

Cape Digges; a bold headland six leagues to the northward was called

Salisburies Foreland (Salisbury island). Hudson’s journal ends on the

3rd of August, and the remainder of the melancholy story is told by

Abacuk Pricket, who states that they were frozen in, on the 10th of

November, in the southeast part of the bay, after sailing three months

through a labyrinth of islands. Dissensions had early sprung up among

the crew, and in the June following a mutiny broke out headed by Robert

Juet and Henry Greene. On the 21st Hudson was seized by the

conspirators, and, with his young son, forced into a small boat. The

carpenter, John King, accompanied him voluntarily, while six sick men

were also forced into the boat, which was cut adrift, never to be heard

of again. On the way home Juet and other of the leading mutineers were

killed by the Eskimos at Cape Digges, and the remainder only reached

England after great sufferings from famine and other hardships.

In 1612, Sir Thomas Button, accompanied by Bylot and Pricket of Hudson’s

crew, entered Hudson strait through the channel between Cape Chidley and

Button islands. Having passed the strait, he continued westward, passing

the south end of Coats island, which he named Cary’s Swan’s Nest, and

reached the western side of the bay, to the northward of Chesterfield

inlet, where he named the land ‘Hopes Checked,’ because his progress

westward was thus arrested. Turning south, he followed the coast to the

mouth of the Nelson river, where he wintered. His crew suffered greatly

from scurvy, but an abundant supply of birds and fish in the spring

recruited the strength of the men sufficiently to allow them to continue

the voyage. This is memorable as the first instance of a crew wintering

in the north and being sufficiently healthy to remain the following

summer. This year’s voyage ended in latitude 65°, near Whale point in

Roes Welcome. On the homeward voyage Button passed close to a large

island south of Southampton, which he called Mansell, and not Mansfield,

as it is now written.

The following extract from Prince Henry’s instructions for Button, dated

5th of April, 1612, shows the accurate knowledge of Hudson strait

possessed at that early date: 8. ‘Being in; we holde it best for you to

keep the northern side, as most free from the pester of ice, at least

till you be past Cape Henry; from thence follow the leading ice, between

King James and Queen Anne’s Foreland, the distance of which two capes

observe if you can, and what harbour or rode is near them, but yet make

all the haste you maie to Salisbury island, between which and the

northerne continent you are like to meet a great hollowe billowe from an

opening and flowing sea from thence.’

In the same year, James Hall and William Baffin went to the west coast

of Greenland in search of a gold mine, at Cunningham fiord near the

Arctic circle, which was reported to have been worked by the Danes. No

ore was found, but traces of old workings were discovered.

Baffin, accompanied by Bylot, sailed through Hudson strait in 1615. He

then passed north by Mill island and traced the northeast shore of

Southampton island, from Sea-horse point to Cape Comfort, the last being

according to his observations in latitude 65° N., longitude 85° 22´ W.

Doubling this cape, the tide was found to set differently from what had

been expected, and gave no hope of a passage in that direction, so he

turned back. The following extract from Baffin’s journal gives his

opinion as to the possibility of a passage westward being found leading

from any of the channels entering Hudson bay:—‘And now it may be that

some expect that I should give my opinion concerning the passadge. To

those my answere must be, that doubtless there is a passadge. But within

this strayte, whome is called Hudson’s straytes, I am doubtfull

supposinge the contrarye. But whether there be or no, I will not

affirme. But this I will affirme, that we have not been in any tyde than

that from Resolutyon Iland, and the greatest indraft of that cometh from

Davis’ straytes; and my judgment is, if any passadge within Resoluyton

Iland, it is but som creeke or inlett, but the maine will be up _fretum

Davis_.’

In accordance with this opinion, in 1616, Baffin sailed up Davis strait,

his instructions being to reach if possible the 80th parallel before

turning westward. By following the Greenland coast he was able to reach

Horn sound in latitude 74° before being greatly embarrassed by ice. Here

he met a band of Eskimos, with whom he traded for narwhal horns and

walrus teeth. Being liberated from Horn sound, Baffin continued

northward past Cape Digges, in latitude 76° 35´, and across the entrance

of Wolstenholme sound to Whale sound, where he was again beset in the

ice during a gale. After being released, he passed Hakluyt island and

reached the offing of a great sound extending northward of the 78th

parallel of latitude; this he named after Sir Thomas Smith. This was the

northern limit of the voyage. He now turned south, passing Cary islands,

and on the 10th of July anchored at the mouth of Alderman Jones sound,

where a great number of walrus were seen, but no natives. On the 12th

Sir James Lancaster sound was discovered, but could not be entered on

account of the ice across its mouth. Baffin could not penetrate these

sounds owing to the strong westerly winds blowing out of them. Finding

the ‘middle pack’ immediately south of Lancaster sound, thickly jammed

on the western shore, Baffin stood across to the Greenland coast, in

more open water, and so returned home. In his report Baffin says that

after having coasted nearly all the way round, he considers it nothing

but a great bay, and draws attention to the importance of the whale

fishery, which soon after was begun, and lasts to the present day.

About this time a Danish expedition, under the command of Jens Munck,

sailed into Hudson bay and wintered in the mouth of Churchill river. The

ships were unprepared for a winter in the north, and, consequently, the

crew suffered terribly from the ravages of scurvy, so that in the

spring, out of fifty-two persons only Munck and two others survived.

These fortunately procured some grasses from under the snow, and as the

water opened killed ducks and fish enough to give them strength to

repair the smaller vessel, in which they reached home.

The Muscovy Company, in 1631, again decided to send out an expedition to

search for a passage from Hudson bay, and entrusted the command to

Captain Luke Fox. Having passed through Hudson strait he landed at

Cary’s Swan Nest, and then rounded the southwest point of Southampton

island, and proceeded to explore the channel between that island and the

mainland, up to latitude 64° 10´, where he saw an island near the

mainland, which he named Sir Thomas Roe’s Welcome, a name now applied to

the channel as a whole. Fox’s instructions limited him to the coast

south of latitude 63°, so he now stood to the south along the shore,

passing Marble island, which he called Brooke Cobham, and the mouth of

the Churchill river, and reaching Nelson river on the 10th of August.

Keeping a southerly course for a fortnight longer, he fell in with

Captain James near Cape Henrietta Maria. Having convinced himself that

there was no opening to the west between latitudes 65° 30´ and 55° 10´,

Fox turned northward and explored Fox channel to the east of Southampton

island, naming the prominent points on the west side of Baffin island,

King Charles his Promontory, Cape Maria, Lord Weston’s Portland and

Point Peregrine, the last being the most northerly point reached.

Captain James was in command of a rival expedition, fitted out the same

year, with instructions to explore to the south of the track taken by

Fox. After parting with Fox, he sailed southward along the west coast,

thoroughly examined it, and after several narrow escapes from shipwreck

through grounding on shoals, finally ran his ship aground on Charleton

island, and there passed the winter. James gives a woeful tale of the

hardships caused by cold, lack of food and scurvy. He states that the

cold was so intense that wine, sack, oil, vinegar and even brandy froze

solid; that the cook soaked his salt meat near the fire to prevent it

from freezing, and that the side near the fire was found to be warm

while the opposite side was frozen an inch thick. This is a sample of

James’ report, and shows what reliance may be placed on his other

statements.

From the time of Charles I. to that of George I. England was convulsed

with civil war and revolutions, and was at war with other nations

abroad, so that for nearly a century after Fox no maritime discoveries

were undertaken, and nothing would have been done in the north but for

the foundation of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Two French Canadian fur traders, named Radisson and Chouart _dit_

Groseilliers, had for a number of years traded and lived with the

Indians in the country north and west of Lake Superior, learning much

about the great sea to the north, and the canoe routes leading to it.

