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[Illustration: The 'Fox' steaming out of the Rolling Pack.]
IN THE
ARCTIC SEAS.
A NARRATIVE
OF THE
DISCOVERY OF THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN
AND HIS COMPANIONS.
BY
CAPTAIN M'CLINTOCK, R.N., LL.D.
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
PHILADELPHIA:
PORTER & COATES,
822 CHESTNUT STREET.
AUTHOR'S EDITION
[Device]
CAXTON PRESS OF SHERMAN & CO.,
PHILADELPHIA.
DEDICATION.
MY DEAR LADY FRANKLIN,
There is no one to whom I could with so much propriety or willingness
dedicate my Journal as to you. For you it was originally written, and to
please you it now appears in print.
To our mutual friend, SHERARD OSBORN, I am greatly obliged for his
kindness in seeing it through the press--a labor I could not have
settled down to so soon after my return; and also for pointing out some
omissions and technicalities which would have rendered parts of it
unintelligible to an ordinary reader. These kind hints have been but
partially attended to, and, as time presses, it appears with the mass of
its original imperfections, as when you read it in manuscript. Such as
it is, however, it affords me this valued opportunity of assuring you of
the real gratification I feel in having been instrumental in
accomplishing an object so dear to you. To your devotion and
self-sacrifice the world is indebted for the deeply interesting
revelation unfolded by the voyage of the 'Fox.'
Believe me to be,
With sincere respect, most faithfully yours,
F. L. M'CLINTOCK.
_London, 24th Nov., 1859._
LIST OF OFFICERS AND SHIP'S COMPANY OF THE 'FOX.'
F. L. M'CLINTOCK, Captain R.N.
W. R. HOBSON, Lieutenant R.N.
ALLEN W. YOUNG, Captain, Mercantile Marine.
DAVID WALKER, M.D., Surgeon and Naturalist.
GEORGE BRANDS, Engineer, died 6th Nov. 1858, (Apoplexy).
CARL PETERSEN, Interpreter.
THOMAS BLACKWELL, Ship's Steward, died 14th June, 1859, (Scurvy).
WM. HARVEY, Chief Quartermaster.
HENRY TOMS, Quartermaster.
ALEX. THOMPSON, "
JOHN SIMMONDS, Boatswain's Mate.
GEORGE EDWARDS, Carpenter's Mate.
ROBERT SCOTT, Leading Stoker, died 4th Dec. 1857, (in
consequence of a fall).
THOMAS GRINSTEAD, Sailmaker.
GEORGE HOBDAY, Captain of Hold.
ROBERT HAMPTON, A. B.
JOHN A. HASELTON, "
GEORGE CAREY, "
BEN. POUND, "
WM. WALTERS, Carpenter's Crew.
WM. JONES, Dog-driver.
JAMES PITCHER, } Stokers.
THOMAS FLORANCE, }
RICHARD SHINGLETON, Officers' Steward.
ANTON CHRISTIAN, } Greenland Esquimaux, discharged in Greenland.
SAMUEL EMANUEL, }
OFFICIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE SERVICES OF THE YACHT 'FOX.'
ADMIRALTY, LONDON,
_24th Oct. 1859._
SIR,
I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint
you, that, in consideration of the important services performed by you
in bringing home the only authentic intelligence of the death of the
late Sir John Franklin, and of the fate of the crews of the 'Erebus' and
'Terror,' Her Majesty has been pleased, by her order in Council of the
22nd instant, to sanction the time during which you were absent on these
discoveries in the Arctic Regions, viz., from the 30th June, 1857, to
the 21st September, 1859, to reckon as time served by a captain in
command of one of Her Majesty's ships, and my Lords have given the
necessary directions accordingly.
I am, Sir,
Your very humble servant,
W. G. ROMAINE,
_Secretary to the Admiralty_.
Captain Francis L. M'Clintock, R.N.
PREFACE.
The following narrative of the bold adventure which has successfully
revealed the last discoveries and the fate of Franklin, is published at
the request of the friends of that illustrious navigator. The gallant
M'Clintock, when he penned his journal amid the Arctic ices, had no idea
whatever of publishing it; and yet there can be no doubt that the reader
will peruse with the deepest interest the simple tale of how, in a
little vessel of 170 tons burthen, he and his well-chosen companions
have cleared up this great mystery.
To the honor of the British nation, and also let it be said to that of
the United States of America, many have been the efforts made to
discover the route followed by our missing explorers. The highly
deserving men who have so zealously searched the Arctic seas and lands
in this cause must now rejoice, that after all their anxious toils, the
merit of rescuing from the frozen North the record of the last days of
Franklin, has fallen to the share of his noble-minded widow.
Lady Franklin has, indeed, well shown what a devoted and true-hearted
English woman can accomplish. The moment that relics of the expedition
commanded by her husband were brought home (in 1854) by Rae, and that
she heard of the account given to him by the Esquimaux of a large party
of Englishmen having been seen struggling with difficulties on the ice
near the mouth of the Back or Great Fish River, she resolved to expend
all her available means (already much exhausted in four other
independent expeditions) in an exploration of the limited area to which
the search must thenceforward be necessarily restricted.
Whilst the supporters of Lady Franklin's efforts were of opinion, that
the Government ought to have undertaken a search, the extent of which
was, for the first time, definitely limited, it is but rendering justice
to the then Prime Minister[1] to state, that he had every desire to
carry out the wishes of the men of science[2] who appealed to him, and
that he was precluded from acceding to their petition, by nothing but
the strongly expressed opinion of official authorities, that after so
many failures the Government were no longer justified in sending out
more brave men to encounter fresh dangers in a cause which was viewed as
hopeless. Hence it devolved on Lady Franklin and her friends to be the
sole means of endeavoring to bring to light the true history of her
husband's voyage and fate.
Looking to the list of Naval worthies, who, during the preceding years,
had been exploring the Arctic Regions, Lady Franklin was highly
gratified when she obtained the willing services of Captain M'Clintock
to command the yacht 'Fox,' which she had purchased; for that officer
had signally distinguished himself in the voyages of Sir John Ross and
Captain (now Admiral) Austin, and especially in his extensive journeys
on the ice when associated with Captain Kellett. With such a leader she
could not but entertain sanguine hopes of success when the fast and
well-adapted little vessel sailed from Aberdeen on the 1st of July,
1857, upon this eventful enterprise.
