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diff --git a/37669.txt b/37669.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..64492b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/37669.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11240 @@ +Project Gutenberg's In the Arctic Seas, by Francis Leopold McClintock + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: In the Arctic Seas + A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John + Franklin and his Companions + +Author: Francis Leopold McClintock + +Release Date: October 8, 2011 [EBook #37669] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE ARCTIC SEAS *** + + + + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Variant spellings (including quoted proper nouns) remain as printed. + Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + Unique page headings have been retained, placed between {braces}, + and positioned at a relevant paragraph break. + + Non-standard characters have been transcribed as follows: + + [oe]--oe ligature; + [=x]--macron over vowel _x_; + [)x]--breve over vowel _x_; + [alpha], [beta], [gamma]--Single Greek letters; + ^ precedes a superscript character. + + + + +[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 deg. 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 deg. 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 deg. 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 deg. 05' N., and long. 98 deg. 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 L500 in furtherance of the +expedition, but, abandoning lucrative appointments in command, +generously accepted a subordinate post. + +[5] For a _resume_ 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 deg. 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 deg. 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 + Depot--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 depot 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 depot 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. + + + + +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. + + +{LICHTENFELS.} + +_23rd July._--Sailed the day before yesterday for Godhaab. The fog was +thick, and wind strong and contrary, but the current being favorable we +found ourselves off the small out-station of Fiskernaes, when early this +morning our fore topmast was carried away; this accident induced me to +run in and anchor for the purpose of repairing the damage. + +After passing within the outer islets, the Moravian settlement of +Lichtenfels came in view upon the right hand; it consists of a large, +sombre-looking wooden house, over which is a belfry, a smaller wooden +house, and about a dozen native huts, roofed with sods, and scarcely +distinguishable from the ground they stand on, even at a very short +distance. The land immediately behind is a barren rocky steep, now just +sufficiently denuded of snow to look desolate in the extreme. A strong +tide was setting out of the fiord, as we approached, and anchored in +the rocky little cove of Fiskernaes; here we were not only sheltered +from the wind, but the steep dark rocks within a ship's length on each +side of us, reflected a strong heat, whilst large mosquitoes lost no +time in paying us their annoying visits. This remote spot has been +visited by the Arctic voyagers, Captain Inglefield, R.N., and Dr. Kane, +U.S.N., and still more recently by Prince Napoleon. Dr. Kane's account +of his visit is full and very interesting. Cod-fishing was now in full +activity, and the few men not so employed had gone up the fiord to hunt +reindeer. + +{FISKERNAES, AND ESQUIMAUX.} + +The solitary dwelling-house belongs, of course, to the chief trader, and +is a model of cleanliness and order; built of wood, it exhibits all the +resources of the painter's art; the exterior is a dull red, the +window-frames are white, floors yellow, wooden partitions and low +ceilings pale blue. The lady of the house had resided here for about +eight years, and appeared to us to be, and acknowledged she was, +heartily tired of the solitude. She gave me coffee, and some seeds for +cultivation at our winter quarters; these were lettuce, spinach, +turnips, caraway and peas, the latter being the common kind used on +board ship; usually they have only produced leaves on this spot, but +once the young peas grew large enough for the table. I expressed a wish +to see the interior of an Esquimaux tent. Petersen pulled aside the thin +membrane of some animal, which hung across the doorway, and served to +exclude the wind, but admitted light, for, although past midnight, the +sun was up. Some seven or eight individuals lay within, closely packed +upon the ground; the heads of old and young, males and females, being +just visible above the common covering. Going to bed here, only means +lying down with your clothes on, upon a reindeer skin, wherever you can +find room, and pulling another fur-robe over you. + +Fiskernaes appeared to be a sunny little nook, yet all the people we saw +there were suffering from colds and coughs, and many deaths had occurred +during the spring. The boys brought us handfuls of rough garnets, some +of them as large as walnuts, receiving with evident satisfaction +biscuits in exchange. + +By next morning we were able to put to sea, and early on the day +following arrived off the large settlement of Godhaab; it is in the +"Gilbert Sound" of Davis, and appears in many old charts as Baal's +River. Almost adjoining Godhaab is the Moravian settlement of New +Herrnhut. Here it was that Hans Egede, the missionary father of +Greenland, established himself in 1721, and thus re-opened the +communication between Europe and Greenland, which had ceased upon the +extinction of its early Scandinavian settlers, in the 14th century. + +{MORAVIAN MISSIONS.} + +A few years after Egede's successful beginning the Moravian mission +still existing under the name of New Herrnhut was established. At +present the Moravians support four missions in Greenland; they are not +subject to the Danish authorities, but are not permitted in any way to +trade. + +As we were about to enter the harbor, the Danish vessel--the sole object +of our visit--came out, so not a moment was lost in sending on board our +invalid and our letter-bag, and in landing our coasting pilot. This man +had brought us up from Frederickshaab for the very moderate sum of three +pounds; he was an Esquimaux, and, as the brother of poor Hans, Dr. +Kane's unhappy dog-driver, was received with favor amongst us, and soon +won our esteem by his quiet, obliging disposition, as also by his +ability in the discharge of his duty; he was so keen-sighted, and so +vigilant, it was quite a comfort to have him on board during the foggy +weather, for he could recognize, on the instant, every rock or point, +even when dimly looming through the mist. We were not long in +discovering that his absence was a loss to us. + +When passing out to the north of the Kookornen Islands, the wind +suddenly failed, and at the same time a swell from to seaward reached +us; we therefore had considerable difficulty in towing the ship clear of +the rocks; for nearly half an hour our position was most critical. + +{THE 'FOX' REACHES DISCO.} + +_July 31st._--Anchored at Godhaven (or Lievely), in Disco, for a few +hours. I presented a letter from the Directors of the Royal Greenland +Commerce to the Inspector of North Greenland, Mr. Olrik, authorising him +to furnish us with any needful supplies. Our only wants were sledge-dogs +and a native to manage them. We soon obtained ten of the former, but +were advised to go into Disco Fiord, where many of the Esquimaux were +busy in taking and drying salmon-trout, and where some would most +probably be obtained. + +I was much pleased with Mr. Olrik's kind reception of me, and soon found +him to be not only agreeable but well informed; born in Greenland, of +Danish parents, he is thoroughly conversant with the language and habits +of the Esquimaux, and has devoted much of his leisure time in collecting +rare specimens of the animal, vegetable, and mineral productions of the +country. I came away enriched by some fossils from the fossil forest of +Atanekerdluk, also with specimens of native coal. + +It was here I met with the late commanders of the whalers 'Gipsy' and +'Undaunted,' of Peterhead, which had been crushed by the ice in Melville +Bay, five or six weeks previously; all the other whalers had returned +from the north, along the pack edge, and passed south of Disco. They +said that the ice in Melville Bay was all broken up, and that they +thought we should find but little difficulty at this late period in +passing through it into the North Water. + +{DISCO FIORD.} + +Leaving Godhaven in the afternoon with a native pilot, we found +ourselves some 10 or 12 miles up Disco Fiord at an early hour next +morning. After despatching the pilot to announce our arrival to his +countrymen at their fishing station, 7 or 8 miles further up, the Doctor +and I landed upon the north side to explore. + +The scenery is charming, lofty hills of trap rock, with unusually rich +slopes (for the 70th parallel) descending to the fiord, and strewed with +boulders of gneiss and granite. We found the blue campanula holding a +conspicuous place amongst the wild flowers. I do not know a more +enticing spot in Greenland for a week's shooting, fishing, and yachting +than Disco Fiord; hares and ptarmigan may be found along the bases of +the hills; ducks are most abundant upon the fiord, and delicious +salmon-trout very plentiful in the rivers. Formerly Disco was famed for +the large size and abundance of its reindeer; but for some unexplained +reason they now confine themselves to the mainland. + +At this season the natives of Godhaab resort here and enjoy the trout +fishery,--it is truly their season of harvest: the weather is pleasant, +food delicious and abundant, and the labor an agreeable pastime. + +{AUG., 1857.} + +{CHRISTIAN, THE DOG-DRIVER.} + +Some kayaks soon came off to the ship, bringing salmon-trout, both fresh +and smoked. + +A young Esquimaux, named Christian, volunteered his services as our +dog-driver, and was accepted; he is about 23 years of age, unmarried, +and an orphan. The men soon thoroughly washed and cropped him: soap and +scissors being novelties to an Esquimaux: they then rigged him in +sailor's clothes; he was evidently not at home in them, but was not the +less proud of his improved appearance, as reflected in the admiring +glances of his countrymen. + +We now hastened away to the Waigat Strait to complete our coals. When +passing Godhaven, the pilot was launched off our deck in his little +kayak without stopping the ship! As a kayak is usually about 18 feet +long, 8 inches deep, and only 16 or 17 inches wide, it requires great +expertness to perform such a feat without the addition of a capsize. + +_4th August._--Entered the Waigat yesterday morning, slowly steaming +through a sea of glass. Its surface was only rippled by the myriads of +eider-ducks which extended over it for several miles: most of them were +immature in plumage, and were probably the birds of last year. + +After running about 24 miles, towards evening we approached a low range +of sandstone cliffs on the Disco shore, in which horizontal seams of +coal were seen. Here we anchored, and immediately commenced coaling. It +was fortunate we did so, for soon it began to blow hard; and ere noon +to-day we were obliged, for the safety of the ship, to leave our exposed +anchorage, having however secured eight or nine tons of tolerable coal. +Formerly these coal-seams were worked for the supply of the neighboring +settlements, but for several years past it has been found more +profitable and convenient to send out coals from Denmark, and thus +permit the natives to devote their whole time to the seal-fishery. + +{COALING--WAIGAT SCENERY.} + +The Waigat scenery is unusually grand; the strait varies from 3 to 5 +leagues in width; on each side are mountains of 3000 feet in height. The +Disco side, upon which we landed, is composed of trap, sandstone +appearing only at the beach, and occasionally rising in cliffs to about +100 feet. Upon the moss-clad slopes many fragments of quartz and zeolite +were met with. The north end of Disco is almost a precipice to its +snow-capped summit, which is 4000 feet high. + +_5th._--A pleasant fair wind carries us rapidly northward, passing many +icebergs. Our rigging is richly garnished with split codfish, which we +hoped would dry and keep; but a warm day in Disco Fiord, and much rain +with a southerly gale in the Waigat, have destroyed it for our own use. +It is however still valuable as food for our dogs. I am very anxious to +complete my stock of these our native auxiliaries, as without them we +cannot hope to explore all the lands which it is the object of our +voyage to search. We could only obtain ten at Godhaven, and require +twenty more. + +{PURCHASING ESQUIMAUX DOGS.} + +_6th._--By Petersen's intimate knowledge of the coast we were enabled to +run close in to the little settlement of Proven during the night, and +obtain a few dogs and dogs' food. This morning we reached the extreme +station of Upernivik, the last trace of civilization we shall meet with +for some time. It is in lat. 72-3/4 deg. N. Here Petersen resided for twelve +of the eighteen years he has spent in Greenland, and his unlooked-for +re-appearance astonished and delighted the small community, more +especially Governor Fliescher and his household, who received us with a +most hearty welcome. + +_7th._--Yesterday, when we hove to off Upernivik, the weather was very +bad and rapidly growing worse, therefore our stay was limited to a +couple of hours. The last letters for home were landed, fourteen dogs +and a quantity of seal's flesh for them embarked, and the ship's head +was turned seaward. + +It was then blowing a southerly gale, with overcast murky sky, and a +heavy sea running. When four miles outside the outer island, breakers +were suddenly discovered ahead, only just in time to avoid the ledge of +sunken rocks upon which the sea was beating most violently. Many such +rocks lie at considerable distances beyond the islands which border this +coast, and greatly add to the dangers of its navigation. Being now +fairly at sea, and the ship under easy sail for the night, I went early +to bed in the hope of sleeping. I had been up all the previous night, +naturally anxious about the ship threading her way through so many +dangers, uncertain about being able to complete the number of our +sledge-dogs, and much occupied in closing my correspondence, to which +there would be an end for at least a year. All this over, the uncertain +future loomed ominously before me. The great responsibilities I had +undertaken seemed now and at once to fall with all their weight upon me. +A mental whirlpool was the consequence, which, backed by the material +storm, and the howling of the wretched dogs in concert on deck, together +with the tumbling about of every thing below, long kept sleep in +abeyance. + +{HEAVY GALE OFF UPERNIVIK.} + +One thought and feeling predominated: it was gratitude, deep and humble, +for the success which had hitherto attended us, and for some narrow +escapes which I must ever regard as Providential. + +Yesterday's gale has given place to calm foggy weather. An occasional +iceberg is seen. The officers amuse themselves in trying new guns, and +shooting sea-birds for our dogs. + +Governor Fliescher told me yesterday that for the last four weeks +southerly winds prevailed, and that only a fortnight ago his boat was +unable to reach the Loom Cliffs at Cape Shackleton, 50 miles north of +Upernivik, in consequence of the ice being pressed in against the land. +I fear these same winds have closed together the ice which occupies the +middle of Davis' Strait (hence called the middle ice), so that we shall +not be able to penetrate it. However, we are standing out to make the +attempt. + +{PASSAGE THROUGH BAFFIN'S BAY.} + +To the uninitiated it may be as well to observe that each winter the sea +called Baffin's Bay freezes over; in spring this vast body of ice breaks +up, and drifting southward in a mass--called the main-pack, or the +middle ice--obstructs the passage across from east to west. + +The "North Passage" is made by sailing round the north end of this pack; +the "Middle Passage," by pushing through it; and the "Southern Passage," +by passing round its southern extreme; but seasons do occur when none of +these routes are practicable. + +It is very remarkable that southward of Disco northerly winds have +prevailed. They greatly impeded our progress up Davis' Strait, but we +cheered ourselves with the hope that they would effectually clear a path +for us across the northern part of Baffin's Bay. + +_8th._--Last night we reached the edge of the middle ice, about 70 miles +to the west of Upernivik, and ran southward along its edge all night. +This morning, in thick fog, the ship was caught in its margin of loose +ice. The fog soon after cleared off, and we saw the clear sea about two +miles to the eastward, whilst all to the west was impenetrable +closely-packed floe-pieces. After steaming out of our predicament (a +matter which we could not accomplish under sail) we ran on to the +southward until evening, but found the pack edge still composed of light +ice very closely pressed together. + +{MELVILLE BAY.} + +Having now closely examined it for an extent of 40 miles, I was +satisfied that we could not force a passage through it across Baffin's +Bay, as is frequently done in ordinary seasons; therefore, taking +advantage of a fair wind, we steered to the northward, in order to seek +an opening in that direction. + +_12th._--We are in Melville Bay; made fast this afternoon to an iceberg, +which lies aground in 58 fathoms water, about 2 miles from Browne's +Islands, and between them and the great glacier which here takes the +place of the coast-line. + +{THE MIDDLE ICE.} + +We have got thus far without any difficulty, sailing along the edge of +the middle ice; but here we find it pressing in against Browne's +Islands, and covering the whole bay to the northward, quite in the steep +face of the glacier. This is evidently the result of long-continued +southerly winds; but as the ice is very much broken up, we may expect +it to move off rapidly before the autumnal northerly winds now due, and +these winds invariably remove the previous season's ice. All that we +know of Melville Bay navigation in August, is derived from the +experience of Government and private searching expeditions during eight +or nine seasons. My own three previous transits across it were made in +this month. The whalers either get through in June or July, or give up +the attempt as being too late for their fishing. It frequently happens +that they get round the south end of the middle ice, between latitudes +66 deg. and 69 deg. N., and up the west coast of Baffin's Bay late in the +season; but we have no accounts of these voyages, nor should I be +justified, at this late period of the season, in abandoning the prospect +before me, in order to attempt a route which, even if successful, would +lengthen our voyage to Barrow Strait by 700 or 800 miles. We have +already passed what is usually the most difficult and dangerous part of +the Melville Bay transit. + +There is much to excite intense admiration and wonder around us; one +cannot at once appreciate the grandeur of this mighty glacier, extending +unbroken for 40 or 50 miles. Its sea-cliffs, about 5 or 6 miles from us, +appear comparatively low, yet the icebergs detached from it are of the +loftiest description. Here, on the spot, it does not seem incorrect to +compare the icebergs to mere chippings off its edge, and the floe-ice +to the thinnest shavings. + +{GREATER GLACIER OF GREENLAND.} + +The far-off outline of glacier, seen against the eastern sky, has a +faint tinge of yellow; it is almost horizontal, and of unknown distance +and elevation. + +There is an unusual dearth of birds and seals; everything around us is +painfully still, excepting when an occasional iceberg splits off from +the parent glacier; then we hear a rumbling crash like distant thunder, +and the wave occasioned by the launch reaches us in six or seven +minutes, and makes the ship roll lazily for a similar period. I cannot +imagine that within the whole compass of nature's varied aspects, there +is presented to the human eye a scene so well adapted for promoting deep +and serious reflection, for lifting the thoughts from trivial things of +every day life to others of the highest import. + +The glacier serves to remind one at once of Time and of Eternity--of +time, since we see portions of it break off to drift and melt away; and +of eternity, since its downward march is so extremely slow, and its +augmentations behind so regular, that no change in its appearance is +perceptible from age to age. If even the untaught savages of luxuriant +tropical regions regard the earth merely as a temporary abode, surely +all who gaze upon this ice-overwhelmed region, this wide expanse of +"terrestrial wreck," must be similarly assured that here "we have no +abiding place." + +{GREAT GLACIER OF GREENLAND.} + +During daytime the strong glare is very distressing, hence the subdued +light of midnight, when the sun just skims along the northern horizon, +is much the most agreeable part of the twenty-four hours; the +temperature varies between 30 deg. and 40 deg. of Fahrenheit. + +The drift-ice of various descriptions about us is constantly in motion +under the influence of mysterious surface and under currents (according +to their relative depths of floatation), which whirl them about in every +possible direction. + +To the S.E. are two small islands, almost enveloped in the glacier, and +far within it an occasional mountain-peak protrudes from beneath. + +{REINDEER CROSS THE GLACIER.} + +From observing closely the variations in the glacier surface, I think we +may safely infer that where it lies unbroken and smooth, the supporting +land is level; and where much crevassed, the land beneath is uneven. The +crevassed parts are of course impassable, but, by following the windings +of the smooth surface, I think the interior could be reached. Some +attempts to cross the glacier in South Greenland have failed, yet, by +studying its character and attending to this remark, I think places +might be found where an attempt would succeed. Mr. Petersen tells me +that the Esquimaux of Upernivik are unable to account for occasional +disappearances and reappearances of immense herds of reindeer, except +by assuming that they migrate at intervals to feeding-grounds beyond the +glacier, the surface of which he also says is smooth enough in many +places even for dog-sledges to travel upon. As there is much uninhabited +land, both to the northward and southward of Upernivik, I do not see the +necessity for this supposition. The habits of the Esquimaux confine them +almost exclusively to the islands and sea-coasts. + + + + +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. + + +{MELVILLE BAY.} + +_15th August._--Three days of the most perfect calm have sadly taxed our +patience. Lovely bright weather, but scarcely a living creature seen. +This afternoon the anxiously-looked-for north wind sprang up, and +immediately the light ice began to drift away before it, but it is not +strong enough to influence the icebergs, and they greatly retard the +clearing-out of the bay. We have noticed a constant wind off the +glacier, probably the result of its cooling effect upon the atmosphere; +this wind does not extend more than 3 or 4 miles out from it. + +_16th._--One of the loveliest mornings imaginable: the icebergs sparkled +in the sun, and the breeze was just sufficiently strong to ripple the +patches of dark blue sea; beyond this, there was nothing to cheer one in +the prospect from the crow's-nest at four o'clock; but little change had +taken place in the ice; I therefore determined to run back along the +pack-edge to the south-westward, in the hope that some favorable change +might have taken place further off shore. The barometer was unusually +low, yet no indication of any change of weather. A seaman's chest was +picked up; it contained only a spoon, a fork, and some tin canisters, +and probably drifted here from the southward, where the two whale-ships +were crushed in June, affording another proof of the prevalence of +southerly winds. As we steamed on, the ice was found to have opened +considerably; it fell calm, and mist was observed rolling along the +glacier from the southward. By noon a S.E. wind reached us; all sail was +set, the leads or lanes of water became wider, and our hopes of speedily +crossing Melville Bay rose in proportion as our speed increased. We are +pursuing our course without let or hindrance. + +_17th._--The fog overtook us yesterday evening, and at length, unable to +see our way, we made fast at eleven o'clock to the ice. The wind had +freshened, it was evidently blowing a gale outside the ice. During the +night we drifted rapidly together with the ice, and this morning, on the +clearing off of the fog, we steamed and sailed on again, threading our +way between the floes, which are larger and much covered with _dry_ +snow. This evening we again made fast, the floes having closed together, +cutting off advance and retreat. A wintry night, much wind and snow. + +_19th._--Continued strong S.E. winds, pressing the ice closely together, +dark sky and snow; everything wears a wintry and threatening aspect; we +are closely hemmed in, and have our rudder and screw unshipped. This +recommencement of S.E. winds and rapid ebbing of the small remaining +portion of summer makes me more anxious about the future than the +present. Yesterday the weather improved, and by working for thirteen +hours we got the ship out of her small ice-creek into a larger space of +water, and in so doing advanced a mile and a half. It is now calm, but +the ice still drifts, as we would wish it, to the N.W. Yesterday we were +within 12 miles of the position of the 'Enterprise' upon the same day in +1848, and under very similar conditions of weather and ice also. + +_20th._--No favorable ice-drift: this detention has become most painful. +The 'Enterprise' reached the open water upon this day in 1848, within 50 +miles of our present position; unfortunately, our prospects are not so +cheering. There is no relative motion in the floes of ice, except a +gradual closing together, the small spaces and streaks of water being +still further diminished. The temperature has fallen, and is usually +below the freezing-point. I feel most keenly the difficulty of my +position; we cannot afford to lose many more days. Of all the voyages to +Barrow Strait, there are but two which were delayed beyond this date, +viz., Parry's in 1824, and the 'Prince Albert's' in 1851. Should we not +be released, and therefore be compelled to winter in this pack, +notwithstanding all our efforts, I shall repeat the trial next year, and +in the end, with God's aid, perform my sacred duty. + +{BESET IN MELVILLE BAY.} + +The men enjoy a game of rounders on the ice each evening; Petersen and +Christian are constantly on the look-out for seals, as well as Hobson +and Young occasionally; if in good condition and killed instantaneously, +the seals float; several have already been shot; the liver fried with +bacon is excellent. + +Birds have become scarce,--the few we see are returning southward. How +anxiously I watch the ice, weather, barometer, and thermometer! Wind +from any other quarter than S.E. would oblige the floe-pieces to +rearrange themselves, in doing which they would become loose, and then +would be our opportunity to proceed. + +_24th._--Fine weather with very light northerly winds. We have drifted 7 +miles to the west in the last two days. The ice is now a close pack, so +close that one may walk for many miles over it in any direction, by +merely turning a little to the right or left to avoid the small water +spaces. My frequent visits to the crow's-nest are not inspiriting: how +absolutely distressing this imprisonment is to me, no one without +similar experience can form any idea. As yet the crew have but little +suspicion how blighted our prospects are. + +_27th._--We daily make attempts to push on, and sometimes get a ship's +length, but yesterday evening we made a mile and a half! the ice then +closed against the ship's sides and lifted her about a foot. We have had +a fresh east wind for two days, but no corresponding ice-drift to the +west; this is most discouraging, and can only be accounted for by +supposing the existence of much ice or grounded icebergs in that +direction. + +The dreaded reality of wintering in the pack is gradually forcing itself +upon my mind,--but I must not write on this subject, it is bad enough to +brood over it unceasingly. We can see the land all round Melville Bay, +from Cape Walker nearly to Cape York. Petersen is indefatigable at +seal-shooting, he is so anxious to secure them for our dogs; he says +they must be hit in the head; "if you hit him in the beef that is not +good," meaning that a flesh-wound does not prevent their escaping under +the ice. Petersen and Christian practise an Esquimaux mode of attracting +the seals; they scrape the ice, thus making a noise like that produced +by a seal in making a hole with its flippers, and then place one end of +a pole in the water and put their mouths close to the other end, making +noises in imitation of the snorts and grunts of their intended victims; +whether the device is successful or not I do not know, but it looks +laughable enough. + +{SEAL SHOOTING.} + +Christian came back a few days ago, like a true seal-hunter, carrying +his kayak on his head, and dragging a seal behind him. Only two years +ago Petersen returned across this bay with Dr. Kane's retreating party; +he shot a seal which they devoured raw, and which under Providence, +saved their lives. Petersen is a good ice-pilot, knows all these coasts +as well as or better than any man living, and, from long experience and +habits of observation, is almost unerring in his prognostications of the +weather. Besides his great value to us as interpreter, few men are +better adapted for Arctic work,--an ardent sportsman, an agreeable +companion, never at a loss for occupation or amusement, and always +contented and sanguine. But we have happily many such dispositions in +the 'Fox.' + +_30th._--The whole distance across Melville Bay is 170 miles: of this we +have performed about 120, 40 of which we have drifted in the last +fourteen days. The 'Isabel' sailed freely over this spot on 20th August, +1852; and the 'North Star' was beset on 30th July, 1849, to the +southward of Melville Bay, and carried in the ice across it and some 70 +or 80 miles beyond, when she was set free on 26th September, and went +into winter quarters in Wolstenholme Sound. What a precedent for us! + +[Illustration: FIG. 1. SKETCH MAP OF THE DRIFT OF THE 'FOX' DOWN +BAFFIN'S BAY IN THE FLOATING ICE.] + +Yesterday we set to work as usual to warp the ship along, and moved her +ten feet: an insignificant hummock then blocked up the narrow +passage; as we could not push it before us, a two-pound blasting charge +was exploded, and the surface ice was shattered, but such an immense +quantity of broken ice came up from beneath, that the difficulty was +greatly increased instead of being removed. This is one of the many +instances in which our small vessel labors under very great +disadvantages in ice-navigation--we have neither sufficient manual +power, steam power, nor impetus to force the floes asunder. I am +convinced that a steamer of moderate size and power, with a crew of +forty or fifty men, would have got through a hundred miles of such ice +in less time than we have been beset. + +The temperature fell to 25 deg. last night, and the pools are strongly +frozen over. I now look matters steadily and calmly in the face; whilst +reasonable ground for hope remained I was anxious in the extreme. The +dismal prospect of a "winter in the pack" has scarcely begun to dawn +upon the crew; however, I do not think they will be much upset by it. +They had some exciting foot-races on the ice yesterday evening. + +{SEPT., 1857.} + +{THE COMING STORM.} + +_1st Sept._--The indication of an approaching S.E. gale are at all times +sufficiently apparent here, and fortunately so, as it is the dangerous +wind in the Melville Bay. It was on the morning of the 30th, before +church-time, that they attracted our attention: the wind was very light, +but barometer low and falling; very threatening appearances in the S.E. +quarter, dark-blue sky, and grey detached clouds slowly rising; when the +wind commenced the barometer began to rise. This gale lasted forty-eight +hours, and closed up every little space of water; at first all the ice +drifted before the wind, but latterly remained stationary. Twenty seals +have been shot up to this time. + +{DRIFTING IN THE PACK.} + +On comparing Petersen's experience with my own and that of the 'North +Star' in 1849, it seems probable that the ice along the shores of +Melville Bay, at this season, will drift northward close along the land +as far as Cape Parry, where, meeting with a S.W. current out of Whale or +Smith's Sound, it will be carried away into the middle of Baffin's Bay, +and thence during the winter down Davis' Strait into the Atlantic. From +Cape Dudley Digges to Cape Parry, including Wolstenholme Sound, open +water remains until October. It is strange that we have ceased to drift +lately to the westward. + +_6th._--During the last week we have only drifted 9 miles to the west. +Obtained soundings in 88 fathoms; this is a discovery, and not an +agreeable one. Of the six or seven icebergs in sight, the nearest are to +the west of us; they are very large, and appear to be aground; we +approach them slowly. Pleasant weather, but the winds are much too +gentle to be of service to us; although the nights are cold, yet during +the day our men occasionally do their sewing on deck. Our companions +the seals are larger and fatter than formerly, therefore they float when +shot; we are disposed to attribute their improved condition to the +better feeding upon this bank. The dredge brought up some few +shell-fish, star-fish, stones and much soft mud. + +_9th._--On this day, in 1824, Sir Edward Parry got out of the middle +ice, and succeeded in reaching Port Bowen. To continue hoping for +release in time to reach Bellot Strait would be absurd; yet to employ +the men we continue our preparation of tents, sledges, and gear for +travelling. Two days ago the ice became more slack than usual, and a +long lane opened; its western termination could not be seen from aloft. +Every effort was made to get into this water, and by the aid of steam +and blasting-powder we advanced 100 yards out of the intervening 170 +yards of ice, when the floes began to close together, a S.E. wind having +sprung up. Had we succeeded in reaching the water, I think we should +have extricated ourselves completely, and perhaps ere this have reached +Barrow Strait, but S.E. and S.W. gales succeeded, and it now blows a +S.S.E. gale, with sleet. + +_10th._--Young went to the large icebergs to-day; the nearest of them is +250 feet high, and in 83 fathoms water; it is therefore probably +aground, except at spring tide; the floe-ice was drifting past it to +the westward, and was crushing up against its side to a height of 50 +feet. + +{CANINE APPETITE.