They visited its southern shores in 1659, and on their return to Quebec

endeavoured to enlist prominent merchants there in a scheme to establish

permanent trading posts on the bay, to be supplied by ships from Canada

or France. Being unsuccessful, they crossed to Paris, where they found

no one to advance the capital necessary to start the project. The

English ambassador, hearing of their scheme, sent them to London, where

they interested Prince Rupert and several influential men of the court

and city.* These advanced sufficient money to outfit a small vessel,

under the command of Zachariah Gillam, a New England captain, who,

accompanied by Groseilliers and Radisson, sailed through Hudson strait

and down the bay to the mouth of Rupert river. Here friendly intercourse

was held with the natives, and a small fort was built, in which the

party successfully wintered.

On the return of Gillam, in 1669, Prince Rupert and his associates

applied to Charles II. for a charter. This was granted on the 2nd of

May, 1670, to the Governor and Company of Adventurers trading from

England to Hudson bay. It states that

‘in consideration of their having at their own cost and charges

undertaken an expedition to Hudson bay in the northeast parts of

America, for the discovery of a new passage to the South sea,

and for the finding of some trade for furs, minerals and other

considerable commodities, and of their already having made by

such their undertakings such discoveries as did encourage them

to proceed farther in pursuance of the said design, by means

whereof there might probably arise great advantage to the King

and his Kingdom, absolutely ceded and gave up to the said

undertakers, the whole trade and commerce of all those creeks,

seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes and sounds, in what latitude

soever they may be, which are situated within the entrance of

the Hudson’s straits, together with all the countries, lands and

territories upon the coasts and confines of the said seas, &c.,

so that they alone should have the right of trading thither, and

whoever should infringe this right, and be found selling or

buying within the said boundaries, should be arrested and all

his or their merchandises should become forfeit and confiscated,

so that one-half thereof should belong to the King and the other

half to the Hudson’s Bay Company.’

In 1670 the newly formed company sent out Charles Bayly, as Governor, to

establish Fort Rupert at the mouth of Rupert river, in latitude 51° 30´,

thus establishing their sovereignty by right of the first permanent

habitation of the territory granted to them by the King, whose right was

that of discovery by Hudson.

The French soon felt the competition of the English trading posts on

Hudson bay, and sought to oust them, claiming the territory about Hudson

bay by right of discovery and possession. They claimed that in 1656 the

Sovereign Council of Quebec authorized Jean Bourdon to make discoveries

in Hudson bay, and that he proceeded there, took possession in the name

of the King of France, and made treaties of alliance with the natives.

This claim is disproved by the journal of the Jesuits for that year,

which relates that Bourdon sailed on the 2nd of May, and returned on the

11th of August, having been stopped by ice on the coast of Labrador,

where a Huron Indian was killed by the Eskimos.

The Governor of Canada, D’Argenson, in 1661, despatched Dablon, a Jesuit

missionary, accompanied by Druillette de Vallière, to the country about

Hudson bay. They travelled by way of the Saguenay, but did not reach the

watershed, their guides refusing to proceed on account of Iroquois war

parties being between them and Hudson bay. The ravages of the Iroquois

were such that no travel was possible in the north until 1663, when

Sieur de la Couture with five men, it is claimed, proceeded overland to

the bay, took possession of the territory in the name of the King of

France, noted the latitude, planted a cross, and deposited His Majesty’s

arms engraved on copper at the foot of a large tree. Sieur Duquet and

Jean L’Anglois are said to have visited the bay the same year, by order

of D’Argenson, and to have there set up the King’s arms. No mention of

these important expeditions occurs in the _Relations des Jésuites_. The

first Frenchman whose visit to the bay is undisputed, was the missionary

Albanel, who crossed by way of the Saguenay and Rupert rivers, arriving

at the mouth of the latter on the 28th of June, 1672, where he found a

small fort and a boat belonging to the English traders.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, always energetic in establishing trading posts

wherever the Indians congregated about the shores of the bay, had, by

1685, small forts at the mouths of the Albany, Moose, Rupert, Eastmain,

Severn and Nelson rivers. All were trading posts except Eastmain, where

a mica mine was worked for a few years, but finally abandoned as

unprofitable. No attempts were made to carry the trade inland in direct

competition with the French, whose _coureurs de bois_ the English appear

to have held in great respect.

Many complaints were soon made to the Governor of Canada by merchants

and missionaries that the English posts on the bay were ruining the fur

trade and demoralizing the natives; and he, knowing no affront in this

quarter would cause James II. to break with Louis XIV., resolved, in a

time of peace, to take possession of the English forts. The Governor

accordingly sent a detachment of soldiers, under the command of

Chevalier de Troyes, overland from Quebec, who, almost without a

struggle, took possession of Rupert, Moose and Albany forts. This was

the commencement of an intermittent warfare between French and English

on Hudson bay, lasting until the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. In 1690

D’Iberville sailed from Quebec with two ships to capture Fort Nelson,

but was unsuccessful. War having been declared between England and

France in 1693, the Company, assisted by warships, retook Albany, Moose

and Rupert forts. The following year D’Iberville, with two ships and one

hundred and twenty men, took Fort Nelson from the English; while a

strong force, sent overland from Canada, easily recaptured Albany and

Rupert forts. These latter places were a second time recovered by the

assistance of the warships _Bonaventure_ and _Seaford_, in 1695: while

in the following summer Fort Nelson was recovered with the aid of four

warships.

In 1697 D’Iberville again visited the bay, where he destroyed the

English ships amongst the ice, and afterwards took Nelson, renaming it

Fort Bourbon. By the treaty of Ryswick, signed in this year, each

country returned to the other all places taken during the war, and

retained those captured previously, thus leaving to the company the

possession of Albany only.

Affairs remained in this condition until the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713,

when the French relinquished all claims to the territory about Hudson

bay.

The first attempt at exploration inland was made by the Hudson’s Bay

Company, in 1691, when Henry Kelsey, by order of the Governor at Nelson,

accompanied some Indians to the interior. From his diary, it would

appear that he journeyed, in a canoe, some distance up the Nelson river,

and then tramped overland to the open country north of the Saskatchewan.

In 1719, the Company made extensive preparations for an exploration of

the northern parts of Hudson bay. The expedition consisted of a frigate,

commanded by Captain Vaughan, and a sloop by Captain Barlow, the chief

command being entrusted to Captain James Knight, who had been governor

of a number of the forts, but who was eighty years of age. The

expedition sailed from England in June, well stored with provisions,

with a house in frame and a large stock of goods for trade. Their

instructions were to proceed to the northward, by Sir Thomas Roe’s

Welcome, as far as 64° latitude, in search of the Anian strait. As the

ships did not return to England in 1720, fears were entertained for

their safety, and orders were despatched by the next ship to send the

_Whalebone_, John Scroggs, master, in search of them. The instructions

reached Churchill too late to be acted upon that season, and Scroggs did

not sail until 1722. After considerable trouble with shallow water and

shoals along the coast, he managed to reach Marble island, where pieces

of wreck were found, but they were considered of no importance by

Scroggs, who returned without continuing the search. Hopes were long

entertained that Knight had made his way to the Pacific, and it was not

until 1767 that the fate of the expedition became known. That year the

Company started a whale fishery at Marble island, and one of the boats

engaged in the fishery accidently discovered a harbour near the east end

of the island; at its head guns, anchors, cables and many other articles

were found. The wrecks of the ships lay in five fathoms of water, and

the remains of the house were still in existence, with two skulls on the

ground near by. Hearne learned from the Eskimos that the ships arrived

late in the summer, that the larger one received much damage entering

the harbour, that soon after arriving the house was built and that the

white men numbered about fifty. When the natives again visited them,

during the following summer, their number was greatly reduced, and the

remainder were unhealthy. The carpenters were then at work on a boat. By

the beginning of winter the number was reduced to twenty, and in the

following summer only five remained alive, all of whom died within a few

days after the arrival of the natives. That such a disaster could occur

within two hundred and fifty miles of Churchill is astonishing at the

present day, when so much more is known of the comparative ease with

which long journeys may be made over the snow and ice in the springtime.

