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.
{SIGNS OF RELEASE.}
To-day (_2nd July_) I took a long and delightful walk, but shot only two
ducks; Petersen went in another direction, and got nothing; Christian,
after toiling all day in his kayak, returned with only two divers and a
duck. Lately he has obtained for us several king and long-tailed ducks
(no eider ducks have been seen), two red-throated divers, and two brent
geese, and caught an ermine in its summer coat. Yesterday one of the men
brought on board a trout weighing 2 lbs.; he saw a glaucous gull and a
fox disputing for it; the former seems to have killed and brought it to
land.
The water now washes the south side of the Fox Islands, and extends to
the south point of Long Island. The month of June has been somewhat
warmer than usual, its mean temperature being +35-1/2°.
_9th._--The ship has been thoroughly cleaned and restowed, remaining
provisions examined, tanks filled with fresh water, 12 tons of stone
ballast taken in, and everything brought on board that was landed last
autumn. Hobson is the only one upon the sick list; but he is able to
walk about and does duty. Very few birds, and only one small seal, have
been obtained during the week; an occasional great northern diver is
seen, and a rare land bird has been shot. We cannot discover the nests
of either ducks or geese, and the breeding cliffs of the gulls being
inaccessible, we have not got any eggs. I am a close prisoner at the
corner of my table, poring over my observation and angle book, and have
at length laid down upon paper the west coast of King William's Land to
my satisfaction. Tidal observations are commenced; and the aneroid and
mercurial barometers are again being compared in order to verify the
former.
{SHOOTING SEALS.}
_16th. Saturday night._--We are now almost ready for sea. There is a
much larger space of water in Bellot Strait, reaching within 300 or 400
yards of us. Long cracks or lanes of water have been seen in Prince
Regent's Inlet. The decay of the ice continues, though not with equal
rapidity, yet with very satisfactory despatch. Westerly winds and clear
weather prevail. Christian has seen two reindeer this week, and has shot
a very few birds, and seven seals. As these creatures lie basking upon
the ice, he crawls up to them behind a small calico screen, fitted upon
a miniature sledge about a foot long, on which there is a rest for the
muzzle of his rifle, and a slit in the calico through which he fires it.
The seals afford an average weight of thirty pounds of excellent fresh
meat, which we relish greatly, and consider much better suited to our
present condition than such poor venison as reindeer would furnish at
this season. A single hare has been shot; the white fur has nearly all
disappeared, and left exposed the summer coat of dull lead color.
Several small birds not common to the northward are found here. Insects
abound; the Doctor is perpetually in chase, unless busily occupied in
grubbing up plants. Young is surveying the harbor. Hobson fully occupied
in preparing the ship for sea. I have been giving some attention to the
engines and boiler, and hope, with the help of the two stokers, to be
able to make use of our steam power.
The men have received my hearty thanks for their great exertions during
the travelling period. I told them I considered every part of our search
to have been fully and efficiently performed. Our labors have determined
the exact position of the extreme northern promontory of the continent
of America; I have affixed to it the name of Murchison, after the
distinguished President of the Royal Geographical Society--the strenuous
advocate for this "further search"--and the able champion of Lady
Franklin when she needed all the support which private friendship and
public spirit could bestow.
[Illustration: Walruses--A Family Party.]
{DEARTH OF ANIMAL LIFE.}
_23rd._--The ice in Prince Regent's Inlet is broken up into pack, but
the prevalence of easterly winds keeps it in close upon the shore. The
ice about us is very much decayed, holes through it in many places. No
reindeer seen this week, and only two seals procured; one of them shot
by Christian, the other was killed by a bear, which ran off before
Samuel could come within shot of him. A fox, a gull, a couple of ducks,
and one or two lemmings; complete our game list for the week, yet our
two Esquimaux are indefatigable in the pursuit. We eat all the birds and
seals we can shoot, as well as mustard and cress as fast as we can grow
it, but the quantity is very small. We sometimes refresh ourselves with
a salad of sorrel-leaves, or roots of the little plant with lilac flower
of snapdragon shape, named _Pedicularis hirsuta_.
The seine has been hauled in the narrow lake at the head of the harbor,
but, as it was not well managed, only a dozen small trout were taken,
though several were seen. We have tried for rock cod, but without
success. The relics of the lost expedition have been aired, exhibited to
the crew, labelled, and packed away. The Doctor has been dredging
lately. A record detailing our proceedings has been placed in a cairn
upon the west point of Depôt Bay.
{AUG., 1859.}
_1st August._--A long continuance of unusually calm, bright, and warm
weather has been favorable to our painting and cleaning the ship,
scraping masts, and so forth. The result is that she looks unusually
smart and gay, and our impatience to exhibit her, and _ourselves_ at
home is much increased. With the exception of a few gulls, and a duck,
our hunters have shot nothing lately, although constantly out, either
darting about in their kayaks or ranging over the hills; in fact there
is nothing which they _can_ shoot; the ducks are tolerably numerous, but
extremely wild; the valleys are respectably clothed with vegetation, yet
only one animal--a hare--has been seen. I was so fortunate as to shoot a
snowy owl, the flesh of which was white and tender, but, to my palate,
tasteless, although Petersen considers that "owl is the best beef in the
country."
{OUT OF WINTER QUARTERS.}
On Thursday night we found the harbor-ice to be quietly drifting out, of
course taking us with it. The night was calm, the current in Bellot
Strait very strong; we were almost helpless under the circumstances, and
therefore felt the danger of our position. To warp the ship along the
ice-edge, out of the way of the shore and rocks as it turned round and
drifted along the cliffs to the westward, gave us some hours'
occupation. At length it stuck fast between Fox Island and the main.
At turn of tide on Friday morning it began to drift eastward, and by
this time being much broken up, and a breeze coming to our aid, we
managed to extricate ourselves and reach a secure anchorage in Point
Kennedy.
On Saturday night some ice that was left came drifting out of the inner
harbor, and obliged us to slip our cable; but after a few hours we
regained our berth in safety, and have since been undisturbed. There is
no immediate prospect of escape, but we expect a prodigious smashing up
of the ice whenever a strong wind springs up to set it in motion. To-day
the steam was got up, and with the help of our two stokers I worked the
engines for a short time. It is very cheering to know that we still have
steam power at our command, although, by the deaths of poor Mr. Brand
and Robert Scott, we were deprived of our engineer and engine-driver.
The mean temperature for July has been 40·14°, which is above the
average for this region; the July temperatures have usually varied from
36° to 42°.
All are now in good health, but Hobson still a little lame. The issue of
lemon-juice has been reduced to the ordinary allowance of half an ounce
daily (as we have but little that is really good), lest another winter
should become inevitable, which, I can devoutly say, may God forbid!
{WAITING TO ESCAPE.}
_Monday night, 8th._--Very anxiously awaiting an opportunity to escape.
We have constantly watched the ice from the neighboring hills, including
the lofty summit of Mount Walker--named after the Doctor, who was the
first to ascend it (1123 feet)--from which Fury Point can be
distinguished, but nothing very cheering has been seen. We had a N.E.
gale, accompanied by rain and a considerable fall of the barometer, a
few days ago; and as it blew freshly from the westward this morning, I
went to a hill-top and saw that much ice had been broken up in Brentford
Bay, and that there were streaks of water along the land between
Possession Point and Hazard Inlet; this water, however, was not
accessible to us.
The ice about Pemmican Rock was much in the same position as we found it
last year, but Bellot Strait was perfectly clear. All the ice in this
harbor, in Depôt Bay, and Hazard Inlet, is gone, by far the greater part
having decayed, not drifted away.