} + +_13th._--Thermometer has fallen to 17 deg. at noon. We have drifted 18 miles +to the W. in the last week; therefore our neighbors, the icebergs, are +not always aground, but even when afloat drift more slowly than the +light ice. There is a water-sky to the W. and N.W.; it is nearest to us +in the direction of Cape York; _could we only advance 12 or 15 miles in +that direction, I am convinced we should be free to steer for Barrow +Strait_. Forty-three seals have been secured for the dogs; one dog is +missing, the remaining twenty-nine devoured their two days' allowance of +seal's flesh (60 or 65 lbs.) in forty-two seconds! it contained no bone, +and had been cut up into small pieces, and spread out upon the snow, +before they were permitted to rush to dinner; in this way the weak enjoy +a fair chance, and there is no time for fighting. We do not allow them +on board. + +_16th._--At length we have drifted past the large icebergs, obtaining +soundings in 69 fathoms within a mile of them; they must now be aground, +and have frequently been so during the last three weeks; and being +directly upon our line of drift, are probably the immediate cause of our +still remaining in Melville Bay. The ice is slack everywhere, but the +temperature having fallen to 3 deg., new ice rapidly forms, so that the +change comes too late. The western limit of the day--Cape York--is very +distinct, and not more than 25 miles from us. + +{PREPARING FOR WINTER.} + +_18th._--Lanes of water in all directions; but the nearest is half a +mile from us. They come too late, as do also the N.W. winds which have +now succeeded the fatal south-easters. The temperature fell to 2 deg. below +zero last night. We are now at length in the "North Water;" the old ice +has spread out in all directions, so that it is only the young +ice--formed within the last fortnight--which detains us prisoners here. + +The icebergs, the chief cause of our unfortunate detention, and which +for more than three weeks were in advance of us to the westward, are +now, in the short space of two days, nearly out of sight to the +eastward. + +The preparations for wintering and sledge-travelling go on with unabated +alacrity; the latter will be useful should it become necessary to +abandon the ship. + +Notwithstanding such a withering blight to my dearest hopes, yet I +cannot overlook the many sources of gratification which do exist; we +have not only the necessaries, but also a fair portion of the luxuries, +of ordinary sea-life; our provisions and clothing are abundant and well +suited to the climate. Our whole equipment, though upon so small a +scale, is perfect in its way. We all enjoy perfect health, and the men +are most cheerful, willing, and quiet. + +{PROSPECT FOR WINTER.} + +Our "native auxiliaries," consisting of Christian and his twenty-nine +dogs, are capable of performing immense service; whilst Mr. Petersen, +from his great Arctic experience, is of much use to me, besides being +all that I could wish as an interpreter. Humanly speaking, we are not +unreasonable in confidently looking forward to a successful issue of +this season's operations, and I greatly fear that poor Lady Franklin's +disappointment will consequently be the more severely felt. + +We are doomed to pass a long winter of absolute inutility, if not of +idleness, in comparative peril and privation; nevertheless the men seem +very happy--thoughtless, of course, as true sailors always are. + +We have drifted off the bank into much deeper water, and suppose this is +the reason that seals have become more scarce. + +_22nd._--Constant N.W. winds continue to drift us slowly southward. +Strong indications of water in the N.W., W., and S.E.; its vicinity may +account for a rise in the temperature, without apparent cause, to 27 deg. at +noon to-day. + +The newly formed ice affords us delightful walking; the old ice on the +contrary is covered with a foot of soft snow. We have no shooting; +scarcely a living creature has been seen for a week. + +{BEARS--AMUSEMENTS.} + +_24th._--Yesterday I thought I saw two of our men walking at a distance, +and beyond some unsafe ice, but on enquiry found that all were on board: +Petersen and I set off to reconnoitre the strangers; they proved to be +bears, but much too wary to let us come within shot. It was dark when we +returned on board after a brisk walk over the new ice. The calm air felt +agreeably mild. We were without mittens; and but that the breath froze +upon moustachios and beard, one could have readily imagined the night +was comfortably warm. The thermometer stood at +5 deg. + +To-day when walking in a fresh breeze the wind felt very cold, and kept +one on the look-out for frost-bites, although the thermometer was up to +10 deg. Games upon the ice and skating are our afternoon amusements, but we +also have some few lovers of music, who embrace the opportunity for +vigorous execution, without fear of being reminded that others may have +ears more sensitive and discriminating than their own. + +_26th._--The mountain to the North of Melville Bay, known as the 'Snowy +Peak,' was visible yesterday, although 90 miles distant; I have +calculated its height to be 6000 feet. A raven was shot to-day. + +{DINNER STOLEN BY SHARKS.} + +_27th._--Our salt meat is usually soaked for some days before being +used; for this purpose it is put into a net, and lowered through a hole +in the ice; this morning the net had been torn, and only a fragment of +it remained. We suppose our twenty two pounds of salt meat had been +devoured by a shark; it would be curious to know how such fare agrees +with him, as a full meal of salted provision will kill an Esquimaux dog, +which thrives on almost anything. I used to remonstrate upon the skins +of sea-birds being given to our dogs, but was told the feathers were +good for them! Here all sea-birds are skinned before being cooked, +otherwise our ducks, divers, and looms would be uneatably fishy. A +well-baited shark-hook has been substituted for the net of salt meat; I +much wish to capture one of the monsters, as wonderful stories are told +us of their doings in Greenland: whether they are the white shark or the +basking shark of natural history I cannot find out. It is only of late +years that the shark fishery has been carried on to any extent in +Greenland; they are captured for the sake of their livers, which yield a +considerable quantity of oil. It has very recently been ascertained that +a valuable substance resembling spermaceti may be expressed from the +carcase, and for this purpose powerful screw presses are now employed. +In early winter the sharks are caught with hook and line through holes +in the ice. + +The Esquimaux assert that they are insensible to pain; and Petersen +assures me he has plunged a long knife several times into the head of +one whilst it continued to feed upon a white whale entangled in his +net!! It is not sufficient to drive them away with sundry thrusts of +spears or knives, but they must be towed away to some distance from the +nets, otherwise they will return to feed. It must be remembered that the +brain of a shark is extremely small in proportion to the size of its +huge head. I have seen bullets fired through them with very little +apparent effect; but if these creatures _can_ feel, the devices +practised upon them by the Esquimaux must be cruel indeed. + +{THE ARCTIC SHARK.} + +It is only in certain localities that sharks are found, and in these +places they are often attracted to the nets by the animals entangled in +them. The dogs are not suffered to eat either the skin or the head, the +former in consequence of its extreme roughness, and the latter because +it causes giddiness and makes them sick. + +The nets alluded to are set for the white whale or the seal; if for the +former, they are attached to the shore and extended off at right angles +so as to intercept them in their autumnal southern migration, when they +swim close along the rocks to avoid their direst foe, the grampus, or +killer, of sailors, the _Delphinus orca_ of naturalists. When the white +whale is stopped by the net it often appears at first to be unconscious +of the fact, and continues to swim against it, affording time for the +approach of the boat and deadly harpoon from behind. If entangled in the +net a very short time suffices to drown them, as, like all the whale +tribe, they are obliged to come to the surface to breathe. + +{KILLERS.} + +The killer is also a cetacean of considerable size, 15 to 20 feet in +length, but of very different habits; it is very swift, is armed with +powerful teeth, and is gregarious. When in sufficient numbers they even +attack the whale, impeding his progress by fastening on his fins and +tail. In summer they appear in the Greenland seas, and the seals +instantly seek refuge from them in the various creeks and inner harbors; +and the Esquimaux hunter in his frail kayak, when he sees the huge +pointed dorsal fin swiftly cleaving the surface of the sea, is scarcely +less anxious to shun such dangerous company. With such stories as these +Petersen beguiles the time; I never tire of listening to them, and now +amuse myself in jotting scraps of them down. + + + + +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. + + +{OCT., 1857.} + +{FIXED IN THE ICE.} + +_3d Oct._--September has passed away and left us as a legacy to the +pack; what a month have we had of anxious hopes and fears! + +Up to the 17th S.E. winds prevailed, forcing the ice into a compact +body, and urging it north-westward; subsequently N.W. winds set in, +drifting it southward, and separating the floe-pieces; but the change of +wind being accompanied by a considerable fall of temperature, they were +either quickly cemented together again, or young ice formed over the +newly opened lanes of water, almost as rapidly as the surface of the sea +became exposed. During the month the thermometer ranged between +36 deg. and +-2 deg. Two more bears and a raven have been seen. A wearied ptarmigan +alighted near the ship, but before it could take wing again the dogs +caught it, and scarcely a feather remained by the time I could rush on +deck. + +Our beautiful little organ was taken out of its case to-day, and put up +on the lower deck; the men enjoy its pleasing tones, whilst Christian +unceasingly turns the handle in a state of intense delight; he regards +it with such awe and admiration, and is so entranced, that one cannot +help envying him; of course he never saw one before. The instrument was +presented by the Prince Consort to the searching vessel bearing his name +which was sent out by Lady Franklin in 1851; it is now about to pass its +third winter in the frozen regions. + +{SNOW CRYSTALS.} + +Two dogs ran off yesterday, in the vain hope, I suppose, of bettering +their condition,--we only feed them three times a week at present; they +returned this morning. + +Seals are daily seen upon the new ice, but in this doubtful sort of +light they are extremely timid, therefore our sportsmen cannot get +within shot. The bears scent or hear our dogs, and so keep aloof; even +the shark has deserted us, the bait remains intact. The snow crystals of +last night are extremely beautiful; the largest kind is an inch in +length; its form exactly resembles the end of a pointed feather. Stellar +crystals two-tenths of an inch in diameter have also fallen; these have +six points, and are the most exquisite things when seen under a +microscope. I remember noticing them at Melville Island in March, 1853, +when the temperature rose to +8 deg.; as these were formed last night +between the temperatures of +6 deg. and +12 deg., it would appear that the form +is due to a certain fixed temperature. In the sun, or even in moonlight, +all these crystals glisten most brilliantly; and as our masts and +rigging are abundantly covered with them, the 'Fox' never was so +gorgeously arrayed as she now appears. + +{MONOTONOUS LIFE.} + +_13th._--One day is very like another; we have to battle stoutly with +monotony; and but that each twenty-four hours brings with it necessary +though trivial duties, it would be difficult to remember the date. We +take our guns and walk long distances, but see nothing. Two of the dogs +go hunting on their own account, sometimes remaining absent all night. +What they find or do is a mystery. The weather is generally calm and +cold,--very favorable for freezing purposes at all events,--for the ice +of only three weeks' growth is two feet thick. + +I hardly expect any considerable disruption of the ice before the +general break-up in the spring, yet we do not trust any of our +provisions upon it, nor is it sufficiently still to set up a magnetic +observatory, for which purpose the instruments have been supplied to us. + +Petersen still hopes we may escape and get into Upernivik, as the sea is +not permanently frozen over there before December. I am surprised to +hear that eagles have been seen so far north as Upernivik, although it +is but twice in twenty-four years that specimens have been noticed +there. In Richardson's 'Fauna Boreali Americana' the extreme northern +limit of these birds is given as 66 deg.; but Upernivik is in 72-3/4 deg. + +{"HARNESS JACK."} + +A few bear and fox tracks have been seen, but no living creatures for +several days, except a flock of ducks hastening southward, and a +solitary raven. + +It is said that Esquimaux dogs will eat everything except fox and raven. +There are exceptions, however; one of ours, old "Harness Jack," devoured +a raven with much gusto some days ago. All the other dogs allowed their +harness to be taken off when they were brought on board; but old Jack +will not permit himself to be unrobed; when attempted he very plainly +threatens to use his teeth. This canine oddity suddenly became immensely +popular, by constituting himself protecting head of the establishment +when one of his tribe littered; he took up a most uncomfortable position +on top of the family cask (our _impromptu_ kennel), and prevented the +approach of all the other dogs; but for his timely interference on +behalf of the poor little puppies, I verily believe they would all have +been stolen and devoured! Dogs may do even worse than eat raven. + +I have attempted some experiments for the purpose of determining the +mean hourly change of oscillation of a pendulum due to the earth's +diurnal motion; but as mine was only 11-1/2 feet in length, I failed of +any approach to accuracy. The mean of several observations gave 17 deg. +47', whereas the change due to our latitude is about 14 deg. 30'. A single +experiment gave 14 deg. 10', and this was the longest in point of time of +any of them, the pendulum having swung for thirty-six minutes. + +{AN ARCTIC SCHOOL.} + +_24th._--Furious N.W. and S.E. gales have alternated of late; the ship +is housed over, to keep out the driving snow; so high is the snow +carried in the air that a little box perforated with small holes and +triced up 50 feet high is soon filled up; this box is supplied morning +and evening with a piece of prepared paper to detect the presence and +amount of ozone in the atmosphere; it is a peculiar pet of the Doctor's. + +At eight o'clock this evening I noticed the falling of a very brilliant +meteor; it passed through the constellation of Cassiopeia in a N.N.E. +direction before terminating its visible existence, which it did very +much like a huge rocket; the flash was so brilliant that a man whose +back was turned to it mistook the illumination for lightning. + +_26th._--Our school opened this evening, under the auspices of Dr. +Walker. He reports eight or nine pupils, and is much gratified by their +zeal. At present their studies are limited to the three R's--reading, +'riting, and 'rithmetic. They have asked him to read and explain +something instructive, so he intends to make them acquainted with the +trade-winds and atmosphere. This subject affords an opportunity of +explaining the uses of our thermometer, barometer, ozonometer, and +electrometer, which they see us take much interest in. It is delightful +to find a spirit of inquiry amongst them. Apart from scholastic +occupation, I give them healthful exercise in spreading a thick layer of +snow over the deck, and encasing the ship all round with a bank of the +same material. + +{ICE DISTURBANCE.} + +_28th._--Midnight. This evening, to our great astonishment, there +occurred a disruption and movement of the ice within 200 yards of the +ship. The night was calm; the reflection of a bright moon, aided by the +more than ordinary brilliancy of the stars upon the snowy expanse, made +it appear to us almost daylight. As I sit now in my cabin I can +distinctly hear the ice crushing; it resembles the continued roar of +distant surf, and there are many other occasional sounds; some of them +remind one of the low moaning of the wind, others are loud and harsh, as +if trains of heavy wagons with ungreased axles were slowly laboring +along. Upon a less-favored night these sounds might be appalling; even +as it is, they are sufficiently ominous to invite reflection. Cape York +has been in sight for some days past. + +_29th._--Another heavenly night, and still greater ice disturbance; some +of the crushed-up pieces are nearly four feet thick. The currents, +icebergs, and changes of temperature, may contribute to this ice action; +but I think the tides are the chief cause, and for these reasons: that +it wants but two days to the full moon, and that the ice-movements are +almost confined to the night, and change their direction morning and +evening. Now we know that the night-tides in Greenland greatly exceed +the day-tides. One thing is evident--the weather continues calm, +therefore the winds are not concerned in the matter. + +{NOV., 1857.} + +{THE DOGS INVADE US.} + +_2nd Nov._--Having observed some days ago that a few of the dogs were +falling away--from some cause or other not having put on their winter +clothing before the recent cold weather set in--they were all allowed on +board, and given a good extra meal. Since then we can scarcely keep them +out. One calm night they made a charge, and boarded the ship so suddenly +that several of the men rushed up very scantily clothed, to see what was +the matter. Vigorous measures were adopted to expel the intruders, and +there was desperate chasing round the deck with broomsticks, &c. Many of +them retreated into holes and corners, and two hours elapsed before they +were all driven out; but though the chase was hot, it was cold enough +work for the half-clad men. + +Sailors use quaint expressions. The nightly foraging expeditions are +called "sorties;" they point out to me the various corners between +decks where the "ice corrodes," _i.e._, the moisture condenses and forms +frost; a ramble over the ice is called "a bit of a peruse." I presume +this indignity is offered to the word perambulation. + +{BEAR-HUNTING BY NIGHT.} + +There was a very sudden call "to arms" to-night. Whether sleeping, +prosing, or schooling, every one flew out upon the ice on the instant, +as if the magazine or the boiler was on the point of explosion. The +alarm of "A bear close-to, fighting with the dogs," was the cause. The +luckless beast had approached within 25 yards of the ship ere the +quartermaster's eye detected his indistinct outline against the snow; so +silently had he crept up that he was within 10 yards of some of the +dogs. A shout started them up, and they at once flew round the bear and +embarrassed his retreat. In crossing some very thin ice he broke +through, and there I found him surrounded by yelping dogs. Poor fellow! +Hobson, Young, and Petersen had each lodged a bullet in him; but these +only seemed to increase his rage. He succeeded in getting out of the +water, when, fearing harm to the numerous by-standers and dogs, or that +he might escape, I fired, and luckily the bullet passed through his +brain. He proved to be a full-grown male, 7 feet 3 inches in length. As +we all aided in the capture, it was decided that the skin should be +offered to Lady Franklin. + +The carcase will feed our dogs for nearly a month; they were rewarded +on the spot with the offal. All of them, however, had not shown equal +pluck; some ran off in evident fright, but others showed no symptom of +fear, plunging or falling into the water with Bruin. Poor old Sophy was +amongst the latter, and received a deep cut in the shoulder from one of +his claws. The authorities have prescribed double allowance of food for +her, and say she will soon recover. + +{THE SUN'S LAST VISIT.} + +For the few moments of its duration the chase and death was exciting. +And how strange and novel the scene! A misty moon affording but scanty +light--dark figures gliding singly about, not daring to approach each +other, for the ice trembled under their feet--the enraged bear, the +wolfish howling dogs, and the bright flashes of the deadly rifles. + +_3rd._--I remained up the greater part of last night taking +observations, for the evening mists had passed away, and a lovely moon +reigned over a calm enchanting night; through a powerful telescope she +resembled a huge frosted-silver melon, the large crater-like depression +answering to that part from which the footstalk had been detached. Not a +sound to break the stillness around, excepting when some hungry dog +would return to the battlefield to gnaw into the blood-stained ice. + +On the 1st the sun paid us his last visit for the year, and now we take +all our meals by lamplight. + +{GUY FAWKES' DAY.} + +_5th._--In order to vary our monotonous routine, we determined to +celebrate the day; extra grog was issued to the crew, and also for the +first time a proportion of preserved plum-pudding. Lady Franklin most +thoughtfully and kindly sent it on board for occasional use. It is +excellent. + +This evening a well-got-up procession sallied forth, marched round the +ship with drum, gong, and discord, and then proceeded to burn the effigy +of Guy Fawkes. Their blackened faces, extravagant costumes, flaring +torches, and savage yells frightened away all the dogs; nor was it until +after the fireworks were set off and the traitor consumed that they +crept back again. It was school-night, but the men were up for fun, so +gave the Doctor a holiday. + +_12th._--Yesterday I had the good fortune to shoot two seals; they were +very fat and their stomachs were filled with shrimps. To-day Young and +Petersen shot three more, and many others have been seen. This is +cheering, and entices people out for hours daily. There is just enough +movement in the ice to keep a few narrow lanes and small pools of water +open; the floes or fields of ice are more inclined to spread out from +each other than to close. We have latterly been drifting before +northerly winds. + +{ICE-ARTILLERY.} + +_16th._--A renewal of ice-crushing within a few hundred yards of us. I +can hear it in my bed. The ordinary sound resembles the roar of distant +surf breaking heavily and continuously; but when heavy masses come in +collision with much impetus, it fully realizes the justness of Dr. +Kane's descriptive epithet, "ice artillery." Fortunately for us, our +poor little 'Fox' is well within the margin of a stout old floe: we are +therefore undisturbed spectators of ice-conflicts, which would be +irresistible to anything of human construction. Immediately about the +ship all is still, and, as far as appearances go she is precisely as she +would be in a secure harbor--housed all over, banked up with snow to her +gunwales. In fact, her winter plumage is so complete that the masts +alone are visible. The deck and the now useless sky-lights are covered +with hard snow. Below hatches we are warm and dry; all are in excellent +health and spirits, looking forward to an active campaign next winter. +God grant it may be realized! + +Yesterday Young shot the fiftieth seal, an event duly celebrated by our +drinking _the_ bottle of champagne which had been set apart in more +hopeful times to be drunk on reaching the North Water--that unhappy +failure, the more keenly felt from being so very unexpected. + +{ARCTIC PALATES.} + +Petersen saw and fired a shot into a narwhal, which brought the blubber +out. When most Arctic creatures are wounded in the water, blubber more +frequently than blood appears, particularly if the wound is +superficial--it spreads over the surface of the water like oil. Bills +of fare vary much, even in Greenland. I have inquired of Petersen, and +he tells me that the Greenland Esquimaux (there are many Greenlanders of +Danish origin) are not agreed as to which of their animals affords the +most delicious food; some of them prefer reindeer venison, others think +more favorably of young dog, the flesh of which, he asserts, is "just +like the beef of sheep." He says a Danish captain, who had acquired the +taste, provided some for his guests, and they praised his _mutton_! +after dinner he sent for the skin of the animal, which was no other than +a large red dog! This occurred in Greenland, where his Danish guests had +resided for many years, far removed from European _mutton_. Baked puppy +is a real delicacy all over Polynesia: at the Sandwich Islands I was +once invited to a feast, and had to feign disappointment as well as I +could when told that puppy was so extremely scarce it could not be +procured in time, and therefore sucking-pig was substituted! + +_19th._--A heavy southerly gale has increased the ice movements; happily +we are undisturbed. As Young was seated under the lee of a hummock, +watching for seals to pop up to breathe, the strong ice under him +suddenly cracked and separated! He escaped with a ducking, and was just +able to reach his gun from the bank ere it sank through the mixture of +snow and water. + +{A LUCKY DOG.} + +Yesterday we were all out; I saw only one seal, but was refreshed by the +sight of a dozen narwhals. It is a positive treat to see a living +creature of any kind. The only birds which remain are dovekies, but they +are scarce, and, being white, are very rarely visible. + +The dogs are fed every second day, when 2 lbs. of seal's +flesh--previously thawed when possible--is given to each; the weaker +ones get additional food, and they all pick up whatever scraps are +thrown out; this is enough to sustain, but not to satisfy them, so they +are continually on the look-out for anything eatable. Hobson made one +very happy without intending it; he meant only to give him a kick, but +his slipper, being down at heel, flew off, and away went the lucky dog +in triumph with the prize, which of course was no more seen. + +Two large icebergs drift in company with us; our relative positions have +remained pretty nearly the same for the last month. + +_23rd._--A heavy gale commenced at N.E. on the 21st, and continued for +thirty-six hours unabated in force, but changed in direction to S.S.W. +It appears to have been a revolving storm, moving to the N.W. Yesterday, +as the wind approached S.E., the temperature rose to +32 deg.; the upper +deck sloppy; the lower deck temperature during Divine Service was 75 deg.!! +As the wind veered round to S.S.W., the wind moderated, and temperature +fell: this evening it is -7 deg. How is it that the S.E. wind has brought +us such a very high temperature? Even if it traversed an unfrozen sea it +could not have derived from thence a higher temperature than 29 deg. Has it +swept across Greenland--that vast superficies partly enveloped in +glacier, partly in snow? No, it must have been borne in the higher +regions of the atmosphere from the far south, in order to mitigate the +severity of this northern climate. + +{SUDDEN RISE OF TEMPERATURE.} + +Petersen tells me the same warm S.E. wind suddenly sweeps over Upernivik +in midwinter, bringing with it abundance of rain; and that it always +shifts to the S.W., and then the temperature rapidly falls: this is +precisely the change we have experienced in lat. 75 deg. I believe a +somewhat similar, but less remarkable, change of temperature was noticed +in Smith's Sound, lat. 78-3/4 deg. N. + +_25th._--Mild "Madeira weather," as Hobson calls it, temperature up to ++7 deg. By my desire Dr. Walker is occupied in making every possible +experiment upon the freezing of salt water; the first crop of ice is +salt, the second less so, the third produces drinkable water, and the +fourth is fresh. Frosty efflorescence appears upon ice formed at low +temperatures in calm weather--it is brine expressed by the act of +freezing. We need not wonder that dogs, when driven hard over this ice, +which soon cuts their feet, suffer intense pain, and often fall down in +fits; nor that snow, falling upon young (sea) ice, wholly or partially +thaws, even when the temperature is but little above zero; when near the +freezing-point the young ice thus coated over becomes sludgy and unsafe. + +{THE DOGS' SORT_EE_.} + +_29th._--Keen, biting, N.W. winds. No cracks in the ice, therefore no +seals. Grey dawn at ten o'clock, and dark at two. The moon is everywhere +the sailor's friend, she is a source of comfort to us here. Nothing to +excite conversation, except an occasional inroad of the dogs in search +of food; this generally occurs at night. Whenever the deck-light, which +burns under the housing happens to go out, they scale the steep snow +banking and rush round the deck like wolves. "Why, bless you, Sir, the +wery moment that there light goes out, and the quartermaster turns his +back, they makes a regular sort_ee_, and in they all comes." "But _where +do_ they come in, Harvey?" "Where, Sir? why everywheres; they makes no +more to do, but in they comes, clean over all." Not long ago old Harvey +was chief quartermaster in a line-of-battle ship, and a regular magnet +to all the younger midshipmen. He would spin them yarns by the hour +during the night-watches about the wonders of the sea, and of the Arctic +regions in particular--its bears, its icebergs, and still more terrific +"auroras, roaring and flashing about the ship enough to frighten a +fellow"! + +{PROXIMITY OF OPEN SEA.} + +_30th._--Severe cold has arrived with the full moon; eight days ago the +thermometer stood at the freezing-point, it is now 64 deg. below it! So dark +is it now that I was able to observe an eclipse of Jupiter's first +satellite before three o'clock to-day. For the last two months we have +drifted freely backwards and forwards before N.W. and S.E. winds; each +time we have gained a more off-shore position, being gradually separated +further and further from the land by fresh growths of ice, which +invariably follow up every ice-movement. In this manner we have been +thrust out to the S.W. 80 miles from the nearest land, and into that +free space which in autumn was open water, and which we then vainly +struggled to reach. + +That the ice has been most free to move in this direction is additional +evidence of the recent proximity of an open sea, and shows that in all +probability--I had almost said certainty--we should have sailed, or at +least drifted into it, had it not been for those enemies to all +progress, the grounded bergs. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Burial in the pack--Musk oxen in lat. 80 deg. north--Thrift of the Arctic + fox--The aurora affects the electrometer--An Arctic + Christmas--Sufferings of Dr. Kane's deserters--Ice acted on by wind + only--How the sun ought to be welcomed--Constant action of the + ice--Return of the seals--Revolving storm. + + +{DEC., 1857.} + +{BURIAL IN THE PACK.} + +_4th Dec._--I have just returned on board from the performance of the +most solemn duty a commander can be called upon to fulfil. A funeral at +sea is always peculiarly impressive; but this evening at seven o'clock, +as we gathered around the sad remains of poor Scott, reposing under an +Union Jack, and read the Burial Service by the light of lanterns, the +effect could not fail to awaken very serious emotions. + +The greater part of the Church Service was read on board, under shelter +of the housing; the body was then placed upon a sledge, and drawn by the +messmates of the deceased to a short distance from the ship, where a +hole through the ice had been cut: it was then "committed to the deep," +and the Service completed. What a scene it was! I shall never forget it. +The lonely 'Fox,' almost buried in snow, completely isolated from the +habitable world, her colors half-mast high, and bell mournfully +tolling; our little procession slowly marching over the rough surface of +the frozen sea, guided by lanterns and direction-posts, amid the dark +and dreary depth of Arctic winter; the deathlike stillness, the intense +cold, and threatening aspect of a murky, overcast sky; and all this +heightened by one of those strange lunar phenomena which are but seldom +seen even here, a complete halo encircling the moon, through which +passed a horizontal band of pale light that encompassed the heavens; +above the moon appeared the segments of two other halos, and there were +also mock moons or paraselenae to the number of six. The misty atmosphere +lent a very ghastly hue to this singular display, which lasted for +rather more than an hour. + +Poor Scott fell down a hatchway two days only before his death, which +was occasioned by the internal injuries then received; he was a steady, +serious man; a widow and family will mourn his loss. He was our +engine-driver; we cannot replace him, therefore the whole duty of +working the engines will devolve upon the engineer, Mr. Brand. + +_11th._--Calm, clear weather, pleasant for exercise, but steadily cold; +thermometer varies between -20 deg. and -30 deg. At noon the blush of dawn +tints the southern horizon, to the north the sky remains inky blue, +whilst overhead it is bright and clear, the stars shining, and the +pole-star near the zenith very distinct. Although there is a light +north wind, thin mackerel-clouds are passing from south to north, and +the temperature has risen 10 deg. + +[Illustration: A Funeral on the Ice. The effect of Paraselenae--Mock +Moons.] + +{MUSK OXEN IN LAT. 80 deg. N.} + +I have been questioning Petersen about the bones of the musk oxen found +in Smith's Sound; he says the decayed skulls of about twenty were found, +all of them to the north of the 79th parallel. As they were all without +lower jaws, he says they were killed by Esquimaux, who leave upon the +spot the skulls of large animals, but the weight of the lower jaw being +so trifling it is allowed to remain attached to the flesh and tongue. +The skull of a musk ox with its massive horns cannot weigh less than 30 +lbs. + +Although it has been abundantly proved by the existence of raised +beaches and fossils, that the shores of Smith's Sound have been elevated +within a comparatively recent geological period, yet Petersen tells me +that there exist numerous ruins of Esquimaux buildings, probably one or +two centuries old, all of which are situated upon very low points, only +just sufficiently raised above the reach of the sea; such sites, in +fact, as would at present be selected by the natives. These ruins show +that no perceptible change has taken place in the relative level of sea +and land since they were originally constructed. At Petersen's Greenland +home, Upernivik, the land has sunk, as is plainly shown by similar +ruins over which the tides now flow. + +{THRIFT OF THE ARCTIC FOX.} + +Anything which illustrates the habits of animals in such extremely high +latitudes I think is most interesting; their instincts must be quickened +in proportion as the difficulty of subsisting increases. Foxes, white +and blue, are very numerous; all the birds are merely summer visitors, +therefore the hare is the only creature remaining upon which foxes can +prey; but the hares are comparatively scarce: how then do the foxes live +for eight months of each year? Petersen thinks they store up provisions +during the summer in various holes and crevices, and thus manage to eke +out an existence during the dark winter season; he once saw a fox carry +off eggs in his mouth from an eider-duck's nest, one at a time, until +the whole were removed; and in winter he has observed a fox scratch a +hole down through very deep snow, to a cache of eggs beneath. + +The men are exercised at building snow-huts; for winter or early spring +travelling, this knowledge is almost indispensable. Upon a calm day the +temperature of the external air being -33 deg., within a snow-hut the +thermometer stood 17 deg. higher, this important difference being due to the +transmission of heat through the ice from the sea beneath. + +Evaporation goes on through ice from the water underneath it. The +interior of each snow-hut is coated with crystals, and the ice upon +which the huts are built is four feet thick, but when no longer in +contact with water I cannot discover any evaporation from ice. For +instance, a canvas screen on deck which became wet by the sudden thaw +last month still remains frozen stiff. + +{THE AURORA.