After this disastrous termination of their first expedition by sea, the

Company was not eager to undertake another, but they were practically

forced to do so by Arthur Dobbs, a zealous and enthusiastic advocate of

the northwest passage. On his insistence, two sloops were sent northward

from Churchill, in 1737, to open trade with the natives, and to look for

a northern passage to the westward; the latter seems never to have been

seriously undertaken, and did not at all satisfy Dobbs.

In 1741, Captain Middleton, who had been long in the service of the

Hudson’s Bay Company, was selected by the Admiralty to conduct an

expedition of discovery up the Welcome. He sailed with two small

vessels, and wintered at Churchill. The following summer he proceeded

northward, and discovered Wager inlet and Repulse bay, the south

headland of which he named Cape Hope. Being unable to proceed farther on

account of ice, he walked fifteen miles to a high point, from which he

saw a frozen strait, turning round the north end of Southampton island,

with the flood tide coming from Fox channel into Repulse bay. On

Middleton’s return, Dobbs was greatly disappointed, and preferred

charges against Middleton to the Admiralty, accusing him of want of

honesty in the report of his proceedings, and of concealing everything

that told in favour of a passage, so that he might serve the interests

of the Hudson’s Bay Company, which he, Dobbs, alleged would be injured

by the discovery of a northwest passage. The honest reply of Middleton

and the evidences which he adduced of the truth of his statements

satisfied the Admiralty, but it was not until eighty years later that

the correctness of his statements was verified by Parry. In the meantime

Dobbs had influence enough to procure the passage of an Act of

Parliament, offering a reward of £20,000 for the discovery of a

northwest passage; and was also instrumental in raising sufficient money

to outfit two ships to earn the reward. They sailed in 1746, and

wintered at Port Nelson. Their captains agreed only on one point, and

that was that they were not expected to explore Repulse bay and the

Frozen strait, and, after an examination, that Wager inlet could connect

only with the Welcome. On the 25th of August a council was held, and a

‘definitive resolution was taken to bear away without further delay for

England’—‘the discovery being finished,’ as the narrative puts it. Both

ships had entered Chesterfield inlet, which had been examined as far as

an overfall or cascade. The account of this was not thought satisfactory

in England, so, to settle the question the Hudson’s Bay Company sent

Captain Christopher in a sloop to examine it again, in 1761. On his

return he reported that he had navigated the inlet for more than 150

miles in a westerly direction, until he found the water fresh, but had

not seen its end. On this, Mr. Norton was sent, in 1762, to trace it to

its extremity, which he did, and found it to end at a distance of 170

miles from its entrance, in a fresh water lake seventy-two miles in

length, and from twenty to twenty-five miles wide. In 1791 Captain

Duncan examined, for the Hudson’s Bay Company, Corbets or Rankin inlet,

which proved to be a bay, and Chesterfield inlet, which he found to

agree with Norton’s description.

Samuel Hearne, a clerk in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company,

started, in 1770, with a party of Chipeweyan Indians, and travelled

overland on foot to the mouth of the Coppermine river, where the Indians

massacred a number of Eskimos. On his return journey he passed Great

Slave lake, and reached Fort Churchill in safety after one of the most

remarkable journeys ever accomplished.

This ended for many years the attempts of the Hudson’s Bay Company at

northern exploration, their undivided energies being required to

maintain the trade struggle with their energetic rivals, the North-west

Company.

Previous to the conquest of Canada, the French fur traders had carried

their trading posts beyond the great lakes, across the wooded country to

Lake Winnipeg, and thence up the Saskatchewan to the foot of the Rocky

mountains. Shortly after the cession, a number of Scotch and Canadian

merchants acquired the rights of the old French company, and prosecuted

the trade with such increased vigour as to greatly diminish that of the

Hudson’s Bay Company, who in self-defence were compelled to establish

trading posts inland close to those of their rivals. In this manner the

interior of British America was soon dotted with trading stations that

extended over the whole territory from the bleak shores of the Atlantic

to and beyond the Rocky mountains. The strong rivalry for furs soon led

to collisions between the partizans of both companies, and blood was

often shed; the natives were debauched with liquor, and general

lawlessness continued until the amalgamation of the companies in 1820.

The wars with the American colonies and with France occupied the

undivided attention of the British nation until after the final fall of

Napoleon, and during this period nothing was done to further the renewal

of the search for a northwest passage, until 1817, when Captain Scoresby

published an account of the great disruption of the ice in the Greenland

seas, and pointed to the ease with which explorations might then be

carried on in the Arctics. He was aided by Sir John Barrow, secretary to

the Admiralty, who, by his writings and personal influence, induced the

British government to again undertake a series of Arctic explorations.

Two ships, well equipped for wintering in the north, were fitted out to

explore the regions westward of Davis strait. The _Isabella_, commanded

by Captain John Ross, and the _Alexander_, by Lieutenant William Edward

Parry, were selected for this undertaking. They sailed on the 3rd of

May, and were first stopped by ice just north of Disko island on the

17th of June. Melville bay was crossed with some difficulty, and a delay

of a week occurred near Cape York. At midnight on the 19th of August the

_Isabella_ was in latitude 76° 54´ N., with the Cary islands bearing

southeast; this was the most northerly point reached. Ross considered

Smith sound a closed bay, and named the capes forming each side of it

Isabella and Alexander, after the ships. He stated that the sound

probably extended eighteen leagues; sailing down the western side, the

mouths of Jones and Lancaster sounds were passed, both free from ice,

but Ross did not enter them. He described Lancaster sound as closed by

the Crocker mountains. The expedition returned to England in October,

having practically accomplished nothing beyond confirming the statements

of Baffin made many years before.

The report of Ross was not thought conclusive by the Admiralty, and in

1819 the _Hecla_ and _Griper_ were commissioned to explore Lancaster

sound. Lieutenant Parry was given command in the _Hecla_, with

Lieutenant Mathew Liddon in the _Griper_. The ships, without much

difficulty, reached the mouth of Lancaster sound, and sailing over the

supposed Croker mountains, continued westward past Regent inlet on the

south, and Wellington channel and Byam Martin channel on the north,

reached the south side of Melville island, where the winter was safely

passed by both ships in a small cove called Winter harbour. The

following summer an attempt was made to penetrate the heavy arctic ice

which forms a perpetual barrier across the strait between Melville

island and Banks island; this proving impossible, the expedition

returned safely to England in October, 1820. Parry on his voyage passed

over nearly half the distance between the Atlantic and Pacific, and saw

from his farthest western point the shores of Banks island beyond the

middle of that distance. He laid down, on the north of his track, the

chain of islands bearing the names of North Devon, Cornwallis, Bathurst

and Melville; and on the south, North Somerset, Cape Walker and Banks.

Sir W. E. Parry, in 1821, made his third voyage to the Arctic islands,

in command of the _Fury_, having as second in command Captain G. F.