Deep, indeed, was the mortification experienced by every one who shared
the feelings and anticipations of Lady Franklin when the untoward news
came, in the summer of 1858, that, the preceding winter having set in
earlier than usual, the 'Fox' had been beset in the ice off Melville
Bay, on the coast of Greenland, and after a dreary winter, various
narrow escapes, and eight months of imprisonment, had been carried back
by the floating ice nearly twelve hundred geographical miles--even to
63-1/2° N. lat. in the Atlantic! See the woodcut map, No. 1.
But although the good little yacht had been most roughly handled among
the ice-floes (see Frontispiece), we were cheered up by the information
from Disco, that, with the exception of the death of the engine-driver
in consequence of a fall into the hold, the crew were in stout health
and full of energy, and that provided with sufficient fuel and
provisions, a good supply of sledging dogs, two tried Esquimaux, and the
excellent interpreter Petersen the Dane,[3] ample grounds yet remained
to lead us to hope for a successful issue. Above all, we were encouraged
by the proofs of the self-possession and calm resolve of M'Clintock, who
held steadily to the accomplishment of his original project; the more so
as he had then tested and recognized the value of the services of
Lieutenant (now Commander) Hobson, his able second in command; of
Captain Allen Young, his generous volunteer associate;[4] and of Dr.
Walker, his accomplished Surgeon.
Despite, however, of these re-assuring data, many an advocate of this
search was anxiously alive to the chance of the failure of the venture
of one unassisted yacht, which after sundry mishaps was again starting
to cross Baffin's Bay, with the foreknowledge, that when she reached the
opposite coast, the real difficulties of the enterprise were to
commence.
Any such misgivings were happily illusory; and the reader who follows
M'Clintock across the "middle ice" of Baffin's Bay to Pond Inlet, thence
to Beechey Island, down a portion of Peel Strait, and then through the
hitherto unnavigated waters of Bellot Strait in one summer season, may
reasonably expect the success which followed.
Whilst the revelation obtained from the long-sought records, which were
discovered by Lieutenant Hobson, is most satisfactory to those who
speculated on the probability of Franklin having, in the first instance,
tried to force his way northwards through Wellington Channel (as we now
learn he did), those who held a different hypothesis, namely, that he
followed his instructions, which directed him to the S.W., may be amply
satisfied that in the following season the ships did pursue this
southerly course till they were finally beset in N. lat. 70° 05'.[5]
At the same time, the public should fully understand the motive which
prompted the supporters of Lady Franklin in advocating the last search.
Putting aside the hope which some of us entertained, that a few of the
younger men of the missing expedition might still be found to be living
among the Esquimaux, we had every reason to expect, that if the ships
were discovered, the scientific documents of the voyage, including
valuable magnetic observations, would be recovered.
In the absence of such good fortune we may, however, well be gladdened
by the discovery of that one precious document which gives us a true
outline of the voyage of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror.'
That the reader may comprehend the vast extent of sea traversed by
Franklin in the two summers before his ships were beset, a small map
(No. 2) is here introduced representing all the lands and seas of the
Arctic regions to the west of Lancaster Sound which were known and laid
down when he sailed. The dotted lines and arrows, which extend from the
then known seas and lands into the unknown waters or blank spaces on
this old map, indicate Franklin's route, the novelty, range, rapidity,
and boldness of which, as thus delineated, may well surprise the
geographer, and even the most enterprising Arctic sailor.[6] For, those
who have not closely attended to the results of other Arctic voyages
may be informed, that rarely has an expedition in the first year
accomplished more by its ships, than the establishing of good winter
quarters, from whence the real researches began by sledge-work in the
ensuing spring. Franklin, however, not only reached Beechey Island, but
ascended Wellington Channel, then an unknown sea, to 77° N. lat., a more
northern latitude in this meridian than that attained long afterwards in
ships by Sir Edward Belcher, and much to the north of the points reached
by Penny and De Haven. Next, though most scantily provided with
steam-power, Franklin navigated round Cornwallis' Land, which he thus
proved to be an island. The last discovery of a navigable channel
throughout, between Cornwallis and Bathurst Islands, though made in the
very summer he left England, has remained even to this day unknown to
other navigators!
Franklin then, in obedience to his orders, steered to the south-west.
Passing, as M'Clintock believes, down Peel's Strait in 1846, and
reaching as far as lat. 70° 05' N., and long. 98° 23' W., where the
ships were beset, it is clear that he, who, with others, had previously
ascertained the existence of a channel along the north coast of America,
with which the sea wherein he was interred had a direct communication,
was the _first real discoverer of the North-West Passage_. This great
fact must therefore be inscribed upon the monument of Franklin.
The adventurous M'Clure, who has been worthily honored for working out
another North-Western passage, which we now know to have been of
subsequent date,[7] as well as Collinson, who, taking the 'Enterprise'
along the north coast of America, and afterwards bringing her home,
reached with sledges the western edge of the area recently laid open by
M'Clintock, will I have no doubt unite with their Arctic associates,
Richardson, Sherard Osborn, and M'Clintock, in affirming, that "Franklin
and his followers secured the honor for which they died--that of being
the first discoverers of the North-West Passage."[8]
Again, when we turn from the discoveries of Franklin to those of
M'Clintock, as mapped in red colors on the general map, on which is
represented the amount of outline laid down by all other Arctic
explorers from the days when these modern researches originated with
Sir John Barrow, we perceive that, in addition to the discovery of the
course followed by the 'Erebus' and 'Terror,' some most important
geographical data have been accumulated by the last expedition of Lady
Franklin.
Thus, M'Clintock has proved, that the strait named by Kennedy in an
earlier private expedition of Lady Franklin after his companion the
brave Lieutenant Bellot, and which has hitherto been regarded only as an
impassable frozen channel, or ignored as a channel at all, is a
navigable strait, the south shore of which is thus seen to be the
northernmost land of the continent of America.