} + +_14th._--Of late there has been much damp upon the lower deck. This has +now been remedied by enclosing the hatchway within a commodious +snow-porch, which serves as a condenser for the steam and vapor from the +inhabited deck below. + +_19th._--Light N.W. winds, with occasional mists; the temperature is +comparatively mild: -12 deg. to -25 deg. + +It is now the time of spring-tides; they cause numerous cracks in the +ice; but why so, at such a great distance from the land, I cannot +explain. The three nearest points of land are respectively 110, 140, and +180 miles distant from us. + +Much aurora during the last two days. Yesterday morning it was visible +until eclipsed by the day-dawn at 10 o'clock. Although we could no +longer see it, I do not think it ceased: very thin clouds occupied its +place, through which, as through the aurora, stars appeared scarcely +dimmed in lustre. I do not imagine that aurora is ever visible in a +_perfectly_ clear atmosphere. I often observe it just silvering or +rendering luminous the upper edge of low fog or cloud banks, and with a +few vertical rays feebly vibrating. + +Last evening Dr. Walker called me to witness his success with the +electrometer. The electric current was so very weak that the gold-leaves +diverged at regular intervals of four or five seconds. Some hours +afterwards it was strong enough to _keep_ them diverged. + +_21st._--Midwinter day. Out of the Arctic regions it is better known as +the _shortest_ day. At noon we could just read type similar to the +leading article of the 'Times.' Few people could read more than two or +three lines without their eyes aching. + +{AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS.} + +_27th._--Our Christmas was a very cheerful, merry one. The men were +supplied with several additional articles, such as hams, plum-puddings, +preserved gooseberries and apples, nuts, sweetmeats, and Burton ale. +After Divine Service they decorated the lower deck with flags, and made +an immense display of food. The officers came down with me to see their +preparations. We were really astonished! The mess-tables were laid out +like the counters in a confectioner's shop, with apple and gooseberry +tarts, plum and sponge-cakes in pyramids, besides various other unknown +puffs, cakes, and loaves of all sizes and shapes. We bake all our own +bread, and excellent it is. In the background were nicely-browned hams, +meat-pies, cheeses, and other substantial articles. Rum and water in +wine-glasses, and plum-cake, were handed to us: we wished them a happy +Christmas, and complimented them on their taste and spirit in getting up +such a display. Our silken sledge-banners had been borrowed for the +occasion, and were regarded with deference and peculiar pride. + +In the evening the officers were enticed down amongst the men again, and +at a late hour I was requested, as a great favor, to come down and see +how much they were enjoying themselves. I found them in the highest good +humor with themselves and all the world. They were perfectly sober, and +singing songs, each in his turn. I expressed great satisfaction at +having seen them enjoying themselves so much and so rationally. I could +therefore the better describe it to Lady Franklin, who was so deeply +interested in everything relating to them. I drank their healths, and +hoped our position next year would be more suitable for our purpose. We +all joined in drinking the healths of Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft, +and amid the acclamations which followed I returned to my cabin, +immensely gratified by such an exhibition of genuine good feeling, such +veneration for Lady Franklin, and such loyalty to the cause of the +expedition. It was very pleasant also that they had taken the most +cheering view of our future prospects. I verily believe I was the +happiest individual on board, that happy evening. + +Our Christmas-box has come in the shape of northerly winds, which bid +fair to drift us southward towards those latitudes wherein we hope for +liberation next spring from this icy bondage. + +_28th._--We have been in expectation of a gale all day. This evening +there is still a doubtful sort of truce amongst the elements. Barometer +down to 28.83; thermometer up to +5 deg., although the wind has been strong +and steady from the N. for twenty-four hours, low scud flying from the +E., snow constantly falling. An hour ago the wind suddenly changed to +S.S.E.; the snowing has ceased; thermometer falls and barometer rises. + +{JAN., 1858.} + +{NEW YEAR'S DAY.} + +_2nd Jan., 1858._--New Year's day was a second edition of Christmas, and +quite as pleasantly spent. We dwelt much upon the anticipations of the +future, being a more agreeable theme than the failure of the past. I +confess to a hearty welcome for the new year--anxious, of course, that +we may escape uninjured, and sufficiently early to pursue the object of +our voyage. + +Exactly at midnight on the 31st December the arrival of the new year was +announced to me by our band--two flutes and an accordion--striking up at +my door. There was also a procession, or perhaps I should say a +continuation of the band; these performers were grotesquely attired, +and armed with frying-pans, gridirons, kettles, pots, and pans, with +which to join in and add to the effect of the _other_ music! + +{SUFFERINGS OF AN ARCTIC PARTY.} + +We have a very level hard walk alongside the ship; it is narrowed to two +or three yards in width by a snow-bank four feet high. In the face of +this bank some twenty-five holes have been excavated for the dogs, and +in them they spend most of their time. It looks very formidable in the +moonlight, being a good imitation of a casemated battery. + +After our rubber of whist on New Year's night Petersen related to us +some of his dreadful sufferings when with the party which had left Dr. +Kane. They spent the months of October and November in Booth Sound, lat. +77 deg.; all that time upon the verge of starvation, unable to advance or +retreat. For these two months they had no other fuel than their small +cedar boat, the smoke of which was not endurable in their wretched hut, +and without light, for the sun left them in October, unless we except +one inch and a half of taper daily, which they made out of a lump of +bees'-wax that accidently found its way into their boat before leaving +the ship. In December they regained their vessel. I am surprised that no +account of the extreme hardships of this party--so far exceeding that of +their shipmates on board--has ever appeared; and I regret it, as I +believe they owed their lives to the experience and fidelity of their +interpreter Petersen. At first the Esquimaux assisted them; latterly +they were quite unable to do so, and became anxious to get rid of their +visitors. Observing how weakened they had become, the Esquimaux +endeavored to separate them from their guns and from each other, and +even used threatening language. + +{ICE ACTED ON BY WIND ONLY.} + +During December we drifted 67 miles, directly down Baffin's Bay towards +the Atlantic, and are now in lat. 74 deg. Although it is quite impossible +to discriminate between the several influences which probably govern our +movements, or to ascertain how much is due to each of them--such as the +relative positions of ice, land, and open water, winds, currents, and +earth's rotation--yet it appears in the present instance that the wind +is almost the sole agent in hastening this vast _continent_ of ice +towards the latitudes of its dissolution. We move before the wind in +proportion to its strength: we remain stationary in calm weather. +Neither surface nor submarine current has been detected; the large +icebergs obey the same influences as the surface ice. We have noticed a +slight set to the westward--it is not likely to be produced by current, +and may be the result of the earth's motion from west to east. + +_6th._--Many lanes of water. A seal has been seen, the only one for six +weeks. Of the old ice which so closely hemmed us in up to the middle of +September, there is hardly any within several miles of us except the +large floe-piece we are frozen to. Every crack or lane which opens is +quickly covered with young ice, so that it cannot close again; and in +this manner the old ice has been spread out. I rejoice in its +dispersion! + +{RETURN OF THE SUN.} + +To-day I put a tumblerful of our strong ale (Allsopp's) on deck to +freeze: this was soon effected, the temperature being -35 deg. After +bringing it below, and when its temperature had risen to 17 deg., it was +almost all thawed--at 22 deg. it was completely so: it looked muddy, but +settled after standing for a couple of hours, when I drank it off, in +every way satisfied with my experiment and my beer: it seemed none the +worse for its freezing, but rather flat from its long exposure in a +tumbler. + +_17th._--Northerly winds blow almost constantly. We have drifted 60 +miles since the 1st, and are only 115 miles from Upernivik,--once more +upon confines of the habitable world! good light for three hours daily; +all this is cheering. We continue our snow-hut practice, and can build +one in three-quarters of an hour. + +_28th._--The upper edge of the sun appeared above the horizon to-day, +after an absence of eighty-nine days; it was a gladdening sight. I sent +for the ship's steward and asked what was the custom on such occasions? +"To hoist the colors and serve out an extra half-gill, sir," was the +ready reply: accordingly, the Harwich lion soon fluttered in a breeze +cool enough to stiffen the limbs of ordinary lions, and in the evening +the grog was issued. + +{THE SICK LIST.} + +_30th._--Our messmate Pussy is unwell, and won't eat; in vain has Hobson +tempted her with raw seal's flesh, preserved salmon, preserved milk, +etc.; at length castor-oil was forcibly administered. Puss is a great +favorite. Our finest dog, Sultan, is also sick, and his coat is in bad +order; blubber has been prescribed for him;--and poor old Mary has fits, +not uncommon after the long winter. Petersen immediately ordered her to +be bled by slitting her ear; but Christian, in his fright and haste, +cropped the tip of it off These comprise our only medical cases. A +dovekie, in its white winter plumage, and two seals have been seen +lately. + +{FEB., 1858.} + +_15th Feb._--The returning daylight cheers us up wonderfully--not that +we were suffering, either mentally or bodily, but the change is most +agreeable; we can take much longer walks than were possible during the +dark period. The men have been supplied with muskets, and go out +sporting as ardently as schoolboys. I took a long walk towards one of +our iceberg companions, but could not quite reach it, as weak ice +intervened, each step producing an undulation. Finding the point of my +knife went through it with but very slight resistance, I gave up the +attempt and turned back. The ship's masts were scarcely visible in the +distance; almost the whole of the intervening ice was of this winter's +growth, and in many places much crushed up. + +{CONSTANT ACTION OF THE ICE.} + +Daylight reveals to us evidences of vast ice movements having taken +place during the dark months when we fancied all was still and quiet; +and we now see how greatly we have been favored, what innumerable +chances of destruction we have unconsciously escaped! A few days ago the +ice suddenly cracked within ten yards of the ship, and gave her such a +smart shock that every one rushed on deck with astonishing alacrity. One +of these sudden disruptions occurred between me and the ship when I was +returning from the iceberg; the sun was just setting as I found myself +cut off. Had I been on the other side I would have loitered to enjoy a +refreshing gaze upon this dark streak of water; but after a smart run of +about a mile along its edge, and finding no place to cross, visions of a +patrol on the floe for the long night of fifteen hours began to obtrude +themselves! At length I reached a place where the jagged edges of the +floes met, so crossed and got safely on board. Nothing was seen during +this walk of nearly 25 miles except one seal. Recent gales have drifted +us rapidly southward; cracks and lanes are very numerous. + +{RETURN OF A DESERTER.} + +On the 1st a blue (or sooty) fox was shot. Although 130 geographical +miles from the nearest land he was very fat, hence we argue dovekies +were much more numerous during winter than we supposed. We have often +noticed the tracks of foxes following up those of the bears, probably +for discarded scraps of the seals upon which they prey. Hobson's +favorite dog "Chummie" has returned, after an absence of six days, +decidedly hungry, but he can hardly have been without food all that +time; some fox may have lured him off. He evinced great delight in +getting back, devoted his first attentions to a hearty meal, then rubbed +himself up against his own particular associates, after which he sought +out and attacked the weakest of his enemies, and, soothed by their +howlings, coiled himself up for a long sleep. + +{MAR., 1858.} + +_1st March._--February has been a remarkably mild, cloudy, windy month: +the winter temperature may be said to have passed away by the 10th, the +average temperature for the first ten days being -25 deg., whilst for the +remainder of the month it was -11 deg. Had one fallen asleep for a month at +least, he could not reasonably have expected to find a greater change on +awaking. Our drift has been also great,--166 miles. We are south of the +70th parallel, and may soon be expelled from our icy home. + +On the 24th there was a fearful gale of wind. Had not our housing been +very well secured, it must have been blown away. We are preparing for +sea, removing the snow from off the deck and round the ship; our +sky-lights have been dug out (in winter they are always covered with a +thick layer of snow), and the flood of light which beams down through +them is quite charming. How intolerably sooty and smoke-dried everything +looks! + +{RETURN OF THE SEALS.} + +On the 27th the first seal of this year was shot; it came in good time, +for the fifty-one seals shot in autumn were finished only two days +before: our English supply of dogs' food therefore remains almost +untouched. Snow was observed to melt against the ship's side exposed to +the sun, the thermometer in the shade standing at -22 deg.! A very fine dog +has died from eating a quantity of salt fish, which he managed to get at +although it was supposed to be quite out of his reach. + +One of the two large icebergs which commenced this voyage with us last +October, in 75-1/2 deg. N., has drifted out of sight to the S.E., the other +one is far off in the N.W. I attribute these increased distances solely +to the spreading abroad of the intervening ice. + +When we were far north, and probably drifting more slowly than the ice +in the stream of Lancaster Sound to the westward of us, the ship's head +turned very gradually from right to left, from N.N.W. to W.; when about +the parallel of 72 deg. N., we supposed ourselves to be drifting faster than +the western ice; in this, as in the previous case, comparing our drift +with that of Lieutenant De Haven, the ship's head slowly shifted back +to the right as far as W.N.W.; latterly it has not changed at all: we +are in a narrower part of Davis' Strait, where the winds probably blow +with equal force from shore to shore and drift the whole pack at a +uniform rate. + +_5th._--On the 2nd four fat seals and some dovekies were shot; the +largest seal weighed 170 lbs., the smallest 150 lbs.; they were males of +the species _Phoca hespida_, or _Phoca f[oe]tida_, the latter epithet +being by far the most appropriate at this season; the disagreeable odor +resembles garlic, and taints the whole animal so strongly that even +Esquimaux are nearly overpowered by it: this is almost the only +description of seal we have obtained, but the females are at all seasons +free from fetor. Several long lanes of water extend at right angles to +the straits. + +{REVOLVING STORM.} + +The Doctor has taken a photograph of the ship by the albumen process on +glass; the temperature at the time was below zero. Upon the 3rd and 4th +a well-remarked revolving storm passed nearly over us to the W.N.W.; its +extreme diameter was 30 hours, that of the strength of the gale 18 +hours; its centre probably passed about one-tenth of its diameter to the +S.W. The barometer was rather high, having risen just before the wind +commenced at N.E.; but it now fell half an inch in ten hours, and +continued to fall until the wind shifted--almost suddenly--through S.E. +to S.S.W.; immediately the barometer got up rapidly. As the barometer +fell, the temperature rose from zero to +18 deg., and fell again after the +change of wind. This violent storm brought with it a smart hail-shower. + +{DISCO SIGHTED.} + +The depression of the ice about the bows, in consequence of a vast +accumulation of snow-drift upon it, brought the ship down by the head +considerably; to-day this ice suddenly detached itself, and the fore +part of the vessel sprang up; she still remains frozen and held down +abaft. The snow-banking looks very woe-begone after this _ice-quake_; it +inclines out from the ship, and in many places has been prostrated by +the shock. + +Early on the morning of the 7th the high land of Disco was seen; its +distance was upwards of 90 miles. + + + + +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. + + +{A BEAR-FIGHT.} + +_9th March._--A bear was seen this morning; but as he was going away +from us, the dogs were brought out in the hope that they might keep him +at bay until the sportsmen came up. It was very pretty to see them take +up the scent, the moment they caught sight of him they set off at full +speed. Bruin had seen them first, and increased his pace to a clumsy +gallop, yet the dogs were soon around him; he seemed to care but little +about them, steadily making off and following the trending of a recently +frozen crack in search of clear water, evidently aware that his +persecutors would not follow him there. + +After five hours all returned on board again; out of the ten dogs four +were wounded by his claws,--skin deep only,--but one of the wounds was +seven inches in length, as if made with a sharp knife! this was sewed +up, the others were merely trimmed, and nature, I am informed, will do +all the rest. It is really wonderful what cures nature and instinct +effect: notwithstanding the extreme cold, no external dressings are +applied, because the animal must not be prevented from licking its +wound. Petersen says this bear must be very thin, else he could not run +so fast. I think it very probable that he has been hunted before, and +that fear lent him wings. A black whale has been seen. + +{SEAL STEAKS.} + +_11th._--Two small seals free from taint were shot yesterday, so we had +fried liver and steaks for breakfast this morning; both were good, but +the steaks were preferred; they were very dark and very tender, had been +cut thin, deprived of all fat, and washed in two or three waters to get +rid of the blubber. + +_16th._--Several long lanes of water have again opened, but now all of +them extend parallel to the direction of the straits; one lane passed +within 120 yards of the ship; its extremes are not visible even from +aloft; the ice upon its east side has a more rapid southerly motion than +that upon its west side. + +_18th._--Last night the ice closed, shutting up our lane, but its +opposite sides continued for several hours to move past each other, +rubbing off all projections, crushing, and forcing out of water masses +four feet thick: although 120 yards distant, this pressure shook the +ship and cracked the intervening ice. + +{AN ICE-NIP.} + +I went out with a lantern to see the nip,--it certainly was +awe-inspiring; no one in his senses could avoid reflecting upon the +inevitable fate of a ship if exposed to such fearful pressure. It is now +spring tides. + +_19th._--All yesterday the lane remained open; in the evening it closed +with but slight pressure; yet as the opposing fields of ice continued to +move in opposite directions, all jagged points were brushed off, and the +debris thus formed between their edges presented a heaving surface of +ice-masses,--an ice river. On the separation of the floes, mass after +mass forced itself up to the surface, until at length all the submerged +ice had risen, except such as had been forced quite under their edges. +One seldom meets with a cleanly fractured floe-edge, they are usually +fringed with crushed-up ice or newly formed sludge. + +_23rd._--Seals and dovekies are now common; the latter have already made +considerable advances towards their summer plumage. + +Yesterday there was a very heavy S.E. gale; it blew so furiously, and +the snow-drift was so dense, that we could neither hear nor see what was +going on twenty yards off; at night the ship, becoming suddenly detached +from the ice, heeled over to the storm; until the cause was ascertained +we thought the ice had broken up and pressed against the ship. It was +not so; but when the weather moderated we found that there had been +heavy pressure upon the edge of the floes,--so much, indeed, that the +lane of water was now within 70 yards of the 'Fox;' and that ice 4-1/2 +feet thick had been crushed during the storm for a distance of about 50 +yards. + +{STRONG GALES.} + +_25th._--Strong N.W. winds lately, the ship rocking to the breeze, and +rubbing her poor sides against the ice, producing a creaking sound which +is far from pleasant. More ice squeezing, and a further inroad upon our +barrier; it has yielded slightly, nipping the ship, inclining her to +port, and lifting her stern about a foot. Occasional groanings within, +and surgings of the ice without. + +Our boats, provisions, sledges, knapsacks, and equipment are ready for a +hasty departure,--beyond this we can do nothing; as long as our friendly +barrier lasts we need not fear, but who can tell the moment it may be +demolished, and the ship exposed to destruction? I am scribbling within +a foot of the sternpost--in fact, there is a notch in my table to +receive it; and I sympathize with its constant groanings; the ice allows +it no rest. + +_27th._--Strong N.W. gale with a return of cold weather. We have drifted +39 miles in the last forty-eight hours! The lane is open; the whole pack +appears to have plenty of room to drift, and, I am happy to add, is +taking advantage of it,--so much so that the smaller pieces floating +freely in the lane can hardly go at the same pace. Our remaining winter +companion, the iceberg, was in sight a few days ago, far away to the +N.W.; it may be still visible from aloft, but these March gales cut so +keenly, that the crow's-nest is but seldom visited. + +_31st._--Another N.W. gale; it is also spring tides, and this +conjunction makes one fearful of ice movement and pressure; but it seems +as if the pack had more room to move in, as it does not close much. +Seals are often shot, bear tracks are common, and narwhals are +frequently seen migrating northward. The bears must prefer the +night-time for wandering about, else we could not help seeing them; we +often find their tracks within a few hundred yards of the ship. + +Although the last, yet this is the coldest day of the month--the +thermometer down to -27 deg. The mean temperature for March has been +unusually high, -3 deg.; whilst Lieutenant De Haven's was -17 deg. +Notwithstanding that heavy S.E. gales have three times driven us +backward, yet we have advanced 100 miles further down Davis' Straits. + +{APR., 1858.} + +{BREAKING UP OF ICE.} + +_6th April._--To-day we enjoy fine weather, the more so since it comes +after a tremendous northerly gale of forty-eight hours' duration. Two +days ago the friendly old floe, so long our bulwark of defence, was +cracked; the lane of water thus formed soon widened to 60 yards, passed +within 30 yards of the 'Fox,' and cut off three of our boats. Yesterday +morning another crack detached the remaining 30 yards from us, and as it +widened the ship swung across the opening; as quickly as we could effect +it the ship was again placed alongside the ice and within a projecting +point; had it closed only a few feet whilst she lay across the lane, the +consequences must have been very serious. Even to effect this slight +change of position we were fully occupied for four hours; for the gale +blew furiously, and thermometer stood at 12 deg. below zero, and the cold +was very much felt; our hawsers were frozen so stiff as to be quite +unmanageable, and we were obliged to use the chain cables to warp the +ship into safety. + +Throughout yesterday the wind continued extremely strong and +keen,--fortunately the ice remained perfectly still: our funnels refused +to draw up the smoke; so that between the suffocation, the cold, and +anxiety lest the ice should move, our Easter Monday was sufficiently +miserable. The half of our poor dogs were cut off from the ship by the +lane, and continued to howl dismally until late, when the new ice over +the lane was strong enough to bear them, and they came across to us. + +To-day we have recovered the boats, shot four seals, seen two whales, +and much water to the eastward; we are in latitude 67 deg. 18' N., and +highly delighted with the rapidity of our southern drift. + +{OUT OF THE PACK.} + +_10th._--Yesterday evening the setting sun rendered visible the western +land, probably Cape Dyer. We have drifted 70 miles in the last week, and +are only 18 miles from De Haven's position of escape; but as we are two +months earlier, we must expect to be carried farther south. + +_12th._--This morning we drifted ingloriously out of the Arctic regions, +and with what very different feelings from those with which we crossed +the Arctic circle eight months ago! However, we have not done with it +yet; directly the ice lets us go, we will (D. V.) re-enter the frigid +zone, and "try again," with, I trust, better success. + +A gull and a few terns appeared to-day; these are the first of our +summer visitors. The temperature improves; yesterday at one o'clock it +was +19 deg. in the shade, +15 deg. in the crow's-nest 70 feet high, and +51 deg. +against a black surface exposed to the sun. + +_16th._--Last night a bear came to the ship, was wounded, but escaped; +to-day the tracks were followed up for three miles, the bear found, and +again wounded--finally the unlucky beast was shot in the water seven +miles from the ship; it was lost in consequence of the rapid drifting of +the ice, which ran over the floating carcase. + +To-night a dense fog-bank rests upon the water to the southward; its +upper edge is illuminated by aurora, showing a faint tremulous light. + +_17th._--Another northerly gale; holding fast to the ice with three +hawsers; snow-drift limits the view to a couple of miles, so all to the +eastward appears water, and to the westward ice. + +Last night the ice opened considerably; to secure the ship occupied us +for six hours; several of the dogs were again cut off; as the ice they +were on was rapidly drifting away, I sent a boat to recover them; it was +a difficult and hazardous business, but at length the boat and dogs +returned in safety, to my great relief, for it was both dark and late. + +{DOGS LOST.} + +_18th._--Yesterday morning when I wrote up my journal, I was hoping to +hold on quietly to the floe-edge until the wind moderated, when with +clear weather we could take advantage of the openings and make some +progress towards the clear sea. We were unable to hold on, for the +floe-edge broke away, setting us adrift; some time was occupied in +fetching off the boats and dogs,--five of the latter unfortunately would +not allow themselves to be caught. As speedily as possible the rudder +was shipped and sail set, and before three o'clock the ship was running +fast to the eastward! During the night the ice closed, and at daylight +scarcely any water was visible; with the exception of a couple of +icebergs, all the ice in sight was not more than two days old; it +mainly owes its origin and rapid growth to the immense quantities of +snow blown off the pack. + +It still blows hard, and the thermometer stands at 11 deg. A sudden opening +of the ice this forenoon allowed us to run a few miles southward, and +then it closed again; we are now surrounded by young ice. + +_20th._--We have been carried rapidly past the position where the Arctic +discovery ship 'Resolute' was picked up. + +{THE ARCTIC BEAR.} + +Yesterday three bears, a fulmar petrel, and a snow bunting were seen; +to-day a fine bear came within 150 yards, and was shot by our sportsmen; +as they were standing round it afterwards upon the ice, a small seal, +the only one seen for several days, popped up its head as if to exult +over its fallen enemy--it was of course instantly shot: we have learnt +to esteem seal's liver for breakfast very highly. + +It seems hardly right to call polar bears _land_ animals; they abound +here,--110 geographical miles from the nearest land,--upon very loose +broken-up ice, which is steadily drifting into the Atlantic at the rate +of 12 or 14 miles daily; to remain upon it would insure their +destruction were they not nearly amphibious; they hunt by scent, and are +constantly running across and against the wind, which prevails from the +northward, so that the same instinct which directs their search for +prey, also serves the important purpose of guiding them in the direction +of the land and more solid ice. + +I remarked that the upper part of both Bruin's fore-paws were rubbed +quite bare; Petersen explains that to surprise the seal a bear crouches +down with his fore-paws doubled underneath, and pushes himself +noiselessly forward with his hinder legs until within a few yards, when +he springs upon the unsuspecting victim, whether in the water or upon +the ice. The Greenlanders are fond of bear's flesh, but never eat either +the heart or liver, and say that these parts cause sickness. No instance +is known of Greenland bears attacking men, except when wounded or +provoked; they never disturb the Esquimaux graves, although they seldom +fail to rob a cache of seal's flesh, which is a similar construction of +loose stones above ground. + +A native of Upernivik, one dark winter's day, was out visiting his +seal-nets. He found a seal entangled, and, whilst kneeling down over it +upon the ice to get it clear, he received a slap on the back--from his +companion as he supposed; but a second and heavier blow made him look +smartly round. He was horror-stricken to see a peculiarly grim old bear +instead of his comrade! without deigning further notice of the man, +Bruin tore the seal out of the net and commenced his supper. He was not +interrupted; nor did the man wait to see the meal finished. + +I had long ago resolved, if we escaped before the 15th, or the 20th +April at the latest, to go to Newfoundland to refresh the crew and to +refit, even if no damage from the ice should be sustained. In order to +do so it would have been necessary for us to visit a Greenland port for +a supply of water. We could not have calculated upon much assistance +from our engines upon such a voyage, Mr. Brand alone being capable of +working the engines, so that ten or twelve hours daily is all the +steaming that could have been expected. + +But we are still ice-locked, so I purpose going to Holsteinborg in +preference to a more southern port, as there we may expect to get +reindeer and a small supply of stores suitable to our wants. The whalers +sometimes reach Disco in March, Upernivik in May, and the North Water +early in June. Unless we should be at once set free, we would not have +time to spare for a Newfoundland voyage. + +{THE OCEAN SWELL.} + +{AN ICE-TOURNAMENT.} + +_24th._--Another anxious week has passed. Latterly we have experienced +south-westerly currents similar to those which Parry describes when +beset here in June, 1819. To-day we have had a strong S.E. breeze, with +snow and dark weather. The wind had greatly moderated when the swell +reached us about eight o'clock this evening. It is now ten o'clock; the +long ocean swell already lifts its crest five feet above the hollow of +the sea, causing its thick covering, of icy fragments to dash against +each other and against us with unpleasant violence. It is however very +beautiful to look upon, the dear old familiar ocean-swell! it has long +been a stranger to us, and is welcome in our solitude. If the 'Fox' was +as solid as her neighbors, I am quite sure she would enter into this +ice-tournament with all their apparent heartiness, instead of audibly +making known her sufferings to us. Every considerable surface of ice has +been broken into many smaller ones; with feelings of exultation I +watched the process from aloft. A floe-piece near us, of 100 yards in +diameter, was speedily cracked so as to resemble a sort of labyrinth, +or, still more, a field-spider's web. In the course of half an hour the +family resemblance was totally lost; they had so battered each other, +and struggled out of their original regularity. The rolling sea can no +longer be checked; "the pack has taken upon itself the functions of an +ocean," as Dr. Kane graphically expresses it. + +_26th._--At sea! How am I to describe the events of the last two days? +It has pleased God to accord to us a deliverance in which His merciful +protection contrasts--how strongly!--with our own utter helplessness; as +if the successive mercies vouchsafed to us during our long, long winter +and mysterious ice-drift had been concentrated and repeated in a single +act. Thus forcibly does His great goodness come home to the mind! + +I am in no humor for writing, being still tired, seedy, and perhaps a +little seasick; at least I have a headache, caused by the rolling of the +ship and rattling noise of everything. + +{THE 'FOX' IN PERIL.} + +On Saturday night, the 24th, I went on deck to spend the greater part of +it in watching, and to determine what to do. The swell greatly +increased; it had evidently been approaching for hours before it reached +us, since it rose in proportion as the ice was broken up into smaller +pieces. In a short time but few of them were equal in size to the ship's +deck; most of them not half so large. I knew that near the pack-edge the +sea would be very heavy and dangerous; but the wind was now fair, and +having auxiliary steam-power, I resolved to push out of the ice if +possible. + +Shortly after midnight the ship was under sail, slowly boring her way to +the eastward; at two o'clock on Sunday morning commenced steaming, the +wind having failed. By eight o'clock we had advanced considerably to the +eastward, and the swell had become dangerously high, the waves rising +ten feet above the trough of the sea. The shocks of the ice against the +ship were alarmingly heavy; it became necessary to steer exactly +head-on to swell. We slowly passed a small iceberg 60 or 70 feet high; +the swell forced it crashing through the pack, leaving a small +water-space in its wake, but sufficient to allow the seas to break +against its cliffs, and throw the spray in heavy showers quite over its +summit. + +{CLEAR OF THE PACK.} + +The day wore on without change, except that the snow and mists cleared +off. Gradually the swell increased, and rolled along more swiftly, +becoming in fact a very heavy regular sea, rather than a swell. The ice +often lay so closely packed that we could hardly force ahead, although +the fair wind had again freshened up. Much heavy hummocky ice and large +berg-pieces lay dispersed through the pack; a single thump from any of +them would have been instant destruction. By five o'clock the ice became +more loose, and clear spaces of water could be seen ahead. We went +faster, received fewer though still more severe shocks, until at length +we had room to steer clear of the heaviest pieces; and at eight o'clock +we emerged from the villanous "pack," and were running fast through +straggling pieces into a clear sea. The engines were stopped, and Mr. +Brand permitted to rest after eighteen hours' duty, for we now have no +one else capable of driving the engines. + +Throughout the day I trembled for the safety of the rudder, and screw; +deprived of the one or the other, even for half an hour, I think our +fate would have been sealed; to have steered in any other direction than +_against_ the swell would have exposed, and probably sacrificed both. + +{DANGER FROM ICE-MASSES.