Later in the day and from loftier hill-tops, a good deal of water was
seen off Cape Garry, and a water-sky beyond. It now blows very strongly
from the S.W., the most desirable quarter; and as the anxious desire to
escape has become oppressive, it is not to be wondered at that now our
hopes have become extravagant. We may even make a start to-morrow! On
the other hand, a careful examination of our provision store shows that,
should we be obliged to spend another winter here, we must curtail our
allowance of meat--fresh and salt--to three-quarters of a pound, and
have to use but very indifferent lemon-juice. The spirits, I rejoice to
say, will very shortly be entirely expended.
{GAME LIST.}
On the morning of the 3rd instant, when the rain ceased and N.E. gale
sprang up, two claps of thunder were distinctly heard; this occurs but
very rarely in these latitudes. There is ample occupation for the men
but not much for the officers; as for myself, I write a great deal, and
work occasionally at our chart of discoveries; the only refreshment I
indulge in is an occasional dive into packets of old letters. All
yesterday the harbor was full of ice set in by southerly and westerly
winds, and so closely packed that one might have walked over it to the
shore; to-day it has nearly all drifted out again. The subjoined list
will show what game we have been able to obtain by constant and arduous
labor from the resources of these regions during nearly two years'
sojourn.
GAME LIST.
+--------------------------------------+
| 8 Months in the Pack, 1857-8. |
+--------+--------+-----------+--------+
| Bears. | Seals. | Dovekies. | Foxes. |
| | | | |
| 2 | 73 | 38 | 1 |
+--------+--------+-----------+--------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
| 11 Months in Port Kennedy, 1858-9. |
+--------+-------+--------+--------+------------+-------+--------+
| Bears. | Deer. | Hares. | Foxes. | Ptarmigan. | Wild | Seals. |
| | | | | | Fowl. | |
| | | | | | | |
| 2 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 82 | 98 | 18 |
+--------+-------+--------+--------+------------+-------+--------+
At Port Kennedy several ermines and lemmings were also caught.
The ptarmigan all disappeared after 1st April.
Only 2 dovekies were seen, 1 in winter, and 1 in summer plumage.
A few seals were seen as early as the month of February.
Ducks, geese, and gulls were the usual kind of wild fowl killed.
During the 4 months occupied in sailing from Davis Strait to Bellot
Strait, many looms and rotchies, and 5 or 6 bears were shot.
_Wednesday, 10th._--The S.W. wind proved a good friend to us; by the
morning of the 9th it had moved the ice off shore, and cleared away a
passage for us out of Brentford Bay. We started under steam at eleven
o'clock yesterday morning, and, passing round Long Island, made sail
along the land towards Cape Garry, there being a channel about 2 or 3
miles wide between the pack and the shore.
{CRESWELL BAY.}
The wind now failed us, and I experienced some little difficulty in the
management of the engines and boiler; the latter primed so violently as
to send the water over our top gallant yard, and the tail valve of the
condenser by some means had got out of its seat, and admitted air to the
condenser; but eventually we got the engines to work well, and steamed
across Creswell Bay during the night. The pack rested against Fury
Point, and an east wind springing up, we made fast to a large grounded
mass of ice in Adelaide Bay, about 1/4 mile off shore, and in 3 fathoms
water, at eleven o'clock this morning. Having managed the engines for
twenty-four consecutive hours, I was not sorry to get into bed. We were
hardly out of Brentford Bay when fulmar petrels and white whales were
seen; the first we have noticed for eleven and a half months. Dovekies
are likewise abundant, and a seal has already been shot. Creswell Bay is
perfectly clear of ice, but this pale limestone land is the perfection
of sterility, even with the rugged hills of Brentford Bay in lively
recollection.
Upon the east side of Port Kennedy the bones of whales were found in two
places a mile apart from each other; the lowest of them was 180 feet
above the sea, the second was more than 300 feet high. The latter I
examined, and found a jaw-bone, two ribs, a joint of the vertebræ, and
fragments of other bones, all more or less buried in the soil, and much
heavier than the bones of a recent animal; they lay within 40 or 60
yards of each other, and upon a little flat patch of rather rich earth,
a rocky hill above, and steep slope below;--they are also nearly a mile
inland.
{TRACES OF OUR VISIT.}
Of the traces which we have left behind us, the most considerable are
the graves of our two shipmates within the western point of our little
harbor; they were tastefully sodded round, and planted over with the
usual Arctic flowers. There is our record in a conspicuous cairn at the
west point of Depôt or Transition Bay: we left also three cases of
pemmican near the east end of the Long Lake, and our travelling boat
near its west end, at the head of False Strait.
{A WHITE WHALE SHOT.}
_Monday, 15th._--Strong east winds, with much rain, have imprisoned us
here for the last four days, and driven the whole pack close in,
completely filling up Creswell Bay. We remain fast to the grounded ice,
which shields us from pressure, otherwise we should have been driven
irretrievably on shore. A couple more seals and a white whale have been
shot; the latter measured 13-1/2 feet long, and proved to be a female of
ordinary dimensions, and of an uniform cream color; the eyes are
extremely small, and orifices of the ears scarcely large enough to admit
a crow-quill. We dined off steaks of the flesh, and prefer it to seal,
which it very much resembles, but it is not quite so tender; the skin is
greatly prized by the Greenlanders as an antiscorbutic; it is a sort of
gristly gelatinous substance, nearly half an inch thick, and possessing
very little taste; fried and eaten with fish-sauce, it reminded me of
cod sound, though not so good.
The blubber fills two twenty-gallon casks; it produces oil of a quality
superior to seal oil; not an ounce of the flesh or skin of this huge
animal has been thrown away, the men having a wholesome dread of scurvy,
and unbounded confidence in "blood-meat," such as this! The Doctor has
picked up a few fossils very similar to those formerly brought home from
Port Leopold.
{PASS FURY BEACH.}
To our great joy the east wind died away this morning, and immediately a
west wind sprang up, which very quickly freshened to a smart gale. At
four o'clock this afternoon we were able to make sail, the ice having
moved about 3 miles off shore. Passed within a mile of Fury Beach two
hours afterwards, and saw the framing of the house, the boats and casks
very distinctly.
_17th._--After passing Fury Beach it fell calm, so we steamed up as far
as Batty Bay. On Tuesday afternoon we were off Port Leopold, running
fast, when thick fog came on, and we got involved in loose ice, and
seriously damaged our rudder. The boats and stores at Port Leopold
appeared to remain as we left them last year. The flag-staff on the
summit of North-east Cape (over Whale Point) is still standing, but not
erect.
Fog and ice obstructed our progress during the night; but this morning
when I came on deck at eight o'clock, the day was bright, clear, and
charming; no ice visible, except about Leopold Island, which was now
some miles behind us. Towards evening the wind became contrary.
_Sunday evening, 21st._--At sea--out of sight of land!
On the 19th we were somewhat delayed by loose ice off Cape Hay, but by
noon yesterday were close off Cape Burney, and whilst almost becalmed
there, a mother bear swam off to us with two interesting cubs about the
size of very large dogs. Foolish creatures! a volley of rifles decided
their fate in a very few seconds. Not finding any whaling vessels off
Pond's Inlet, the land-ice which shelters the whales having all
disappeared, we therefore concluded that the whalers had left in
consequence, so, without seeking for them further south, at once changed
our course for Disco.
To-day only a few icebergs have been seen. There is a good deal of
swell, so we tumble about. Roast _veal_ has appeared amongst the
delicacies of our table since the battue of yesterday, and Christian has
asked for a portion of the old bear to carry home to his mother. Bear's
flesh is really considered a delicacy in Greenland.
_25th._--Becalmed off Hare Island, and getting the steam ready. We are
only 108 miles from Godhavn, and the anxiety to clutch our letters has
become intolerable. No pack-ice has been met with in our passage across
Baffin's Bay, but many icebergs. This morning the lofty snow-clad land
of Noursoak and Disco was beautifully distinct; and at the same time the
wind died away, leaving us, at least, the opportunity to contemplate at
our _leisure_ their gloomy grandeur.