M'Clintock has also laid down the hitherto unknown coast-line of
Boothia, southwards from Bellot Strait to the Magnetic Pole, has
delineated the whole of King William's Island, and opened a new and
capacious, though ice-choked channel, suspected before, but not proved,
to exist, extending from Victoria Strait in a north-west direction to
Melville or Parry Sound. The latter discovery rewarded the individual
exertions of Captain Allen Young, but will very properly, at Lady
Franklin's request, bear the name of the leader of the 'Fox' expedition,
who had himself assigned to it the name of the widow of Franklin.[9]
Neither has the expedition been unproductive of scientific results. For,
whilst many persons will be interested in the popular descriptions of
the native Esquimaux, as well as of the lower animals, the man of
science will hereafter be further gratified by having presented to him,
in the form of an additional Appendix,[10] most valuable details
relating to the zoology, botany, meteorology, and especially to the
terrestrial magnetism, of the region examined.
Lastly, M'Clintock has convinced himself, that the best way of securing
the passage of a ship from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is by following,
as near as possible, the coast-line of North America: indeed, it is his
opinion, founded upon a large experience, that no passage by a ship can
ever be accomplished in a more northern direction. This it is well known
was the favorite theory of Franklin, who had himself, along with
Richardson, Back, Beechey, Dease, Simpson, and Rae, surveyed the whole
of that same North American coast from the Back or Great Fish River to
Behring Strait. Thus, when Franklin sailed in 1845, the discovery of a
North-West Passage was reduced to the finding a link between the latter
survey and the discoveries of Parry, who had already, to his great
renown, opened the first half of a more northern course from east to
west, when he was arrested by the impenetrable ice-barrier at Melville
Island.
And here it is to be remembered, that the tract in which the record and
the relics have been found, is just that to which Lady Franklin herself
specially directed Kennedy, the commander of the 'Prince Albert,' in her
second private expedition in 1852; and had that intrepid explorer not
been induced to search northwards of Bellot Strait, but had felt himself
able to follow the course indicated by his sagacious employer, there can
be no doubt, that much more satisfactory results would have been
obtained than those which, after a lapse of seven years, have now been
realized by the undaunted perseverance of Lady Franklin, and the skill
and courage of M'Clintock.
The natural modesty of this commander has, I am bound to say, prevented
his doing common justice, in the following journal, to his own
conduct--conduct which can be estimated by those only who have listened
to the testimony of the officers serving with and under the man, whose
great qualities in moments of extreme peril elicited their heartiest
admiration and ensured their perfect confidence.
In writing this Preface (which I do at the request of the promoters of
the last search), I may state that, having occupied the Chair of the
Royal Geographical Society in 1845, when my cherished friend, Sir John
Franklin, went forth for the third time to seek a North-West passage, it
became my bounden duty in subsequent years, when his absence created
much anxiety, and when I re-occupied the same position, ardently to
promote the employment of searching expeditions, and warmly to sustain
Lady Franklin's endeavors in this holy cause.
Imbued with such feelings, I must be permitted to say, that no event in
my life gave me purer delight, than when Captain Collinson, whose labors
to support and carry out this last search have been signally
serviceable, forwarded to me a telegram to be communicated to the
British Association at Aberdeen announcing the success of M'Clintock.
That document reached Balmoral on the 22nd of September last, when the
men of science were invited thither by their Sovereign. Great was the
satisfaction caused by the diffusion of these good tidings among my
associates (the distinguished Arctic explorers Admiral Sir James Ross
and General Sabine being present); and it was most cheering to us to
know, that the Queen and our Royal President[11] took the deepest
interest in this intelligence--such as, indeed, they have always
evinced whenever the search for the missing navigators has been brought
under their consideration. The immediate bestowal of the Arctic medal
upon all the officers and men of the 'Fox' is a pleasing proof that this
interest is well sustained.
But these few introductory sentences must not be extended; and I invite
the reader at once to peruse the Journal of M'Clintock, which will
gratify every lover of truthful and ardent research, though it will
leave him impressed with the sad belief, that the end of the companions
of Franklin has been truly recorded by the native Esquimaux, who saw
these noble fellows "fall down and die as they walked along the ice."
Looking to the fact, that little or no fresh food could have been
obtained by the crews of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' during their long
imprisonment of twenty months, in so frightfully sterile a region as
that in which the ships were abandoned,--so sterile that it is even
deserted by the Esquimaux,--and also to the want of sustenance in spring
at the mouth of the Back River, all the Arctic naval authorities with
whom I have conversed, coincide with M'Clintock and his associates in
the belief, that none of the missing navigators can be now living.
Painful as is the realisation of this tragic event, let us now dwell
only on the reflection that, while the North-West passage has been
solved by the heroic self-sacrifice of Franklin, Crozier, Fitzjames,
and their associates, the searches after them which are now terminated,
have, at a very small loss of life, not only added prodigiously to
geographical knowledge, but have, in times of peace, been the best
school for testing, by the severest trials, the skill and endurance of
many a brave seaman. In her hour of need--should need arise--England
knows that such men will nobly do their duty.
RODERICK I. MURCHISON.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Viscount Palmerston.
[2] See the Memorial (Appendix) addressed to the First Lord of the
Treasury, headed by Admiral Sir F. Beaufort, General Sabine, and many
other men of science, and which, as President of the Royal Geographical
Society, I presented to the Prime Minister; and also the speech of Lord
Wrottesley, the President of the Royal Society, who, in the absence of
the lamented Earl of Ellesmere, brought the subject earnestly under the
notice of the House of Lords on the 18th of July, 1856.
[3] Since his return to Copenhagen, Petersen has been worthily honored
by his Sovereign with the silver cross of Dannebrog.
[4] Captain Allen Young of the merchant marine not only threw his
services into this cause, and subscribed £500 in furtherance of the
expedition, but, abandoning lucrative appointments in command,
generously accepted a subordinate post.