} + +Our bow is very strongly fortified, well plated externally with iron, +and so very sharp that the ice-masses, repeatedly hurled against the +ship by the swell as she rose to meet it, were thus robbed of their +destructive force; they struck us obliquely, yet caused the vessel to +shake violently, the bells to ring, and almost knocked us off our legs. +On many occasions the engines were stopped dead by ice choking the +screw; once it was some minutes before it could be got to revolve again. +Anxious moments those! + +After yesterday's experience I can understand how men's hair has turned +grey in a few hours. Had self-reliance been my only support and hope, it +is not impossible that I might have illustrated the fact. Under the +circumstances I did my best to insure our safety, looked as stoical as +possible, and inwardly trusted that God would favor our exertions. What +a release ours has been, not only from eight months' imprisonment, but +from the perils of that one day! Had our little vessel been destroyed +after the ice broke up, there remained no hope for us. But we have been +brought safely through, and are all truly grateful, I hope, and believe. + +I grieve to think of poor Lady Franklin and our friends at home. +Severely as we have felt the failure of our first season's operations, +yet the ordeal is now over with us: not so with her and them,--they have +still to experience that bitter disappointment. + +Our distance within the pack-edge, where we first made sail yesterday, +was 22 miles. Before we got clear of the ice the height of the waves was +13-1/2 feet; after passing through the last of it there was no increase, +but the sea was more confused; in fact, within the ice all minor +disturbances were quelled or merged into one regular fast-following +swell. The ship and her machinery behaved most admirably in the +struggle; should I ever have to pass through such an ice-covered, +heaving ocean again, let me secure a passage in the 'Fox.' + +During our 242 days in the packed-ice of Baffin's Bay and Davis' Straits +we were drifted 1194 geographical or 1385 statute miles; it is the +longest drift I know of, and our winter, as a whole, may be considered +as having been mild, but very windy. + +{STEERING FOR HOLSTEINBORG.} + +We are steering now for Holsteinborg, where I intend to refit and +refresh the crew; it is reputed to be the best place for reindeer upon +the coast. + + + + +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. + + +{ANCHORED AT HOLSTEINBORG.} + +_Wednesday night, April 28th._--Safely anchored at Holsteinborg, and +moored to the rocks; a charming change, after our position only a few +days back. We have been visited by the Danish residents--the chief +trader or governor, the priest, and two others: their latest European +intelligence is not more recent than our own, but the Danish ship is +hourly expected; she usually leaves Copenhagen about the middle of +March. + +The winter here has been just the reverse of our own experience; it has +been severe in point of temperature, but with very little wind; the land +lies buried in snow, and as yet there is no thaw; it is too early for +the cod-fishery, and not a single reindeer has been killed throughout +the winter! Eider-ducks, looms, and dovekies are abundant, as well as +hares and ptarmigan. + +_29th._--A bright and lovely day. Our poor, half-famished dogs have been +landed near the carcases of four whales, so they must be supremely +happy. I visited the Governor to-day, and found his little wooden house +as scrupulously clean and neat as the houses of the Danish residents in +Greenland invariably are. The only ornaments about the room were +portraits of his unfortunate wife and two children: they embarked at +Copenhagen last year to rejoin him, and the ill-fated vessel has never +since been heard of. Poor Governor Elberg is in ill health, and talks of +returning home--by _home_ he means Denmark, the land of his birth, and +where once he had a home. + +{HOLIDAY IN GREENLAND.} + +_30th._--This is a grand Danish holiday; the inhabitants are all dressed +in their Sunday clothes--at least, all who have got a change of +garments--and there is both morning and evening service in the small +wooden church. As the Governor could not be persuaded to unlock the door +of the dance-house, our men returned on board early; yesterday evening +they were all on shore, and, with the Esquimaux, were squeezed into this +one large room: to be squeezed in a crowd of human beings is positive +enjoyment after a winter's isolation such as ours has been. Old Harvey +constituted himself master of the ceremonies, and with his flute led the +orchestra; it consisted of one other flute and a fiddle; he managed to +perch himself above all the rest, at one end of the room, and played +with such vigor that our bluejackets and the Esquimaux ladies danced +away most furiously for hours. These ladies can dance in the least +possible space, their costume being particularly well adapted for the +purpose, partaking as it does much more of the "Bloomer" than the +"crinoline." + +Christian looks immensely happy: his countrymen regard him as a man +whose fortune is made, and the women gaze with admiration upon his neat +sailor's dress, and his good-natured, full, round face, and huge, fat, +shining cheeks; Mr. Petersen is in great request to interpret between +the English, Danes, and Esquimaux. + +{MAY, 1858.} + +_7th May._--I intended sailing for Disco this morning, but wind and +weather were adverse. We have obtained but little here except water, a +tolerable supply of rock cod, some ptarmigan hares, wildfowl, and a few +items of stores. The Governor _now_ thinks the Danish ship must have +been directed to visit Godhaab before coming here. We have left letters +to go home in her, and they ought to be in England by the end of June. + +{AN EARTHQUAKE.} + +I visited to-day a small lake at the foot of Mount Cunningham; it is +said to occupy the centre of an extinct volcano: but I saw nothing to +bear out the assertion. This is the only part of Greenland where +earthquakes are felt. The Governor told me of an unusually severe shock +which occurred a winter or two ago. He was sitting in his room reading +at the time, when he heard a loud noise like the discharge of a cannon; +immediately afterwards a tremulous motion was felt, some glasses upon +the table began to dance about, and papers lying upon the window-sill +fell down: after a few seconds it ceased. He thinks the motion +originated at the lake, as it was not felt by some people living beyond +it, and that it passed from N.E. to S.W. + +This mountain scenery is really charming; but a little more animal +life--reindeer, for instance--would make it far more pleasing in our +eyes. The last twelvemonth's produce of this district amounts only to +500 reindeer skins instead of 3000, as in ordinary years. The clergyman +of Holsteinborg was born in this colony, and has succeeded his father in +the priestly office; his wife is the only European female in the colony. +Being told that fuel was extremely scarce in the Danish houses, and that +"the priest's wife was blue with the cold," I sent on shore a present of +some coals. + +On Sunday afternoon, hearing the church bell ringing I went on shore. It +proved to be only a christening. The little dusky infant received a long +string of European names. There was a small description of barrel-organ, +to the sound of which the congregation joined in, keeping up a loud +monotonous chant. Most of the young people had hymn-books in their +hands, printed in the Esquimaux language. + +Ravens seem very abundant, also large grey falcons: perhaps the dead +whales may have attracted an unusual number. + +{THE LOVES OF GREENLANDERS.} + +Poor Christian has not only fallen desperately in love, but has engaged +himself to the object of his affections, a pretty Esquimaux girl. He +asked me to-day to give her a passage up to Godhavn, as he wished to +leave her in charge of his mother until his return there with us next +year, when his engagement for the voyage would be fulfilled. Having +heard a rumor of a young woman awaiting his return at Godhavn, I taxed +him with it, but he replied with great simplicity that "he had never +promised her, and would not marry her, as his friends objected to the +match!" What are the good Greenlanders coming to? I recommended that he +should have his betrothed in her own home, with her mother and family. +His asking a passage for her, in order to leave her with his mother, is +strong proof of the sincerity of his engagement, not only to his lady +love, but to the 'Fox' also. + +I have written to the admiralty to account for my prolonged absence from +England; and to Dr. Rink to acquaint him with the cause of my second +visit to his inspectorate. + +Governor Elberg has promised to get me some fossil fish, to be found +only in North Strom Fiord: they are interesting, as being of unknown +geological date. + +_10th._--On the morning of the 8th we left Holsteinborg with a pleasant +land wind and bright weather. When 15 miles off shore we were stopped by +ice formed during the last two nights, the thermometer having fallen to +12 deg.; out in the offing the weather was gloomy and cold, and strong +northerly winds were blowing. On closing the land again, we regained the +off-shore wind, and bright weather. + +{STOPPED BY THE ICE.} + +Keeping close alongshore, and threading our way through a vast deal of +"pack" and numerous icebergs, we gained sight of Disco about noon +to-day, and by the evening were within an hour's sail of Godhavn, when +we were again stopped by a broad belt of ice stretching along the coast; +this was a bitter disappointment, more particularly as a gale of wind +with heavy sea was fast rising, and snow beginning to fall thickly; +there was nothing for it, however, but to stand off under easy sail for +the night. + +{WHALEFISH ISLANDS.} + +_12th._--At anchor at the Whalefish Islands. On the evening of the 10th +we stood off from the inhospitable barrier of ice, prepared to meet the +storm; snow fell so thickly that we could hardly see the icebergs in +time to avoid them. We supposed ourselves to be well to leeward of the +Whalefish Islands, but were deceived by the tides; suddenly a small, low +islet was seen on the lee bow; not being able to pass to windward, we +were obliged to wear ship, and, in doing so, passed within the ship's +length of destruction--for we were certainly within that distance of +the rocks! The islet was covered with snow, and but for some very few +dark points showing through, it could not be distinguished from ice. On +the 11th the weather improved, and in the evening we came to our present +anchorage. From a hill we can watch an opportunity to enter Godhavn. +Notwithstanding the blowing weather, some natives came about five miles +off to us; the water washed over their little _kayaks_, and kept the +occupants' seal-skin dresses streaming with wet up to their shoulders; +this part of their dress seems rather part of the kayak, as it is +attached to it round the hole in which the _kayaker_ sits, so that no +water can enter. It is wonderful to see how closely a man can assimilate +his habits to those of a fish. + +The Danish cooper in charge of this out-station tells us there are +thirteen English whalers already out, and some of them have been up to +the north end of Disco; two vessels are in sight. The world, it appears, +is at peace. Petersen was at one time in charge of this station; he is +now seeking out his old acquaintances. + +_14th._--Summer has suddenly burst upon us--thermometer up to 40 deg.; +moreover, we are enjoying English newspapers, and have dined off roast +beef and vegetables! + +{MEET THE WHALERS.} + +Two days ago I sent a note off to a whaler by a kayak, requesting her +captain to lend me some newspapers; the note reached Captain J. Walker, +of the 'Jane,' and yesterday his ship, accompanied by the 'Heroine,' +Captain J. Simpson, approached us, and they both came in to call upon +me, each of them bringing the very acceptable present of some +newspapers, besides a quarter of beef, with vegetables. Nothing could +exceed their sincere good feeling and kindness; they offered to supply +me with anything their ships could afford. The account they give of last +season is as follows: the whalers reached Devil's Point, near Melville +Bay, as early as the 21st of May; southerly winds then set in, and blew +incessantly for six weeks, during all which time they were closely +beset, and the ships 'Gipsy' and 'Undaunted' were crushed. When able to +move, the fleet returned southward along the "pack-edge," which was +everywhere found to be impenetrable; they sailed southward of Disco, and +about the middle of July the earliest ships rounded the southern +extremity of middle ice in lat. 68-1/2 deg., and found no difficulty in +their further passage to Pond's Bay. Captain Walker says ships could not +have reached Lancaster Sound, as there was much ice north of Pond's Bay +which he thought extended quite across to Melville Bay. + +{UNUSUAL POSITION OF ICE.} + +The position of the ice last season was considered to be most unusual; +the long prevalence of southerly winds appeared to have separated the +tail of the pack from the main body, the former lying against the west +land about Cape Searle, whilst the latter was forced northward and +pressed closely into Melville Bay; the ships sailed freely between these +two great divisions, and found the west water unusually extensive. + +Had I been able to collect a sufficient number of sledge-dogs at Godhavn +last year, it was my intention to have sailed across to the west side if +possible, instead of pursuing the usual route through Melville Bay; but +the opinions of the captains of the lost whalers were in favor of a +"Melville Bay" passage, and the necessity for obtaining dogs left me no +choice as to whether I should proceed west, or north to Proven and +Upernivik; I have already recorded what were my opinions _at the time_, +so need only observe _now_, that, although I failed, I believe my +decision was justified by all former experience, even independently of +the circumstances which obliged me to adopt it. Nevertheless it is +mortifying to find that ships had reached as far as Pond's Bay, and with +but little difficulty. Sir Edward Parry, upon his third voyage, did not +reach the west water until very late in the season, although some of the +whalers met with better success by following up another route. + +{UNCERTAINTY OF ICE-NAVIGATION.} + +There is nothing more uncertain than ice-navigation, dependent as it is +upon winds, temperatures, and currents: one can only calculate upon "the +chances," and how nearly we succeeded we have already seen. In the +preceding year (1856) some of the whalers got through Melville Bay as +early as the 15th June, only a few days after the commencement of the +summer's thaw. Captain Walker tells me there are many years in which the +whalers can pass up the western shore late in the season, but not always +so far as Pond's Bay; of Melville Bay after the 10th or 15th July they +know nothing, but the voyages of discovery afford us ample details; +whilst of the southern route almost nothing has been made publicly +known. + +There are many intelligent whaling captains who possess much valuable +knowledge of these lands and seas, and even in the terra incognita of +Frobisher's Straits, whalers have wintered, whilst our charts scarcely +afford even a vague idea of the configuration of these extensive +islands. The so-called "Home Bay" has been penetrated for fifty miles, +and is supposed to be a strait leading to Fox's Furthest. Scott's Inlet +is also said to be a strait leading into a western arm of the same sea. +A surveying vessel would be usefully employed for a couple of summers in +tracing the general outline of these possessions of Her Majesty, more +particularly as they are rather thickly inhabited by Esquimaux most +eager to barter their produce for rifles, saws, files, knives, needles, +and such like articles. Good coal has been found upon Durbin Island +(near Cape Searle), in a convenient little cove upon its southern side; +and as the old sailing whalers are fast being replaced by steamers, this +place may become of great importance to them. + +We are refitting, shooting, and devouring quantities of excellent +mussels; eider ducks are very abundant, but extremely shy. Poor puss has +been killed; tempted on deck by the unusually warm weather, she was +pounced upon by the dogs. + +{DANISH HOSPITALITY.} + +_17th._--Yesterday our attempt to enter the port of Godhavn failed, it +is still filled with ice. This evening Young and I examined a narrow +rocky cove--Upernivik Bay of the natives; finding it suitable for our +purpose, the ship was brought in and moored to the rocks. We were +received with much kindness by our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Olrik, and were +presented with a file of late English papers. A considerable supply of +beer was ordered to be brewed for us. + +I found Mrs. Olrik without a fire in her sitting room; it was +unnecessary; the windows looked to the south, and the sun shone brightly +in upon a profusion of geraniums and European flowers, at once reminding +one of home, and refreshing the senses by their perfume and beauty; the +merry voices of the children were also a most pleasing novelty. Mr. +Olrik says the past winter has not been in any way remarkable, except +for the prevalence of strong winds; April and the early part of May have +been unusually cold. + +{INTERCHANGE OF PRESENTS.} + +_24th._--We did honor to Her Majesty's birthday by dressing the 'Fox' in +all her flags, and regaling her crew with plum-pudding and grog. The ice +having moved off, we have come into the harbor of Godhavn, as being more +convenient and safe. The day has been a busy one: we have completed our +small purchases and closed our letters; I have added another Esquimaux +lad to our crew, taking with him his rifle, kayak, and sledge. This +evening there has been a brisk interchange of presents between us and +our Danish friends. I have been given an eider-down coverlet by the +Governor, Mr. Andersen; and, by Mrs. Olrik, some delicious preserve of +Greenland cranberries, a tin of preserved ptarmigan, and a jar of +pickled whale-skin; my table is decked with European flowers, including +roses, mignonette, and violets. + +With good reason shall we remember Godhavn; we have certainly been +treated as especial favorites. + +{COALING.} + +_26th._--Left Godhavn early yesterday morning, and anchored this +afternoon in our old position off the Coal Cliffs in the Waigat; a party +of seal-hunters from Atanekerdluk came off to us, and their hunting +having terminated successfully, they will assist us in coaling. From +these men I obtained much information about this part of the coast; +within a range of 20 miles upon the Disco shore there are four distinct +coaling places; but at this early season two of them are deeply covered +with snow. There is also very good coal at the S.E. end of Hare Island, +where it can be easily obtained. The ice in this strait broke up as long +ago as the 3rd April; it has all drifted out to the northward, only a +few icebergs now remain. + +_28th._--Again hastening northward; the business of coaling was very +speedily and satisfactorily completed, but the quality of the coals is +very inferior. Upon the green slopes our sportsmen found nothing but a +few ptarmigan and a hare. + +Shortly after running close past the deserted settlement of Noursoak, we +arrived off a small bay, and were startled by finding the water had +suddenly changed from transparent blue to a thick muddy color, but there +was no change in its depth; we were crossing the stream of "Makkaks +Elvin," or Clay River, which empties itself into the bay after running +through a broad and extensive valley, said to abound with reindeer; this +river has its origin in lakes and glaciers in the interior, and the +discoloration of the water is probably the chief cause of success in +white-whale fishing, which is carried on here in the autumn, as those +timid animals will not permit boats to approach them in clear water. + +This evening we are crossing Omenak's Fiord, and the land-wind, which +here and all along the coast northwards blows from the N.E., has come +off to us. + +{PROXIMITY OF THE WHALERS.} + +_31st._--Lying fast to an iceberg off Upernivik. + +The whalers are all within a dozen miles of us, unable to penetrate +further north. The season appears forward, and the ice much decayed; but +southerly winds prevail, retarding its disruption and removal. Captain +Parker, of the 'Emma,' tells me he does not expect to make a north +passage this year, and as his experience extends over a period of at +least thirty years, I give his reason; it is simply this,--that as +during the months of February, March, and April northerly winds +prevailed to an unusual degree, therefore southerly winds may now be +expected to continue; if he prove a prophet, it will be to our serious +hinderance at this critical season. Governor Fliescher says the winter +has been mild; there has been but little wind, and that chiefly from the +southward. + +{JUNE, 1858.} + +{KINDNESS OF THE WHALERS.} + +_4th June._--We have received much kindness from our friends Captains +Parker and J. Simpson, as well as from others of the whaling fleet; the +former has generously supplied us with many things we were rather short +of, not only in ship's stores, but provisions and coals, and in return +I have of course furnished him with a receipt for his owners. Captain +Simpson has most handsomely presented the 'Fox' with a sail and yards, +which, after some slight alterations, will enable us to add a main +topsail to our spread of canvas. For the two days we lay at the iceberg, +alongside of the 'Emma,' I made furious attacks upon Captain Parker's +beefsteaks and porter; we amply availed ourselves of his hearty welcome. +By the arrival of the fine steam whaler 'Tay,' from Scotland, we have +received papers up to 17th April. + +This morning we slowly steamed away from Upernivik, threading our way +betwixt islands, and ice, for about 30 miles, and now await further ice +movement before it will be possible to proceed. + +These are called the Woman Islands, so named by the celebrated Arctic +explorer John Davis, who visited them in Queen Elizabeth's reign; he +found here only a few old women, their frightened lords and more active +juniors having effected their escape. + +Upon one of these islands a stone was picked up some 30 years ago, +bearing a Runic inscription; it was sent home to Copenhagen as a most +interesting relic of the early Scandinavian voyagers; but nothing was on +it except the names of those men "who cleared this place" (or formed a +settlement), and the date, 1135. In all probability their sojourn was +extremely short, perhaps only for a single summer. The Esquimaux did +not make their appearance for nearly two centuries later. + +{DANISH ESTABLISHMENTS.} + +After Egede's settlement at Godhaab in 1721, the Danish trading +establishments gradually extended along the coast, and Upernivik was one +of them; but it appears to have been soon abandoned. During Napoleon's +wars all the Danish posts were withdrawn, as the British fleet +effectually cut off communication with Europe; but after peace was +restored in 1815, the trading posts were again resorted to, and a new +settlement formed near the ruins of the old one at Upernivik; it enjoys +pre-eminence as the most northern abode of civilized man. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + '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. + + +{THE 'FOX' NEARLY WRECKED.} + +_June 8th._--Yesterday morning we passed close outside Buchan Island; it +is small but lofty, its north side is almost precipitous, yet +notwithstanding this strong indication of deep water, a reef of rocks +lies about a mile off it. I happened to be aloft with the look-out-man +at half-past eight o'clock as we were steaming through a narrow lead in +the ice, when I saw a rock close ahead; it was capped with ice, +therefore was hardly distinguishable from the floating masses around; +the engines were stopped and reversed, but there was neither time nor +room to avoid the reef, which now extended on each side of us, and upon +which the ship's bow stuck fast whilst her stern remained in 36 feet +water; the tide had just commenced to fall, and all our efforts to haul +off from the rocks were ineffectual. The floes lay within 30 yards of us +upon each side. I feared their drifting down upon the ship and turning +her over; but fortunately it was perfectly calm, and as the tide +fell, points of the reef held them fast. The ship continued to fall over +to starboard; at dead low water her inclination was 35 deg.; the water +covered the starboard gunwale from the mainmast aft, and reached almost +up to the after hatchway; at this time the slightest shake must have +caused her to fall over upon her side, when she would have instantly +filled and sunk. The dogs, after repeated ineffectual attempts to lie +upon the deck, quietly coiled themselves up upon such parts of the lee +gunwale as remained above water and went to sleep. + +[Illustration: The 'Fox' on a Rock near Buchan Island.] + +To me the moments seemed lengthened out beyond anything I could have +imagined; but at length the water began to rise, and the ship to resume +her upright position. Boats, anchors, hawsers, etc., were got on board +again with the utmost alacrity, and the ship floated off unhurt after +having been eleven hours upon the reef. We had grounded during the day +tide and were floated off by the night tide, which upon this coast +occasions a much greater rise and fall,--so far we were favored, but the +poor little 'Fox' had a very narrow escape; as for ourselves, there was +not the slightest cause for apprehension, three steam whalers being +within signal distance. + +{AFLOAT, AND PUSH AHEAD.} + +To-day we are steaming along after the three vessels which passed us +last evening and disappeared round Cape Shackleton during the night. +The contrast between our prospects yesterday and to-day fills one with +delight,--to be afloat and advancing unobstructedly once more is indeed +charming. + +_11th._--On the afternoon of the 8th we joined the steamers 'Tay,' +Captain Deuchars; 'Chase,' Captain Gravill, sen.; and 'Diana,' Gravill, +jun. After repeated ice-detentions, we have reached Duck Island. Captain +Deuchars says there is every prospect of an early north passage; we have +had several conversations about the Pond's Bay natives, and their +reports of ships, wrecks, and Europeans. There appears to be not only +great difficulty, but also uncertainty, in arriving at their meaning; to +form an idea of the time elapsed since an event, or the distance to the +spot where it occurred, is a still harder task. I look forward to our +visit at Pond's Bay with greatly increased interest. + +{ARCTIC HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES.} + +In August, 1855, when Captain Deuchars was crossing through the middle +ice, in latitude 70 deg., he found part of a steamer's topmast embedded in +heavy ice; he also saw the moulded form of a ship's side, and thinks the +latter must have sunk; the portion of the topmast visible was sawed off +and taken to England. It is most probable that the vessel was either +H.M.S. 'Intrepid' or 'Pioneer,' as two months later, and 250 miles +further south, the 'Resolute' was picked up. About two or three years +ago, Captain Deuchars lost his ship 'Princess Charlotte,' in Melville +Bay. It was a beautiful morning; they had almost reached the North +Water, and were anticipating a very successful voyage; the steward had +just reported breakfast ready, when Captain Deuchars, seeing the floes +closing together ahead of the ship, remained on deck to see her pass +safely between them, but they closed too quickly; the vessel was +_almost_ through, when the points of ice caught her sides abreast of the +mizenmast, and, passing through, held the wreck up for a few minutes, +barely long enough for the crew to escape and save their boats! Poor +Deuchars thus suddenly lost his breakfast and his ship; within _ten +minutes_ her royal yards disappeared beneath the surface. How closely +danger besets the Arctic cruiser, yet how insidiously; everything looks +so bright, so calm, so still, that it requires positive experience to +convince one that ice only a very few inches, perhaps only three or four +inches, _above water_, perfectly level, and moving extremely slow, could +possibly endanger a strong vessel! The 'Princess Charlotte' was a very +fine, strong ship, and her captain one of the most experienced Arctic +seamen. He now commands the finest whaler in the fleet. + +{SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS.} + +_14th._--We have only advanced a few miles to the northward. The steamer +'Innuit' has joined our small steam squadron. Captain Sutter left +Scotland only a month ago: he has very kindly and promptly sent us a +present of newspapers and potatoes. Captain Deuchars has also been good +enough to supply us with some potatoes and porter, perhaps the most +serviceable present he could have made us after our long subsistence +upon salt and preserved meats. + +_10th._--Once more alone in Melville Bay. The 'Innuit' and 'Chase' +steamed much too fast for us, and the last of the four vessels, the +'Tay,' parted from us in a thick fog yesterday. We have come close along +the edge of the fixed ice, passing about six miles outside of the Sabine +Islands, and are advancing as opportunities offer. This morning the man +who was stationed to watch a nip about a quarter of a mile ahead of the +ship, came running back, pursued by three bears--a mother with her +half-grown cubs. I suppose they followed him chiefly because he ran from +them; and at all events they were very close up before he reached the +ship. Another bear was seen about the same time, but none of them came +within shot. Rotchies (or little auks) are very abundant. Seals are +occasionally shot. I ate some boiled seal to-day, and found it good: +this is the first time I have eaten positive _blubber_; all scruples +respecting it henceforth vanish. + +{NEARLY CAUGHT IN THE PACK.} + +_25th._--The land-ice broke away inshore of the 'Fox' on the 19th or +20th, and we found ourselves drifting southward amongst extensive fields +of ice. Sad experience has already shown us how absolutely powerless +our small craft is under such circumstances. But after many attempts we +regained the edge of the fast ice this morning, and steamed merrily +along it towards Bushnan Island. When within a few miles a nip brought +us to a standstill: here five or six icebergs lie encompassed by +land-ice, and apparently aground; one of them juts out and has caught +the point of an immense field of ice. There is some slight movement in +the latter, but not enough to let us pass through. + +Twelve or eighteen miles to the south there is a cluster of bergs, in +all probability aground upon our "70 fathom bank" of last September. The +ice-field appears to rest against them, as both to the east and west +there is much clear water. Exactly at this spot Captain Penny was +similarly detained by a nip in August, 1850. Although progress is denied +to us at present, yet it is an unspeakable relief to have got out of the +drifting ice. + +{ARCTIC PERPLEXITIES.} + +I have passed very many anxious days in Melville Bay, but hardly any of +them weighed so heavily upon me as yesterday. There was the broad, clear +_land-water_ within a third of a mile of me, clear weather, and a fair +breeze blowing. The intervening nip worked sufficiently with wind and +tide to keep one in suspense; it _nearly_ opened at high water, but +closed again with the ebb tide. I thought of the week already spent in +struggling amongst drifting floes, and was haunted by visions of +everything horrible--gales, ice-crushing, etc. Nor was it consoling to +reflect that all the sailing ships as well as the steamers might have +actually slipped past us. In fact, I must acknowledge that anxiety and +weariness had worked me up into a state of burning impatience and of +bitter chagrin at being so repeatedly baffled in all my efforts by the +varying yet continual perplexities of our position. The only difference +in favor of our prospects over those of the past year consisted in our +having arrived here two months earlier; but the importance of this +difference is incalculable. + +The opportunities afforded by the delays to which we have been subjected +were turned, however, to some account. Nearly one thousand rotchies were +shot; they are excellent eating; their average weight is four ounces and +a half, but when prepared for the table they probably do not yield more +than three ounces each. A young bear imprudently swam up to the ship, +and was shot,--his skin fell to the sportsman, and carcase to the dogs. +Several others have been seen: we watched one fellow surprise a seal +upon the ice, and carry it about in his mouth as a cat does a mouse. + +{THE ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS.} + +_27th._--Lying fast to the ice off the Crimson Cliffs of Sir John Ross. +Yesterday we succeeded in passing through the nip, and by evening +reached Cape York. Seeing natives running out upon the land-ice, the +ship was made fast for an hour in order to communicate with them. A +party of eight men came on board: they immediately recognized Petersen, +for they lived at Etah in Smith's Sound when he was there in the +American expedition. They asked for Dr. Kane, and told us Hans was +married and living in Whale Sound. They all said he was most anxious to +return to Greenland, but had neither sledge-dogs nor kayak; hunger had +compelled him to eat the seal-skin which covered the framework of the +latter. Petersen gave them messages for Hans from his Greenland friends, +and advice that he should fix his residence here, where he might see the +whalers and perhaps be taken back to Greenland. The natives did not seem +to be badly off for anything except dogs, some distemper having carried +off most of these indispensable animals. I was therefore unable to +procure any from them. These people spent the winter here; they seemed +healthy, well-clad, and happy little fellows. One of them is +brother-in-law to Erasmus York, who voluntarily came to England in the +'Assistance' in 1851. This man is an _angekok_, or magician; he has a +still flatter face than the rest of his countrymen, but appears more +thoughtful and intelligent. + +Petersen pointed out to me a stout old fellow, with a tolerable +sprinkling of beard and moustache. This worthy perpetrated the only +murder which has taken place for several years in the tribe: he disliked +his victim and stood in need of his dogs, therefore he killed the owner +and appropriated his property! Such motives and passions usually govern +the "unsophisticated children of nature;" yet, as savages, the Esquimaux +may be considered exceedingly harmless. + +Of late years these Arctic Highlanders have become alarmed by the rapid +diminution of their numbers through famine and disease, and have been +less violent towards each other in their feuds and quarrels. + +The appearance of these men, as they danced and rolled about in frantic +delight at our approach, was wild and strange, and their costume uniform +and picturesque. Their long, coarse, black hair hung loosely over the +seal-skin frock which in its turn overlapped their loose shaggy +bear-skin breeches, and these again came down over the tops of their +seal-skin boots. Most of them carried a spear formed out of the horn of +a narwhal. + +Having distributed presents of knives and needles, and explained to them +that we did so because they had behaved well to the white people, (as we +learned from Dr. Kane's narrative of their treatment of him and his +crew), we pursued our voyage, not doubting but that we should soon reach +the _North Water_, an extensive sea through which we could sail +uninterruptedly to Pond's Bay. + +During the night we advanced through loose ice; but fog and a rising +S.E. gale delayed us, and to-day the pack has pressed in against the +land, so that our wings are most unexpectedly clipped. A walrus was shot +through the head by a Minie bullet; none other will penetrate such a +massive skull: unfortunately for my collection of specimens, and for the +dogs, the animal sank. + +{JULY, 1858.