Lyon, in the _Hecla_. This time the attempt was made through Hudson

strait and up Fox channel. The first season, he examined Repulse bay and

went into winter quarters at Winter island, a few miles beyond the

eastern entrance of the Frozen strait of Middleton, whose accuracy was

proved after being long clouded by the reckless attacks of Dobbs. The

ships were released from the ice on the 28th of June, and no time was

lost in pushing northward, until stopped by the heavy ice off the

eastern mouth of Fury and Hecla strait, where the remainder of that

season and the early part of the next were spent in trying to pass

through the strait, the eastern part of which remained continuously

blocked with heavy ice.

A fourth time Parry tried to make the northwest passage, by way of

Regent inlet. This attempt was terminated by the shipwreck of the

_Fury_, commanded by Captain Hoppner. With great forethought, Parry

caused all the provisions to be landed from the wreck and safely housed

on Fury beach, where they were subsequently found by Ross, and were the

means of rescuing his crew from starvation.

During the time that Parry was making his important discoveries by sea,

Lieutenant John Franklin was employed in tracing the northern shores of

the American continent. From 1819 to 1822 Franklin was engaged in

leading an expedition overland from Hudson bay to the Arctic shores, in

the vicinity of the Coppermine river. The Admiralty, who planned the

expedition, knew practically nothing about the conditions for travel

through the regions that it purposed exploring, and depended for aid

solely upon the Hudson’s Bay Company. Unfortunately, at this time the

quarrel between the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North-west Company was

at its height, and the resources of both were consequently greatly

crippled. The North-west Company were far stronger in the Mackenzie

river valley, and their rivals, who were to help Franklin, were unable

to give him very efficient aid, or to supply him with a large stock of

provisions; in consequence, he started from the outposts with almost no

food, determining to trust to his hunters for the provisions required

for his party. This finally led to disaster, and on the retreat from the

Arctic sea, over one-half of the party, including Lieutenant Hood, died

of starvation. Franklin left England in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s ship,

accompanied by Lieutenants Back and Hood, Dr. Richardson and one seaman.

They arrived at York Factory, and there met four of the leading partners

of the North-west Company, who were held prisoners by their rivals. As

these men had spent a number of years in the Mackenzie river country,

Franklin obtained much valuable information from them. After a few days

at York, the party proceeded by canoes from there, 650 miles to

Cumberland House, on the Saskatchewan river, where the first winter was

passed. The following summer the party, reinforced by a number of

Canadian voyageurs, started northward in canoes, and reached Fort

Chipewyan, on Great Slave lake, before the ice had melted. The

expedition, now consisting of twenty-five persons, started away from

Fort Chipewyan with one day’s supply of provisions and a totally

inadequate amount of ammunition. Travelling to the north side of the

lake, the party was further increased by a band of the Copper Indians,

and all journeyed to Fort Enterprize, which was built near the edge of

the barren lands, in latitude 64° 30´ N. The total distance travelled

during this season was 1,350 miles. Venison was plentiful during the

winter, but the supply failed in the spring, so that a start was made

over the barrens without any food except such as fell to the hunters

from day to day. The distance from Fort Enterprize to the mouth of

Coppermine river is 334 miles. The first 120 miles were made by tramping

with canoes and outfit over the snow; the remainder was made in canoes,

and the mouth of the river was reached on the 21st of July. Turning

eastward, the shores of Bathurst inlet and Coronation gulf were surveyed

to Point Turnagain, in latitude 68° 19´ N. and longitude 109° 25´ W. The

canoes were detained here for several days by a snowstorm, and a retreat

was necessary as soon as the weather moderated. The course along the

coast was therefore retraced to Hood river, and that stream was ascended

for a short distance. The equipment was reduced to the smallest compass,

and a course was shaped overland for Fort Enterprize, the travelling

being through deep snow. Game was very scarce, and the hardships soon

began to tell on the weaker members of the party, with the result, as

before stated, that half the number succumbed to cold and starvation.

The survivors were succoured by Indians on the 7th of November, and

reached the Hudson’s Bay post on Great Slave lake on the 11th of

December, and England in October, 1822.

In 1825-27, Captain Sir John Franklin resumed his exploration of the

Arctic coasts of America in much happier circumstances. The rival fur

companies had now amalgamated, forming one powerful company, with full

control over the natives, and capable of rendering valuable assistance

to an exploring party in the far north. Franklin, profiting by his

former sad experience, had a large supply of pemmican prepared in

advance, and stored at Fort Chipewyan. The journey from England was made

by way of Montreal and the great lakes. After passing a winter at Great

Bear lake, Franklin descended the Mackenzie to its mouth, and then

surveyed the coast westward to Return reef, passing the northern end of

the Rocky mountains, leaving only 160 miles of unsurveyed coast between

his farthest point and Point Barrow, reached the same year by Captain

Beechey in boats from Bering straits.

While Franklin was thus engaged with one-half of his party, the other

half, under the command of Dr. Richardson and Lieutenant Kendall, were

exploring the coast between the mouths of the Mackenzie and Coppermine

rivers. These surveys carried the exploration from Bering strait to

Coronation gulf, with only a break of 160 miles between Return reef and

Point Barrow, or through sixty degrees of longitude. The eastern end of

these surveys was overlapped six degrees in longitude by the discoveries

of Parry to the northward, and only a channel running north and south

was required to connect them, and so complete the long sought northwest

passage.

Captain John Ross, being anxious to remove the reproach of his former

failure, and having been provided by Sir Felix Booth with a well-fitted

ship, the _Victory_, of 150 tons, sailed, in 1829, with the intention of

seeking a passage through Regent inlet. The ship was set fast in the

ice, and finally abandoned in Victoria harbour, on the west side of

Regent inlet, nearly opposite Fury and Hecla strait. The expedition was

remarkable for the number of winters spent within the Arctic circle,

three of them on the _Victory_ and the fourth at Fury beach, where the

provisions thoughtfully housed by Parry were the means of saving the

crew from starvation. They at length escaped from the ice in their

boats, and were picked up by a whaler in Lancaster sound. Sir John Ross

surveyed the shores adjoining his winter quarters, and named the lower

part of Regent inlet the Gulf of Boothia.

The chief discoveries were made by Lieutenant James Clark Ross, who, by

several long sled journeys, traced a part of the shores of King William

island, and of the west side of the peninsula of Boothia, up to the

Magnetic Pole; also the shores of Lord Mayors bay and its vicinity in

the Gulf of Boothia. During the retreat to Fury beach, Brentford bay was

crossed several times without notice being taken of Bellot strait.

Considerable anxiety was felt in England, after two winters had passed

without any tidings of the _Victory_, and Captain Back was outfitted by

public subscription to descend the Great Fish river to its mouth, and

there if possible, with the help of natives, succour the crew of the

_Victory_. Back spent the winter of 1834 at Great Slave lake, and the

following summer crossed the height-of-land and descended Great Fish

river to its mouth in a heavy boat. Having been informed, by an express

from England, of the safe return of Ross, he confined himself to

geographical work, and traced the estuary of the river to Cape Britannia

on the one side and to Point Richardson on the other, leaving only a

short distance between his northern termination and the southern point

of James Ross’ southern sled journey. The result of this journey left

only 160 miles to the west of the Mackenzie, and thirteen degrees of

longitude between Franklin’s Point Turnagain and the Gulf of Boothia to

complete the northwest passage.

The Hudson’s Bay Company undertook to fill these gaps of unsurveyed

coast-line, and sent an expedition under the direction of Peter Warren

Dease and Thomas Simpson, an expert surveyor. The western section was

first completed in 1837. In 1838-39 the eastern portion between Point

Turnagain and the estuary of the Great Fish river was surveyed by the

same intrepid explorers, without any loss of life to their party, and

without other hardships than those incidental to travel in the Arctics.