{CAPTAIN YOUNG'S JOURNEY.}
_26th._--Steamed for ten hours last night. Fair winds and calms have
alternated since then, but this evening we are within 20 miles, and hope
soon to get into port. I have been reading over Young's report of his
spring journey. It comprises seventy-eight days of sledge-travelling,
and certainly under most discouraging circumstances. Leaving the ship on
7th April, he crossed the western strait to Prince of Wales' Land, and
thence traced its shore to the south and west. On reaching its southern
termination--Cape Swinburne, so named in honor of Rear-Admiral
Swinburne, a much-esteemed friend of Sir J. Franklin, and one of the
earliest supporters of this final expedition--he describes the land as
extremely low and deeply covered with snow, the heavy grounded hummocks
which fringed its monotonous coast alone indicating the line of
demarcation betwixt land and sea. To the north-east of this terminal
cape the sea was covered with level floe formed in the fall of last
year, whilst all to the north-westward of the same cape was pack
consisting of heavy ice-masses, formed perhaps years ago in far distant
and wider seas.
Young attempted to cross the channel which he discovered between Prince
of Wales' Island and Victoria Land; but from the rugged nature of the
ice, found it quite impracticable with the means and time remaining at
his disposal. Young expresses his firm conviction that this channel is
so constantly choked up with unusually heavy ice as to be quite
unnavigable; it is, in fact, a _continuous ice-stream_ from the N.W. His
opinion coincides with my own, and with those of Captains Ommanney and
Osborn, when those officers explored the north-western shores of Prince
of Wales' Land in 1851.
Fearing that his provisions might run short he sent back one sledge with
four men, and continued his march with only one man and the dogs for
forty days! They were obliged to build a snow-hut each night to sleep
in, as the tent was sent back with the men; but latterly, when the
weather became more mild, they preferred sleeping on the sledge, as the
constructing of a snow-hut usually occupied them for two hours. Young
completed the exploration of this coast beyond the point marked upon the
charts as Osborn's farthest, up nearly to lat. 73° N., but no cairn was
found. Young, however, recognized the remarkably shaped conical hills
spoken of by Osborn, when he at his farthest, in 1851, struck off to the
westward.
The coast-line throughout was extremely low; and in the thick
disagreeable weather which he almost constantly experienced, it was
often a matter of great difficulty to prevent straying off the
coast-line inland. He commenced his return on the 11th May, and reached
the ship on 7th June, in wretched health and depressed in spirits.
Directly his health was partially re-established, he, in spite of the
Doctor's remonstrances, as I have before said, again set out on the 10th
with his party of men and the dogs, to complete the exploration of both
shores of the continuation of Peel Sound, between the position of the
'Fox' and the points reached by Sir James Ross in 1849, and Lieutenant
Browne in 1851. This he accomplished without finding any trace of the
lost expedition, and the parties were again on board by 28th June. The
ice travelled over in this last journey was almost all formed last
autumn.
The extent of coast-line explored by Captain Young amounts to 380 miles,
whilst that discovered by Hobson and myself amounts to nearly 420 miles,
making a total of 800 geographical miles of new coast-line which we have
laid down.
{HOBSON'S JOURNEY.}
Hobson's report is a minute record of all that occurred during his
journey of seventy-four days, and includes a list of all the relics
brought on board, or seen by him. He suffered very severely in health:
when only ten days out from the ship, traces of scurvy appeared; when a
month absent he walked lame; towards the latter end of the journey he
was compelled to allow himself to be dragged upon the sledge, not being
able to walk more than a few yards at a time; and on arriving at the
ship on the 14th June, poor Hobson was unable to stand. How strongly
this bears upon the last sad march of the lost crews! And yet Hobson's
food throughout the whole journey was pemmican of the very best quality,
the most nutritious description of food that we know of, and varied
occasionally by such game as they were able to shoot. In spite of this
fresh-meat diet, scurvy advanced with rapid strides.
After leaving me at Cape Victoria, he says--"No difficulty was
experienced in crossing James Ross Strait. The ice appeared to be of but
one year's growth; and although it was in many places much crushed up,
we easily found smooth leads through the lines of hummocks; many very
heavy masses of ice, evidently of foreign formation, have been here
arrested in their drift: so large are they that, in the gloomy weather
we experienced, they were often taken for islands."
Again, at Cape Felix, he observes,--"The pressure of the ice is severe,
but the ice itself is not remarkably heavy in character; the shoalness
of the coast keeps the line of pressure at considerable distance from
the beach; to the northward of the island the ice, as far as I could
see, was very rough, and crushed up into large masses." Here we notice
the gradual change in the character of the ice as Hobson left the
Boothian shore and advanced towards Victoria Strait. The "very heavy
masses of ice, evidently of foreign formation," had drifted in from the
N.W. through M'Clure Strait; Victoria Strait was full of it; and
Hobson's description of the ice he passed over clearly illustrates how
Franklin, leaving clear water behind him, pressed his ships into the
pack when he attempted to force through Victoria Strait. How very
different the result _might_ and probably _would_ have been had he known
of the existence of a ship-channel, sheltered by King William Island
from this tremendous "polar pack"!
Hobson left King William Island on the last day of May, having spent
thirty-one days on its desolate shores. During that period one bear and
five willow-grouse were shot; one wolf and a few foxes were seen. One
poor fox was either so desperately hungry, or so charmed with the rare
sight of animated beings, that he played about the party until the dogs
snapped him up, although in harness and dragging the sledge at the time.
A few gulls were seen, but not until after the first week in June.
I have already explained how Hobson found the records and the boat: he
exercised his discretionary power with sound judgment, and completed his
search so well, that, in coming over the same ground after him, I could
not discover any trace that had escaped him.
I quite agree with him that there may be many small articles beneath the
snow; but that cairns, graves, or any conspicuous objects could exist
upon so low and uniform a shore, without our having seen them, is
_almost_ impossible.
{LETTERS FROM ENGLAND.}
_Sunday evening, 29th._--Calm, warm, lovely, weather; and we are
thoroughly enjoying it in the quiet security of Lievely harbor, or
Godhavn. Although Friday night was dark, we managed to find out the
harbor's mouth, and slowly steamed into it. The inhabitants were awoke
by Petersen demanding our letters, but great indeed was our
disappointment at finding only a very few letters and two or three
papers, and these for the officers only! It appears that on the arrival
of the whalers in early spring, the ice prevented their usual
communication with the settlement, therefore the letters on board of
them were unavoidably carried northward. Some few, however, which came
out in the 'Truelove,' were landed at the neighboring settlement of
Noursoak, and from thence were sent back to Godhavn.
It is rather a nervous thing opening the first letters after a lapse of
more than two years. We received them in our beds at three o'clock in
the morning; and when we met at breakfast were able, thank God! to
congratulate each other upon the receipt of cheering home news. Lady
Franklin and Miss Cracroft wrote to me from Bournemouth in March last.
They have travelled more than we have, I think, having visited almost
all the countries bordering the Mediterranean and Black Seas, posted
through the Crimea, and steamed up the Danube! I am much gratified to
learn that I have been elected a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron
during my absence.
{STAY AT GODHAVN.}
Yesterday morning I called upon the inspector, Mr. Olrik, who has been
home to Denmark since I saw him last spring. In the autumn he took Mrs.
Olrik and his family to Copenhagen, and has but just returned alone. He
received me with his usual kindness, and promised me such supplies as we
require. It so happens that none of my expected business letters have
arrived, so that I am not accredited in the slightest degree, nor is
there any hint thrown out as to where I am to take the 'Fox.' Mr. Olrik
gave me a large bundle of 'Illustrated London News,' which was
exceedingly acceptable, and told us that Austria was at war with France
and Sardinia. By the latest news a battle had been fought and won by the
latter Powers. Most fortunately a 'Navy List' had come out to Hobson,
otherwise I think we should have been utterly brokenhearted. We study
its pages daily, and delight in noticing the advancement of our many
friends.