} + +{DAMAGE FROM ICE.} + +_2d July._--For five days we have been almost beset amongst loose ice +and grounded bergs; the winds were generally from the S.E. and +accompanied by fog. To avoid being squeezed we had constantly to shift +our position; once we were caught and rather severely nipped; the ship +was heeled over about ten degrees and lifted a couple of feet: the ice +was three feet thick, but broke readily under her weight. Unfortunately +there was not time to unship the rudder, so it suffered very severely. +Upon a previous occasion the screw-shaft was bent and a portion of the +screw broken off. + +{ROTCHIES AND GULLS.} + +Landed to obtain a good view of the sea in the offing; from the hills we +could see nothing but pack to seaward. There was no land ice; we stepped +out of the boat upon a narrow icefoot which fringed the coast; +immediately above it we trod over a velvet sward of soft bright green +moss; the turf beneath was of considerable depth. Here and there under +this noble range of cliffs, which are composed of primary rock, there +exists much vegetation for so high a latitude. From the fact of thick +layers of turf descending quite down to the sea, it is evident that the +land has been gradually sinking. Steep slopes of rocky _debris_, which +screen the bases of the most precipitous cliffs, form secure nurseries +for the little auk; these localities were literally alive with them; +they popped in and out of every crevice, or sat in groups of dozens upon +every large rock. I have nowhere seen such countless myriads of birds. +The _rotchie_, or little auk, lays its single egg upon the bare rock, +far within a crevice beyond the reach of fox, owl, or burgomaster gull. +We shot a couple of hundred during our short stay on shore, and, by +removing the stones, gathered several dozen of their eggs. + +The huge predatory gulls, long ago named "Burgomasters" by Dutch seamen +(because they lord it over their neighbors, and appropriate every thing +good to themselves), have established themselves in the cliffs, where +their nests are generally inaccessible: we were a month too late for +their eggs; the young birds were as large as spring chickens. Of course +we obtained specimens of the red snow, but had to seek rather diligently +for it; its color was a dirty red, very like the stain of port wine: +very few patches of it were found. + +Last night a westerly wind blew freshly and dispersed the ice outside of +us, so much so that this evening we have got out into almost clear +water. Farewell Greenland!--hurrah for the west! + +{FREE FROM THE ICE.} + +_5th._--After getting free from the ice off the Crimson Cliffs, we soon +lost sight of the last fragment, and steered for Pond's Bay. And now we +all set to work in zealous haste to write our last letters for England, +by the whalers, which we hoped soon to meet there. + +After running 60 miles the ice re-appeared, and we sailed through a vast +deal of it, but it became more closely packed, and a thick fog detained +us for a day. + +When the weather became clear, the main pack was seen to the W., S., and +S.E.; in the hope of rounding its northern extreme we ran along it to +the N.W. To-day it has led us to the N. and N.E., so that this evening +Wolstenholme Sound is in sight. To the N. the pack appears impenetrable, +and there is a strong ice-blink over it. All the ice we have lately +sailed through is loose, and much decayed; it seems but recently to have +broken away from the land, is not water-washed, neither has it been +exposed to a swell, the fractured edges remaining sharp. + +{ICE CLOSING AGAIN.} + +_6th._--Midnight. Last evening I persevered to the N. until every hope +of progress in that direction vanished. To the W. the pack appeared +tolerably loose; the wind was fresh at E.S.E., so I determined once +more to push into it, and endeavor to battle our way through; I hoped it +would prove to be merely a belt of 30 or 40 miles in width. We found the +ice to lie for the most part in streams at right angles to the wind, and +therefore much more open than it had appeared: there was seldom any +difficulty in winding through it from one water space to another. The +wind greatly increased, bringing much rain, but fortunately no fog;--the +dread of this hung over me like a nightmare,--our progress depended upon +the vigilance of the look-out kept in the crow's-nest. By noon we had +made good 60 miles. Throughout the day the wind has gradually moderated: +the rain gave place to snow, which in its turn was succeeded by mist. +The evening was fine eventually and clear; but still we find the ice is +all around. Just before midnight the termination of our lead was +discovered, whilst the ice through which we had passed was closing +together, and a dense fog came rolling down. Under these circumstances +the ship was made fast as near to the nip as safety permitted, to await +some favorable change. + +_10th._--All the 7th we remained in our small basin, there being no +outlet from it, and but little water anywhere visible. To pass away the +dull hours and get rid of unwelcome reflections upon the similarity of +our present position and that in August last, I commenced an attack +upon all the feathered denizens of the pack--they seemed so provokingly +contented with it--but they soon became wary, and deserted our vicinity, +so I shot only a dozen fulmar petrels, three ivory gulls, two looms,[13] +and a _Lestris parasiticus_; some of them were useful as specimens, and +such as were not destined for our table were given to the dogs. Although +Cobourg Island was 45 miles distant from us, its lofty rounded outlines +were very distinct, and much covered with snow. On the 8th we squeezed +through nips for 4 or 5 miles, and on the 9th, reaching a large space of +water, steamed towards Cobourg Island until again stopped by the pack at +an early hour this morning, when within 5 or 6 leagues of it. + +{STRUGGLING TO THE WESTWARD.} + +This evening we are endeavoring to steam in towards the West-land, and +fancy we can trace with the crow's-nest telescope a practicable route +through the intervening ice-mazes to a faint streak of water along the +shore. This sort of navigation is not only anxious, but wearying. To me +it seems as if several months instead of only eight days had elapsed +since we left Cape York. We are constantly wondering what our whaling +friends are about, and where they are? + +_14th._--The faint streak of water seen on the night of the 10th proved +to be an extensive sheet to leeward of Cobourg Island. We reached it +next morning. Jones' Sound appeared open, and a slight swell reached us +from it, but all along the shore there was close pack. Although but +little water was visible to the southward, we persevered in that +direction, and, as the ice was rapidly moving off-shore under the +combined influence of wind and tide, we were only occasionally detained. + +Two hundred and forty-two years ago--to a day, I believe--William Baffin +sailed without hindrance along this coast and discovered Lancaster +Sound. What a very different season he must have experienced! + +{VISIT OF NATIVES.} + +Passing near Cape Horsburgh we approached De Ros Islet at midnight. The +air being very calm, and still, the shouting of some natives was heard, +although we could scarcely distinguish them upon the land-ice. The ship +was made fast, and the shouting party, consisting of three men, three +women, and two children, eagerly came on board. Only four individuals +remained on shore. + +{OFF LANCASTER SOUND.} + +The old chief Kal-lek is remarkable amongst Esquimaux for having a bald +head. He inquired by name for his friend Captain Inglefield. These three +families have spent the last two years upon this coast, between Cape +Horsburgh and Croker Bay. Their knowledge does not extend further in +either direction. They are natives of more southern lands, and crossed +the ice in Lancaster Sound with dog-sledges. Since the visit of the +'Ph[oe]nix' in '54 they have seen no ships, nor have any wrecks drifted +upon their shores. They seemed very fat and healthy, but complained that +all the reindeer had gone away, and asked if _we_ could tell where they +went to? Our presents of wood, knives, and needles were eagerly +received. They assured us that Lancaster Sound was still frozen over, +and that all the sea was covered with pack. After half an hour's delay +we steamed onward, and on reaching a larger space of water our hopes +(somewhat depressed by the native intelligence) began to revive. But we +soon found that our clear water terminated near Cape Warrender. +Lancaster Sound, although not frozen over, was crammed full of floes and +icebergs. The wind increased to a strong gale from the east, and pressed +in more ice. At length the ship was with difficulty made fast to a strip +of land-ice a few miles westward of Point Osborn. Gradually the gale +subsided, but not until the pack was close in against the land. The +tides kept sweeping it to and fro, to our great discomfort. The land is +composed of gneiss, and the gravelly shore is low. A few ducks only have +been shot, and traces of reindeer and hares seen. Our Melville Bay +friends, the rotchies, are very rare visitors upon this side of Baffin's +Bay. + +Part of a ship's timber has been found upon the beach; it measures 7 +inches by 8 inches, is of American oak, and, although sound, has long +been exposed to the weather. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[13] These birds are called willocks at home; they are the "Uria +brunnichii" of naturalists. + + + + +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. + + +{OFF CAPE WARRENDER.} + +_16th July._--To borrow a whaling phrase, we are "dodging about in a +hole of water" off Cape Warrender. I recognize the little bay just to +the west of the cape where Parry landed in September, 1824. The "immense +mass of snow and ice containing strata of muddy-looking soil" is there +still, and, I should think, had considerably increased. Here his party +shot three reindeer out of a small herd. We have narrowly scanned the +steep hill-sides with our glasses, but without discovering any such +inducement to land. + +No cairns are visible upon Cape Warrender; the natives have probably +removed them. Dense pack prevents us from approaching Port Dundas or +crossing to the southern shore. We all find these vexatious delays are +by no means conducive to sleep. The mind is busy with a sort of +magic-lantern representation of the past, the present, and the future, +and resists for weary hours the necessary repose. + +_17th._--Last night's calm has allowed the pack to expand so much, that +to-day we have steamed through it until within three miles of the noble +cliffs of Cape Hay; and now we are drifting eastward with the ice +precisely as did the 'Enterprise' and 'Investigator,' in September, '49. +Upon that occasion we were set free off Pond's Bay. There is a very +extensive _loomery_ at Cape Hay; we regret the circumstances which +prevent our levying a tax upon it. Here, if anywhere, I expected to find +a clear sea, but east winds have prevailed for twenty days out of the +last twenty-five, and this accounts for the present state of the sea; +the next succession of west winds will probably effect a prodigious +clearance of ice. + +{THE WHALERS AGAIN.} + +_21st._--The 'Tay' was seen to-day in loose ice, and much further off +the land. She gradually steamed through it to the southward, and by +night was almost out of sight. Her appearance surprised us, as we +supposed she must have reached Pond's Bay long ago. Ten hours' +struggling with steam and sails at the most favorable intervals has only +advanced us five miles. The weather is remarkably warm, bright, and +pleasant. A very large bear came within 150 yards, and was shot by +Petersen, the Minie bullet passing through his body. This beast measured +8 ft. 3 in. in length; his fat carcase was hoisted on board with great +satisfaction, as our dogs' food was nearly expended. + +_24th._--Last night the ice became slack enough to afford some prospect +of release, so we charged the nips vigorously, and steamed away through +devious openings towards Cape Fanshawe. For several hours but little +progress was made, but this morning the ice became more open; clear +water was seen ahead, and reached by noon. Although it is calm I prefer +waiting for a breeze to expending more coals. We are only ten miles from +Possession Bay. The air is so very clear that the land appears quite +close to us. All that is not mountainous is well cleared of snow. There +is immense refraction. Only a single iceberg in sight. The sea-water is +light green, as remarked by Parry in 1819. + +{OFF CAPE WALTER BATHURST.} + +_26th._--A vessel was seen yesterday morning; the day continuing calm, +we steamed through some loose ice, and joined her off Cape Walter +Bathurst in the evening. It proved to be the 'Diana;' she parted from us +on the 16th of June in Melville Bay, has everywhere been obstructed by +the pack, as we have been, and only reached Cape Warrender three days +before us. From thence to Possession Bay she met with _no obstruction_. +The subsequent east winds brought in all the ice which has so much +retarded us. + +The 'Diana' has already captured twelve whales. Taking the hint from +Capt. Gravill, we have made fast to a loose floe, and are drifting very +nearly a mile an hour to the southward along the edge of a very +formidable land-ice, which is seven or eight miles broad. All to seaward +of us is packed ice. The old whaling seamen of the 'Diana' are +astonished at the unusual and unaccountable abundance of ice which +everywhere fills up Baffin's Bay. All the 'Diana's' steaming coals, her +spare spars, wood and even a boat, have been burnt in the protracted +struggle through the middle ice. + +{ENTER POND'S BAY.} + +_27th._--After putting our letter-bag on board the 'Diana' this morning +we steamed on for Pond's Bay, and at noon made fast near Button Point to +the land-ice, which still extends across it. + +{COMMUNICATE WITH ESQUIMAUX.} + +For four hours Petersen and I have been bargaining with an old woman and +a boy, not for the sake of their seal-skins, but in order to keep them +in good humor whilst we extracted information from them. They said they +knew nothing of ships or white people ever having been within this +inlet, nor of any wrecked ships. They knew of the depot of provisions +left at Navy Board Inlet by the 'North Star,' but had none of them. The +woman has traced on paper the shores of the inlet as far as her +knowledge extends, and has given me the name of every point. She says +the ice will break up with the first fresh wind. These two individuals +are alone here. They remained on purpose to barter with the whalers, +and cannot now rejoin their friends, who are only 25 miles up the inlet, +because the ice is unsafe to travel over and the land precipitous and +impracticable. + +This afternoon the 'Tay' stood in towards us, and Captain Deuchars +kindly sent his boat on board with an offer to take charge of our +letters. The 'Tay' reached this coast only a few days ago, having met +with the same difficulties which we experienced. The 'Innuit' was last +seen nearly a month ago beset off Jones' Sound. The remaining steamer, +the 'Chase,' has not been seen or heard of. + +_29th._--The old woman's denial of all knowledge of the wrecks or +cast-away men was very unsatisfactory. I determined to visit her +countrymen at their summer village of Kapar[=o]ktolik, which she +described as being only a short day's journey up the inlet. + +{EXAMINE NATIVE CACHES.} + +Petersen and one man accompanied me. We started yesterday morning with a +sledge and a Halkett boat. Although the ice over which we purposed +travelling broke away from the land soon after setting out, yet we +managed to get half way to the village before encamping. This morning we +learnt the truth of the old woman's account. A range of precipitous +cliffs rising from the sea cut us off by land from Kapar[=o]ktolik, so +we were obliged to return to the ship. Our walk afforded the +opportunity of examining some native encampments and caches. We found +innumerable scraps of seal-skins, bird-skins, walrus and other bones, +whalebone, blubber, and a small sledge. The latter was very old, and +composed of pieces of wood and of large bones ingeniously secured +together with strips of whalebone. Five preserved-meat tins were found; +some of them retaining their original coating of red paint. Doubtless +these were part of the spoils from Navy Board Inlet depot. The total +absence of fresh wood or iron was strongly in favor of the old woman's +veracity. Since yesterday, ice, about 16 miles in extent, has broken up +in the inlet, and is drifting out into Baffin's Bay. + +During my absence our shooting parties have twice visited a _loomery_ +upon Cape Graham Moore, and each time have brought on board 300 looms. +Very few birds and no other animals were seen during our walk over the +rich mossy slopes to-day. I saw a pair of Canadian brown cranes, the +first of the species I have ever seen so far north, though Sir Robert +M'Clure found them, I know, on Banks Land. + +The lands enjoying a southern aspect, even to the summits of hills 700 +or 800 feet in height, were tinged with green; but these hills were +protected by a still loftier range to the north. Upon many +well-sheltered slopes we found much rich grass. All the little plants +were in full flower; some of them familiar to us at home, such as the +buttercup, sorrel, and dandelion. I have never found the latter to the +north of 69 deg. before. + +The old woman is much less excited to-day; she says there was a wreck +upon the coast when she was a little girl; it lies a day and a half's +journey, about 45 miles, to the north; and came there without masts and +very much crushed; the little which now remains is almost buried in the +sand. A piece of this wreck was found near her _abode_,--she has neither +hut nor tent, but a sort of lair constructed of a few stones and a +seal-skin spread over them, so that she can crawl underneath. This +fragment is part of a floor timber, English oak, 7-1/2 inches thick; it +has been brought on board. + +{ASCEND POND'S INLET.} + +_30th._--A gale of wind and deluge of rain has detained the ship until +this evening; we are now steaming up the inlet, having the old lady and +the boy on board as our pilots; they are delighted at the prospect of +rejoining their friends, from whom they were effectually cut off until +the return of winter should freeze a safe pathway for them; they had, +however, abundance of looms stored up _en cache_ for their subsistence. +She has drawn me another chart, much more neatly than the former, but so +like it as to prove that her geographical knowledge, and not her powers +of invention, have been taxed. She is a widow; her daughter is married, +and lives at a place called Igloolik, which is six or seven days' +journey from here,--three days up the inlet, then about three days +overland to the southward, and then a day over the ice. + +{ESQUIMAUX INFORMATION.} + +Thinking it not quite impossible that this Igloolik might be the place +where Parry wintered in 1822-3, I told Petersen to ask whether ships had +ever been there? She answered, "Yes, a ship stopped there all one +winter; but it is a long time ago." All she could distinctly recollect +having been told about it was, that one of the crew died, and was buried +there, and his name was Al-lah or El-leh. On referring to Parry's +'Narrative,' I found that the ice-mate, Mr. Elder, died at Igloolik! +This is a very remarkable confirmation of the locality,--for there are +several places called Igloolik. She also told us it was an island, and +near a strait between two seas. The Esquimaux take considerable pains to +learn, and remember names; this woman knows the names of several of the +whaling captains, and the old chief at De Ros Islet remembered Captain +Inglefield's name, and tried hard to pronounce mine. + +She now told us of another wreck upon the coast, but many days' journey +to the south of Pond's Bay; it came there before her first child was +born. Her age is not less than forty-five. + +{AUG., 1858.} + +_August 4th._--Our Esquimaux friends have departed from us with every +demonstration of friendship, to return to their village. We have had +free communication with them for four days--not only through Mr. +Petersen, but also through our two Greenlanders; the result is, that +they have no knowledge whatever of either of the missing or the +abandoned searching ships. Neither wrecked people nor wrecked ships have +reached their shores. They seemed to be much in want of wood; most of +what they have consists of staves of casks, probably from the Navy Board +Inlet depot. + +{TOOLS USED BY THE ESQUIMAUX.} + +In their bartering with us, saws were most eagerly sought for in +exchange for narwhal's horns; they are used by them in cutting up the +long strips of the bones of whales with which they shoe the runners of +their sledges, also the ivory and bone used to protect the more exposed +parts of their kayaks and the edges of their paddles from the ice. + +Files were also in great demand, and I found were required to convert +pieces of iron-hoop into arrow and spear heads. If any suspicion existed +of their having a secret supply of wood such as a wreck or even a boat +would afford, it was removed by their refusing to barter the most +trifling things for axes or hatchets. + +But I must relate the events of the last few days as they occurred. When +17 miles within the inlet we reached the unbroken ice and made the ship +fast. Here the _strait_--originally named Pond's _Bay_, and more +recently Eclipse _Sound_--appears to be most contracted, its width not +exceeding 7 or 8 miles. Both its shores are very bold and lofty, often +forming noble precipices. The prevailing rock is grey gneiss, generally +dipping at an angle of 35 deg. to the west. + +Early on the 1st of August I set out for the native village with Hobson, +Petersen, two men, and the two natives from Button Point. Eight miles of +wet and weary ice-travelling, which occupied as many hours, terminated +our journey; the surface of the ice was everywhere deeply channelled and +abundantly flooded by the summer's thaw; we were almost constantly +launching our small boat over the slippery ridges which separated pools +or channellings through which it was generally necessary to wade. + +{ARCTIC SUMMER ABODES.} + +After toiling round the base of a precipice, we came rather suddenly in +view of a small semicircular bay; the cliffs on either side were 800 or +900 feet high, remarkably forbidding and desolate; the mouth of a valley +or wide mountain gorge opens out into its head. Here, in the depth of +the bay, upon a low flat strip of land, stood seven tents,--the summer +village of Kapar[=o]ktolik. I never saw a locality more characteristic +of the Esquimaux than that which they have here selected for their +abode; it is widely picturesque in the true Arctic application of the +term. + +{AN ARCTIC VILLAGE.} + +Although August had arrived, and the summer had been a warm one, the bay +was still frozen over; and if there was an ice-covered _sea_ in front, +there was also abundance of ice-covered _land_ in the rear--a glacier +occupied the whole valley behind and to within 300 yards of the chosen +spot! + +The glacier's height appeared to be from 150 to 200 feet; its sea-face +extending across the valley,--a probable width of 300 or 400 yards,--was +quite perpendicular, and fully 100 feet high. All last winter's snow had +thawed away from off it and exposed a surface of mud and stones, +fissured by innumerable small rivulets, which threw themselves over the +glacier cliffs in pretty cascades, or shot far out in strong jets from +their deeply serried channels in its face; whilst other streamlets near +the base burst out through sub-glacial tunnels of their own forming. + +What a strange people to confine themselves to such a mere strip of +beach! Upon each side they have towering rocky hills rising so abruptly +from the sea, that to pass along their bases or ascend over their +summits, is equally impossible; whilst a threatening glacier immediately +behind, bears onward a sufficient amount of rock and earth from the +mountains whence it issues, to convince even the unreflecting savage of +its progressive motion. + +[Illustration: The Village and Glacier of Kapar[=o]ktolik, Greenland.] + +The land is devoid of game, although lemmings and ermines are tolerably +numerous; it only supplies the moss which the natives burn with blubber +in their lamps, and the dry grass which they put in their boots; even +the soft stone, _lapis ollaris_, out of which their lamps and cooking +vessels are made and the iron pyrites with which they strike fire, are +obtained by barter from the people inhabiting the land to the west of +Navy Board Inlet. But the sea compensates for every deficiency. The +assembled population amounted to only 25 souls: 9 men, the rest women +and children. + +All of them evinced extreme delight at seeing us; as we approached the +huts the women and children held up their arms in the air and shouted +"Pilletay" (give me), incessantly; the men were more quiet and +dignified, yet lost no opportunity, either when we declined to barter, +or when they had performed any little service, to repeat "Pilletay" in a +beseeching tone of voice. + +We walked everywhere about the tents and entered some of them, carefully +examining every chip or piece of metal; our visit was quite unexpected. +They had only two sledges; both were made of 2-1/2 inch oak-planks, +devoid of bolt-holes or treenails, and having but very few nail-holes. +These sledges had evidently been constructed for several years, the +parts not exposed to friction were covered with green fungus: one of +them measured 14 feet long, the other about 9 feet; we were told the +wood came from a wreck to the southward of Pond's Bay. Most of the +sledge cross-bars were ordinary staves of casks. Amongst the poles and +large bones which supported the tents we noticed a painted fir oar. +Some pieces of iron-hoop and a few preserved-meat tins--one of which was +stamped "Goldner,"--completed their stock of European articles. + +{NO INTELLIGENCE OF FRANKLIN.} + +Petersen questioned all the men _separately_ as to their knowledge of +ships or wrecks; but their accounts only served to confirm the old +woman's story. None of them had ever heard of ships or wrecks anywhere +to the westward. Both individually and collectively we got them to draw +charts of the various coasts known to them, and to mark upon them the +positions of the wrecks. The two chiefs, N[=o]o-luk and A-w[)a]h-lah, +soon made themselves known to me, and, when we desired to go to sleep, +sent away the people who were eagerly pressing round our tent. All these +natives were better-looking, cleaner, and more robust than I expected to +find them. + +A-w[)a]h-lah has been to Igloolik; one of his wives, for each chief has +_two_, has a brother living there. I spread a large roll of paper upon a +rock, and got him to draw the route overland, and also round by the +coast to it; this novel proceeding attracted the whole population about +us; A-w[)a]h-lah constantly referred to others when his memory failed +him; at length it was completed to the satisfaction of all parties. When +I gave him the knife I had promised as his reward, and added another for +his wives, he sprang up on the rock, flourished the knives in his hands, +shouted, and danced with extravagant demonstrations of joy. He is a +very fine specimen of his race, powerful, impulsive, full of energy and +animal spirits, and moreover an admirable mimic. The men were all about +the same height, 5 feet 5 in.; they eagerly answered our questions, and +imparted to us all the geographical knowledge, although at first they +hesitated when we asked them about Navy Board Inlet, in consequence of +the depot placed there having been plundered; but we soon found that +they were easily tired under cross-examination, and often said they knew +no more; it was necessary to humor them. + +According to their account the depot was discovered and robbed by people +living further west. This is probably true, as so few relics were to be +seen here, which would not be the case if such active fellows as +A-w[)a]h-lah and N[=o]o-luk had received the first information of its +proximity. These people of Kapar[=o]ktolik are the only inhabitants of +the land lying eastward of Navy Board Inlet, and live entirely upon its +_southern_ shore. In a similar manner, it is only the _southern_ coast +of the land to the west of Navy Board Inlet that is inhabited. After +distributing presents to all the women and children, and making a few +trifling purchases from the men, we returned next day to the ship. + +{AGAIN IN DANGER.} + +During my absence more ice had broken away, involving the ship and +almost forcing her on shore. It required every exertion to save her. +For two hours she continued in imminent danger, and was only saved by +the warping and ice-blasting, by which at last she got clear of the +drifting masses, _four minutes_ only before these were crushed up +against the rocks! + +{GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION OF NATIVES.} + +Four Esquimaux came off to the ship in their kayaks, bringing whalebone, +narwhals' horns, etc., to barter. Next to handsaws and files, they +attached the greatest value to knives and large needles. These men +remained on board for nearly two days, and drew several charts for us. +N[=o]o-luk explained that seven or eight days' journey to the southward +there are _two_ wrecks a short day's journey apart. The southern is in +an inlet or strait which contains several islands, but here his +knowledge of the coast terminates. The man A-ra-neet said he visited +these wrecks five winters ago. All of them agreed that it is a very long +time since the wrecks arrived upon the coast; and N[=o]o-luk, who +appears to be about forty-five years of age, showed us how tall he was +at the time. + +In the 'Narrative of Parry's Second Voyage,' at p. 437, mention is made +of the arrival at Igloolik of a sledge constructed of ship-timber and +staves of casks; also of two ships that had been driven on shore, and +the crews of which went away in boats. In August, 1821, nearly two years +previous to the arrival of this report through the Esquimaux to +Igloolik, the whalers 'Dexterity' and 'Aurora' were wrecked upon the +west coast of Davis' Strait, in lat. 72 deg., 70 or 80 miles southward of +Pond's Bay. The old man, Ow-wang-noot, drew the coast-line northwards +from Cape Graham Moore to Navy Board Inlet, and pointed out the position +of the northern wreck a few miles east of Cape Hay. Had it been +conspicuous, we must have seen it when we slowly drifted along that +coast. + +These people usually winter in snow-huts at Green Point, a mile or two +within the northern entrance of Pond's Bay. They hunt the seal and +narwhal, but when the sea becomes too open they retire to +Kapar[=o]ktolik; and when the remaining ice breaks up--usually about the +middle of August--a further migration takes place across the inlet to +the S.W., where reindeer abound, and large salmon are numerous in the +rivers. Every winter they communicate with the Igloolik people. Two +winters ago (1856-7) some people who lived far beyond Igloolik, in a +country called A-ka-nee (probably the Ak-koo-lee of Parry), brought from +there the information of white people having come in two boats, and +passed a winter in snow-huts at a place called by the following +names:--A-mee-lee-oke, A-wee-lik, Net-tee-lik. + +{INFORMATION OF RAE'S VISIT.} + +Our friends pointed to our whale-boat, and said the boats of the white +people were like it, but larger. These whites had tents inside their +snow-huts; they killed and ate reindeer and narwhal, and smoked pipes; +they bought dresses from the natives; none died; in summer they all went +away, taking with them two natives, a father and his son. We could not +ascertain the name of the white chief, nor the interval of time since +they wintered amongst the Esquimaux, as our friends could not recollect +these particulars.[14] + +The name of the locality, A-wee-lik (spelt as written down at the +moment), may be considered identical with "Ay-wee-lik," the name of the +land about Repulse Bay in the chart of the Esquimaux woman, Iligliuk +(Parry's 'Second Voyage,' p. 197). + +We were of course greatly surprised to find that Dr. Rae's visit to +Repulse Bay was known to this distant tribe; and also disappointed to +find they had heard nothing of Franklin's Back-River parties through the +same channel of communication. They were anxiously and repeatedly +questioned, but evidently had not heard of any other white people to the +westward, nor of their having perished there. + +Ow-wang-noot lived at Igloolik in his early days, and made a chart of +the lands adjacent, but said he was so young at the time that "it seemed +like a dream to him." He was acquainted with Ee-noo-l[=o][=o]-apik, the +Esquimaux who once accompanied Captain Penny to Aberdeen, and told us he +had died, lately I think, at a place to the southward called +Kri-merk-s[=u]-malek, but that his sister still lives at Igloolik. + +{BARTER WITH NATIVES.} + +Although they told us the Igloolik people were worse off for wood than +they were themselves, yet it was evident that here also it is very +scarce. We could not spare them light poles or oars such as they were +most desirous to obtain for harpoon and lance staves and tent-poles; and +they would willingly have bartered their kayaks to us for rifles (having +already obtained some from the whaling-ships), but that they had no +other means of getting back to their homes, nor wood to make the light +framework of others. + +They collect whalebone and narwhal's horns in sufficient quantity to +carry on a small barter with the whalers. A-w[)a]h-lah showed us about +thirty horns in his tent, and said he had many more at other stations. A +few years ago, when first this bartering sprang up, an Esquimaux took +such a fancy to a fiddle that he offered a large quantity of whalebone +in exchange for it. The bargain was soon made, and subsequently this +whalebone was sold for upwards of a hundred pounds! Each successive +year, when the same ship returns to Pond's Bay, this native comes on +board to visit his friends, and goes on shore with many presents in +remembrance of the memorable transaction. It is much better for him thus +to receive annual gifts than to have received a large quantity at first, +as the improvidence of these men surpasses belief. + +{TEMPTATIONS TO BARTER.} + +Of the "rod of iron about four feet long, supposed to have been at one +time galvanized," which was brought home in 1856 by Captain Patterson, +and forwarded to the Admiralty, I could obtain no information. The +natives were shown galvanized iron, and said they had never seen any +before; if their countrymen had any, it must have come from the whalers; +none like it was found in the wrecks. Rod-iron is very valuable to +Esquimaux for spears and lances, and narwhals' horns very tempting to +the seamen, not only as valuable curiosities, but the ivory is worth +half a crown a pound; and I have but little doubt that many of the +things said to have been stolen by the natives were fraudulently +bartered away by the sailors. That there was no galvanized iron on board +any of the Government searching-ships, nor in the missing expedition +which sailed from England as far back as 1845, I am almost certain. But +is it _certain_ that this rod was galvanized? The natives gave Captain +Patterson to understand that they got it from the wreck to the north. + +In July, 1854, Captain Deuchars was at Pond's Bay, and many natives +visited his ship, coming over the ice on twelve or fourteen sledges +made of ship's planking. Now at this time Sir Edward Belcher's ships +were still frozen up in Barrow Strait. My own impression is that the +natives whom Captain Deuchars communicated with in 1854 were visitors at +Pond's Bay--certainly from the _southward_--and probably attracted by +the barter recently grown up at that whaling rendezvous. Having +discovered the use of the saws obtained by barter from our whalers, they +had successfully applied them to the stout planking of the old wrecks, +which they could not have stripped off with any tools previously in +their possession. + +{TRAVELS OF ESQUIMAUX.