The boat voyages, by which these surveys were completed, were the

longest ever undertaken in arctic waters, and embraced sixty-two degrees

of longitude between Point Barrow and Castor and Pollux river, the most

eastern point of Simpson. While surveying the coast to the eastward,

Simpson charted the south side of Victoria island and the south side of

King William island.

Unfortunately the advanced state of the season would not permit Simpson

to connect the mouth of Great Fish river with Regent inlet, or with King

William sea. This the Hudson’s Bay Company resolved to complete, and in

1845 selected Dr. John Rae for the work. Dr. Rae sailed in boats from

Churchill to Repulse bay, where he passed the winter, supporting his

party mainly by his own skill in hunting. The following spring he

portaged his boats, by a number of lakes, across the Rae isthmus to the

bottom of Committee bay, and surveyed the southern part of the Gulf of

Boothia to Fury and Hecla strait on the east side, and to Lord Mayors

bay on the west side, thus proving that land having the width of four

degrees of longitude intervened between the Gulf of Boothia and the

eastern bay of the sea explored by Dease and Simpson. Dr. Rae returned

in his boats to York factory in the autumn of 1847, without losing a man

of his party.

In 1824 Captain Lyon, in the _Griper_, made an unsuccessful attempt to

continue the work of Parry and himself in Fox channel. He left England

on the 20th of June, rounded Southampton island on the 30th of August,

and stood up Roes Welcome, where excessively bad weather was met with.

He reached Wager inlet on the 12th of September, and when riding out a

gale lost his last two anchors, while the ship was rendered very leaky.

In such a state he was unable to anchor, and was obliged to return home

immediately.

A second attempt to continue Parry’s work in the same region was made by

Captain Back, in 1836. He was in command of the _Terror_, and left

England on the 14th of June. On the first of August he was among heavy

ice, off Resolution island. On the 23rd he was working through heavy ice

on the east side of Southampton island, and finally nearly reached

Repulse bay, where he intended to winter, when he was driven back late

in September, past Cape Comfort, out into the middle of Fox channel,

where the ship became fast frozen in, and drifted all winter at the

mercy of wind, tide and ice. Towards the close of February the floe

broke up, and the ship was caught in a pressure ridge formed between

great pieces of the broken floe. In this manner the vessel continued to

be tossed about and squeezed until the 16th of March, when an extra

heavy squeeze lifted the ship up and left her stranded on the top of a

great mass of ice, caused by the piling of large broken cakes upon one

another. The _Terror_ remained embedded on this mass of ice, and drifted

with it until released, on the 13th of June, near Charles island, in

Hudson strait. Notwithstanding the terrible usage of the ship, Back

managed to caulk and fit her, so that he reached the coast of Ireland,

but there had to run the ship ashore to prevent her from sinking.

The Admiralty made no further attempt at Arctic exploration for nine

years after Back’s disastrous trip. In 1845, they fitted out the

_Erebus_ and _Terror_ with provisions for three years, and with the most

approved systems of heating and ventilating, and other means of

preserving the health and comfort of the crews. The command of the

expedition was given to Sir John Franklin, with Captain Crozier, of the

_Terror_, second in command. The other officers were carefully selected

from among the most promising and energetic of the junior officers of

the navy, while the seamen and petty officers were also of the best in

the navy. The crews leaving England amounted to one hundred and

thirty-four persons, of whom five were sent home from Greenland, leaving

a total of one hundred and twenty-nine on board the ships when they

entered Lancaster sound, and were seen for the last time. The fate of

the expedition remained for a number of years unknown, although the

British government spared no expense in the attempt to rescue the

unfortunate crews, and, when the hope of succouring was gone, in a

search for proof of their fate. Official relief expeditions were

supplemented by others under private auspices, due either to Lady

Franklin or to her appeals to the sympathy of the public for convincing

evidence as to the terrible fate of her unfortunate husband and his

companions. America joined forces with England in the attempt to rescue

the expedition, and sent out a number of ships, to act in conjunction

with the others, while France sent two gallant officers, one of whom,

Lieutenant Bellot, lost his life while engaged in this work. As the

conditions under which the searches were made were exceedingly difficult

and hazardous, much time and energy were spent, and many risked and lost

their lives. Twelve years passed before M’Clintock discovered undoubted

proofs of the complete loss of the ships and the death of the entire

crews. During this time thirty-five ships and five overland expeditions

carried a host of eager searchers to the Arctics, where, incidental to

their main object of rescuing the crews of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_,

they explored the entire northern coast-line of America and the shores

of the Arctic islands, with such minute care as only their mission would

warrant. To these search expeditions our intimate knowledge of Arctic

America is largely due, and when the search was finished only the most

northern islands remained for the future explorer.

[Illustration: AT BEECHEY ISLAND.]

Before entering upon a short statement of the work of the search

parties, the work and fate of Franklin’s expedition may be traced. His

instructions were to enter Lancaster sound, and, when in the vicinity of

Cape Walker, to penetrate to the southward and westward in a course as

direct as possible to Bering strait. A quick passage appears to have

been made through Lancaster sound to Wellington channel, up which the

ships sailed to the seventy-seventh parallel, and then down again on the

west side of Cornwallis island, returning eastward to winter at Beechey

island. Many traces of a winter residence were found there, including

sites of workshops, forge and observatory. Over 700 empty meat cans, all

labelled ‘Goldner’s Patent,’ were found piled in regular mounds. A large

quantity of similar tins supplied to the navy had been found to be

putrid, and were condemned. This had probably happened to the tins left

at Beechey island, and helped to hasten the starvation of the

unfortunate crews two winters later. Three seamen died during the first

winter, and were buried on the island. The next information concerning

the fate of Franklin was obtained from a brief record, found on King

William island by M’Clintock, in 1859. The record is as follows:

‘Lieutenant Graham Gore and Mr. Charles F. des Vœux, mate, left

the ships on Monday, the 24th of May, 1847, with six men (to

deposit papers on King William’s island)’—‘H.M. ships _Erebus_

and _Terror_ wintered in the ice in latitude 70° 5´ N.,

longitude 98° 23´ W. Having wintered in 1846-47 at Beechey

island in latitude 74° 43´ 28´´ N., longitude 91° 31´ 15´´ W.

After having ascended Wellington channel to latitude 77°,

returned by the west side of Cornwallis island, (Sir) John

Franklin commanding the expedition. All well.’

This was the original record, and a most mournful addition was made to

it, on the 25th of April, 1848, after another winter in the ice. Here is

the addition:

‘—(1)848. H.M. ships _Terror_ and _Erebus_ were deserted on the

22nd April, 5 leagues NN. W. of this—(hav)ing been beset since

12th Sept., 1846. The officers & crews consisting of 105 souls

under the command ——tain F R M. Crozier landed here in lat.

69° 37´ 42´´, long. 98° 41´—paper was found by Lt. Irving under

the cairn supposed to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1831,

4 miles to the northward, where it had been deposited by the

late Commander Gore in June, 1847. Sir James Ross’ pillar has

not, however, been found, and the paper has been transferred to

this position which is that in which Sir J. Ross’ pillar was

erected. Sir John Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847, and the

total loss by deaths in the expedition has been to this date 9

officers & 15 men. F. R. M. Crozier, Captain & Senior Offr., and

start on to-morrow 26th, for Back’s Fish river. James Fitzjames,

Captain H.M.S. _Erebus_.’