{SEPT., 1859.}
_1st Sept., Thursday night._--At sea, on _the passage_, and already
enjoying, by anticipation, the pleasures of home! Five busy days were
spent in Godhavn, supplying our little wants, in as far as they could be
supplied, including 100 gallons of light beer. The natives were very
useful, the men bringing off water, stone ballast, and sand, and a troop
of Esquimaux girls scrubbing the paintwork and the decks.
Each evening the men went on shore, taking with them a very limited
quantity of rum-punch for the ladies, and danced for several hours in a
large store; whilst the officers and myself spent the time with Mr.
Olrik or the other Danish gentlemen--Messrs. Andersen, Bulbrue, and
Tyner. Nothing could exceed their kindness to us, whilst their good
humor and their anecdotes, sometimes expressed in quaint English,
greatly amused us. We shall always retain very agreeable recollections
of Godhavn; twice has it been to us an Arctic home.
{PART FROM OUR ESQUIMAUX FRIENDS.}
Mr. Petersen's nieces, the belles of the place, came on board (Miss
Sophia with scented cambric handkerchief and gloves--in other respects
she adheres to the Esquimaux costume); they were pleased with the organ,
although it is out of repair, and they sang together very sweetly for
us. Our Esquimaux shipmates, Christian and Samuel, were discharged, and,
by their own request their wages given in charge to Mr. Olrik and Mr.
Bulbrue; they seemed to understand the importance of husbanding their
wealth. Christian said he thought it would not be all spent under three
years. First of all he intended buying a rifle for his brother, and then
some wood to build a house for himself.
I was gratified very much when I heard them say that the men had treated
them very well--"all the same as brothers;" and they really seemed sorry
to leave the ship; they would come on board and look gravely about at
everything as if regretting the coming separation. Even our poor dogs
seemed to think the ship their natural abode; although landed at the
settlement, they soon ran round the harbor to the point nearest the
ship, and there, upon the rocks, spent the whole period of our stay.
On Tuesday night we set off some fireworks on shore to amuse the
natives, for I intended sailing next day, but the wind prevented my
doing so. The last day was spent in the interchange of presents between
our Danish friends and ourselves; indeed, the sincere hearty good
feeling which existed between every individual in the 'Fox' and the
inhabitants of the settlement was as gratifying as apparent. Almost the
only fresh supplies obtained here were rock cod and salmon-trout from
Disco fiord. During our stay the weather was delightful; indeed it was
the first really fine weather they had experienced at Godhavn during the
present season, the summer having been cold and wet.
{LEAVE GODHAVN.}
_10th Sept., Saturday night._--To-day we passed to the eastward of Cape
Farewell, but about 100 miles to the south of it. The last iceberg was
seen to-day; and now we are running along swiftly before a pleasant N.W.
breeze. Hitherto we have had every variety of wind and weather, from a
calm to a gale, but generally the wind has been favorable. The change of
temperature is already perceptible.
{VOYAGE HOME.}
_Saturday night, 17th Sept._--A week of favorable gales has brought us
from Cape Farewell to within 400 miles of Land's End, or about 1100
miles of distance. But such rough weather is not pleasant in so small a
vessel, however much "like a duck" she may be; and our two years'
sojourn in the still waters of the frozen North has made us very
susceptible of the change.
CONCLUSION.
We sailed all the way home from Greenland, yet the 'Fox' made the
passage in only nineteen days, arriving in the English Channel on the
20th September; on the evening of the 21st I reached London (having
landed at Portsmouth), and made known to the Admiralty the result of my
voyage.
On the 23rd September the 'Fox' was taken into dock at Blackwall; and,
through the kindness and promptitude of the Lords of the Admiralty, I
was enabled on the 27th, when the crew were assembled for the last time,
to present the Arctic medal to such of my companions as had not already
received it for previous Arctic service, and also to inform Lieutenant
Hobson that his promotion to the rank of Commander would speedily take
place.
I will not intrude upon the reader, who has followed me through the
pages of this simple narrative, any description of my feelings on
finding the enthusiasm with which we were all received on landing upon
our native shores. The blessing of Providence had attended our efforts,
and more than a full measure of approval from our friends and countrymen
has been our reward. For myself the testimonial given me by the officers
and crew of the 'Fox' has touched me perhaps more than all. The purchase
of a gold chronometer, for presentation to me, was the first use the men
made of their earnings; and as long as I live it will remind me of that
perfect harmony, that mutual esteem and goodwill, which made our ship's
company a happy little community, and contributed materially to the
success of the expedition.
The names I have given to my discoveries are, with the exception of
those by which I have endeavored to honor the members of the lost
expedition, the names of active supporters of the recent search, and
friends of Franklin and his companions, though such names are far from
exhausting the number of those who have the highest claims to
distinction on both grounds.
It will be observed that I have refrained from repeating names which
have already been commemorated by preceding commanders, and which
therefore are already in our charts. Besides the individuals already
mentioned in the narrative, Sir Thomas D. Acland, one of the most
zealous promoters of the search, both in and out of the House of
Commons; Monsieur De la Roquette, Vice-President of the Geographical
Society of Paris, and author of an interesting biography of Franklin;
Rear-Admiral Fitzroy; and Major-General Pasley, R.E., stand high amongst
those whom it has been my privilege to honor.
Although much talent has been brought to bear upon the deciphering of
the letters found in a pocket-book near Cape Herschel (page 248 _ante_),
yet, from their being so very much defaced by time, only a few detached
sentences have been made out, and these do not in the slightest degree
refer to the proceedings of the lost expedition.
It will be seen that I have noticed (page 260) the discrepancy between
the number of souls accounted for by the Point Victory Record, and the
generally received opinion that 138 individuals sailed in the 'Erebus'
and 'Terror.'
I am now enabled to state, on the authority of the Admiralty, that only
one hundred and thirty-four individuals left the United Kingdom, and of
these five men subsequently returned: one by H.M.S. 'Rattler,' and four
by the transport 'Barretto Junior;' so that only one hundred and
twenty-nine--the exact number mentioned in the record--actually entered
the ice. The five invalids were--
From H.M.S. 'Terror,' John Brown, Able seaman.
" Robert Carr, Armorer.
" James Elliot, Sailmaker.
" William Aitken, Marine.
From H.M.S. 'Erebus,' Thomas Birt, Armorer.
The relics we have brought home have been deposited by the Admiralty in
the United Service Institution, and now form a national memento--the
most simple and most touching--of those heroic men who perished in the
path of duty, but not until they had achieved the grand object of their
voyage,--the _Discovery of the North-West Passage_.
_London, 24th Nov., 1859._
APPENDIX.
No. I.
A LETTER TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, K.G., &c., FROM LADY FRANKLIN.
60, Pall Mall, December 2, 1856.
MY LORD,--
I trust I may be permitted, as the widow of Sir John Franklin, to draw
the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the unsettled state of a
question which a few months ago was under their consideration, and to
express a well-grounded hope that a final effort may be made to
ascertain the fate and recover the remains of my husband's expedition.
Your Lordship will allow me to remind you that a Memorial[29] with this
object in view (of which I enclose a printed copy) was early in June
last presented to, and kindly received by you. It had been signed within
forty-eight hours by all the leading men of science then in London who
had an opportunity of seeing it, and might have received an indefinite
augmentation of worthy names had not the urgency of the question
forbidden delay. To the above names were appended those of the Arctic
officers who had been personally engaged in the search, and who, though
absent, were known to be favorable to another effort for its completion.
And though that united application obtained no immediate result, it was
felt, and by no one more strongly than myself, that it never could be
utterly wasted.