} + +That the various tribes, or rather groups of families, occasionally +visit each other, sometimes for change of hunting-grounds, but more +frequently for barter, is well known. Captain Parker told me that a +native whom he had met one summer at Durbin Island, came on board his +ship at Pond's Bay the following year. The distance between the two +places, as travelled by this man in a single winter, is scarcely short +of 500 miles; and the information given us of Rae's wintering at Repulse +Bay, information which must have travelled here in two winters, shows +that these natives communicate at still greater distances. + +Did other wrecks exist nearer at hand, our Pond's Bay friends would be +much better supplied with wood. If the Esquimaux knew of any within +300, 400, or even 500 miles, the Pond's Bay natives would at least have +heard of them, and could have had no reason for concealing it from us. I +only regret that we had not the good fortune to see more than a few +natives, and but two sledges of ship's planking; otherwise our own +information might have been more copious, and the origin of the fresh +supply of planking decisively ascertained. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[14] Dr. Rae wintered at Repulse Bay in _stone_ huts in 1846-7. Again +wintered there in _snow_ huts in 1853-4. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Leave Pond's Bay--A gale in Lancaster Sound--The Beechey Island + Depot--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. + + +{LEAVE POND'S BAY.} + +_6th Aug._--Continued calms have delayed us. This evening we steamed +from Pond's Bay northward, although our coals have been sadly reduced by +the almost constant necessity for steam-power since leaving the Waigat. +The three steam-whalers have gone southward; none others have arrived. +They appear to us to be leaving the whales behind them; we saw many +whilst up the strait, and at the edge of the remaining ice. The natives +said they would remain as long as the ice remained, but when it all +broke up they would return into Baffin's Bay and go southward; and that +these animals arrive in early spring, and do not pass through the strait +into any other sea beyond. + +{GALE IN LANCASTER SOUND.} + +_Monday evening, 9th._--On the night of the 6th a pleasant, fair breeze +sprang up, and enabled us to dispense with the engine. An immense bear +was shot; he measured 8 feet 7 inches in length, and is destined for +the museum of the Royal Dublin Society. On the 7th the wind gradually +freshened and frustrated my intention of examining the wreck spoken of +near Cape Hay; at night it increased to a very heavy gale. Although past +Navy Board Inlet, very little ice had yet been met with. The weather, +and fear of ice to leeward, obliged us to heave the vessel to, under +main trysail and fore staysail. The squalls were extremely violent and +seas unusually high. + +All Sunday, the 8th, the gale continued, although not with such extreme +force; the deep rolling of the ship, and moaning of the half-drowned +dogs amidst the pelting sleet and rain, was anything but agreeable. +Notwithstanding that I had been up all the previous night, I felt too +anxious to sleep; the wind blew directly up Barrow Strait, drifting us +about two miles an hour. Occasionally she drifted to leeward of masses +of ice, reminding us that if any of the dense pack which covered this +sea only three weeks ago remained to leeward of us, we must be rapidly +setting down upon its weather edge. The only expedient in such a case is +to endeavor to run into it--once well within its outer margin a ship is +comparatively safe--the danger lies in the attempt to penetrate; to +escape out of the pack afterwards is also a doubtful matter. + +In the evening we were glad to see the land, and find ourselves off the +north shore near Cape Bullen, for the violent motion of the ship and +very weak horizontal magnetic force had rendered our compasses useless. +This morning, the 9th, the gale broke, and the sea began to subside +rapidly; by noon it was almost calm, but a thick gloom prevailed, +ominous, it might be, of more mischief. All along the land there is ice, +but, broken up into harmless atoms. We have carried away a main gaff and +a jibstay, but have come remarkably well through such a gale with such +trifling damage. + +{BEECHEY ISLAND DEPOT.} + +_11th._--Before noon to-day we anchored inside Cape Riley, and +immediately commenced preparations for embarking coals. I visited +Beechey Island house, and found the door open; it must have been blown +in by an easterly gale long ago, for much ice had accumulated +immediately inside it. Most of the biscuit in bags was damaged, but +every thing else was in perfect order. Upon the north and west sides of +the house, where a wall had been constructed, there was a vast +accumulation of ice, in which the lower tier of casks between the two +were embedded, and its surface thawed into pools. Neither casks nor +walls should have been allowed to stand near the house. The southern and +eastern sides were clear and perfectly dry. The 'Mary' decked boat, and +two 30-feet lifeboats, were in excellent order, and their paint appeared +fresh, but oars and bare wood were bleached white. + +The gutta-percha boat was useless when left here, and remains in the +same state. Two small sledge travelling boats were damaged; one of them +had been blown over and over along the beach until finally arrested by +the other. The bears and foxes do not appear to have touched any thing. +I have taken on board all letters left here for Franklin's or +Collinson's expeditions and also a 20-feet sledge-boat for our own +travelling purposes. + +Last night we steamed very close round Cape Hurd in a dense fog, and +crept along the land as our only guide: we were thus led into Rigby Bay, +and discovered a shoal off its entrance by grounding upon it. After a +quarter of an hour we floated off unhurt. + +In lowering a boat to pursue a bear, Robert Hampton fell overboard; +fortunately he could swim, and was very soon picked up, but the intense +cold of the water had almost paralyzed his limbs. The bear was shot and +taken on board. + +_Sunday, 15th, 9 P.M._--Our coaling was completed yesterday, and the +ship brought over and anchored off the house in Erebus and Terror Bay. A +small proportion of provisions and winter clothing has been embarked to +complete our deficiencies; the ice has been scraped out of the house and +its roof thoroughly repaired, a record deposited, and door securely +closed. + +{AN ARCTIC MONUMENT.} + +I found lying at Godhavn a marble tablet which had been sent out by +Lady Franklin, in the American expedition of 1855 under Captain +Hartstein, for the purpose of being erected at Beechey Island. +Circumstances prevented the Americans executing this kindly service, and +it fell to my lot to convey it to the site originally intended. The +tablet was constructed in New York, under the direction of Mr. Grinnell, +at the request of Lady Franklin, in order that the only opportunity +which then offered of sending it to the Arctic regions might not be +lost. I placed the monument upon the raised flagged square in the centre +of which stands the cenotaph recording the names of those who perished +in the Government expedition under Sir Edward Belcher. Here also is +placed a small tablet to the memory of Lieutenant Bellot. I could not +have selected for Lady Franklin's memorial a more appropriate or +conspicuous site. The inscription runs as follows:-- + +{THE INSCRIPTION.} + + TO THE MEMORY OF + FRANKLIN, + CROZIER, FITZJAMES, + AND ALL THEIR + GALLANT BROTHER OFFICERS AND FAITHFUL + COMPANIONS WHO HAVE SUFFERED AND PERISHED + IN THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE AND + THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY. + + THIS TABLET + IS ERECTED NEAR THE SPOT WHERE + THEY PASSED THEIR FIRST ARCTIC + WINTER, AND WHENCE THEY ISSUED + FORTH TO CONQUER DIFFICULTIES OR + TO DIE. + + IT COMMEMORATES THE GRIEF OF THEIR + ADMIRING COUNTRYMEN AND FRIENDS, + AND THE ANGUISH, SUBDUED BY FAITH, + OF HER WHO HAS LOST, IN THE HEROIC + LEADER OF THE EXPEDITION, THE MOST + DEVOTED AND AFFECTIONATE OF + HUSBANDS. + + "AND SO HE BRINGETH THEM UNTO THE + HAVEN WHERE THEY WOULD BE." + + 1855. + + * * * * * + + This stone has been entrusted to be affixed in its place by the Officers + and Crew on the American Expedition, commanded by Lt. H. J. Hartstein, + in search of Dr. Kane and his Companions. + + This Tablet having been left at Disco by the + American Expedition, which was unable to + reach Beechey Island, in 1855, was put on + board the Discovery Yacht Fox, and is now + set up here by Captain M'Clintock, R.N., + commanding the final expedition of search + for ascertaining the fate of Sir John Franklin + and his companions, 1858. + +We are now ready to proceed upon our voyage from Beechey Island, and +there is no ice in sight; but having worked almost unceasingly since our +arrival up to the present hour, the men require a night's rest. Nearly +forty tons of fuel have been embarked. + +{REFLECTIONS AT BEECHEY ISLAND.} + +The total absence of ice in Barrow Strait is astonishing. No less so are +the changes and chances of this singular navigation. Twelve days later +than this in 1850, when I belonged to Her Majesty's ship 'Assistance,' +with considerable difficulty we came within sight of Beechey Island; a +cairn on its summit attracted notice; Captain Ommanney managed to land, +and discovered the _first traces_ of the missing expedition. Next day +the United States schooner 'Rescue' arrived; the day after, Captain +Penny joined us, and subsequently Captain Austin, Sir John Ross, and +Captain Forsyth,--in all, ten vessels were assembled here. _This day_ +six years, when in command of the 'Intrepid,' we sailed from here for +Melville Island in company with the 'Resolute.' Again I was here at this +time in 1854,--still frozen up,--in the 'North Star,' and doubts were +entertained of the possibility of _escape_. + +To come down to a later period, it was this day fortnight only that I +set out for the native village in Pond's Inlet, under the guidance of an +old woman; the trip was interesting, but we failed to obtain the +slightest clue to the "whereabouts" of the missing ships; moreover, our +own little vessel had a most providential escape from being crushed +against the cliffs; and this day week was spent in contending with a +furious gale, during which the ship had nearly been driven to leeward +and dashed to pieces by the sea-beaten pack. Yet these are only +preliminaries,--we are only _now_ about to commence the interesting part +of our voyage. It is to be hoped the poor 'Fox' has many more lives to +spare. + +{CAPE HOTHAM.} + +_Monday night, 16th Aug._--Sailed from Beechey Island this morning, and +in the evening landed at Cape Hotham. A small depot of provisions and +three boats were left there by former expeditions. Of the depot all has +been destroyed with the exception of two casks landed in 1850. The boats +were sound, but several of their oars, which had been secured upright, +were found broken down by bears--those inquisitive animals having a +decided antipathy to anything stuck up--stuck up things in general +being, in this country, unnatural. Fragments of the depot and the broken +oars were tossed about in every direction. Numerous records were found; +to the most recent a few lines were added, stating that we had removed +the two whale-boats--one to be left at Port Leopold, the other to +replace our own crushed by the ice. + +{PROCEED DOWN PEEL STRAIT.} + +_17th._--Last night battling against a strong foul wind with _sea_, in +rain and fog. To-day much loose ice is seen southward of Griffith's +Island. The weather improved this afternoon, and we shot gallantly past +Limestone Island, and are now steering down Peel Strait; all of us in a +wild state of excitement--a mingling of anxious hopes and fears! + +_18th._--For 25 miles last evening we ran unobstructedly down Peel +Strait, but then came in sight of unbroken ice extending across it from +shore to shore! It was much decayed, and of one year's growth only; yet +as the strait continues to contract for 60 miles further, and it +appeared to me to afford so little hope of becoming navigable in the +short remainder of the season, I immediately turned about for Bellot +Strait, as affording a better prospect of a passage into the western sea +discovered by Sir James Ross from Four River Point in 1849. Our +disappointment at the interruption of our progress was as sudden as it +was severe. We did not linger in hope of a change, but steered out again +into the broad waters of Barrow Strait. However, should Bellot Strait +prove hopeless, I intend to return hither to make one more effort before +the close of the season. + +We are now approaching Port Leopold, where it is necessary to stop for a +few hours to examine the state of the steam launch, provisions and +stores, left there in 1849, as adverse circumstances may oblige me to +fall back upon it as a point of support. + +{PORT LEOPOLD.} + +_19th._--At anchor in Port Leopold; it is perfectly clear of ice; we +arrived here in the night. How astonishingly bare the land looks; it is +more barren than Beechey Island, whilst the rock contains far fewer +fossils! On this day nine years ago the harbor and sea continued covered +with ice, and the ships ('Enterprise' and 'Investigator') were unable to +escape. At some period since then the ice has been pressed in upon the +low shingle point; it has forced the launch up before it, and left her +broadside on to the beach, with both bows stove in, and in want of +considerable repairs, but the means are all at hand for executing them. +We tried to haul her further up, but she was firmly imbedded and frozen +into the ground. Many things appear to have been covered with the loose +shingle, bags of coal and coke just appearing through it scarcely above +high-water mark. Amongst the missing articles is the steam-engine. + +Although the flag-staff upon the summit of North East Cape is still +standing, the one erected upon this point and almost the whole of the +framing of the house lies prostrate. The provisions appeared to be +sound, but were not generally examined. The whale-boat we removed from +Cape Hotham was landed here, and a record of our proceedings added to +the many which have accumulated here during the last ten years. Some +coke and a few things useful to us and merely decaying here were taken +on board, and by evening we were again speeding onward with augmented +resources, and the confidence inspired by a secure depot in our rear; +buoyed up moreover by the joyful anticipation of soon reaching the goal +of our long-deferred hopes. + +{OFF FURY POINT.} + +_20th._--Noon. Exactly off Fury Point. There is one large iceberg far +off in the S.E.; no other ice in sight! I would have landed at Fury +Beach to examine the remaining supplies there, but a snow shower +prevented our distinguishing anything, and a strong tide carried us past +before we were aware of it. + +We _feel_ that the crisis of our voyage is near at hand. Does Bellot +Strait really exist? if so, is it free from ice? + +A depot of provisions is being got ready to be landed, should it be +practicable for us to push through and proceed to the southward. + +{DEPOT BAY.} + +_21st._--On approaching Brentford Bay last evening packed ice was seen +streaming out of it, also much ice in the S.E. The northern point of +entrance was landed upon by Sir John Ross in 1829, and named Possession +Point; we rounded it closely, and could distinguish a few stones piled +up upon a large rock near its highest part--this is his cairn. As we +passed westward between the point and Browne's Island, through a channel +a mile in width, a close pack was discovered a few miles ahead; and it +being past ten o'clock, and almost dark, the ship was anchored in a +convenient bay three or four miles within Possession Point. Here our +depot is to be landed, therefore we shall name this for the present +_Depot Bay_; a very narrow isthmus between its head and Hazard Inlet +unites the low limestone peninsula, of which Possession Point is the +extreme, to the mainland. + +To-day an unsparing use of steam and canvas forced the ship eight miles +further west; we were then about half-way through Bellot Strait! Its +western capes are lofty bluffs, such as may be distinguished fifty miles +distant in clear weather; between them there was a clear broad channel, +but five or six miles of close heavy pack intervened--the sole obstacle +to our progress. Of course this pack will speedily disperse;--it is no +wonder that we should feel elated at such a glorious prospect, and +content to bide our time in the security of Depot Bay. A feeling of +tranquillity--of earnest, hearty satisfaction--has come over us. There +is no appearance amongst us of anything boastful; we have all +experienced too keenly the vicissitudes of Arctic voyaging to admit of +such a feeling. + +At the turn of tide we perceived that we were being carried, together +with the pack, back to the eastward; every moment our velocity was +increased, and presently we were dismayed at seeing grounded ice near +us, but were very quickly swept past it at the rate of nearly six miles +an hour, though within 200 yards of the rocks, and of instant +destruction! As soon as we possibly could we got clear of the packed +ice, and left it to be wildly hurled about by various whirlpools and +rushes of the tide, until finally carried out into Brentford Bay. The +ice-masses were large, and dashed violently against each other, and the +rocks lay at some distance off the southern shore; we had a fortunate +escape from such dangerous company. After anchoring again in Depot Bay, +a large stock of provisions and a record of our proceedings were landed, +as there seems every probability of advancing into the western sea in a +very few days. + +{BELLOT STRAIT.} + +The appearance of Bellot Strait is precisely that of a Greenland fiord; +it is about 20 miles long and scarcely a mile wide in the narrowest +part, and there, within a quarter of a mile of the north shore the depth +was ascertained to be 400 feet. Its granitic shores are bold and lofty, +with a very respectable sprinkling of vegetation for lat. 72 deg. Some of +the hill-ranges rise to about 1500 or 1600 feet above the sea. + +The low land eastward of Depot Bay is composed of limestone, destitute +alike of fossils and vegetation. The granite commences upon the west +shore of Depot Bay, and is at once bold and rugged. Many seals have been +seen; a young bear was shot, and Walker took a photograph of him as he +lay upon our deck, the dogs creeping near to lick up the blood. + +{FLOOD TIDE FROM THE WEST.} + +The great rapidity of the tides in Bellot Strait fully accounts for the +spaces of open water seen by Mr. Kennedy[15] when he travelled through, +early in April. The strait runs very nearly east and west, but its +eastern entrance is well masked by Long Island; when half-way through +both seas are visible. As in Greenland, the night tides are much higher +than the day tides; last night it was high water at about half-past +eleven; as nearly as we can estimate, the tide runs through to the west, +from two hours before high water until four hours after it; that is, the +flood-tide comes from the west! Such is also the case in Hecla and Fury +Strait; in both places the tide from the west is much the strongest. I +am not sufficiently informed to discuss this subject, but infer the +existence of a channel between Victoria and Prince of Wales' Land. The +rise and fall is much less upon the western side of the Isthmus of +Boothia than upon the east, and it likewise decreases, we know, in +Barrow Strait, as we advance westward. + +_23rd._--Yesterday Bellot Strait was again examined, but the five miles +of close pack occupied precisely the same position as if heaped together +by contending tides; considerable augmentations were moreover seen +drifting in from the western sea. Finding nothing could be effected in +Bellot Strait, we sought in vain for the more southern channel which +should exist to form Levesque Island: we did, however, find a beautiful +harbor, and are now securely anchored in its north-west arm; I have +named it after the gentleman whose former island I have thus reluctantly +converted into the northern extreme of the Boothian Peninsula, and +consequently of the American continent. The south-western angle of +Brentford Bay is still covered with unbroken ice. + +This evening we all landed to explore our new ground. Young and Petersen +shot some brent geese; Walker saw two deer, but he was botanizing, and +had no gun; others were seen by some of the men, and followed, but +without success. + +{RAMBLE INLAND.} + +I enjoyed a delightfully refreshing ramble, a mile or two inland, +through a gently ascending valley, then two miles along the narrow +margin of a pretty little lake between mountains, beyond which lay a +much larger one, four or five miles in diameter; this farther lake was +only partially divested of its winter ice. Here the scenery was not only +grand, but beautiful; there was enough of vegetation to tint the craggy +hill-sides and to make the sheltered hollows absolutely green; +deer-tracks and the foot-prints of wildfowl were everywhere numerous +along the water-side. I saw two decayed skulls of musk oxen, and circles +of stones by the little lake, doubtless at some remote period the summer +residence of wandering Esquimaux; hence I infer that fish abound in the +lake, and that this valley is a favorite deer-pass. + +But the contemplation of these objects, although agreeable, was not the +object of my solitary ramble; I came on shore to cogitate undisturbed in +a leisurely and philosophic manner. We hoped very soon to enter an +unknown sea; discoveries were to be made, contingencies provided for, +and plans prepared to meet them. + +Yesterday Petersen shot an immense bearded seal; it sank, but floated up +an hour afterwards. This animal measured 8 feet long, and weighed about +500 lbs. We prefer its flesh to that of the small seals, and its blubber +will afford a valuable addition to our stock of lamp oil for the coming +winter. + +_25th._--In Depot Bay. We remained but twenty-four hours in Levesque +Harbor; a change of wind led us to hope for a removal of the ice in +Bellot Strait, therefore I determined to make another attempt. + +{FOX'S HOLE.} + +When off the table-land, where the depth is not more than from 6 to 10 +fathoms, and the tides run strongest, the ship hardly moved over the +ground, although going 6-1/2 knots through the water! Thus delayed, +darkness overtook us, and we anchored at midnight in a small indentation +of the north shore, christened by the men _Fox's Hole_, rather more than +half-way through. + +For several hours we had been coquetting with huge rampant ice-masses +that wildly surged about in the tideway, or we dashed through boiling +eddies, and sometimes almost grazed the tall cliffs; we were therefore +naturally glad of a couple or three hours' rest, even in such a very +unsafe position. At early dawn we again proceeded west, but for three +miles only; the pack again stopped us, and we could perceive that the +western sea was covered with ice: the east wind, which could alone +remove it, now gave place to a hard-hearted westerly one. + +All the strait to the eastward of us, and the eastern sea, as far as +could be seen from the hill-tops, is perfectly free from ice, whereas in +the direction we wish to proceed there is nothing but packed-ice, or +water which cannot be reached. Bitterly disappointed we are, of course; +yet there is reasonable ground for hope; grim winter will not ratify the +obstinate proceedings of the western ice for nearly four weeks. + +{PERILOUS AMUSEMENT.} + +Last evening's _amusement_ was most exciting, nor was it without its +peculiar perils. With cunning and activity worthy of her name, our +little craft warily avoided a tilting-match with the stout blue masses +which whirled about, as if with wilful impetuosity, through the narrow +channel; some of them were so large as to ground even in 6 or 7 fathoms +water. Many were drawn into the eddies, and, acquiring considerable +velocity in a contrary direction, suddenly broke bounds, charging out +into the stream and entering into mighty conflict with their fellows. +After such a frolic the masses would revolve peaceably or unite with the +pack, and await quietly their certain dissolution; may the day of that +wished-for dissolution be near at hand! Nothing but strong hope of +success induced me to encounter such dangerous opposition. I not only +hoped, but almost felt, that we deserved to succeed. + +{PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.} + +Two plans were now occupying my thoughts, both of them resulting from +the conviction that we should probably be compelled to winter to the +eastward of Bellot Strait: the most important of these plans is that of +finding some series of valleys, chain of lakes, or continuous low land, +practicable as an overland sledge-route to the western coast, along +which we may transport depots of provisions this autumn; for it is +certain that the strong tides will prevent Bellot Strait being frozen +over till winter is far advanced, and its surface will afford us no +means of passing westward with our sledges. + +The other plan, and that which we are now about to execute, is to land a +small depot of provisions 60 or 70 miles to the southward, and down +Prince Regent's Inlet, in order to facilitate communication with the +Esquimaux either this autumn or in early spring. + +This precautionary step became so necessary in the event of the west +coast presenting unusual difficulties, that I determined to carry it at +once into execution. Quitting the "Fox's Hole," and resting for one +night in Depot Bay, we sailed thence on the 26th; a fine breeze carried +us rapidly southward along the coast of Regent Inlet; there was but +little obstruction; occasionally it was necessary to pass through a +stream of loose ice; but we saw little of any kind, compared to the +experiences of Sir John Ross in 1829. + +{STILLWELL BAY.} + +About dusk (nine o'clock) much loose ice to the southward prevented our +making any attempt at further progress; we therefore anchored off the +coast--in Stillwell Bay, I think--about 45 miles from the Depot Bay. +Here the depot, consisting of 120 rations, was landed. I observe that it +has only been on penetrating into Brentford Bay that we have found the +primary rocks washed by the sea; the coast-line both north and south, as +far as, and beyond our present position, is a low shore of pale +limestone, destitute of fossils; we can, however, see granitic +hill-ranges far in the interior. + +On the 27th we commenced beating back to the northward, tacking between +the land and the ice which lay about 15 miles off shore. Towards night +the wind greatly increased, and the ship, under reefed sail plunged +violently into the short, swift, high seas; we also felt quite as uneasy +and restless as the ship, in our great anxiety to get back and ascertain +what changes were likely to be effected by the gale. + +_28th._--To-night the weather is more pleasant; the keen and contrary +wind has given place to a gentle, fair breeze, the swell has almost +subsided, no ice has been seen to-day, and the night is dark and +unusually mild. I can hardly fancy that the sea which gently rocks us is +not the ocean, and the soft air the breath of our own temperate region! +The delusion is charming. + +{ROSS' CAIRN.} + +_30th._--Yesterday after anchoring in Depot Bay I walked over to +Possession Point, to visit Ross' cairn. I found a few stones piled up on +two large boulders, and under each a halfpenny, one of which I pocketed. +Upon the ground lay the fragments of a bottle which once contained the +record, and near it a staff about 4 feet long. Having calculated upon +finding the bottle sound, I was obliged to make an impromptu record-case +of its long neck, into which I thrust my brief document, and consigned +it to the safe custody of a small heap of stones, the staff being +erected over it. + +{MT. WALKER.} + +It was dark before I got on board again. The strait had been +reconnoitred from the hills, and was reported to be perfectly clear of +ice! This morning we made a fourth attempt to pass through; but Bellot +Strait was by no means clear; the same obstruction existed which +defeated our last attempt, and in precisely the same place. Returning +eastward, we entered a narrow arm of the sea, nearly a couple of miles +to the west of Depot Bay, and anchored in a small creek perfectly +sheltered and land-locked, at the foot of a sugarloaf hill.[16] The +temperature is falling; last night it stood at 24 deg. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[15] Mr. Kennedy discovered this important passage when in command of +the 'Prince Albert' in 1851. + +[16] Subsequently named Mount Walker. + + + + +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 depot established--Observatories--Intense + cold--Autumn travellers--Narrow escape. + + +{PROCEED WESTWARD IN A BOAT.} + +Most anxious to know the real state of the ice in the western sea--upon +which our hopes so entirely depend--I intend starting this evening by +boat, as far through Bellot Strait as the ice will permit, then land and +ascend the western coast-hills. + +{SEPT., 1858.} + +_1st Sept._--My boat party consisted of four men and the doctor, who +came with me for the novelty of the cruise, bringing his camera to +fasten upon any thing picturesque. We landed near Half-way Island, and +pitched our tent for the night. Early next morning I commenced the +rather formidable undertaking of ascending the hills, for it is not +possible to pass under the cliffs, and at last I gained the summit of +the loftiest, overlooking Cape Bird at a distance of 3 or 4 miles, and +affording a splendid view to the westward, as well as glimpses between +the hills of the blue eastern sea. Long and anxiously did I survey +the western sea, ice, and lands, and could not but feel that in all +probability we should not be permitted to pass beyond our present +position. + +[Illustration: M'Clintock in his Boat sailing through Bellot Strait.] + +{FOUR RIVER POINT.} + +To the northward Four River Point--Sir James Ross' farthest in 1849--was +at once recognized; rather more than nine years ago I stood upon it with +him, and gazed almost as anxiously in this direction! My present view +confirmed the impression then received, of a wide channel leading +southward. The outline of the western land is very distant; it is of +considerable but uniform elevation, and slopes gradually down to the +strait, which is between 30 and 40 miles wide. This western land appears +to be limestone, and without off-lying islands. Our side of the strait +or sea, on the contrary, is primary rock, and fringed with islets and +rocks; its southern extreme bears S.S.W., and is probably 30 miles +distant. + +Now for the ice. Although broken up, it lies against this shore in +immense fields: there is but little water or room for ice-movement. +Along the west shore I can distinguish long faint streaks of water. +There is no appearance of disruption about Four River Point or in the +contracted part of Peel Strait--we have nothing to hope for in that +quarter; neither is there any evidence of current or pressure; the ice +appears much decayed, but, as I am surveying it from a height of about +1600 feet, I may be deceived. + +{CHEERLESS STATE OF WESTERN SEA.} + +The strong contrast between the eastern and western seas and lands is +very unfavorable to the latter. + +Apart from the ice, I was fortunate, however, in discovering a long +narrow lake, occupying a valley which lies between a small inlet near +Cape Bird and Hazard Inlet--in fact, a sort of echo of Bellot +Strait--and I look upon it as our sledge route for the autumn, since it +appears probable we shall winter in our present position. + +This is a _wonderous rough_ country to scramble over; one never ceases +to wonder how such huge blocks of rock can have got into such strange +positions. I noticed two masses in particular, each of them perched upon +three small stones. The rock is gneiss; there is also much granite. Even +upon the hill-tops pieces of limestone are occasionally met with. + +My walk occupied eleven hours, and, although I everywhere saw traces of +animals, the only living thing seen was a grey falcon. During my absence +from the tent the men rambled all over the hills, but saw no game, our +encampment was therefore shifted to a better position near the eastern +termination of the table-land. This morning we explored the neighboring +valleys; saw three deer, and shot one, returning on board the 'Fox' in +time for dinner. + +Many deer had been seen not far from the ship, and Hobson had shot a +bearded seal. I have organized another boat party; Young will start +with it to-morrow morning to seek a sledge route from the southern angle +of Brentford Bay to the western sea. + +_5th._--Young returned this morning; he reports the south-west angle of +the bay not to run in so far as we expected, and to be environed by very +high land, impracticable for sledges. + +Our Esquimaux, Samuel, shot a fawn to-day. + +Strong northerly winds have latterly prevailed; Bellot Strait is quite +clear of ice; to-morrow morning, therefore, we shall make our _fifth_ +attempt to get the 'Fox' through. + +{STRUGGLES IN BELLOT STRAIT.} + +_6th._--Steamed through the clear waters of Bellot Strait this morning, +and made fast to the ice across its western outlet at a distance of two +miles from the shore, and close to a small islet which we have already +dubbed _Pemmican Rock_, having landed upon it a large supply of that +substantial traveller's fare, with other provisions for our future +sledging-parties. This ice is in large stout fields, of more than one +winter's growth, apparently immovable in consequence of the numerous +islets and rocks which rise through and hold it fast. If the weather +permits, we shall remain here for a few days and watch the effect of +winds and tides upon it; that the ship will get any further seems +improbable. + +_10th._--I have explored a small inlet near Cape Bird, which we have +named _False Strait_, from its striking resemblance to the true one, +and find it is only separated from the long lake by half a mile of low +land; the lake we have ascertained to be about 12 miles long, and from +it valleys extend eastward and southward, so that we are sure of a good +sledge-route,--an important matter, as the hills rise to 1600 feet above +the sea. + +{CAPE BIRD.} + +Cape Bird is 500 feet high; from its summit we carefully observe the +ice. This granite coast presents a jagged appearance; it is deeply +indented and studded with islets. The ice in the western sea (or Peel's +Strait) is much more broken up than it was upon the 31st ultimo; there +is no longer any fixed ice except within the grasp of the islets. Birds +and animals have become very scarce; three seals have been shot, and a +bear seen. To-morrow we shall return to our harbor, and endeavor to +procure a few more reindeer before they migrate southward. + +_12th._--Yesterday we anchored within the entrance of our creek, being a +more convenient position than up at its head. We are already in our +wintering position, and, being without occupation, one day seems most +remarkably like another! Although the fondly cherished hope of pushing +farther in our ship can no longer be entertained, yet as long as the +season continues navigable it is our duty to be in readiness to avail +ourselves of any opportunity, however improbable, of being able to do +so. + +{FALCONS GOOD ARCTIC FARE.