[5] For a _résumé_ of all the plans of research and the speculations of
seamen and geographers, see the interesting and most useful volume of
Mr. John Brown, entitled, 'The North-West Passage and Search after Sir
John Franklin,' 1858. In an Appendix to this work we learn, that from
the earliest Polar researches by John Cabot, at the end of the 15th
century, to the voyage of M'Clintock, there have been about 130
expeditions, illustrated by 250 books and printed documents, of which
150 have been issued in England. Amidst the various recent publications,
it is but rendering justice to Dr. King, the former companion of Sir
George Back, to state that he suggested and always maintained the
necessity of a search for the missing navigators at or near the mouth of
the Back River.
[6] The letter A in Baffin Bay (fig. 1) indicates the spot where
Franklin was last seen. In fig. 2, B is the winter rendezvous at Beechey
Island; C the greatest northing of the expedition, viz. 77° N. lat.; Z
the final beset of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror;' the extreme north and
south points of their voyage being represented by two small ships.
[7] In 1850.
[8] See a most heart-stirring sketch of the last voyage of Sir John
Franklin, by Captain Sherard Osborn, in the periodical _Once a Week_, of
the 22d and 29th October and 5th November last. Possessing a thorough
acquaintance with the Arctic regions, the distinguished seaman has shown
more than his ordinary power of description, in placing before the
public his conception of what may have been the chief occurrences in the
voyage of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror,' and the last days of Franklin, as
founded upon an acquaintance with the character of the chief and his
associates, and the record and relics obtained by M'Clintock. This
sketch is prefaced by a spirited and graceful outline of all previous
geographical discoveries, from the day when they were originated by the
father of all modern Arctic enterprise, Sir John Barrow, to whom, and to
many other eminent persons, from Sir Edward Parry downwards, I have in
various Geographical Addresses offered the tribute of my admiration.
[9] In his volume before cited, p. xii., Mr. John Brown gave strong
reasons (which he had held for some time) for believing in the existence
of the very channel which now bears the name of M'Clintock. It is,
however, the opinion both of that officer and his associates, as also of
Captain Sherard Osborn, that Franklin could not have reached the spot
where his ships were beset by proceeding down that ice-choked channel,
but that he must have sailed down Peel Sound.
[10] Much of this Appendix will be prepared by Dr. David Walker.
[11] At the Aberdeen meeting the Prince Consort thus spoke:--"The
Aberdeen whaler braves the icy regions of the Polar sea to seek and to
battle with the great monster of the deep; he has materially assisted in
opening these ice-bound regions to the researches of science; he
fearlessly aided in the search after Sir John Franklin and his gallant
companions whom their country sent forth on this mission; but to whom
Providence, alas! has denied the reward of their labors, the return to
their homes, to the affectionate embrace of their families and friends,
and the acknowledgments of a grateful nation."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Cause of delay in equipment--Fittings of the 'Fox'--Volunteers for
Arctic service--Assistance from public departments--Reflections upon
the undertaking--Instructions and departure--Orkneys and
Greenland--Fine Arctic scenery--Danish establishments in
Greenland--Frederickshaab, in Davis' Straits, Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Fiskernaes and Esquimaux--The 'Fox' reaches Disco--Disco Fiord--Summer
scenery--Waigat Strait--Coaling from the mine--Purchasing Esquimaux
dogs--Heavy gale off Upernivik--Melville Bay--The middle ice--The
great glacier of Greenland--Reindeer cross the glacier, 19
CHAPTER III.
Melville Bay--Beset in Melville Bay--Signs of winter--The coming
storm--Drifting in the pack--Canine appetite--Resigned to a winter
in the pack--Dinner stolen by sharks--The Arctic shark--White whales
and killers, 35
CHAPTER IV.
Snow crystals--Dog will not eat raven--An Arctic school--The dogs
invade us--Bear-hunting by night--Ice-artillery--Arctic
palates--Sudden rise of temperature--Harvey's idea of a sortie, 51
CHAPTER V.
Burial in the pack--Musk oxen in lat. 80° north--Thrift of the
Arctic fox--The aurora affects the electrometer--An Arctic
Christmas--Sufferings of an Arctic party--Ice acted on by wind
only--How the sun ought to be welcomed--Constant action of the
ice--Return of the seals--Revolving storm, 67
CHAPTER VI.
A bear-fight--An ice-nip--Strong gales, rapid drift--The 'Fox' breaks
out of the pack--Hanging on to floe-edge--The Arctic bear--An ice
tournament--The 'Fox' in peril--A storm in the pack--Escape from the
pack, 84
CHAPTER VII.
A holiday in Greenland--A lady blue with cold--The loves of
Greenlanders--Close shaving--Meet the whalers--Information of
whalers--Disco--Danish hospitality--Sail from Disco--Kindness of
the whalers--Danish establishments in Greenland, 100
CHAPTER VII.
'Fox' nearly wrecked--Afloat, and push ahead--Arctic hairbreadth
escapes--Nearly caught in the pack--Shooting little auks--The
Arctic Highlanders--Cape York--Crimson snow--Struggling to the
westward--Reach the West-land--Off the entrance of Lancaster
Sound, 116
CHAPTER IX.
Off Cape Warrender--Sight the whalers again--Enter Pond's
Bay--Communicate with Esquimaux--Ascend Pond's Inlet--Esquimaux
information--Arctic summer abode--An Arctic village--No intelligence
of Franklin's ships--Arctic trading--Geographical information of
natives--Information of Rae's visit--Improvidence of
Esquimaux--Travels of Esquimaux, 132
CHAPTER X.
Leave Pond's Bay--A gale in Lancaster Sound--The Beechey Island
Depôt--An Arctic monument--Reflections at Beechey Island--Proceed
up Barrow's Strait--Peel Sound--Port Leopold--Prince Regent's
Inlet--Bellot Strait--Flood-tide from the west--Unsuccessful
efforts--Fox's Hole--No water to the west--Precautionary
measures--Fourth attempt to pass through, 153
CHAPTER XI.
Proceed westward in a boat--Cheerless state of the western
sea--Struggles in Bellot Strait--Falcons, good Arctic fare--The
resources of Boothia Felix--Future sledge travelling--Heavy
gales--Hobson's party start--Winter quarters--Bellot
Strait--Advanced depôt established--Observatories--Intense
cold--Autumn travellers--Narrow escape, 174
CHAPTER XII.