I venture also to allude to a letter of my own addressed to the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty in April last, and a copy of which
accompanied, I believe, the Memorial to your Lordship, wherein I
earnestly deprecated any premature adjudication of the reward claimed by
Dr. Rae, on the ground that the fate of my husband's expedition was not
yet ascertained, and that it was due both to the living and the dead to
complete a search which had been hitherto pursued under the greatest
disadvantage, for want of the clue which was now for the first time in
our hands.
The Memorial above alluded to, and my own letter of earlier date, had
not yet received any reply, when, in the month of July, the Lords of the
Admiralty caused prompt inquiries to be made as to the possibility of
equipping a ship at that advanced season, in time for effective
operations in the field of search. The result was that it was pronounced
to be too late, and the subject was dismissed for that season.
Upon this I addressed a letter to the Board (of which I take the liberty
to enclose a copy), respectfully showing that by this unfortunate delay
the opportunity had also been taken from me of sending out a vessel at
my own cost, a measure which I had previously felt myself obliged to
state to their Lordships would be the alternative of any adverse
decision on their part. I pleaded therefore, as the only remedy for the
loss of an entire summer season, that the route by Behring Strait was by
some of the most competent Arctic officers considered preferable to the
eastern route, and that the equipment of a vessel for this direction
need not take place before the close of the year.
In reply, their Lordships caused me to be informed that "they had come
to the decision not to send any expedition to the Arctic regions in the
present year."
This communication, however, was in answer merely to my own letter. The
Memorialists had as yet received no reply, and accordingly the President
of the Royal Society put a question respecting the Memorial in the House
of Lords at the close of the session, which drew from one of Her
Majesty's Ministers (Lord Stanley), after some preliminary observations,
the assurance that Her Majesty's Government would give the subject their
serious consideration during the recess. I may be permitted to add,
that, in the conversation which followed, Lord Stanley expressed himself
as very favorably disposed towards a proposition made to him by Lord
Wrottesley, that, in the event of there being no Government expedition,
I should be assisted in fitting out my own expedition; an assurance
which Lord Wrottesley had the kindness to communicate to me by letter.
But, my Lord, as nothing has occurred within the last few months to
weaken the reasons which induced the Admiralty, early in July last, to
contemplate another final effort, and as they put it aside at that time
on the sole ground that it was too late to equip a vessel for that
season, I trust it will be felt that I am not endeavoring to re-open a
closed question, but merely to obtain the settlement of one which has
not ceased to be, and is even now, under favorable consideration. The
time has arrived, however, when I trust I may be pardoned for pressing
your Lordship, with whom I believe the question rests, for a decision,
since by further delay even my own efforts may be paralyzed.
I have cherished the hope, in common with others, that we are not
waiting in vain. Should, however, that decision unfortunately throw upon
me the responsibility and the cost of sending out a vessel myself, I beg
to assure your Lordship that I shall not shrink, either from that
weighty responsibility, or from the sacrifice of my entire available
fortune for the purpose, supported as I am in my convictions by such
high authorities as those whose opinions are on record in your
Lordship's hands, and by the hearty sympathy of many more.
But before I take upon myself so heavy an obligation, it is my bounden
duty to entreat Her Majesty's Government not to disregard the arguments
which have led so many competent and honorable men to feel that our
country's honor is not satisfied, whilst a mystery which has excited the
sympathy of the civilized world, remains uncleared. Nor less would I
entreat you to consider what must be the unsatisfactory consequences, if
any endeavors should be made to quench all further efforts for this
object.
It cannot be that this long-vexed question would thereby be set at rest,
for it would still be true that in a certain circumscribed area within
the Arctic circle, approachable alike from the east, and from the west,
and sure to be attained by a combination of both movements, lies the
solution of our unhappy countrymen's fate. While such is the case, the
question will never die. I believe that again and again would efforts be
made to reach that spot, and that the Government could not look on as
unconcerned spectators, nor be relieved in public opinion of the
responsibility they had prematurely cast off.
But I refrain from pursuing this argument, though, if any illustration
were wanting of its truth, I think it might be found in the events that
are passing before our eyes.
It is now about two years ago that one of Her Majesty's Arctic ships was
abandoned in the ice. In due time this ship floated away, was picked up
by an American whaler, carried into an American port, and (all property
in her having been relinquished by the Admiralty) was purchased of her
rescuers by the American Government, by whom she has been lavishly
re-equipped, and is now on her passage to England, a free gift to the
Queen. The 'Resolute' is about to be delivered up in Portsmouth harbor,
not merely in evidence of the cordial relation existing between the two
countries, but as a lively token of the deep interest and sympathy of
the Americans in that great cause of humanity in which they have so
nobly borne their part. The resolution of Congress expressly states this
motive, and indeed there could be no other, as it is well known that for
any purpose but the Arctic service those expensive equipments would be
perfectly useless and require removal.
My Lord, you will not let this rescued and restored ship, emblematic of
so many enlightened and generous sentiments, fail, even partially, in
her significant mission. I venture to hope that she will be accepted in
the spirit in which she is sent. I humbly trust that the American
people, and especially that philanthropic citizen who has spent so
largely of his private fortune in the search for the lost ships, and to
whom was committed by his Government the entire charge of the equipment
of the 'Resolute,' will be rewarded for this signal act of sympathy, by
seeing her restored to her original vocation, so that she may bring back
from the Arctic seas, if not some living remnant of our long-lost
countrymen, yet at least the _proofs_ that they have nobly perished.
I need not add that we have as yet no proofs, whatever may be our
melancholy forebodings. That such is the fact, in a legal point of view,
is shown by a case now or lately pending in the Scotch Courts, in which
the right of succession to a considerable property is not admitted, on
account of the absence of all but conjectural testimony. In this aspect
of the question I have no personal interest, but it is one that may not
be deemed unworthy of your Lordship's attention, combined as it must be
with the fact that our most experienced Arctic officers are willing to
stake their reputation upon the feasibility of reaching the spot where
so many secrets lie buried, if only they are supplied with the adequate
means.
It would be a waste of words to attempt to refute again the main
objections that have been urged against a renewed search, as involving
extraordinary danger and risking life. The safe return of our officers
and men cannot be denied, neither will it be disputed that each
succeeding year diminishes the risk of casualty; and indeed, I feel it
would be especially superfluous and unseasonable to argue against this
particular objection, or against the financial one which generally
accompanies it, at a moment when new expeditions for the glorious
interests of science, and which every true lover of science and of his
country must rejoice in, are contemplated for the interior of Africa and
other parts which are far less favorable to human life than the icy
regions of the north.
But with respect to expenditure, I may perhaps be allowed, as I have
alluded to that topic, again to call to your Lordship's attention that
the 'Resolute' is ready equipped for Arctic service by the munificence
of another nation, and to add that other Arctic ships, equally well
fitted for the purpose, are lying useless in Her Majesty's dockyards,
along with accumulated Arctic stores brought back by the late
expeditions, and therefore long since included in the navy estimates,
and which, besides, are available only for Arctic service, and, if sold,
would be bought at only nominal prices. In addition to the above sources
of supply are those already existing on the Arctic shores, which are now
studded with depôts of provisions and fuel, left from the last and
former expeditions, and fit as ever for use, because of the conservative
properties of the climate.
But even were the expenditure greater than can thus reasonably be
expected, I submit to your Lordship that this is a case of no ordinary
exigency. These 135 men of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' (or perhaps I
should rather say the greater part of them, since we do not yet know
that there are no survivors) have laid down their lives, after
sufferings doubtless of unexampled severity, in the service of their
country, as truly as if they had perished by the rifle, the cannon-ball,
or the bayonet. Nay more,--by attaining the northern and
already-surveyed coast of America, it is clear that they solved the
problem which was the object of their labors, or, in the beautiful words
of Sir John Richardson, that "they forged the last link of the
North-West passage with their lives."