} + +Once firmly frozen in, our autumn travelling will commence, and afford +welcome occupation. Almost all on board have guns; ammunition is +supplied, and a sailor with a musket is a very contented and zealous +sportsman, if not always a successful one; it is a powerful incentive to +exercise. To-day the ramblers saw only two hares, an ermine, and an owl. +Some peregrine falcons have lately been shot; Petersen declares they are +"_the best beef in the country, and the young birds tender and white as +chicken!_" + +A few days ago a large cask of biscuit was opened, and a living mouse +discovered therein! it was small, but mature in years. The cask, a +strong watertight one, was packed on shore at Aberdeen, in June, 1857, +and remained ever afterwards unopened; there was no hole by which the +mouse could have got in or out, besides it is the only one ever seen on +board. Ship's biscuit is certainly _dry feeding_, but who dares assert, +after the experience of our mouse, that it is not wonderfully +nutritious? + +_15th._--Two nights ago a comet was observed just beneath the +constellation of the Great Bear; a series of measurements were commenced +for determining its path. Yesterday I walked through the most promising +valleys for eight hours, but did not see a living creature; yet there is +a very fair show of vegetation, much more than at Melville Island, where +the game is abundant. To the east there is not a speck of ice, +excepting only a huge iceberg, probably the same we saw off Fury Point, +a very unusual visitor from Baffin's Bay, whence it must have been +driven by those long-continued east winds (of painful memory) in June +and July. + +Hobson and two men encamped out for three days in order to scour the +country; they have only seen one hare and one lemming! Walker +geologizes; amongst other things he finds much iron pyrites. The dredge +has been used, but with very little success. The thermometer ranges +between 20 deg. and 30 deg. Fresh water pools are frozen over, sea-ice forms in +every sheltered angle of the creeks. There is no snow upon the land, and +this is one cause of the difficulty of finding game. + +{PORT KENNEDY.} + +I have determined upon naming this beautiful little anchorage _Port +Kennedy_, after my predecessor, the discoverer of Bellot Strait, of +which it is decidedly _the_ port. This is not a compliment to him, but +an agreeable duty to me, and nowhere could Mr. Kennedy's name be more +appropriately affixed than in close proximity with his interesting +discovery. And now having made this acknowledgment, I may venture to +confer our little vessel's name upon the islets which protect its +entrance. + +The island upon which Mr. Kennedy and Lieutenant Bellot encamped was +Long Island, about three miles further to the south-east. + +{FUTURE SLEDGE TRAVELLING.} + +_17th._--Of late we have been preparing provisions and equipments for +our travelling parties. My scheme of sledge search comprehends three +separate routes and parties of four men; to each party a dog-sledge and +driver will be attached; Hobson, Young, and I will lead them. + +My journey will be to the Great Fish River, examining the shores of King +William's Land in going and returning; Petersen will be with me. + +Hobson will explore the western coast of Boothia as far as the magnetic +pole, this autumn, I hope, and from Gateshead Island westward next +spring. + +Young will trace the shore of Prince of Wales' Land from Lieutenant +Browne's farthest, to the south-westward to Osborn's farthest, if +possible, and also examine between Four River Point and Cape Bird. + +Our probable absence will be sixty or seventy days, commencing from +about the 20th March. + +In this way I trust we shall complete the Franklin search and the +geographical discovery of Arctic America, both left unfinished by the +former expeditions; and in so doing we can hardly fail to obtain some +trace, some relic, or, it may be, important records of those whose +mysterious fate it is the great object of our labors to discover. But +previous to setting forth upon these important journeys, I must +communicate with the Boothians, if possible, either upon the west or +east coast, in November or February. Sir John Ross' 'Narrative' informs +us that they sometimes winter as far north upon the east coast as the +Agnew River; and we know that upon the west, at the magnetic pole, their +abandoned snow-huts were occupied in June by Sir James Ross. + +{STEAM THROUGH BELLOT STRAIT.} + +_19th._--Yesterday we steamed once more through Bellot Strait, and took +up our former position at the ice-edge, off its western entrance; the +ice, hemmed in by islets has not moved. + +From the summit of Cape Bird I had a very extensive view this morning: +there is now much water in the offing, only separated from us by the +belt of islet-girt ice _scarcely four miles in width_! My conviction is +that a strong east wind would remove this remaining barrier; it is not +yet too late. The water runs parallel to this coast, and is four or five +miles broad; beyond it there is ice, but it appears to be all broken up. + +Yesterday Young went upon a dog-sledge to the nearest south-western +island, distant 7 or 8 miles. He reports the intervening ice cracked and +weak in some places, but practicable for loaded sledges; the far side of +the island is washed by a clear sea, and a bear which he shot plunged +into it, and, drifting away, was lost. Young is in favor of carrying out +the depot provisions to or beyond this island by boat; but as the +temperature fell to 18 deg. last night, and new ice forms wherever it is +calm, I prefer the safer, although more laborious mode of sledging; +accordingly to-day our dogs carried out two sledge-loads of the +provisions intended for the use of our parties hereafter. + +_22nd._--All the provisions have now been carried out to the nearest +island, which I shall temporarily name _Separation_,[17] as there our +spring parties will divide; and a portion intended for Hobson's party +and my own has been carried on to the next island 7 or 8 miles further. +Our travelling boat and a small reserve depot have been placed upon +Pemmican Rock, so already something has been done. Animal life is very +scarce; a few seals, an occasional gull, and three brown falcons, are +the only creatures we have seen for several days past. Last evening at +eight o'clock a very vivid flash of lightning was observed; its +appearance in these latitudes is very rare; once only have I seen it +before--in September, 1850. + +{HOBSON'S PARTY START.} + +_25th._--Saturday night. Furious gales from N. and S.W., but our barrier +of coast-ice remains undiminished. This morning Hobson set off upon a +journey of fourteen or fifteen days' duration, with seven men and +fourteen dogs; he is to advance the depots along shore to the south, and +if successful will reach latitude 71 deg. + +The temperature is mild (+17), but it is snowy and disagreeable weather; +there is already enough snow upon the old ice to make walking laborious, +and the land has also assumed its wintry complexion. + +_28th._--The ship was kept available for prosecuting her voyage up to +the _latest hour_; it was only yesterday that we left the western ice, +and in consequence of the vast accumulation of young ice in Bellot +Strait we had considerable difficulty in reaching the _entrance_ of Port +Kennedy: all within was so firmly frozen over that after three hours' +steaming and working we only penetrated 100 yards; however, we are in an +excellent position, although our wintering place will be farther out by +a quarter of a mile than I intended. + +{WINTER QUARTERS.} + +To-day we are unbending sails and laying up the engines--uncertainty no +longer exists--here we are compelled to remain; and if we have not been +as successful in our voyaging as a month ago we had good reason to +expect, we may still hope that Fortune will smile upon our more humble, +yet more arduous, pedestrian explorations--"Hope on, hope ever." In the +mean time the sudden transition, from mental and physical wear and tear, +to the security and quiet of winter quarters, is an immense relief. + +{OCT., 1858.} + +{ERMINE HUNT.} + +_2nd Oct._--M. Petersen has shot two very fine bucks; one is a +magnificent fellow, weighing 354 lbs. (minus the paunch). Several deer +have been seen; they come from the N. along the slopes of the eastern +hills. An ermine came on board a few nights ago and kept the dogs in a +violent state of excitement, being much too wary to come out from under +the boat to be caught by them; at length one of the men secured it. This +beautiful little animal does not appear to be full grown; its extreme +length is 13 inches. Two others came off to the ship, and to our great +amusement eluded the men who gave chase, by darting into the soft +snow--which is now a foot deep--and re-appearing several yards off. + +The weather is too mild to satisfy us; we wish for severe frost to seal +us up securely, and make the ice strong enough to bear the sledge-loads +of provisions, etc., which are to be landed for the purpose of making +more room in the ship. + +{HOBSON'S PARTY RETURNED.} + +_6th._--A herd of a dozen reindeer crossed the harbor to-day. Last night +Hobson and his companions returned, all well. They were stopped by the +sea washing against the cliffs in latitude 71-1/2 deg., and to that point +they have advanced the depots. Although the weather has been stormy +here, they have been able to travel every day. They found the coast +still fringed with islets, and deeply indented; upon every point, +moss-grown circles of stones indicated the abodes of Esquimaux in times +long since gone by. + +One night they muzzled a dog, as she was in the habit of gnawing her +harness: in this defenceless state, unable even to bark and arouse the +men, her _amiable_ sisterhood attacked her so fiercely that she died +next day! + +In honor of so important and successful a commencement of our +travelling, as that accomplished by Hobson, we had a feast of good +venison, plum pudding, and grog. It is quite evident that no more +travelling can be accomplished until the ice forms a pathway alongshore; +in this, as in some other respects, we anxiously await the advance of +the season. The weather is mild; Bellot Strait is almost covered with +ice, which drifts freely with every tide. Reindeer are seen almost +daily; they too are awaiting the freezing over of the sea to continue +their southern travels. Our harbor-ice is weak and covered a foot deep +with a sludgy compound of snow and water. + +_8th._--Yesterday an ermine was caught in a trap; hitherto these most +active little skirmishers have successfully robbed our fox-traps of +their baits as fast as they could be renewed. To-day Petersen shot +another reindeer; it weighs 130 lbs.; many others were seen, also a +wolf. Sometimes a few ptarmigan are met with, but hares very rarely. + +_12th._--Fine weather generally prevails. We have landed about 100 +casks, all our boats, and much lumber, so we shall have abundance of +room on board. I enjoyed a long and exhilarating ramble upon snow-shoes +to-day; without them I could not have gone over half the distance--the +snow lies so deep and soft--but I only saw one reindeer. + +_14th._--One of our magnetic observatories has been built; it stands +upon the ice, 210 yards S. (magnetic) from the ship, and is built of ice +sawed into blocks--there not being any suitable snow; it is just large +enough to hold the declinometer for hourly observations, to be noted +throughout the winter. The housings have been put over the ship already, +as Hobson will leave us again in a few days to advance his depot and my +own to the vicinity of the magnetic pole if possible. I would also send +Young upon a similar duty, but the western sea cannot have frozen over +yet. + +{FREQUENT GALES.} + +_19th._--All the 17th a N.W. gale blew with fearful violence; yesterday +it abated, but not sufficiently to allow our party to start. This +morning Hobson got away with his nine men and ten dogs; his absence may +be from eighteen to twenty days. Autumn travelling is most disagreeable; +there is so much wind and snow, the latter being soft, deep, and often +wet; the sun is almost always obscured by mist, and is powerless for +warmth or drying purposes, and the temperature is vary variable. +Moreover there are now only eight hours of misty daylight. To-day the +morning was fine, and temperature +8 deg. Having completed the preliminary +observations of the times of horizontal and vertical vibrations, also +of the magnetic intensity, I set up to-day the declinometer, and +commenced the hourly series of observations on the diurnal variation. I +trust it may continue unbroken until we all set out upon our spring +travels in March. A hare has been shot, but no other animals seen. + +{ANOTHER OBSERVATORY BUILT.} + +_29th._--It generally blows a gale of wind here; the only advantage in +return for so much discomfort is that the snow is the more quickly +packed hard. As we have only three working men and an Esquimaux left on +board for ship's duties, I was assisted a few days ago by the doctor, +the engineer, and the interpreter, in building another observatory, +intended for certain monthly magnetic observations. This edifice is +constructed of snow. Whenever we have a calm night we can hear the +crushing sound of the drift-ice in Bellot Strait, which continues open +to within 500 yards of the Fox Islands, and emits dark chilling clouds +of hateful, pestilent, abominable mist. + +[Illustration: Interior of the Observatory.] + +The last two days have been very fine and calm: the men visited their +fox and ermine traps, which are secreted amongst the rocks in a most +mysterious manner--one ermine only has been taken. Seven or eight +reindeer and some ptarmigan were seen; two of the latter and a hare were +shot. We have commenced brewing sugar beer. + +{NOV., 1858.} + +_2nd Nov._--Very dull times. No amount of ingenuity could make a diary +worth the paper it is written on. An occasional raven flies past, a +couple more ptarmigan have been shot: another N.W. gale is blowing, with +temperature down to -12 deg. + +_6th.--Saturday Night._ The N.W. gale blew without intermission for +seventy hours, the temperature being about -15 deg.: we hoped that our +absent shipmates might be housed safely in snow-huts. This afternoon all +doubts respecting them were dispelled by their arrival in good health, +but they evidently have suffered from cold and exposure during their +absence of nineteen days. For the first six days they journeyed outward +successfully; on that night they encamped upon the ice; it was at +spring-tide, a N.E. gale sprang up, and blowing off shore detached the +ice and drifted them off! The sea froze over on the cessation of the +gale, and two days afterwards they fortunately regained the land near +the position from which they were blown off; they have indeed +experienced much unusual danger and suffering from cold. + +{NARROW ESCAPE.} + +As soon as they discovered that the ice was drifting off shore with +them, they packed their sledges, harnessed their dogs, and passed the +night in anxious watching for some chance to escape. When the ice got a +little distance off shore, it broke up under the influence of the wind +and sea, until the piece they were upon was scarce 20 yards in diameter; +this drifted across the mouth of a wide inlet[18] until brought up +against the opposite shore. The gale was quickly followed by an intense +frost, which in a single night formed ice sufficiently strong to bear +them in safety to the land, although it bent fearfully beneath their +weight. + +{ADVANCED DEPOTS.} + +The depots were eventually established in latitude 71 deg.; beyond this +Lieutenant Hobson did not attempt to advance, not only because their +remaining provisions would not have warranted a longer absence, but +because the open sea was seen to beat against the next headland. They +have lived in tents only, and have not experienced the heavy gales so +frequent here, and which are probably due mainly to our position in +Bellot Strait, which performs the part of a funnel for both winds and +tides between the two seas. + +That the western sea should still remain open argues a vast space +southward for the escape of the ice, and prevents our western party from +carrying across their depot: the attempt to do so would be extremely +hazardous. We must only be stirring earlier in the spring. I am truly +thankful for the safe return of our travellers,--all this toil and +exposure of ten persons and ten dogs has only advanced the depots 30 +miles further--_i.e._, from 60 to 90 miles distant from the ship. + +{EFFECT OF GALES.} + +Hardly a particle of snow remains upon the harbor-ice, the recent gales +having swept it away; and the porch of my snow-hut has been fretted away +to a mere cobweb by the attrition of the snow-drift: the doctor and I +rebuilt it to-day. Three reindeer and a wolf have been seen. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[17] Subsequently named after my excellent friend A. Arcedeckne, Esq., +Commodore of the Royal London Yacht Club. + +[18] Named after Lord Wrottesley, in remembrance of the support given by +him to the expedition, his advocacy of it in the House of Lords, and of +the facilities granted me by the Royal Society--of which he was +President--for the pursuit of scientific observations. + + + + +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. + + +{DEATH OF OUR ENGINEER.} + +_Nov. 7th._--_Sunday evening._--Brief as is the interval since my last +entry, yet how awful, and, to one of our small company, how fatal it has +been! Yesterday Mr. Brand was out shooting as usual, and in robust +health; in the evening Hobson sat with him for a little time. Mr. Brand +turned the conversation upon our position and employments last year; he +called to remembrance poor Robert Scott, then in sound health, and the +fact of his having carried our "Guy Fawkes" round the ship on the +preceding day twelvemonth, and added mournfully, "Poor fellow! no one +knows whose turn it may be to go next." He finished his evening pipe, +and shut his cabin door shortly after nine o'clock. This morning, at +seven o'clock, his servant found him lying upon the deck, a corpse, +having been several hours dead. Apoplexy appears to have been the cause. +He was a steady, serious man, under forty years of age, and leaves a +widow and three or four children; what their circumstances are I am not +aware. + +{THE FUNERAL.} + +_10th._--This morning the remains of Mr. Brand, inclosed in a neat +coffin, were buried in a grave on shore. A suitable headboard and +inscription will be placed over it. From all that I have gathered, it +appears that his mind had been somewhat gloomy for the last few days, +dwelling much upon poor Scott's sudden death. Whether he really saw +three reindeer on Saturday, watched their movements, and fired his Minie +rifle at them when 700 yards distant, or whether it was the creation of +a disordered brain, none can tell. On his first return on board he said +he had seen deer _tracks_ only. + +We are now without either engineer or engine-driver: we have only two +stokers, and they know nothing about the machinery. Our numbers are +reduced to twenty-four, including our interpreter and two Greenland +Esquimaux. + +_15th._--We have enjoyed ten days of moderate winds and calms, but the +temperature has fallen as low as -31 deg. This causes frost-cracks in the +ice _across_ the harbor; they will freeze over, and others will form, +and gape, and freeze at intervals, so that by next spring we shall +probably be moved several inches, perhaps feet, off shore. + +Mists have obscured the sun of late, and now it does not rise at all. We +are indifferent; its departure has become to us a matter of course. The +usual winter covering of snow has been spread upon deck rather more than +a foot thick. Its utility in preventing the escape of heat became at +once strikingly apparent. Nothing has been seen but a few ptarmigan and +one reindeer, which trotted off towards the ship. Our bullets missed +him, and the dogs unfortunately caught sight and chased him away. I do +not think any dogs could overtake a reindeer in this rough country; the +rocks would speedily lame them, and the snow, in many places, is quite +deep enough to fatigue them greatly, whereas it offers but slight +impediment to the deer, furnished as he is with long legs and spreading +hoofs. + +{SCARCITY OF GAME.} + +_29th._--Animals have become very scarce. A few ptarmigan and +willow-grouse have been seen, and three shot. Two days ago I saw two +reindeer. The eastern sea is frozen over, and our old acquaintance the +iceberg in Prince Regent's Inlet is still visible on a clear day. We +brew sugar-beer, and we set nets for seals, but catch none. The nets +have been made and set in favorable positions under the ice by the +Greenlanders, so we suppose the seals also have migrated elsewhere; if +so, the Esquimaux could not winter here. We have no regular school this +winter, but five of the men study navigation every evening under the +guidance of Young. Hobson and I are doing all we can to make the ship +dry, warm, and comfortable: our large snow porches over the hatchways +are a great improvement. + +{DEC., 1858.} + +_5th Dec._--Cold, windy weather, with chilling mists from the open water +in Bellot Strait. We can seldom leave the shelter of the ship for a walk +on shore, and, when we do, rarely see even a ptarmigan. + +{SEVERE WEATHER.} + +_12th._--Very cold weather: thermometer down to -41 deg., and the breeze +comes to us loaded with mist from the open water, causing the air to +feel colder than it otherwise would. Bellot Strait has become a +nuisance, not only from this cause, but from the strong winds--purely +local--which seldom cease to blow through it. + +The seal nets have produced nothing; and as there are no seals, we no +longer wonder at not seeing bears. Three foxes have been trapped and a +hare seen. Our canine force numbers twenty-four serviceable dogs and six +puppies; but these, I fear, will not be strong enough for sledging by +March. The monotony of our lives is vastly increased by want of +occupation, and confinement, by severe gales, to the ship for five days +out of every seven. The general health is good, but there is a natural +craving for fresh meat and fresh vegetables--in great measure, perhaps, +because they cannot be obtained; but a well-filled letter-bag would be +more welcome than anything I know of. + +{COLD UNUSUALLY TRYING.} + +_26th._--Upon four days only during the last fourteen has the weather +permitted us to walk. I allude to the wind as the obstacle to our +exercise; for temperature, when the air is still, is no bar to any +reasonable amount of it. Three or four coveys of ptarmigan have been +seen, and of these I shot one brace. The cold increases: thermometer has +fallen to -47-1/2 deg., although blowing a moderate gale at the time, and +the atmosphere dense with mist. + +Our Christmas has been spent with a degree of loyalty to the good old +English custom at once spirited and refreshing. All the good things +which could possibly be collected together appeared upon the snow-white +deal tables of the men, as the officers and myself walked (by +invitation) round the lower deck. Venison, beer, and a fresh stock of +clay pipes, appeared to be the most prized luxuries; but the variety and +abundance of the eatables, tastefully laid out, was such as might well +support the delusion which all seemed desirous of imposing upon +themselves--that they were in a land of plenty--in fact, _all but_ at +home! We contributed a large cheese and some preserves, and candles +superseded the ordinary smoky lamps. With so many comforts, and the +existence of so much genuine good feeling, their evening was a joyous +one, enlivened also by songs and music. + +Whilst all was order and merriment within the ship, the scene without +was widely different. A fierce north-wester howled loudly through the +rigging, the snow-drift rustled swiftly past, no star appeared through +the oppressive gloom, and the thermometer varied between 76 deg. and 80 deg. +_below the freezing point_. At one time it was impossible to visit the +magnetic observatory, although only 210 yards distant, and with a rope +stretched along, breast high, upon poles the whole way. The officers +discharged this duty for the quarter-masters of the watches during the +day and night. + +{JAN., 1859.} + +{NEW YEAR'S DAY.} + +_1st Jan., 1859._--This being _Saturday night_ as well as _New Year's +Day_, "Sweethearts and Wives" were remembered with even more than the +ordinary feeling. New year's eve was celebrated with all the joyfulness +which ardent hope can inspire: and we _have_ reasonable ground for +_strong hope_. At midnight the expiration of the old year and +commencement of the new one was announced to me by _the band_--flutes, +accordion, and gong--striking up at my door. Some songs were sung, and +the performance concluded with "God save the Queen;" the few who could +find space in our mess-room sang the chorus; but this by no means +satisfied all the others who were without and unable to show themselves +to the officers, so they echoed the chorus, and the effect was very +pleasing. Our new year's day has been commemorated with all the +substantials of Christmas fare, but without so much display,--less +tailoring in pastry, not quite so much clipping of dough into roses, +and anchors, and nondescript animals, &c., &c. The past week has been +cold and stormy; it now blows strong, and the temperature is -44 deg. + +On the 29th a few fresh tracks of animals and a ptarmigan were seen: +yesterday I saw three ptarmigan. December proved to be an unusually cold +month, its mean temperature being -33 deg.; and it was rendered more than +ordinarily dark and gloomy by continual mists from Bellot Strait. This +open water adds seriously to the drawbacks of a spot already +sufficiently cheerless, gameless, and "wind-loved." + +{INTENSE COLD.} + +_9th._--Another week of uniform temperature of -40 deg., and confinement to +the ship by strong winds; the atmosphere is loaded with enveloping mists +which impart a raw and surprisingly keen edge to the chilling blasts, +blasts that no human nose can endure without blanching, be its +proportions what they may. It is wonderful how the dogs stand it, and +without apparent inconvenience, unless their fur happen to be thin. They +lie upon the snow under the lee of the ship, with no other protection +from the weather. + +To-day, the winds being light and temperature _up to_-30 deg., we enjoyed +walks on shore, although the mist continued so dense as to limit our +view to a couple of hundred yards. + +{PETERSEN'S INFORMATION.} + +I learn from Petersen that the natives of Smith's Sound are well +acquainted with the continuation of its shores considerably beyond the +farthest point reached by Kane's exploring parties, but unfortunately no +one thought of getting them to delineate their local knowledge upon +paper. They spoke much of a large island near the west coast called +"Umingmak" (musk ox) Island, where there was much open water, abounding +with walrus, and where some of their people formerly lived.[19] + +Esquimaux exist upon the east coast of Greenland as far north as lat. +76 deg.; how much farther north is not known. They are separated from the +South Greenlanders by hundreds of miles of ice-bound coasts and +impassable glaciers. + +Many centuries ago a milder climate _may_ and probably _did_ exist, and +a corresponding modification of glacier and a sea less ice-encumbered +might have rendered the migration of these poor people from the south to +their present isolated abodes practicable; but to me it appears much +more easy to suppose that they migrated eastward from the northern +outlet of Smith's Sound. + +_21st._--More pleasant weather since my last entry; and although last +night the temperature fell to -47 deg., yet it has generally been mild; once +it rose to -14 deg., but amply made amends by falling to -38 deg. within twelve +hours. We have enjoyed much of the moon's presence for the last ten +days, but now she is waning and hastening away to the south. Daylight +increases in strength and duration, consequently we walk more, and see +more, and the winter's gloom gives place to activity and cheerfulness. +Several ptarmigan, three or four hares, a snowy owl, and a bear-track, +have at various times been seen. Young has shot four ptarmigan, and I +have shot a couple more and a hare, and the men have trapped two foxes. + +On board the ship the preparations for travelling take precedence of all +other occupations. + +{RETURN OF THE SUN, 1859.} + +_26th._--Part of the sun's disc loomed above the horizon to-day, +somewhat swollen and disfigured by the misty atmosphere, but looking +benevolent withal. I happened to be diligently traversing the rocky +hill-sides in the hope of finding some solitary hare dozing in fancied +security, when the sun thus appeared in view, and halted to feast my +eyes upon the glorious sight, and scan the features of our returning +friend. Hope and promise mingled in his bright beams. Again I moved +upward, and with more elastic step; for now the sun of 1859 was shining +upon all nature around me. + +{FEB., 1859.} + +_2nd February._--A lovely, calm, bright day, and beautifully clear, +except over the water-space in Bellot Strait, where rests a densely +black mist, very strongly resembling the West Indian rain-squall as it +looms upon the distant horizon. The increasing sunlight is cheering, +but void of heat, and the mercury is often frozen. A few more ptarmigan +have been shot. + +{EARLY SPRING SLEDGE-PARTIES.} + +Our remaining serviceable dogs, twenty-two in number, have been divided +with great care into three teams of seven each; the odd dog is added to +my team, as my journey is expected to be the longest. The different +sledge-parties will now feed up their dogs without limit, so that the +utmost degree of work may be got out of them hereafter. + +January has been slightly colder than December, mean temperature being +-33-1/2 deg., but there has been rather less wind. + +_8th._--All will be ready for the departure of Young and myself upon our +respective journeys upon the morning of the 14th. + +Mr. Petersen and Alexander Thompson accompany me, with two dog-sledges, +and fifteen dogs, dragging twenty-four days' provisions. My object is to +communicate with the Boothians in the vicinity of the magnetic pole. +Young takes his party of four men and his dog-sledge; he will carry +forward provisions for his spring exploration of the shores of Prince of +Wales' Land, between the extreme points reached by Lieutenants Osborn +and Brown in 1851. + +On the 3d I walked for seven and a half hours, and saw two reindeer, but +could not approach within shot. Young examined the water-space in the +strait, and finds it washes both shores, but extends east and west only +about one mile. The Doctor has seen a seal and a dovekie sporting in it. + +For the last four days strong winds and intense cold have prevented us +from rambling over the hills, besides which the minor preparations for +travelling have given us more occupation on board. + +{ATTACK OF SCURVY.} + +James Pitcher has got a slight touch of scurvy; his gums are inflamed; +and now it comes out that he dislikes preserved meats, and has not eaten +any since he has been in the ship! He has lived upon salt meat and +preserved vegetables, except for the very short periods in summer when +birds could be obtained. He is rather a "used-up" old fellow, too much +so for our severe sledge-work, therefore is one of the few who will +remain to take care of the ship. That he should have retained his health +for seventeen months, under the circumstances, speaks well for the +wholesomeness and quality of our provisions, and the ventilation and +cleanliness of the ship. + +_10th._--Extremely cold, with dense mists from the open water. Yesterday +eight ptarmigan and a sooty fox were seen. We have consumed the last of +our venison; it supplied us for three days. We are drinking out a cask +of sugar-beer, which is a very mild but agreeable beverage; we make it +on board. + +_Sunday night, 13th._--To-morrow morning, if fine, Young and I set off +upon our travels. He has advanced a portion of his sledge-load to the +west side of the water in Bellot Strait, having been obliged to carry it +overland for about a mile in order to get there. I have explored the +route to the long lake, and find we can reach it without crossing +elevated or uncovered land. I saw two reindeer, and Young saw about +twenty ptarmigan. + +{UNUSUALLY SEVERE WEATHER.} + +The mean temperature of February up to this date is -33.2 deg., being an +exact continuation of January. I confess to some anxiety upon this +point, as hitherto the winter has been unusually severe, and the +journeys to be performed will occupy more than twenty days. Besides, we +shall be earlier in motion than any of the previous travellers, unless +we are to make an exception in favor of Mr. Kennedy's trip of 30 miles +from Batty Bay to Fury Beach, between the 5th and 10th January, during +which time the lowest temperature registered was only -25 deg. Should +either Young or myself remain absent beyond the period for which we +carry provisions, Hobson is to send a party in search of us. A sooty fox +has been captured lately. + +_15th._--A strong N.W. wind, with a temperature of -40 deg., confines us on +board. One cannot face these winds, therefore it is fortunate that we +did not start, the ship being much more comfortable than a snow-hut. + + * * * * * + +{MAR., 1859.} + +{JOURNEY TO CAPE VICTORIA.} + +_20th March._--Already I have been a week on board, and so difficult is +it to settle down to anything like sedentary occupation, after a period +of continued vigorous action, that even now I can scarcely sit still to +scribble a brief outline of my trip to Cape Victoria. + +On the morning of the 17th February the weather moderated sufficiently +for us to set out; the temperature throughout the day varied between +-31 deg. and -42-1/2 deg. Leaving Young's party to pass on through the strait, +I proceeded by way of the Long Lake, which I found to be 10-1/2 +geographical miles in length, with an average width of half a mile. + +We built our snow-hut upon the west coast, near Pemmican Rock, after a +march of 19 or 20 geographical miles. We always speak of _geographical_ +miles with reference to our marches; six geographical are equal to seven +English miles. + +On the following day the old N.W. wind sprang up with renewed vigor, and +the thermometer fell to -48 deg.; the cold was therefore intense. + +On the third day our dogs went lame in consequence of sore feet; the +intense cold seems to be the principal, if not the only cause, having +hardened the surface-snow beyond what their feet can endure. I was +obliged to throw off a part of the provisions; still we could not make +more than 12 or 18 miles daily. We of course walked, so that the dogs +had only the remaining provisions and clothing to drag, yet several of +them repeatedly fell down in fits. + +{TRAVELLING ROUTINE.