Death of our engineer--Scarcity of game--The cold unusually
trying--Jolly, under adverse circumstances--Petersen's
information--Return of the sun of 1859--Early spring
sledge-parties--Unusual severity of the winter--Severe hardships
of early sledging--The western shores of Boothia--Meet the
Esquimaux--Intelligence of Franklin's ships--Return to the
'Fox'--Allen Young returns, 192
CHAPTER XIII.
Dr. Walker's sledge journey--Snow-blindness attacks Young's
party--Departure of all sledge-parties--Equipment of
sledge-parties--Meet the same party of natives--Intelligence
of the second ship--My depôt robbed--Part company from
Hobson--Matty Island--Deserted snow-huts--Native sledges--Land
on King William's Land, 217
CHAPTER XIV.
Meet Esquimaux--News of Franklin's people--Frighten a solitary
party--Reach the Great Fish River--On Montreal Island--Total
absence of all relics--Examine Ogle Peninsula--Discover
a skeleton--Vagueness of Esquimaux information--Cape
Herschel--Cairn, 235
CHAPTER XV.
The cairn found empty--Discover Hobson's letter--Discovery of
Crozier's record--The deserted boat--Articles discovered about
the boat--The skeletons and relics--The boat belonged to the
'Erebus'--Conjectures, 253
CHAPTER XVI.
Errors in Franklin's records--Relics found at the cairn--Reflections
on the retreat--Returning homeward--Geological remarks--Difficulties
of summer sledging--Arrive on board the 'Fox'--Navigable N.W.
passage--Death from scurvy--Anxiety for Captain Young--Young returns
safely, 272
CHAPTER XVII.
Signs of release--Dearth of animal life--Owl is good beef--Beat out of
winter quarters--Our game-list--Reach Fury Beach--Escape from
Regent's Inlet--In Baffin's Bay--Captain Allen Young's
journey--Disco; sad disappointment--Part from our Esquimaux
friends--Adieu to Greenland--Arrive home, 292
CONCLUSION, 315
* * * * *
APPENDIX.
No. I.--A Letter to Viscount Palmerston, K.G., &c., from Lady
Franklin, 319
No. II.--Memorial to the Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, M.P.,
G.C.B., 329
No. III.--List of Relics of the Franklin Expedition brought to
England in the 'Fox' by Captain M'Clintock, 334
No. IV.--Geological Account of the Arctic Archipelago, by Professor
Haughton, 341
No. V.--List of Subscribers to the 'Fox' Expedition, 373
JOURNAL OF THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.
CHAPTER I.
Cause of delay in equipment--Fittings of the 'Fox'--Volunteers for
Arctic service--Assistance from public departments--Reflections upon
the undertaking--Instructions and departure--Orkneys and
Greenland--Fine Arctic scenery--Danish establishments in
Greenland--Frederickshaab, in Davis' Straits.
It is now a matter of history how Government and private expeditions
prosecuted, with unprecedented zeal and perseverance, the search for Sir
John Franklin's ships, between the years 1847-55; and that the only ray
of information gleaned was that afforded by the inscriptions upon three
tombstones at Beechey Island, briefly recording the names and dates of
the deaths of those individuals of the lost expedition, who thus early
fell in the cause of science and of their country.
In this manner were we made aware of the locality where the Franklin
expedition passed its first Arctic winter. The traces assuring us of
that fact, were discovered in August, 1850, by Captain Ommanney, R.N.,
of H.M.S. 'Assistance,' and by Captain Penny, of the 'Lady Franklin.'
{FORMER EXPEDITIONS.}
In October, 1854, Dr. Rae brought home the only additional information
respecting them which has ever reached us. From the Esquimaux of Boothia
Felix he learned that a party of about forty white men were met on the
west coast of King William's Island, and from thence travelled on to the
mouth of the Great Fish River, where they all perished of starvation,
and that this tragic event occurred apparently in the spring of 1850.
Some relics obtained from these natives, and brought home by Dr. Rae,
were proved to have belonged to Sir John Franklin and several of his
associates.
The Government caused an exploring party to descend the Fish River in
1855; but, although sufficient traces were found to prove that some
portion of the crews of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' had actually landed on
the banks of that river, and traces existed of them up to Franklin
Rapids, no additional information was obtained either from the discovery
of records, or through the Esquimaux. Mr. Anderson, the Hudson Bay
Company's officer in charge, and his small party, deserve credit for
their perseverance and skill; but they were not furnished with the
necessary means of accomplishing their mission. Mr. Anderson could not
obtain an interpreter, and the two frail bark canoes in which his whole
party embarked were almost worn out before they reached the locality to
be searched. It is not surprising that such an expedition caused very
considerable excitement at home.
{APR., 1857.}
{CAUSE OF DELAY IN EQUIPMENT.}
Lady Franklin, and the advocates for further search, now pressed upon
government the necessity of following up, in a more effectual manner,
the traces accidentally found by Dr. Rae, and, in fact, of rendering the
search complete by one more effort, involving but little of hazard or
expense. It was not until April, 1857, that any decisive answer was
given to Lady Franklin's appeal. (See Appendix No. 1.)
Sir Charles Wood then stated "that the members of Her Majesty's
Government, having come, with great regret, to the conclusion that there
was no prospect of saving life, would not be justified, for any objects
which in their opinion could be obtained by an expedition to the Arctic
seas, in exposing the lives of officers and men to the risk inseparable
from such an enterprise."
Lady Franklin, upon this final disappointment of her hopes, had no
hesitation in immediately preparing to send out a searching expedition,
equipped and stored at her own cost. But she was not left alone. Many
friends of the cause--including some of the most distinguished
scientific men in England,[12] and especially Sir Roderick Murchison,
whose zeal was as practical as it was enlightened--hastened to tender
their aid, and soon a very considerable sum was raised in furtherance of
so truly noble an effort.