Surely, then, I may plead for such men, that a careful search be made
for any possible survivor, that the bones of the dead be sought for and
gathered together, that their buried records be unearthed, or recovered
from the hands of the Esquimaux, and above all, that their last written
words, so precious to their bereaved families and friends, be saved from
destruction. A mission so sacred is worthy of a government which has
grudged and spared nothing for its heroic soldiers and sailors in other
fields of warfare, and will surely be approved by our gracious Queen,
who overlooks none of Her loyal subjects suffering and dying for their
country's honor.
This final and exhausting search is all I seek in behalf of the first
and only martyrs to Arctic discovery in modern times, and it is all I
ever intend to ask.
But if, notwithstanding all I have presumed to urge, Her Majesty's
Government decline to complete the work they have carried on up to this
critical moment, but leave it to private hands to finish, I must then
respectfully request that measure of assistance in behalf of my own
expedition which I have been led to expect on the authority of Lord
Stanley, as communicated to me by Lord Wrottesley, and on that of the
First Lord of the Admiralty, as communicated to Colonel Phipps in a
letter in my possession.
It is with no desire to avert from myself the sacrifice of my own funds,
which I devote without reserve to the object in view, that I plead for a
liberal interpretation of those communications, but I owe it to the
conscientious and high-minded Arctic officers who have generously
offered me their services, that my expedition should be made as
efficient as possible, however restricted it may be in extent. The
Admiralty, I feel sure, will not deny me what may be necessary for this
purpose, since, if I do all I can with my own means, any deficiencies
and shortcomings of a private expedition cannot I think be justly laid
to my charge.
In conclusion, I would earnestly entreat of Her Majesty's Government,
while this subject is still under deliberation, that they would be
pleased to obtain the opinions of those persons who, in consequence of
their practical knowledge and vast experience, may be considered best
qualified to express them in the present emergency. And as it must be in
the ranks of those officers who would naturally be selected for command
of any final expedition that these qualifications will most assuredly be
found, I trust I may be pardoned for directing your Lordship's attention
to the names (which I put down in the order of their seniority) of
Captains Collinson, Richards, McClintock, Maguire, and Osborn. All these
officers have passed winter after winter in Arctic service, have carried
out those skilful sledge operations which have added so much to our
knowledge of Arctic Geography, and have ever, in the exercise of
combined courage and discretion, avoided disaster, and brought home
their crews in health and safety.
I commit the prayer of this letter, for the length of which I beg much
to apologize, to your Lordship's patient and kind consideration, feeling
assured that, however the burden of it may pall upon the ear of some,
who apparently judge of it neither by the heart nor by the head, you
will not on that, or on any light ground, hastily dismiss it. Rather may
you be impelled to feel that the shortest and surest way to set the
importunate question at rest, is to submit it to that final
investigation which will satisfy the yearnings of surviving relatives
and friends, and, what is justly of higher import to your Lordship, the
credit and honor of the country.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
JANE FRANKLIN.
The Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, K.G.
FOOTNOTES:
[29] See Appendix II.
No. II.
MEMORIAL TO THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, M.P., G.C.B.
London, June 5th, 1856.
Impressed with the belief that Her Majesty's missing ships, the 'Erebus'
and 'Terror,' or their remains, are still frozen up at no great distance
from the spot whence certain relics of Sir John Franklin and his crews
were obtained by Dr. Rae,--we whose names are undersigned, whether men
of science and others who have taken a deep interest in Arctic
discovery, or explorers who have been employed in the search for our
lost countrymen, beg earnestly to impress upon your Lordship the
desirableness of sending out an Expedition to satisfy the honor of our
country, and clear up a mystery which has excited the sympathy of the
civilized world.
This request is supported by many persons well versed in Arctic surveys,
who, seeing that the proposed Expedition is to be directed _to one
limited area only_, are of opinion that the object is attainable, and
with little risk.
We can scarcely believe that the British Government, which to its great
credit has made so many efforts in various directions to discover even
the route pursued by Franklin, should cease to prosecute research, now
that the locality has been clearly indicated where the vessels or their
remains must lie,--including, as we hope, records which will throw fresh
light on Arctic geography, and dispel the obscurity in which the voyage
and fate of our countrymen are still involved.
Although most persons have arrived at the conclusion that there can now
be no survivors of Franklin's Expedition, yet there are eminent men in
our own country and in America who hold a contrary opinion. Dr. Kane, of
the United States, for example, who has distinguished himself by pushing
farther to the north in search of Franklin than any other individual,
and to whom the Royal Geographical Society has recently awarded its
Founders' Gold Medal, thus speaks (in a letter to the benevolent Mr.
Grinnell):--"I am really in doubt as to the preservation of human life.
I well know how glad I would have been, had my duty to others permitted
me, to have taken refuge among the Esquimaux of Smith Strait and Etah
Bay. Strange as it may seem to you, we regarded the coarse life of these
people with eyes of envy, and did not doubt but that we could have lived
in comfort upon their resources. It required all my powers, moral and
physical, to prevent my men from deserting to the Walrus Settlements,
and it was my final intention to have taken to Esquimaux life had
Providence not carried us through in our hazardous escape."
But passing from speculation, and confining ourselves alone to the
question of finding the missing ships or their records, we would observe
that no land Expedition down the Back River, like that which, with great
difficulty, recently reached Montreal Island, can satisfactorily
accomplish the end we have in view. The frail birch-bark canoes in which
Mr. Anderson conducted his search with so much ability, the dangers of
the river, the sterile nature of the tract near its embouchure, and the
necessary failure of provisions, prevented the commencement, even, of
such a search as can alone be satisfactorily and thoroughly
accomplished by the crew of a man-of-war,--to say nothing of the moral
influence of a strong armed party remaining in the vicinity of the spot
until the confidence of the natives be obtained.
Many Arctic explorers, independent of those whose names are appended,
and who are absent on service, have expressed their belief that there
are several routes by which a _screw_-vessel could so closely approach
the area in question as to clear up all doubt.
In respect to one of these courses, or that by Behring Strait, along the
coast of North America, we know that a single sailing vessel passed to
Cambridge Bay, within 150 miles of the mouth of the Back River, and
returned home unscathed,--its commander having expressed his conviction
that the passage in question is so constantly open that ships can
navigate it without difficulty in one season. Other routes, whether by
Regent Inlet, Peel Sound, or across from Repulse Bay, are preferred by
officers whose experience in Arctic matters entitles them to every
consideration; whilst in reference to two of these routes it is right to
state that vast quantities of provisions have been left in their
vicinity.
Without venturing to suggest which of these plans should be adopted, we
earnestly beg your Lordship to sanction without delay such an expedition
as, in the judgment of a Committee of Arctic Voyagers and Geographers,
may be considered best adapted to secure the object.
We would ask your Lordship to reflect upon the great difference between
a clearly-defined voyage to a narrow and circumscribed area, within
which the missing vessels or their remains must lie, and those formerly
necessarily tentative explorations in various directions, the frequent
allusions to the difficulty of which, in regions far to the north of the
voyage now contemplated, have led persons unacquainted with geography to
suppose that such a modified and limited attempt as that which we
propose involves farther risk and may call for future researches. The
very nature of the former expeditions exposed them, it is true, to risk,
since regions had to be traversed which were totally unknown; while the
search we ask for is to be directed to a circumscribed area, the
confines of which have already been reached without difficulty by one of
Her Majesty's vessels.
Now, inasmuch as France, after repeated fruitless efforts to ascertain
the fate of La Perouse, no sooner heard of the discovery of some relics
of that eminent navigator, than she sent out a Searching Expedition to
collect every fragment pertaining to his vessels, so we trust that those
Arctic researches which have reflected much honor upon our country may
not be abandoned at the very moment when an explanation of the
wanderings and fate of our lost navigators seems to be within our grasp.
In conclusion, we further earnestly pray that it may not be left to the
efforts of individuals of another and kindred nation, already so
distinguished in this cause, nor yet to the noble-minded widow of our
lamented friend, to make an endeavor which can be so much more
effectively carried out by the British Government.