The rest of the sad story may be shortly told: the distance to the mouth

of the Fish river, from the spot where the ships were abandoned, is

about 250 miles. They started from the ships dragging heavy boats on

sleds. M’Clintock found one of the boats on the west side of King

William island with two skeletons inside it; and the Eskimos told him

that the men dropped down and died in the drag ropes. The Eskimos living

at the mouth of Fish river said that about forty white men reached the

mouth of the river, and dragged a boat as far as Montreal island in the

estuary, where the natives found it and broke it up. The last of the

survivors died shortly after the arrival of the summer birds. It is

exceedingly doubtful, if their strength had lasted, whether they could

have travelled over the thousand miles of barrens separating the month

of the river from the nearest trading post on Great Slave lake, but at

least a trial would have been made.

It is impossible to give in this report more than a mention of the

numerous searching expeditions, and a brief summary of the geographical

work accomplished by them.

1847-50—Sir John Richardson and Dr. Rae, overland, and along the coast

in boats from the mouth of the Mackenzie to that of the Coppermine.

1848-50—Captain Thomas Moore, of H.M.S. _Plover_, and Captain Henry

Kellett, of H.M.S. _Herald_, and Robert Shedden, in yacht _Nancy

Dawson_, to Bering sea.

1848-49—Captain Sir James Clark Ross, of H.M.S. _Enterprise_, and

Captain E. J. Bird, of H.M.S. _Investigator_, to Lancaster sound.

1849-50—James Saunders, Master of H.M.S. _North Star_, to Wolstenholme

sound and Ponds inlet.

1849—Dr. R. A. Goodsir, in the _Advice_, whaler, to Baffin bay.

1849—Lieutenant W. J. S. Pullen, of H.M.S. _Herald_, boat voyage from

Bering strait to the Mackenzie.

1850-51—Lieutenant De Haven, of United States navy, in the _Advance_;

S. P. Griffin, of the United States navy, in the _Rescue_; Captain

Horatio Austin, of H.M.S. _Resolute_; Captain Ommaney, of H.M.S.

_Assistance_; William Penny, Master of the _Lady Franklin_, under

Admiralty orders; Alexander Stewart, Master of the _Sophia_, under

Admiralty orders; Rear-Admiral Sir John Ross, in the _Felix_ yacht,

fitted at the expense of the Hudson’s Bay Company, all to Lancaster

sound.

1850—Captain C. C. Forsyth, R.N., commanding the _Prince Albert_,

belonging to Lady Franklin, to Regent inlet.

1850-54—Commander Robert M’Clure, of H.M.S. _Investigator_, to Bering

strait, Banks island and Lancaster sound. The crew abandoned the ship,

and by walking over the ice to Beechey island made the northern

northwest passage.

1850-55—Captain Richard Collison, C.B., of H.M.S. _Enterprise_, to

Bering strait, Banks island, and along the continental channel to

Cambridge bay, in Victoria island, near King William island.

1851—Dr. John Rae, employed by the Admiralty, descended the Coppermine,

and traced Victoria island up to the parallel of the north end of King

William island, in Victoria strait.

1851-52—William Kennedy, Master of the _Prince Albert_, belonging to

Lady Franklin, to Regent inlet, Bellot strait and Prince of Wales

island.

1852—Captain Charles Frederick, of H.M.S. _Amphitrite_, to Bering

strait.

1852—Captain Edward A. Inglefield, in the _Isabel_, Lady Franklin’s

vessel, to Lancaster sound.

1852-55—Captain Rochfort Maguire, of H.M.S. _Plover_, to Bering strait.

1852—Dr. R. M’Cormick, a boat excursion to Wellington channel.

1852-54—Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C.B., of H.M.S. _Assistance_, to

Wellington channel.

1852-54—Captain Henry Kellett, C.B., of H.M.S. _Resolute_, to Lancaster

sound, Melville and Banks islands.

1852-54—Lieutenant Sherard Osborn, of H.M.S. _Pioneer_, to Wellington

channel.

1852-54—Captain Francis Leopold M’Clintock, of H.M.S. _Intrepid_, to

Lancaster sound and Prince Arthur island.

1852-54—Captain W. S. J. Pullen, of H.M.S. _North Star_, to Beechey

island.

1853—William H. Fawckner, Master, _Breadalbane_ Transport, Beechey

island; crushed in the ice and foundered.

1853—Captain E. A. Inglefield, of H.M.S. _Phœnix_, and Lieutenant

Elliott, of the store ship _Diligence_, to Beechey island.

1853—Dr. John Rae, under Admiralty orders, by sled to Victoria island,

and by boat voyage to Victoria strait.

1854—Captain E. A. Inglefield, of H.M.S. _Phœnix_, and Commander

Jenkins, of H.M.S. _Talbot_, to Beechey island.

1853-54—Dr. John Rae, boat expedition at the expense of the Hudson’s

Bay Company, to Repulse bay, and the east side of King William island,

bringing the first intelligence of the loss of the _Erebus_ and

_Terror_, and of all their crews.

1853-55—Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, of the United States navy, to Smith

sound, Humboldt glacier and Grinnell land.

1855—Chief factor John Anderson, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, canoe

voyage down the Great Fish river to Montreal island and Point Ogle,

procuring further relics of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_.

1857-59—Captain F. L. M’Clintock, R.N., in the _Fox_, Lady Franklin’s

yacht, to Peel sound, Regent inlet, Bellot strait, King William island

and Montreal island, bringing precise intelligence of the fate of the

_Erebus_ and _Terror_, and a short record of their proceedings.

The above list is taken from ‘The Polar Regions,’ by Sir John

Richardson, and gives a very brief statement of the numerous expeditions

sent out in search of these ill-fated ships. Lengthy records of most of

these expeditions have been published, in which the trials and hardships

undergone are recorded in a matter-of-fact way, without any attempt to

excite sympathy, and all honour should be paid to the memory of these

men, many of them volunteers, for the dangers they passed through in the

endeavour to rescue their fellowmen from terrible death by starvation

and cold in the inaccessible Arctics. Many lost their own lives, while

others drifted all winter in ships crushed between great floes of arctic

ice; others, again, travelled through the northern winter, with its

short days and intensely cold nights, with only a fireless tent to

shield them from death in the howling storms which sweep the treeless

regions; all did their duty, and were faithful unto death.

A summary made shortly after the search ended, gives the length of

coast-line examined by the various searching parties as follows: Sir

James Ross, in 1849, explored 990 miles of coast-line on the eastern

side of Peel strait, in Lancaster sound and in Regent inlet; Captain

Austen traced 6,087 miles; Sir Edward Belcher and Captain Kellett, 9,432

miles; Sir Robert M’Clure, 2,350 miles; Captain Collison in his voyage

to Cambridge bay, and Dr. Rae on the same coasts, 1,030 miles, making in

all, 21,500 miles of coast-line examined, of which 5,780 miles were

previously unknown. From this summary the search of the American

expeditions is omitted, as well as those of Lady Franklin’s private

expeditions, all of which would add greatly to the total. Admiral Sir F.

L. M’Clintock has estimated the amount of money expended by the British

government on Arctic research, including the outfitting of the _Erebus_

and _Terror_, at £272,000, and on the relief and search expeditions,

£675,000; to this must be added the money subscribed for private

expeditions, amounting to £35,000. The expeditions fitted out in the

United States, mostly by private subscriptions, cost over $250,000.

Admiral M’Clintock has further estimated that the number of miles

traversed by sled expeditions only, over ice and land, is about 43,000

miles. His views as regards the economic and scientific value of the

Arctic explorations are as follows:

‘The benefits, doubtless, have been very great; to whaling

commerce it has opened up all to the north and west of Davis

strait and Hudson strait; also to the north of Bering strait.