{NOMINATION OF COMMANDER.}
On the 18th of April, 1857, Lady Franklin did me the honor to offer me
the command of the proposed expedition; it was of course most cheerfully
accepted. As a post of honor and some difficulty, it possessed quite
sufficient charms for a naval officer who had already served in three
consecutive expeditions from 1848 to 1854. I was thoroughly conversant
with all the details of this peculiar service; and I confess, moreover,
that my whole heart was in the cause. How could I do otherwise than
devote myself to save at least the record of faithful service, even unto
death, of my brother officers and seamen? and, being one of those by
whose united efforts not only the Franklin search, but the geography of
Arctic America, has been brought so nearly to completion, I could not
willingly resign to posterity, the honor of filling up even the small
remaining blank upon our maps.
To leave these discoveries incomplete, more especially in a quarter
through which the tidal stream actually demonstrates the existence of a
channel--the only remaining hope of a practicable north-west
passage--would indeed be leaving strong inducement for future explorers
to reap the rich reward of our long-continued exertions.
{PURCHASE OF THE 'FOX.'}
I immediately applied to the Admiralty for leave of absence to complete
the Franklin search; and on the 23d received at Dublin the telegraphic
message from Lady Franklin: "Your leave is granted; the 'Fox' is mine;
the refit will commence immediately." She had already purchased the
screw-yacht 'Fox,' of 177 tons burthen, and now placed her, together
with the necessary funds, at my disposal.
Let me explain what is here implied by the simple word refit. The velvet
hangings and splendid furniture of the yacht, and also every thing not
constituting a part of the vessel's strengthening, were to be removed;
the large sky-lights and capacious ladderways had to be reduced to
limits more adapted to a polar clime; the whole vessel to be externally
sheathed with stout planking, and internally fortified by strong
cross-beams, longitudinal beams, iron stanchions, and diagonal
fastenings; the false keel taken off, the slender brass propeller
replaced by a massive iron one, the boiler taken out, altered, and
enlarged; the sharp stem to be cased in iron until it resembled a
ponderous chisel set up edgeways; even the yacht's rig had to be
altered.
She was placed in the hands of her builders, Messrs. Hall & Co., of
Aberdeen, who displayed even more than their usual activity in effecting
these necessary alterations, for it was determined that the 'Fox' should
sail by the 1st July.
{FITTINGS OF THE 'FOX.'}
Internally she was fitted up with the strictest economy in every sense,
and the officers were crammed into pigeon-holes, styled cabins, in order
to make room for provisions and stores; our mess-room, for five persons,
measured 8 feet square. The ordinary heating apparatus for winter use
was dispensed with, and its place supplied by a few very small stoves.
The 'Fox' had been the property of the late Sir Richard Sutton, Bart.,
who made but one trip to Norway in her, and she was purchased by Lady
Franklin from his executors for 2000_l._
Having thus far commenced the refit of the vessel, I turned my attention
to the selection of a crew and to the requisite clothing and provisions
for our voyage.
Many worthy old shipmates, my companions in the previous Arctic voyages,
most readily volunteered their services, and they were as cheerfully
accepted, for it was my anxious wish to gather round me well-tried men,
who were aware of the duties expected of them, and accustomed to naval
discipline. Hence, out of the twenty-five souls composing our small
company, seventeen had previously served in the Arctic search.
Expeditions of this kind are always popular with seamen, and innumerable
were the applications sent to me; but still more abundant were the
offers to "serve in any capacity" which poured in from all parts of the
country, from people of all classes, many of whom had never seen the
sea. It was, of course, impossible to accede to any of these latter
proposals, yet, for my own part, I could not but feel gratified at such
convincing proofs that the spirit of the country was favorable to us,
and that the ardent love of hardy enterprise still lives amongst
Englishmen, as of old, to be cherished, I trust, as the most valuable of
our national characteristics--as that which has so largely contributed
to make England what she is.
{OFFICERS OF THE EXPEDITION.}
My second in command was Lieutenant W. R. Hobson, R.N., an officer
already distinguished in Arctic service. Captain Allen Young joined me
as sailing-master, contributing not only his valuable services but
largely of his private funds to the expedition. This gentleman had
previously commanded some of our very finest merchant ships, the latest
being the steam-transport 'Adelaide' of 2500 tons: he had but recently
returned, in ill health, from the Black Sea, where he was most actively
employed during the greater part of the Crimean campaign. Nothing that I
could say would add to the merit of such singularly generous and
disinterested conduct. David Walker, M.D., volunteered for the post of
surgeon and naturalist; he also undertook the photographic department;
and just before sailing, Carl Petersen, now so well known to Arctic
readers as the Esquimaux interpreter in the expeditions of Captain
Penny and Dr. Kane, came to join me from Copenhagen, although landed
there from Greenland only six days previously, after an absence of a
year from his family: we were indebted to Sir Roderick Murchison and the
electric telegraph for securing his valuable services.
{ASSISTANCE FROM PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS.}
Like the Paris omnibuses we were at length _tout complet_, and quite as
anxious to make a start.
Ample provisions for twenty-eight months were embarked, including
preserved vegetables, lemon-juice, and pickles, for daily consumption,
and preserved meats for every third day: also as much of Messrs.
Allsopp's stoutest ale as we could find room for. The Government,
although declining to send out an expedition, yet now contributed
liberally to our supplies. All our arms, powder, shot, powder for
ice-blasting, rockets, maroons, and signal mortar, were furnished by the
Board of Ordnance. The Admiralty caused 6682 lbs. of pemmican to be
prepared for our use. Not less than 85,000 lbs. of this invaluable food
have been prepared since 1845 at the Royal Clarence Victualing Yard,
Gosport, for the use of the Arctic Expeditions. It is composed of prime
beef cut into thin slices and dried over a wood fire; then pounded up
and mixed with about an equal weight of melted beef fat. The pemmican is
then pressed into cases capable of containing 42 lbs. each. The
Admiralty supplied us with all the requisite ice-gear, such as saws
from ten to eighteen feet in length, ice-anchors, and ice-claws: also
with our winter housing, medicines, pure lemon-juice, seamen's library,
hydrographical instruments, charts, chronometers, and an ample supply of
arctic clothing which had remained in store from former expeditions. The
Board of Trade contributed a variety of meteorological and nautical
instruments and journals; and I found that I had but to ask of these
departments for what was required, and if in store it was at once
granted. I asked, however, only for such things as were indispensably
necessary.