We have the honor to be, &c.,
F. BEAUFORT,
R. I. MURCHISON,
F. W. BEECHEY,
WROTTESLEY,
L. HORNER,
W. H. FITTON,
LYON PLAYFAIR,
T. THORP,
E. SABINE,
EGERTON ELLESMERE,
W. WHEWELL,
R. COLLINSON,
W. H. SYKES,
C. DAUBENY,
J. FERGUS,
P. E. DE STRZELECKI,
W. H. SMYTH,
A. MAJENDIE,
R. FITZROY,
E. GARDINER FISHBOURNE,
R. BROWN,
G. MACARTNEY,
C. WHEATSTONE,
W. J. HOOKER,
J. D. HOOKER,
J. ARROWSMITH,
P. LA TROBE,
W. A. B. HAMILTON,
R. STEPHENSON,
J. E. PORTLOCK,
C. PIAZZI SMYTH,
C. W. PASLEY,
G. RENNIE,
J. P. GASSIOT,
G. B. AIRY,
J. F. BURGOYNE.
The following officers of the Royal Navy, who have been employed in the
search after Franklin, and who are now absent from London, have
previously expressed themselves to be favorable to the final expedition
above recommended:--
Captains Sir JAMES C.
ROSS, and Sir EDWARD
BELCHER;
Commodore KELLETT;
Captains AUSTIN,
BIRD,
OMMANNEY,
Sir ROBERT M'CLURE,
SHERARD OSBORN,
INGLEFIELD,
MAGUIRE,
M'CLINTOCK, and
RICHARDS;
Commanders ALDRICH,
MECHAM,
TROLLOPE, and
CRESSWELL;
Lieutenants HAMILTON and
PIM.
No. III.
LIST OF RELICS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION,
Brought to England in the 'Fox,' by Captain M'Clintock.
Relics brought from the boat found in lat. 69° 08' 43" N., long. 99° 24'
42" W., upon the West Coast of King William Island, May 30, 1859:--
Two double-barrelled guns, one barrel in each is loaded. Found
standing up against the side in the after part of the boat.
A small Prayer Book; cover of a small book of 'Family Prayers;'
'Christian Melodies,' an inscription within the cover to "G. G."
(Graham Gore?); 'Vicar of Wakefield;' a small Bible, interlined in
many places, and with numerous references written in the margin; a
New Testament in the French language.
Two table knives with white handles--one is marked "W. R.;" a
gimlet; an awl; two iron stanchions, 9 inches long, for supporting a
weather cloth, which was round the boat.
26 pieces of silver plate--11 spoons, 11 forks, and 4 teaspoons; 3
pieces of thin elmboard (tingles) for repairing the boat, and
measuring 11 inches by 6 inches, and 3-10ths inch thick.
Piece of canvas:--Bristles for shoemaker's use, bullets, short clay
pipe, roll of waxed twine, a wooden button, small piece of a
port-fire, two charges of shot tied up in the finger of a kid glove,
fragment of a seaman's blue serge frock. Covers of a small Testament
and Prayer Book, part of a grass cigar-case, fragment of a silk
handkerchief, thread-case, piece of scented soap, three shot charges
in kid glove fingers, a belted bullet, a piece of silk pocket
handkerchief. Two pairs of goggles, made of stout leather and wire
gauze, instead of glass; a sailmaker's palm, two small brass pocket
compasses, a snooding line rolled up on a piece of leather, a needle
and thread case, a bayonet scabbard altered into a sheath for a
knife, tin water bottle for the pocket, two shot pouches (full of
shot).
Three spring hooks of sword belts, a gold lace band, a piece of thin
gold twist or cord, a pair of leather goggles with crape instead of
glass; a small green crape veil.
Two small packets of blank cartridge in green paper, part of a
cherry-stick pipe stem, piece of a port-fire, a few copper nails, a
leather bootlace, a seaman's clasp-knife, two small glass stoppered
bottles (full), three glasses of spectacles, part of a broken pair
of silver spectacles, German silver pencil-case, a pair of silver
(?) forceps, such as a naturalist might use for holding or seizing
small insects, etc.; a small pair of scissors rolled up in blank
paper, and to which adheres a printed government paper, such as an
officer's warrant or appointment; a spring hook of a sword belt, a
brass charger for holding two charges of shot.
A small bead purse, piece of red sealing-wax, stopper of a pocket
flask, German silver top and ring, brass matchbox, one of the
glasses of a telescope, a small tin cylinder, probably made to hold
lucifer matches; a linen bag of percussion caps of three sizes, a
very large and old-fashioned kind, stamped "Smith's patent;" a cap
with a flange similar to the present musket caps used by Government,
but smaller; and ordinary sporting caps of the smallest size.
Five watches.
A pair of blue glass spectacles, or goggles, with steel frame, and
wire gauze encircling the glasses, in a tin case.
A pemmican tin, painted lead color, and marked "E." (Erebus) in
black. From its size it must have contained 20 lb. or 22 lb.
Two yellow glass beads, a glass seal with symbol of Freemasonry.
A 4-inch block, strapped, with copper hook and thimble, probably for
the boat's sheet.
Relics seen in lat. 69° 09' N., long. 99° 24' W., not brought away, 30th
of May, 1859:--
A large boat, measuring 28 ft. in extreme length, 7 ft. 3 in. in
breadth, 2 ft. 4 in. in depth. The markings on her stem were--"XXI.
W. Con. N61., APr. 184." It appears that the fore part of the stem
has been cut away, probably to reduce weight, and part of the
letters and figures removed. An oak sledge under the boat, 23 ft. 4
in. long, and 2 ft. wide; 6 paddles, about 60 fathoms of deep-sea
lead line, ammunition, 4 cakes of navy chocolate, shoemaker's box
with implements complete, small quantities of tobacco, a small pair
of very stout shooting boots, a pair of very heavy iron-shod knee
boots, carpet boots, sea boots and shoes--in all seven or eight
pairs: two rolls of sheet lead, elm tingles for repairing the boat,
nails of various sizes for boat, and sledge irons, three small axes,
a broken saw, leather cover of a sextant case, a chain-cable punch,
silk handkerchiefs (black, white, and colored), towels, sponge,
tooth-brush, hair comb, a mackintosh, gun cover (marked in paint "A.
12"), twine, files, knives; a small worsted-work slipper, lined with
calf-skin, bound with red riband; a great quantity of clothing, and
a wolf-skin robe; part of a boat's sail of No. 8 canvas, whale-line
rope with yellow mark, and white line with red mark; 24 iron
stanchions, 9-1/2 inches high, for supporting a weather cloth round
the boat; a stanchion for supporting a ridge pole at a height of 3
ft. 9 in. above the gunwale.
Relics found about Ross Cairn, on Point Victory, May and June, 1859,
brought away:--
A 6-inch dip circle by Robinson, marked I 22. A case of medicines,
consisting of 25 small bottles, canister of pills, ointment,
plaster, oiled silk, etc. A 2-foot rule, two joints of the cleaning
rod of a gun, and two small copper spindles, probably for dog-vanes
of boats. The circular brass plate broken out of a wooden gun-case,
and engraved "C. H. Osmer, R.N." The field glass and German silver
top of a 2-foot telescope, a coffee canister, a piece of a brass
curtain rod. The record tin and the record, dated 25th of April,
1848. A 6-inch double frame sextant, on which the owner's name is
engraved, "Frederick Hornby, R.N."
Found in a small cairn on the south side of Back Bay:--
A tin record case and record.