The value of these fisheries alone amounts to very many millions

sterling into the pockets of English and American traders. The

scientific results are very varied, and ample in almost every

department, and peculiarly so in magnetism, meteorology, the

tides, geographical discoveries, geology, botany and zoology, as

shown by the general advance in each branch. Upon naval impulse

the influence has been truly great; we could man an expedition

with English naval officers.’

The exploration of Smith sound, the northern inlet to Baffin bay, was

commenced during the search for Franklin. In 1852, Captain Inglefield

left England, in the screw schooner _Isabel_, with the intention of

searching the deep northern inlets of Baffin bay for traces of Franklin,

and with the hope of reaching the open Polar sea through Smith sound.

Cape Farewell was sighted on the 30th of July, and Cape York on the 21st

of August where a number of natives were seen in the vicinity. At North

Omenak native caches of meat and winter clothing were found. On the 26th

Cape Alexander, the farthest point seen by Baffin, was passed, with an

open sea to the northward. On the 27th he reached latitude 78° 21´ N.

one hundred and forty miles beyond any previous navigator. He was forced

by a strong northerly gale and low temperature to retreat south, and on

his way entered Jones sound, which he explored to latitude 76° 11´ N.

and longitude 84° 10´ W. He then entered Lancaster sound, and visited

Beechey island, after which, turning homeward, he did not cross the

Arctic circle until the 12th of October.

In 1853, Dr. Elisha Kent Kane left New York in the brig _Advance_,

fitted out by Henry Grinnell and George Peabody, to assist in the search

for Franklin. The _Advance_ entered Smith sound on the 7th of August,

and, after considerable danger and trouble with ice, was moored in

Rensselaer bay, from which she never emerged. This wintering place was

about 120 miles north of any previously attained, being in latitude 78°

38´ and longitude 70° 40´. Kane confined his explorations to the

Greenland side of the sound, and personally reached the southern edge of

the great Humboldt glacier, while Dr. Hayes, surgeon to Kane, crossed

Kane basin to the neighbourhood of Cape Fraser, and William Morton, on

the Greenland coast, passed the Humboldt glacier and attained latitude

80° 35´ in the vicinity of Cape Constitution, where from an elevation of

500 feet he saw open water in Kennedy channel extending to the north as

far as the eye could reach. In July, 1854, the ice being still firm,

Kane attempted to reach Beechey island, where he knew that assistance

could be obtained, but had to return before reaching Cape Parry. At

the end of August, Hayes and eight others of the crew left the ship with

the intention of reaching the Danish settlement of Upernivik; they

returned in December, nearly dead of starvation and cold. The vessel was

formally abandoned on the 20th of May following, and on the 17th of June

the boats were launched in open water near Cape Alexander. Cape York was

doubled on the 21st of July, and the greatly reduced party reached

Upernivik on the 6th of August.

Dr. I. I. Hayes was the next to attempt to reach the supposed open sea,

by way of Smith sound. He left Boston, in the schooner _United States_,

on the 7th of July, 1860, and on the 12th of August reached Upernivik,

where he added six natives to his crew, bringing the total number up to

twenty-one. Meeting with a succession of northerly gales off Cape

Alexander, Hayes was obliged to winter south of Littleton island, in

Foulke fiord, in latitude 78° 18´ N. He first tried to explore the

Greenland coast, but was obliged to abandon the attempt on account of

the very rough ice. He then determined to cross Kane basin and follow

the west coast northward. Thirty-eight days were occupied in crossing

the seventy miles between the ship and Cape Hawkes, after which he

claims that six days’ travel brought him to Cape Lieber, situated 170

miles beyond Cape Hawkes; this is evidently a mistake. The ship was

released on the 10th of July, and the passage north being barred by

solid ice, Hayes crossed to the west side, and explored the coast

southward from Cape Sabine to Cape Isabella before returning home. He

was thus making good the claim of being the first white man to tread the

shores of Ellesmere island.

The next expedition to Smith sound was commanded by Charles F. Hall, in

the _Polaris_. Hall had previously spent two years among the natives at

Frobisher bay, the charting of which is due to his efforts. On his

return from this first trip he went, in a whaler, to Roes Welcome, where

he again lived with and like the natives, in an attempt to recover the

logs and other records of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. He remained in the

country for four winters before he succeeded in reaching the southern

shores of King William island; he was unsuccessful in his quest. Hall

throughout his journeys kept a voluminous journal; he took

meteorological observations and observations for his position. His

instruments appear to have been not of the best, and Hall seems to have

had a great faith in the statements of the natives, a faith that was

often abused; in consequence, much of his information from that source

is quite unreliable.

To return to the _Polaris_ expedition, fitted out by the United States

government, with the object of reaching the North Pole. She left New

York on the 29th of June, 1871, with a crew of twenty-three, which was

increased by ten Greenlanders. Melville bay was crossed in thirty-four

hours, and Smith sound being free of ice, an almost uninterrupted

passage was made through Kane basin and Kennedy channel, so that the

Polar ocean was reached on the 31st of August in latitude 82° 11´, to

the northwest of Repulse harbour, where heavy, ancient, arctic ice

stopped further progress. Returning southward, the _Polaris_ went into

winter quarters at Thank God harbour. Hall, in October, reached Cape

Brevoort, but died suddenly shortly after his return, and this calamity

put a stop to further efforts to reach the Pole. Some explorations were

made in the early spring before it was decided to return home. On the

way south the ship was caught in the ice in Kennedy channel, on the 14th

of August, and remained fast in the pack until the 15th of October, when

a furious gale broke up the pack, in sight of Northumberland island,

after nearly destroying her in the process of disruption. When this

occurred several of the party who were on the ice landing stores were

left, and drifted southward 1,500 miles on the ice, being rescued by the

_Tigress_, off the coast of Labrador, on the 30th of April, 1872. The

vessel was beached at Life Boat cove, and the remainder of the crew

passed the winter in safety in a house built from the wreck. During the

winter two boats were built, in which the party started to retreat on

Upernivik, but were fortunately rescued by a relief steamer in the

vicinity of Cape York.

The British Government, in 1875, fitted out an expedition with Captain

George Nares in command of the _Alert_, and Captain Stephenson, second

in command, on the _Discovery_, while the complete crews numbered one

hundred and thirty officers and men, with three native dog-drivers. The

instructions, which were to proceed up Smith sound, indicated that the

primary object of the expedition was to attain the highest northern

latitude, and, if possible, the North Pole, including explorations to

the adjacent coasts from winter quarters. The ships left England on the

29th of May, and Cape York was reached on the 25th of July, after very

little trouble with the ice. Here the first of a series of caches of

provisions was established, to provide for the safety of the crews in

case they were obliged to abandon the ships and retreat southward over

the ice. These caches were not used, and being left for future

explorations were the means of preserving life in the survivors of

Greely’s party some years later.

From Cape York the passage northward was a constant struggle with

immense floes of heavy ice, so that it was the 25th of August before the

_Discovery_ anchored for the winter in Discovery harbour. The _Alert_

pushed on, and reached Floeberg beach, in latitude 82° 25´ N., and

longitude 61° 30´ W., where further progress was barred by the heavy

ancient ice of the Polar sea, to which Nares has given the name

paleocrystic, to distinguish it from the ice of more southern waters,

which is formed annually. Here the _Alert_ was moored for the winter,

exposed to the crushing action and movement of these solid floes, in a

latitude far north of that before attained by any ship. Depots of

provisions were established during the autumn by sledging parties for

use in the following spring. On the 3rd of April seven sleds, manned by

fifty-three men and officers, left the _Alert_ for northern

explorations. One party, under Commander Markham, was to push northward

over the frozen ocean; the other, under Lieutenant Aldrich, to explore

the north coast of Grinnell land. Markham, after great toil and

hardships, hauling heavy sledges and boats over exceedingly rough ice,

and with five of his eighteen men helpless from the effects of scurvy,

succeeded in reaching a point on the ice in latitude 83° 20´ 26´´, the

farthest north to that date. The health of the men became worse on the

return journey, and if Lieutenant Parr had not, by a forced march of

twenty-four hours, reached the ship for assistance, all would probably

have been lost; as it was, one died and eleven others had to be dragged

to the ship.