{DONATION FROM ROYAL SOCIETY.}
The President and Council of the Royal Society voted the sum of 50_l._
from their donation fund for the purchase of magnetic and other
scientific instruments, in order that our anticipated approach to so
interesting a locality as the Magnetic Pole might not be altogether
barren of results.
Being desirous to retain for my vessel the privileges she formerly
enjoyed as a yacht, my wishes were very promptly gratified; in the first
instance by the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, of which my officers and
myself were enrolled as members--the Commodore, A. Arcedeckne, Esq.,
presenting my vessel with the handsome ensign and burgee of the Club;
and shortly afterwards by my being elected a member of the Royal
Victoria Yacht Club for the period of my voyage. Lastly, upon the very
day of sailing, I was proposed for the Royal Yacht Squadron, to which
the yacht had previously belonged when the property of Sir Richard
Stratton.
{REFLECTIONS UPON THE UNDERTAKING.}
Throughout the whole period required for our equipment, I constantly
experienced the heartiest co-operation and earnest good will from all
with whom my varied duties brought me in contact. Deep sympathy with
Lady Franklin in her distress, her self-devotion and sacrifice of
fortune, and an earnest desire to extend succor to any chance survivors
of the ill-fated expedition who might still exist, or at least, to
ascertain their fate, and rescue from oblivion their heroic deeds,
seemed the natural promptings of every honest English heart. It is
needless to add that this experience of public opinion confirmed my own
impression that the glorious mission intrusted to me was in reality a
_great national duty_. I could not but feel that, if the gigantic and
admirably equipped national expeditions sent out on precisely the same
duty, and reflecting so much credit upon the Board of Admiralty, were
ranked amongst the noblest efforts in the cause of humanity any nation
ever engaged in, and that, if high honor was awarded to all composing
those splendid expeditions, surely the effort became still more
remarkable and worthy of approbation when its means were limited to one
little vessel, containing but twenty-five souls, equipped and
provisioned (although efficiently, yet) in a manner more according with
the limited resources of a private individual than with those of the
public purse. The less the means, the more arduous I felt was the
achievement. The greater the risk--for the 'Fox' was to be launched
alone into those turbulent seas from which every other vessel had long
since been withdrawn--the more glorious would be the success, the more
honorable even the defeat, if again defeat awaits us.
{LADY FRANKLIN'S VISIT.}
Upon the last day of June, Lady Franklin, accompanied by her niece Miss
Sophia Cracroft, and Capt. Maguire, R.N., came on board to bid us
farewell, for we purposed sailing in the evening. Seeing how deeply
agitated she was on leaving the ship, I endeavored to repress the
enthusiasm of my crew, but without avail; it found vent in three
prolonged, hearty cheers. The strong feeling which prompted them was
truly sincere; and this unbidden exhibition of it can hardly have
gratified her for whom it was intended more than it did myself.
I must here insert the only written instructions I could prevail upon
Lady Franklin to give me; they were not read until the 'Fox' was fairly
in the Atlantic.
{LADY FRANKLIN'S INSTRUCTIONS.}
ABERDEEN, _June 29, 1857_.
MY DEAR CAPTAIN M'CLINTOCK,
You have kindly invited me to give you "Instructions," but I cannot
bring myself to feel that it would be right in me in any way to
influence your judgment in the conduct of your noble undertaking;
and indeed I have no temptation to do so, since it appears to me
that your views are almost identical with those which I had
independently formed before I had the advantage of being thoroughly
possessed of yours. But had this been otherwise, I trust you would
have found me ready to prove the implicit confidence I place in you
by yielding my own views to your more enlightened judgment; knowing
too as I do that your whole heart also is in the cause, even as my
own is. As to the objects of the expedition and their relative
importance, I am sure you know that the rescue of any possible
survivor of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' would be to me, as it would be
to you, the noblest result of our efforts.
To this object I wish every other to be subordinate; and next to it
in importance is the recovery of the unspeakably precious documents
of the expedition, public and private, and the personal relics of my
dear husband and his companions.
And lastly, I trust it may be in your power to confirm, directly or
inferentially, the claims of my husband's expedition to the earliest
discovery of the passage, which, if Dr. Rae's report be true (and
the Government of our country has accepted and rewarded it as such),
these martyrs in a noble cause achieved at their last extremity,
after five long years of labor and suffering, if not at an earlier
period.
I am sure you will do all that man can do for the attainment of all
these objects; my only fear is that you may spend yourselves too
much in the effort; and you must therefore let me tell you how much
dearer to me even than any of them is the preservation of the
valuable lives of the little band of heroes who are your companions
and followers.
May God in his great mercy preserve you all from harm amidst the
labors and perils which await you, and restore you to us in health
and safety as well as honor! As to the honor I can have _no_
misgiving. It will be yours as much if you fail (since you _may_
fail in spite of every effort) as if you succeed; and be assured
that, under _any and all circumstances whatever_, such is my
unbounded confidence in you, you will ever possess and be entitled
to the enduring gratitude of your sincere and attached friend,
JANE FRANKLIN.
{JULY, 1857.}
{ORKNEYS AND GREENLAND.}
We were not destined to get to sea that evening. The 'Fox,' hitherto
during her brief career, accustomed only to the restraint imposed upon a
gilded pet in summer seas, seemed to have got an inkling that her duty
henceforth was to combat with difficulties, and, entering fully into the
spirit of the cruise, answered her helm so much more readily than the
pilot expected that she ran aground upon the bar. She was promptly
shored up, and remained in that position until next morning, when she
floated off unhurt at high water, and commenced her long and lonely
voyage.
Scarcely had we left the busy world behind us when we were actively
engaged in making arrangements for present comfort and future exertion.
How busy, how happy, and how full of hope we all were then!