Seen about Ross Cairn, Point Victory, not brought away:--
Four sets of boat's cooking apparatus complete, iron hoops, 4 feet
of a copper lightning conductor, hollow brass curtain-rod three
quarters of an inch in diameter, 3 pickaxes, 1 shovel, old canvas, a
pile of warm clothing and blankets 4 feet high, 2 tin canteens
stamped "89 Co., Wm. Hedges," "88 Co., Wm. Heather," and a third one
not marked. A small pannikin, made on board out of a 2 lb.
preserved-meat tin, and marked "W. Mark;" a small deal box for gun
wadding, the heavy iron work of a large boat, part of a canvas tent,
part of an oar sawed longitudinally and a blanket nailed to its flat
side, three boat-hook staves, strips of copper, a 9-inch single
block strapped, a piece of rope and spun yarn. Among the clothing
was found a stocking marked "W," green, and a fragment of one marked
"W. S."
Relics obtained at the Northern Cairn, near Cape Felix, May, 1859:--
Fragments of a boat's ensign, metal lid of a powder-case, two eye
pieces of sextant tubes, brass button; worsted glove, colors red,
white and blue; bung-stave of a marine's water keg or bottle, brass
ornaments to a marine's shako; brass screw for screwing down lid,
also a copper hinge of the lid of powder-case; a few patent wire
cartridges containing large shot; part of a pair of steel
spectacles, glass being replaced by wood, having a narrow slit in
it; two small rib bones, probably out of salt pork; six or eight
packets of needles; small flannel cartridge containing an ounce of
damaged powder; a small, roughly made copper apparatus for cooking;
some brimstone matches. Piece of white paper folded up found in the
North Cairn, two pike-heads, narrow strip of white paper, found
under one of the tent places; their tent places were within a few
yards of the cairn.
Beside a small cairn, about three miles north of Point Victory, was
a pickaxe, with broken handle; brought away an empty tea or coffee
canister.
Articles noticed about the North Cairn, not brought away:--
Fragments of two broken bottles, several pieces of broken basins or
cups, blue and white delftware, hoops of marine's water keg, small
iron hoops, fragments of white line, spun yarn, canvas, and twine;
three small canvas tents, under which lay a bear-skin and fragments
of blankets; two blanket frocks, several old mitts, stockings,
gloves, pilot cloth and box cloth jackets and trousers, large shot,
piece of tobacco and broken pipe, metal part of powder-case, top of
tin canister, marked "cheese," preserved-potato tin, feathers of
ptarmigan, and salt-meat bones.
Seen near Cape Maria Louisa:--
Part of a drift tree, white spruce fir, 18 feet long, 10 inches in
diameter; it appeared to have but recently (_i.e._, since thrown on
the coast) been sawed longitudinally down the centre, and one-half
of it removed.
Relics obtained from the Boothian Esquimaux, near the Magnetic Pole, in
March and April, 1859:--
Seven knives made by the natives out of materials obtained from the
last expedition, one knife without a handle, one spear-head and
staff (the latter has broken off), two files; a large spoon or
scoop, the handle of pine or bone, the bowl of musk-ox horn; six
silver spoons and forks, the property of Sir John Franklin,
Lieutenants H. D. Vesconte and Fairholme, A. M'Donald,
Assistant-Surgeon, and Lieutenant E. Couch (supposed from the
initial letter T and crest a lion's head); a small portion of a gold
watch-chain, a broken piece of ornamental work apparently silver
gilt, a few small naval and other metal buttons, a silver medal
obtained by Mr. M'Donald as a prize for superior attainments at a
medical examination in Edinburgh April, 1838: some bows and arrows,
in which wood, iron, or copper has been used in the construction--of
no other interest.
_Remarks upon these Articles._
The spear-staff measures 6 feet 3 inches in length, and appears to
have been part of a light boat's gunwale: it measured (before being
partially rounded to adapt it to its present use) about 1-1/2 by
1-3/8 inches, is made of English oak, and upon the side has been
painted white over green. The spear-head is of steel, riveted to two
pieces of hoop, with bone between, and lashed on to the staff. The
rivets are of copper nails. The native who sold it said he himself
got it from the boat in the Fish River. Another spear of the same
kind was seen. The knives are made either of iron or steel, riveted
to two strips of hoop, between which the handle of wood is inserted,
and rivets passed through, securing them together.
The rivets are almost all made out of copper nails, such as would be
found in a copper-fastened boat, but those which have been examined
do not bear the Government mark. It is probable that most of the
boats of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' were built by contract, and
therefore would not have the broad arrow stamped upon their iron and
copper work. One small knife appears to have been a surgical
instrument. A large knife obtained in April bears some marking, such
as a sword or a cutlass might have. The man who sold it said he
bought it from another, who picked it up on the land where the ship
was driven ashore by the ice, and where the white people had thrown
it away; it was then about as long as his arm. This was the first
information he received of one of the ships having drifted on shore.
One knife and one file are stamped with the broad arrow. The handles
are variously composed of oak, ash, pine, mahogany, elm, and bone.
The spoons and forks were readily sold for a few needles each, also
the buttons, which they wore as ornaments on their dresses. Bows and
arrows were readily exchanged for knives. Previously to the
stranding on the neighboring shore of the last expedition these
people must have been almost destitute of wood or iron. Some of them
had even got only bone knives and spear-points. Some of their
sledges were seen, consisting of two rolls of seal-skin, flattened
and frozen, to serve as runners, and connected together by cross
bars of bones. Many more knives, bows and buttons, similar to those
brought away, might have been obtained, but no personal or important
relics.
Seen in a Snow-Hut in lat. 70-1/2° deg. N., 20th of April, 1859, not
brought away:--
Two wooden shovels, one of them made of mahogany board, some
spear-handles and a bow of English wood, a deal case which might
have served for a telescope or barometer. Its external dimensions
were:--length, 3 ft. 1 in.; depth, 3-1/2 in.; width, 9 in.; two
brass hinges remained attached to it.
Relics obtained from the Esquimaux near Cape Norton, upon the East Coast
of King William Island, in May, 1859:--
Two tablespoons; upon one is scratched "W. W.," on the other "W.
G.;" these bear the Franklin crest; two table forks, one bearing the
Franklin crest; the other is also crested, probably Captain
Crozier's; silversmith's name is "I. West;" two teaspoons, one
engraved "A. M. D." (A. M'Donald), the other bears the Fairholme
crest and motto; handle of a dessert knife, into which had been
inserted a razor (since broken off) by Milliken, Strand; buttons,
wood and iron, were here in abundance, but as enough of these had
already been obtained no more were purchased.
Taken out of some deserted snow-huts near here, some scraps of
different kinds of wood, such as could not be obtained from a
boat--teak or African oak.
Found lying about the skeleton, 9 miles eastward of Cape Herschel,
May, 1859:--The tie of black silk neckerchief; fragments of a
double-breasted blue cloth waistcoat, with covered silk buttons, and
edged with braid; a scrap of a colored cotton shirt, silk covered
buttons of blue cloth great-coat, a small clothes-brush, a horn
pocket-comb, a leathern pocket-book, which fell to pieces when
thawed and dried; it contained 9 or 10 letters, a few leaves
apparently blank; a sixpence, date 1831; and a half-sovereign, dated
1844.
Articles seen among the natives at Cape Norton, not purchased,--Bows
made of wood, knives, uniform and plain buttons, a sledge made of
two long pieces of hard wood.
From beside an Esquimaux stone-mark, on the east side of Montreal
Island:--Part of a preserved-meat tin, painted red; part of the rim
of some strong copper case or vessel; pieces of iron hoop, two
pieces of flat iron, an iron hook bolt, a piece of sheet copper.
Articles seen about a snow-hut near Point Booth, not
purchased:--Eight or 10 fir poles, varying from 5 feet to 10 feet in
length, the stoutest being 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Two wooden snow
shovels about 3-1/2 feet long, and made of pieces of plank painted
white or pale yellow; it occurred to me that the pieces of plank
might have been the bottom boards of a boat. There was abundance of
wood fashioned into smaller articles.