Lieutenant Aldrich surveyed two hundred and twenty miles of new coast,

reaching, on the 18th of May, Point Albert, in 82° 16´, and 85° 33´ W.

His party, also attacked by scurvy, would not have reached the ship

without assistance.

Exploring parties were, at the same time, in the field from the

_Discovery_. Lieutenant Archer explored Franklin sound and reached the

head of Archer fiord. Lieutenant Beaumont left the ship with two sleds,

and, after first visiting the _Alert_, crossed Robeson channel to

Repulse harbour, on the coast of Greenland. He succeeded in reaching

with one man, the eastern side of Sherard Osborne fiord, in 82° 20´ N.

and 50° 45´ W., on the 20th of May. The return was made under

distressing circumstances; only Beaumont and one man were free from

scurvy when Repulse harbour was reached. The ice in Robeson channel was

too rotten to cross with his crew of invalids, and but for the timely

arrival of a relief party all would have perished. Two men died, and

only with great difficulty did the remainder reach the ship. Owing to

the scurvy, Captain Nares wisely determined to return home. The disease

had attacked almost every man on the ships outside the officers, but it

is a mystery why it should have played such ravages on an expedition

fitted out and provisioned with all possible precautions against the

disease; the only explanation given is that the men were over-worked,

slept in damp clothes, and were regularly served with a liberal ration

of spirits. The _Alert_ left Floeberg beach on the 31st of July, and on

the 9th of September both vessels safely reached the open sea, and

recrossed the Arctic circle on the 4th of October.

In 1881 the United States government determined to establish a

meteorological station in connection with the international polar

stations in the region of Smith sound. Congress voted an appropriation

of $25,000 for this expedition, a sum ridiculously small, as only $6,000

remained after paying for the transport of the party to their

destination. The expedition was under the command of Lieutenant A. W.

Greely, and was composed of officers and men from the United States

army, none of whom had had previous experience in Arctic work. The

party, numbering twenty-six, sailed from St. John’s, Newfoundland, in

the steam sealer _Proteus_, on the 4th of July, 1881. At Upernivik two

Eskimo dog-drivers were added to their number. Little trouble was

experienced from the ice until the ship reached Discovery bay, where the

station was to be located, and after a short delay the party was landed

on the 11th of August. Two men found to be physically unfit were sent

home. A house was soon erected, and the observation work carried on

regularly during the time that the expedition remained there. In the

spring of 1882 several sled journeys were made, the most important being

that of Lieutenant Lockwood, who crossed Kennedy channel, and passing

northeastward along the coast of Greenland pushed beyond the farthest

point reached by Lieutenant Beaumont, and succeeded in reaching latitude

83° 23´ N., the highest attained at that time. The _Neptune_ attempted

to relieve them during the summer of 1882, but found Smith sound blocked

with ice. The second autumn and spring were spent in making

explorations, chiefly in Ellesmere island. Lockwood attempted to pass

his previous record, but was prevented by the loose ice and the rugged

mountains along the northern coast. As no relief ship arrived and parts

of the supplies were running short, a retreat was decided upon, and the

party started south in a steam launch and two boats, on the 11th of

August. Great trouble was experienced in the heavy ice, and they were

obliged to abandon their boats on the 10th of September, after having

been beset by the ice for two weeks. Land was reached at Cape Sabine on

the 29th of September, where a poor shelter of stones and canvas was

erected, in which the party passed the winter. Their provisions

comprised the remainder of the food taken with them, and a small

quantity landed from the _Proteus_ after that vessel sank from an ice

nip while trying to reach Greely a few weeks earlier in the season. The

bulk of their provisions was obtained from the caches left by Nares in

1875. Exposure to the weather had nearly ruined everything left in the

caches, but their contents, even in this shape, were of great assistance

to these famished men; without them all would have succumbed; as it was,

only seven survived the hardships and starvation, when the rescue

steamer arrived on the 22nd of June, 1883.

The next Arctic work was the crossing of the Greenland ice-cap, in 1893,

by Nansen, who landed on the eastern side, and with a few companions

succeeded in passing over the immense fields of ice and snow, coming out

on the coast of the western side to the southward of Disko.

Lieutenant R. E. Peary, United States navy, spent eight winters in the

regions about Smith sound. During these years none of the ships engaged

to take supplies to him were able to penetrate more than the southern

portion of Smith sound, and consequently Peary had to haul all his

provisions and outfit over the very rough ice in dog-sleds two hundred

miles before he arrived at the original starting point of Beaumont and

Lockwood. This was a handicap of the severest description, and Peary

deserves the greatest credit for the manful way in which he overcame it,

and succeeded in not only crossing the ice-cap of the northern part of

Greenland, but also in tracing its northern outline far to the eastward,

and so establishing the certainty of the island character of that

supposed peninsula.

The last of the expeditions to the Smith sound region was that headed by

Captain Sverdrup, in the famous _Fram_. This expedition started with the

intention of exploring the northern part of Greenland, but found Smith

sound blocked with ice, and the _Fram_ was obliged to pass the winter of

1898-99 at Cape Sabine, where Greely’s party passed their last winter.

In the spring, parties from the ship explored Hayes sound, and crossed

Ellesmere island to its west coast. In 1899 Smith sound continued

closed, and Sverdrup returned south with the intention of exploring

Jones sound. Taking the _Fram_ up that channel, he went into the second

winter quarters on its north side, in a small fiord on the south coast

of Ellesmere island. During the following spring two long sled journeys

were made to the north and west, occupying seventy-six and ninety days

respectively. The _Fram_ broke out of winter quarters on the 9th of

August, 1901, and proceeding westward was beset off the north coast of

Grinnell peninsula until the middle of September, when she was again

released, and reached winter quarters in Belcher channel at the western

end of Jones sound. In the spring of 1902 two long journeys were again

undertaken by Sverdrup and Isacksen, involving important discoveries.

The _Fram_ could not be released, and a fourth winter had to be faced.

Sverdrup made his longest and most important journey in the spring of

1902, while his companions were making minor trips. On the 6th of August

the _Fram_ was released, and returned to Norway, after having completed

the last great and important work that remained to be done in the

Arctics, thus finishing the work begun three centuries ago. The

principal achievements were the mapping of Jones sound and the western

side of Ellesmere island, the discovery of a large island lying on the

west side of Ellesmere island, and two other large islands in latitude

79°, extending westward to longitude 106° W., which is that of the

eastern side of Melville island, while North Cornwall and Findlay

islands were seen to the south. To the westward and northward no signs

of land were seen, and the ancient Arctic ice was found pressing on the

coasts of these new northern islands, so that the line of drift pressure

can now be traced from Bering sea to the east coast of Greenland.

-----

* Another version, however, of the origin of the Hudson’s Bay Company,

states that the two Frenchmen went to Boston, New England, where they

met Sir George Carteret (or Cartwright), who gave them letters of

introduction to King Charles.

[Illustration: FRENCHMAN COVE, CYRUS FIELD BAY.]