On the night of the 2d of July we passed through the Pentland Firth,
where the tide rushing impetuously against a strong wind raised up a
tremendous sea, amid which the little vessel struggled bravely under
steam and canvas. The bleak wild shores of Orkney, the still wilder
pilot's crew, and their hoarse screams and unintelligible dialect, the
shrill cry of innumerable sea-birds, the howling breeze and angry sea,
made us feel as if we had suddenly awoke in Greenland itself. The
southern extremity of that ice-locked continent became visible on the
12th. It is quaintly named Cape Farewell; but whether by some sanguine
outward-bound adventurer who fancied that in leaving Greenland behind
him he had already secured his passage to Cathay; or whether by the
wearied homesick mariner, feebly escaping from the grasp of winter in
his shattered bark, and firmly purposing to bid a long farewell to this
cheerless land, history altogether fails to enlighten us.
{GREENLAND.}
From January until July this coast is usually rendered unapproachable by
a broad margin of heavy ice, which drifts there from the vicinity of
Spitzbergen, and, lapping round the Cape, extends alongshore to the
northward about as far as Baal's River, a distance of 250 miles.
Although it effectually blockades the ports of South Greenland for the
greater part of the summer, and is justly dreaded by the captains of the
Greenland traders, it confers important benefits upon the Greenlander by
bearing to his shores immense numbers of seals and many bears. The same
current which conveys hither all this ice is also freighted with a
scarcely less valuable supply of driftwood from the Siberian rivers.
About this time, one of my crew showing symptoms of diseased lungs, I
determined to embrace the earliest opportunity of sending him home out
of a climate so fatal to those who are thus affected; and having learnt
from Mr. Petersen, who had quitted Greenland only in April last, that a
vessel would very soon leave Frederickshaab for Copenhagen, I resolved
to go to that place in order to catch this homeward-bound ship.
{SPITZBERGEN ICE.}
It was necessary to push through the Spitzbergen ice, and we fortunately
succeeded in doing so after eighteen hours of buffeting with this
formidable enemy; at first we found it tolerably loose, and the wind
being strong and favorable, we thumped along pleasantly enough; but as
we advanced, the ice became much more closely packed, a thick fog came
on, and many hard knocks were exchanged; at length our steam carried us
through into the broad belt of clear water between the ice and land,
which Petersen assures me always exists here at this season.
The dense fog now prevented further progress, and as evening closed in I
gave up all hope of improvement for the night, when suddenly the fog
rolled back upon the land, disclosing some islets close to us, then the
rugged points of mainland, and at length, lifting altogether, the
distant snowy mountain-peaks against a deep blue sky.
The evening became bright and delightful; the whole extent of coast was
fringed with innumerable islets, backed by lofty mountains, and, being
richly tinted by a glorious western sun, formed an unusually splendid
sight. Greenland unveiled to our anxious gaze that memorable evening,
all the magnificence of her natural beauty. Was it to welcome us that
she thus cast off her dingy outer mantle, and shone forth radiant with
smiles?--such winning smiles!
{FINE ARCTIC SCENERY.}
A faint streak of mist, which we could not account for, appeared to
float across a low, wide interval in the mountain range; the telescope
revealed its true character,--it was a portion of the distant glacier.
We found ourselves upon the Tallard Bank, 30 miles north of our port,
having been rapidly carried northwards by the Spitzbergen current.
_July 20th._--This morning the chief trader of the settlement, or, as he
is more usually styled by the English, the Governor, came off to us, and
his pilot soon conducted us into the safe little harbor of
Frederickshaab. I was much gratified to learn that we were just in time
to secure a passage home for our ailing shipmate.
For trading purposes Greenland is monopolized by the Danish government;
its Esquimaux and mixed population amount to about 7000 souls. About
1000 Danes reside constantly there for the purpose of conducting the
trade, which consists almost exclusively in the exchange of European
goods for oil and the skins of seals, reindeer, and a few other
animals.
{DANISH ESTABLISHMENTS, GREENLAND.}
The Esquimaux are not subject to Danish laws, but although proud of
their nominal independence they are sincerely attached to the Danes, and
with abundant reason; a Lutheran clergyman, a doctor, and a
schoolmaster, whose duty it is to give gratuitous instruction and
relief, are paid by the Government, and attached to each district; and
when these improvident people are in distress, which not unfrequently
happens during the long winters, provisions are issued to them free of
cost; spirits are strictly prohibited. All of them have become
Christians, and many can read and write.
Have we English done more, or as much, for the aborigines in any of our
numerous colonies, and especially for the Esquimaux within our own
territories of Labrador and Hudson's Bay?
Greenland is divided into two inspectorates, the northern and southern;
the inspector of the latter division, Dr. Rink, had arrived at
Frederickshaab upon his summer round of visits only the day previous to
ourselves. He came on board to call upon me, and after Divine service I
landed, and enjoyed a ramble with him over the moss-clad hills. Our
first meeting was in North Greenland, in 1848; we had not seen one
another since, so we had much to talk about. Dr. Rink is a gentleman of
acknowledged talent, a distinguished traveller, and is thoroughly
conversant with the sciences of geology and botany.
{FREDERICKSHAAB, DAVIS' STRAITS.}
Unfortunately for me his excellent work on Greenland has not been
translated into English.
We were kindly permitted to purchase eight tons of coals, and such small
things as were required; the only fresh supplies to be obtained besides
codfish, which was abundant, consisted of a very few ptarmigan and
hares, and a couple of kids; these last are scarce. Some goats exist,
but for eight months out of the year they are shut up in a house, and
even now--in midsummer,--are only let out in the daytime. We also
purchased of the Esquimaux some specimens of Esquimaux workmanship, such
as models of the native dresses, kayaks, etc., also birds' skins and
eggs. I saw fine specimens of a white swan, and of a bird said to be
extremely rare in Greenland,--it was a species of grebe, _Podiceps
cristatus_, I imagine. Frederickshaab is just now well supplied with
wood: besides an unseaworthy brig, the wreck of a large timber-ship lay
on the beach, and an abandoned timber-vessel, which was met with between
Iceland and Greenland in July by Prince Napoleon, drifted upon the coast
30 miles to the northward in the following September.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] A list of them and their subscriptions to be given in Appendix.