} + +For several days this severe weather continued, the mercury of my +artificial horizon remaining frozen (its freezing-point is -39 deg.); and +our rum, at first thick like treacle, required thawing latterly, when +the more fluid and stronger part had been used. We travelled each day +until dusk, and then were occupied for a couple of hours in building our +snow-hut. The four walls were run up until 5-1/2 feet high, inclining +inwards as much as possible; over these our tent was laid to form a +roof; we could not afford the time necessary to construct a dome of +snow. + +Our equipment consisted of a very small brown-holland tent, macintosh +floor-cloth, and felt robes; besides this, each man had a bag of double +blanketing, and a pair of fur boots, to sleep in. We wore mocassins over +the pieces of blanket in which our feet were wrapped up, and, with the +exception of a change of this foot-gear, carried no spare clothes. The +daily routine was as follows:--I led the way; Petersen and Thompson +followed, conducting their sledges; and in this manner we trudged on for +eight or ten hours without halting, except when necessary to disentangle +the dog-harness. When we halted for the night, Thompson and I usually +sawed out the blocks of compact snow and carried them to Petersen, who +acted as the master-mason in building the snow-hut: the hour and a half +or two hours usually employed in erecting the edifice was the most +disagreeable of the day's labor, for, in addition to being already well +tired and desiring repose, we became thoroughly chilled whilst standing +about. When the hut was finished, the dogs were fed, and here the great +difficulty was to insure the weaker ones their full share in the +scramble for supper; then commenced the operation of unpacking the +sledge, and carrying into our hut everything necessary for ourselves, +such as provision and sleeping gear, as well as all boots, fur mittens, +and even the sledge dog-harness, to prevent the dogs from eating them +during our sleeping hours. The door was now blocked up with snow, the +cooking-lamp lighted, foot-gear changed, diary written up, watches +wound, sleeping bags wriggled into, pipes lighted, and the merits of the +various dogs discussed, until supper was ready; the supper swallowed, +the upper robe or coverlet was pulled over, and then to sleep. + +Next morning came breakfast, a struggle to get into frozen mocassins, +after which the sledges were packed, and another day's march commenced. + +In these little huts we usually slept warm enough, although latterly, +when our blankets and clothes became loaded with ice, we felt the cold +severely. When our low doorway was carefully blocked up with snow, and +the cooking-lamp alight the temperature quickly rose so that the walls +became glazed, and our bedding thawed; but the cooking over, or the +doorway partially opened, it as quickly fell again, so that it was +impossible to sleep, or even to hold one's pannikin of tea, without +putting our mitts on, so intense was the cold! + +On the 21st I visited our main depot laid out last October; it was safe, +but unfortunately had been carried far into Wrottesley Inlet, and only +40 miles south of Bellot Strait. + +On the 22d an easterly gale prevented our marching, but we had the good +fortune to shoot a bear, so consoled ourselves with fresh steaks, and +the dogs with an ample feed of _unfrozen_ flesh--a treat they had not +enjoyed for many months. + +{WESTERN SHORES OF BOOTHIA.} + +We coasted along a granitic land, deeply indented and fringed with +islands, and found it to be the general characteristic of the Boothian +shore from Bellot Strait, until we had accomplished half the distance to +the magnetic pole; limestone then appeared, and the remainder of our +journey was performed along a low, straight shore, which afforded us +much greater facility for sledging. + +Throughout the whole distance we found a mixture of heavy old ice and +light ice of last autumn, in many places squeezed up into pack; but as +we advanced southward aged floes were less frequently seen. + +On the first of March we halted to encamp at about the position of the +magnetic pole--for no cairn remains to mark the spot. I had almost +concluded that my journey would prove to be a work of labor in vain, +because hitherto no traces of Esquimaux had been met with, and, in +consequence of the reduced state of our provisions and the wretched +condition of the poor dogs--six out of the fifteen being quite +useless--I could only advance one more march. + +{WAGES OF NATIVE BUILDERS.} + +But we had done nothing more than look _ahead_; when we halted, and +turned round, great indeed was my surprise and joy to see four men +walking after us. Petersen and I immediately buckled on our revolvers +and advanced to meet them. The natives halted, made fast their dogs, +laid down their spears, and received us without any evidence of +surprise. They told us they had been out upon a seal hunt on the ice, +and were returning home: we proposed to join them, and all were soon in +motion again; but another hour brought sunset, and we learned that their +snow village of eight huts was still a long way off, so we hired them, +at the rate of a needle for each Esquimaux, to build us a hut, which +they completed in an hour; it was 8 feet in diameter, 5-1/2 feet high, +and in it we all passed the night. Perhaps the records of architecture +do not furnish another instance of a dwelling-house so cheaply +constructed! + +{INFORMATION FROM ESQUIMAUX.} + +We gave them to understand that we were anxious to barter with them, and +very cautiously approached the real object of our visit. A naval button +upon one of their dresses afforded the opportunity; it came, they said, +from some white people who were starved upon an island where there are +salmon (that is, in a river); and that the iron of which their knives +were made came from the same place. One of these men said he had been to +the island to obtain wood and iron, but none of them had seen the white +men. Another man had been to "Ei-wil-lik" (Repulse Bay), and counted on +his fingers seven individuals of Rae's party whom he remembered having +seen. + +{BARTER WITH NATIVES.} + +These Esquimaux had nothing to eat, and no other clothing than their +ordinary double dresses of fur; they would not eat our biscuit or salt +pork, but took a small quantity of bear's blubber and some water. They +slept in a sitting posture, with their heads leaning forward on their +breasts. Next morning we travelled about 10 miles further, by which time +we were close to Cape Victoria; beyond this I would not go, much as they +wished to lead us on; we therefore landed, and they built us a +commodious snow-hut in half an hour; this done, we displayed to them our +articles for barter--knives, files, needles, scissors, beads, +etc.--expressed our desire to trade with them, and promised to purchase +everything which belonged to the starved white men, if they would come +to us on the morrow. Notwithstanding that the weather was now stormy and +bitterly cold, two of the natives stripped off their outer coats of +reindeer skin and bartered them for a knife each. + +Despite the gale which howled outside, we spent a comfortable night in +our roomy hut. + +Next morning the entire village population arrived, amounting to about +forty-five souls, from aged people to infants in arms, and bartering +commenced very briskly. First of all we purchased all the relics of the +lost expedition, consisting of six silver spoons and forks, a silver +medal, the property of Mr. A. M'Donald, assistant surgeon, part of a +gold chain, several buttons, and knives made of the iron and wood of the +wreck, also bows and arrows constructed of materials obtained from the +same source. Having secured these, we purchased a few frozen salmon, +some seals' blubber and venison, but could not prevail upon them to part +with more than one of their fine dogs. One of their sledges was made of +two stout pieces of wood, which might have been a boat's keel. + +{INTELLIGENCE OF FRANKLIN'S SHIPS.} + +All the old people recollected the visit of the 'Victory.' An old man +told me his name was "Ooblooria:" I recollected that Sir James Ross had +employed a man of that name as a guide, and reminded him of it; he was, +in fact, the same individual, and he inquired after Sir James by his +Esquimaux name of "Agglugga." + +I inquired after the man who was furnished with a wooden leg by the +carpenter of the 'Victory:' no direct answer was given, but his daughter +was pointed out to me. Petersen explained to me that they do not like +alluding in any way to the dead, and that, as my question was not +answered, it was certain the man was no longer amongst the living. + +None of these people had seen the whites; one man said he had seen their +bones upon the island where they died, but some were buried. Petersen +also understood him to say that the boat was crushed by the ice. Almost +all of them had part of the plunder; they say they will be here when we +return, and will trade more with us; also that we shall find natives +upon Montreal Island at the time of our arriving there. + +Next morning, 4th March, several natives came to us again. I bought a +spear 6-1/2 feet long from a man who told Petersen distinctly that a +ship having three masts had been crushed by the ice out in the sea to +the west of King William's Island, but that all the people landed +safely; he was not one of those who were eye-witnesses of it; the ship +sunk, so nothing was obtained by the natives from her; all that they +have got, he said, came from the island in the river. The spear staff +appears to have been part of the gunwale of a light boat. One old man, +"Oo-na-lee," made a rough sketch of the coast-line with his spear upon +the snow, and said it was eight journeys to where the ship sank, +pointing in the direction of Cape Felix. I can make nothing out of his +rude chart. + +{RAE'S STATEMENTS CONFIRMED.} + +The information we obtained bears out the principal statements of Dr. +Rae, and also accounts for the disappearance of one of the ships; but it +gives no clue to the whereabouts of the other, nor the direction whence +the ships come. One thing is tolerably certain--the crews did not at any +time land upon the Boothian shore. + +These Esquimaux were all well clothed in reindeer dresses, and looked +clean; they appeared to have abundance of provisions, but scarcely a +scrap of wood was seen amongst them which had not come from the lost +expedition. Their sledges, with the exception of the one already spoken +of, were wretched little affairs, consisting of two frozen rolls of +seal-skins coated with ice, and attached to each other by bones, which +served as the cross-bars. The men were stout, hearty fellows, and the +women arrant thieves, but all were good-humored and friendly. The women +were decidedly plain; in fact, this term would have been flattering to +most of them; yet there was a degree of vivacity and gentleness in the +manners of some that soon reconciled us to these Arctic specimens of the +fair sex. They had fine eyes and teeth, as well as very small hands, and +the young girls had a fresh rosy hue not often seen in combination with +olive complexions. + +Esquimaux mothers carry their infants on their backs within their large +fur dresses, and where the babes can only be got at by pulling them out +over the shoulder. Whilst intent upon my bargaining for silver spoons +and forks belonging to Franklin's expedition, at the rate of a few +needles or a knife for each relic, one pertinacious old dame, after +having obtained all she was likely to get from me for herself, pulled +out her infant by the arm, and quietly held the poor little creature +(for it was perfectly naked) before me in the breeze, the temperature at +the time being 60 deg. below freezing point! Petersen informed me that she +was begging for a needle for her child. I need not say I gave it one as +expeditiously as possible; yet sufficient time elapsed before the infant +was again put out of sight to alarm me considerably for its safety in +such a temperature. The natives, however, seemed to think nothing of +what looked to me like cruel exposure of a naked baby. + +{RETURN TO THE 'FOX.'} + +We now returned to the ship with all the speed we could command; but +stormy weather occasioned two days' delay, so that we did not arrive on +board until the 14th March. Though considerably reduced in flesh, I and +my companions were in excellent health, and blessed with insatiable +appetites. On washing our faces, which had become perfectly black from +the soot of our blubber lamp, sundry scars, relics of frost-bites, +appeared; and the tips of our fingers, from constant frost-bites, had +become as callous as if seared with hot iron. + +In this journey of twenty-five days we travelled 360 geographical miles +(420 English), and completed the discovery of the coast-line of +continental America, thereby adding about 120 miles to our charts. The +mean temperature throughout the journey was 30 deg. below zero of +Fahrenheit, or 62 deg. below the freezing point of water. + +On reaching the ship, I at once assembled my small crew, and told them +of the information we had obtained, pointing out that there still +remained one of the ships unaccounted for, and therefore it was +necessary to carry out all our projected lines of search. + +{ARCTIC FARE.} + +During this journey I acquired the Arctic accomplishment of eating +frozen blubber, in delicate little slices, and vastly preferred it to +frozen pork. At the present moment I do not think I could even taste it, +but the same privation and hunger which induced me to eat of such food +would doubtless enable me again to partake of it _very kindly_. + +I shot a couple of foxes which came playing about the dogs; conscious of +their superior speed, they were very impudent, snapping at the dogs' +tails, and passing almost under their noses. I shot these foxes, +intending to eat them; but the dogs anticipated me with respect to one; +the other we feasted off at our mess-table, and thought it by no means +bad; it was insipid, but decidedly better to our tastes than preserved +meat. + +{CAPTAIN YOUNG'S JOURNEY.} + +Captain Allen Young and his party had returned on board on the 3rd of +March, having placed their depot upon the shore of Prince of Wales' +Land, about 70 miles S.W. of the ship. Young found the ice in Bellot +Strait so rough as to be impassable, and was obliged to adopt the lake +route. Prince of Wales' Land was found to be composed of limestone; the +shore was low, and fringed for a distance of ten miles to seaward with +an ancient land-floe. The remaining width of the strait between this +land (North Somerset) and Prince of Wales' Land was about 15 miles, and +this space was composed of ice formed since September last; this was the +water we looked at so anxiously last autumn from Cape Bird and Pemmican +Rock. His party lived in their tent, protected from the wind by snow +walls, and, like ourselves, escaped with a few trivial frost-bites. So +far all was very satisfactory, the general health good, and the +eagerness of my crew to commence travelling quite charming. + +{SUGAR MISSING.} + +Young proposed carrying out another depot to the north-west, in order to +explore well up Peel Strait, and would have started on the 17th, but +the weather was too severe. The day was spent in a fruitless search for +three casks of sugar--a serious and unaccountable deficiency--but, as it +was important to replace them with as little delay as possible, Young +set off on the 18th, although it blew a N.W. gale at the time, with two +men and eighteen dogs, for Fury Beach; failing to find the requisite +quantity there, he will go on to Port Leopold. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[19] Petersen conversed with two men who had themselves been up to +Umingmak Island. + + + + +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 depot robbed--Part company from Hobson--Matty + Island--Deserted snow-huts--Native sledges--Land on King William + Land. + + +{DR. WALKER'S SLEDGE JOURNEY.} + +Doctor Walker's zeal for travelling was not to be restrained; I +therefore gladly availed myself of his willingness to go with a party to +Cape Airey and bring back the depot of provisions left there in August +last. These trips will delay our spring journeys for a few days. + +During my absence from the 'Fox' the weather was often stormy, and +temperature unusually low; the mean for the month of February was -36 deg., +showing it to be one of the coldest on record. When possible the men +were allowed to go out shooting, and obtain fifty or sixty ptarmigan and +a hare; a few foxes were taken in traps, and two reindeer were seen. + +Yesterday two bears came near the ship, but were frightened away by the +dogs. Hobson shot three ptarmigan. To-day I rambled over the hills, the +weather being fine, and saw a hare. + +_29th._--Continued fine weather. A couple more foxes and a lemming in +its _brown_ coat have been captured, and a hare and four ptarmigan +shot. This fine bright weather seems to have awakened the lemmings and +ermines; their tracks, which were very rarely seen during winter, are +now tolerably numerous; foxes appear in greater numbers, probably +following up the ptarmigan from the south. The thermometer ranges +between zero and -20 deg.; it has once been up to +13 deg. When exposed to a +noonday sun against the ship's side it rises 50 deg. higher. The +earth-thermometer--placed 2 feet 2 inches beneath the surface--which +gradually fell until the 10th of this month, has now begun to ascend; +its minimum was +1/2 deg.; much snow also lay over it, 6 feet deep at this +season. + +{DR. WALKER'S RETURN.} + +On the 25th Dr. Walker and his party returned, not having been able to +find the depot. They found a barrel of flour upon the beach a few miles +south of Brentford Bay; it appeared to have lain there for years, just +inside a shingle projection, which kept off the ice pressure, so that it +had not been forced up high upon the beach; the ice which bore it +there--probably from Port Leopold--had disappeared, and the cask was +frozen into the shingle. The heading has been brought on board, but the +"scribing" upon it is very indistinct, and unintelligible to us. The +flour is of the ordinary description used in the navy, and known as +"seconds;" most of it was good, and a plain pudding made of it for our +mess could not be distinguished from fresh flour. A specimen has been +preserved with the view of identifying it with the Fury Beach or Port +Leopold stores of flour. With the exception of a solitary bear, the +party saw no living creatures. The shore along which they travelled was +a very low shingly limestone. + +{RETURN OF CAPTAIN YOUNG.} + +{SNOW BLINDNESS.} + +Last evening I was delighted to see Young and his two dog-sledges heave +in sight; he brought about 8 cwt. of sugar from Fury Beach, but not +without much difficulty, owing to the roughness of the pack in Creswell +Bay, and also to the breaking down of one of his sledges; to avoid this +pack he found it necessary to travel nearly all round Creswell Bay. Cape +Garry he describes as a gradually curved extent of flat land, and not +the decided cape it appears to be upon the chart; two reindeer were seen +near it, and during the journey four bears; no other animals were met +with. His labors had been very severe; one sledge broke down and all the +sugar had to be piled upon the other: the consequence was that the +sledge was so heavily loaded that it would only run freely after the +dogs on smooth ice; and directly any hummocks were encountered, the +dogs, with their usual instinct, not to drag a sledge unless it does run +freely, would lie down, and oblige Captain Young and his two men to +unload and carry the packages, over the obstacle, upon their own backs. +After this, snow-blindness came on; Young and one of his men became +blind as kittens; and the third man had to load, lead, and unload them, +when these portages occurred. Young's Esquimaux dog-driver, Samuel, was +quite blind when the party reached the ship. Two dogs, not choosing to +allow themselves to be caught and put in harness, had been still left +behind at the last encampment. + +There still remains at Fury Beach an immense stack of preserved +vegetables and soups; the party supped off them and found them good. +Young brought me back two specimen tins of "carrots plain" and "carrots +and gravy." All small casks and packages were covered with snow; of the +large ones which appeared through it, he saw thirty-four casks of flour, +five of split peas, five of tobacco, and four of sugar. Only a very few +tons of coals remained. There were two boats, a short four-oared gig and +a large cutter; the former required nothing but caulking to make her +serviceable, but the latter had a large portion of one bow and side cut +out, as if for making, or repairing flat sledges. No record was found. + +We have now enough sugar to last us for seven or eight months, but by +the survey of provisions which has just been completed, we find a +deficiency of many other articles, including three casks of salt beef. +Fortunately this is of no consequence as we have abundance of both salt +and preserved meat, but it shows the alarming extent to which a +negligent steward may mislead one. This unfortunate man has now got +scurvy; want of exercise and fresh air is the apparent cause, combined +with irregular living; the spirits have hitherto been in his charge. + +{PREPARATION OF SLEDGE-PARTIES.} + +The bustle of preparation for the extended searching journeys has been +exciting. Hobson's party and my own are now all prepared, and Young +having returned, we propose setting out on the 2d April--God willing. +Young's new sledge will be ready, and he will also start a few days +after us. All our winter defences of snow, our porches, our deck-layer, +and our external embankment, have been removed. Dr. Walker, of +necessity, remains in charge of the ship, with two stewards, a cook, a +carpenter, and a stoker. My party, as well as Hobson's, will be +provisioned, including the depots, for an absence of about eighty-four +days; but not being able to afford auxiliary or supporting +sledge-parties, much time will be occupied in transporting our depots +further out, in order that we may start with as much as we can possibly +carry, from the Magnetic Pole, besides leaving there a depot for our +return. + +The declinometer was taken on board two days ago; hourly observations +have been made with it for more than five months: we can no longer spare +any one for this interesting duty. + + * * * * * + +_24th June._--One thing is certain, the wild sort of tent-life we lead +in Arctic exploration quite unfits one for such tame work as writing up +a journal; my present attempt will illustrate the fact,--yet with such +ample materials what a deeply interesting volume might be written! Since +I last opened this familiar old diary--the repository alike of dry facts +and the most trivial notes--winter has passed away, summer is far +advanced, and the glorious sun is again returning southward. We too have +endeavored to move on with the times and seasons. + +As for myself--I have visited Montreal Island, completed the exploration +and circuit of King William's Island, passing on foot through the only +feasible North-West Passage; but all this is as nothing to the interest +attached to the _Franklin records_ picked up by Hobson, and now safe in +my possession! We now know the fate of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror.' The +sole object of our voyage has at length been completed, and we anxiously +await the time when escape from these bleak regions will become +practicable. + + * * * * * + +{APR., 1859.} + +{THE START.} + +The morning of April 2nd was inauspicious, but as the day advanced the +weather improved, so that Hobson and I were able to set out upon our +journeys; we each had a sledge drawn by four men, besides a dog-sledge, +and dog-driver. Mr. Petersen having volunteered his services to drive my +dogs,--an offer too valuable to be declined--managed my dog-sledge +throughout. Our five starveling puppies were harnessed, for the first +time in their lives, to a small sledge which I drove myself, intending +to sell them to the Esquimaux, if I could get them to drag their own +supply of provisions so far. The procession looked imposing--it +certainly was deeply interesting; there were five sledges, twelve men, +and seventeen dogs, the latter of all sizes and shapes. The ship hoisted +the Royal Harwich Yacht flag, and our sledges displayed their gay silk +banners; mine was a very beautiful one, given me by Lady Franklin; it +bears her name in white letters upon a red ground, and is margined with +white embroidery; it was worked by the sisters of Captain Collinson. + +{EQUIPMENT OF SLEDGE-PARTIES.} + +The equipment of my sledge-party and the weights were as follows: those +of Hobson and Young were almost precisely similar. + + lbs. weight. + + Two sledges and fitting complete 110 + + Tent, waterproof blanket, floor-cloth, two sleeping-robes, + and six blanket sleeping-bags 90 + + Cooking-utensils, shovel, saw, snow-knife, and sundry + small articles 40 + + Sledge-gun and ammunition 20 + + Magnetic and astronomical instruments 60 + + Six knapsacks, containing spare clothing 60 + + Various tins and bags, in which provision and fuel were + stored 50 + + Articles for barter 40 + + Provisions 930 + ---- + Total 1400 + +The load for each man to drag was fixed at 200 lbs., and for each dog +100 lbs. Our provisions consisted mainly of pemmican, biscuit, and tea, +with a small addition of boiled pork, rum, and some tobacco. + +{SLOW PROGRESS.} + +The men being untrained to the work, and sledges heavily laden, our +march was fatiguing and slow. We encamped that night upon the long lake. +On the second day we reached the western sea, and upon the third, aided +by our sledge sails, we advanced some miles beyond Arcedeckne Island. + +The various depots carried out with so much difficulty and danger in the +autumn, were now gathered up as we advanced, until at length we were so +loaded as to be compelled to proceed with one-half at a time, going +three times over the same ground. For six days this tedious mode of +progression was persevered in, by which time (15th April) we reached the +low limestone shore in latitude 71 deg. 7' N., and which continues thence in +almost a straight line southward for 60 or 70 miles. We now commenced +laying down provisions for our consumption upon the return journey; and +the snow being unusually level, we were able to advance with the whole +of our remaining provisions, amounting to nearly sixty days' allowance. + +Hitherto the temperature continued low, often nearly 30 deg. below zero, and +at times with cutting north winds, bright sun, and intensely strong +snow glare. Although we wore colored spectacles, yet almost all suffered +great inconvenience and considerable pain from inflamed eyes. Our faces +were blistered, lips and hands cracked,--never were men more disfigured +by the combined effects of bright sun and bitterly cold winds; +fortunately no serious frost-bites occurred, but frost-bitten faces and +fingers were universal. + +{MEET OLD ACQUAINTANCE.} + +On the 20th April, in latitude 70-1/2 deg. N., we met two families of +natives, comprising twelve individuals; their snow-huts were upon the +ice three-quarters of a mile off shore, and their occupation was +seal-hunting. They were the same people with whom I had communicated at +Cape Victoria in February. + +Old Oo-na-lee laid his hands on Petersen's shoulders to measure their +width, and said, "He is fatter now:" true enough, the February +temperature and sharp marching had caused us both at that time to shrink +considerably. + +{SNOW-HUTS OF NATIVES.} + +[Illustration] + +Their snow-huts were built in the above form, the common entrance and +both passages being just sufficiently high to get in without having to +crawl upon our hands and knees. A slab of ice in the roof admitted +sufficient light. A snow bank or bench two feet high, and occupying half +the area of each hut, was covered with reindeer skins, and formed the +family place of repose. An angular snow bench served as the kitchen +table, and immediately beside it sat the lady of the establishment +attending the stone lamp which stood thereon, and the stone-cooking +vessel suspended over it. The lamp was a shallow open vessel, the fuel +seal oil, and the wick dried moss. Her "tinder-box" was a little +seal-skin bag of soft dry moss, and with a lump of iron pyrites and a +broken file she struck fire upon it. I purchased the file because it was +marked with the Government broad arrow. + +We saw two large snow shovels made of mahogany board, some long spear +handles, a bow of English wood, two preserved-meat tins, and a deal case +which might have once contained a large telescope or a barometer; it +measured 3 feet 1 inch in length by 9 inches wide and 3-1/2 inches deep; +there was no lid, but part of the brass hinges remained. + +I also purchased a knife which had some indistinct markings upon it, +such as ship's cutlasses or swords usually have; the man told us it had +been picked up on the shore near where a ship lay stranded; that it was +then about the length of his arm, but his countryman who picked it up +broke it into lengths to make knives. + +{INTELLIGENCE OF SECOND SHIP.} + +After much anxious inquiry we learned that two ships had been seen by +the natives of King William's Island; one of them was seen to sink in +deep water, and nothing was obtained from her, a circumstance at which +they expressed much regret; but the other was forced on shore by the +ice, where they suppose she still remains, but is much broken. From this +ship they have obtained most of their wood, &c.; and Oot-loo-lik is the +name of the place where she grounded. + +Formerly many natives lived there, now very few remain. All the natives +have obtained plenty of the wood. + +The most of this information was given us by the young man who sold the +knife. Old Oo-na-lee, who drew the rough chart for me in March, to show +where the ship sank, now answered our questions respecting the one +forced on shore; not a syllable about her did he mention on the former +occasion, although we asked whether they knew of only one ship? I think +he would willingly have kept us in ignorance of the wreck being upon +their coasts, and that the young man unwittingly made it known to us. + +The latter also told us that the body of a man was found on board the +ship; that he must have been a very large man, and had long teeth; this +is all he recollected having been told, for he was quite a child at the +time. + +They both told us it was in the fall of the year--that is, August or +September--when the ships were destroyed; that all the white people went +away to the "large river," taking a boat or boats with them, and that in +the following winter their bones were found there. + +These two Esquimaux families had been up as far north as the Tasmania +Group[20] in latitude 71-1/4 deg. N., and were returning to +N[)e]itch[=i]ll[)e]e, hunting seals by the way; those we met at Cape +Victoria had already gone there. The nearest natives to us at present, +they said, were residing at the island of Amitoke, ten days' journey +distant from here. Can this Amitoke be Matty Island? + +{BARTER WITH NATIVES.} + +{DEPOT ROBBED.} + +We purchased some seal's blubber and flesh, as well as their two only +dogs; but next morning Oo-na-lee repented his bargain, or feigned to do +so, but as he came without the knife to exchange back we retained his +dog; he tried to steal a tin vessel off one of the sledges, and perhaps +it was for the purpose of regaining our favor that he made known to us, +just as we were starting, that his countrymen had followed my homeward +track in March, discovering my depot of blubber, articles for barter, +and two revolvers, and carried them all off to N[)e]itch[=i]ll[)e]e,--by +no means pleasant intelligence; their dogs must have enabled them to +find the blubber by scenting it, for it was buried under 4 feet of snow, +and strong winds obliterated all traces upon the surface. + +I was now glad we had purchased both the dogs of the men, as it would +probably prevent their seeking for our depots to the northward; the +knowledge of the insecurity of _all_ depots amongst these people will +keep us on our guard for the future. I regretted the loss of the +pistols, as it left my party with no other arms than two guns. + +Oo-na-lee told us when we first met him that one of his countrymen was +very sick; not seeing a sick man in their huts, we forgot all about it +until after starting, when Petersen interpreted to me Oo-na-lee's +parting information, and told me how he described that the breech of the +revolver turned round; it then occurred to me that one of the men might +have been wounded,--they had discovered how to cock the locks, and the +pistols were loaded and capped. + +Oo-na-lee was well acquainted with the coast-line up to Bellot Strait, +and had names for the different headlands, although he had never been so +far north; he made many inquiries about the position of our ship, her +size, and the number of men. Had he been able to travel so far with his +wife and several young children, and without sledge or dogs, I think he +certainly would have gone up to Port Kennedy; we did not give him any +encouragement to do so. His wife was one of the most importunate of the +many women we saw at Cape Victoria in March. She was the woman who +plucked out an infant by its arm from inside her dress, and exposed it +regardless of -30 deg. and a fresh wind, as I have previously told. + +The information respecting _both_ the missing ships was most important, +and it remained for us to discover, if possible, the stranded ship. + +{PART COMPANY FROM HOBSON.} + +Continuing our journey, we crossed a wide bay upon level ice, and the +most perfectly smooth hard snow I ever saw; there must have been much +open water here late last autumn. Seven or eight snow-huts, recently +abandoned, were found near the magnetic pole. During the 25th, 26th, and +27th, we were confined to our tents by a very heavy south-east gale, +with severe cold. Early on the 28th we reached Cape Victoria; here +Hobson and I separated. He marched direct for Cape Felix, King William's +Land, whilst I kept a more southerly course. Not daring to leave depots +upon this coast, we carried on our whole supply, intending to deposit a +small portion upon the Clarence Islands. + +Hobson was unwell when we parted, complaining of stiffness and pain in +his legs; neither of us then suspected the cause. I gave him directions +to search the west coast of King William's Island for the stranded ship +and for records, and to act upon such information as he might obtain in +this way, or from the natives; but should that shore prove destitute of +traces, to carry out if possible our original plan for the completion of +discovery and search upon Victoria Land, comprising the blank space +between the extremes visited by Captain Collinson and Mr. Wynniatt. + +{MISS THE CLARENCE ISLANDS.} + +I soon found that my party had to labor across a rough pack; nor was it +until the third day that we completed the traverse of the strait, and +encamped near to the entrance of Port Parry, in King William's Island. +Although the weather was clear, and that by our reckoning we passed +directly over the assigned position of the two southern of the Clarence +Islands, yet we saw nothing of them. + +A day was devoted to securing a depot in a huge mass of grounded ice, +and in repairing and drying equipment, or, to speak more correctly, in +getting rid of the ice which encumbered our sleeping bags and gear; this +we effected by beating them well and exposing them to the direct rays of +the sun. Magnetic and other observations gave me ample employment, the +only _immediate_ result of which was my being almost snow-blind for the +two following days. + +{MAY, 1859.} + +On May 2nd we set off again briskly; our load being diminished to thirty +days' provisions, and the sledge sail set, we soon reached the land, and +travelled along it for Cape Sabine; it was very thick weather, and we +were unable to see any distance in consequence of the mist and +snow-drift. The following day was no better, and the shore, which we +dared not leave to cross the bays, was extremely low. + +{MATTY ISLAND.} + +We soon discovered that we had strayed inland; but, guided by the wind, +continued our course. Upon May 4th we descended into Wellington Strait, +and the weather being tolerably clear, crossed over to the south-west +extreme of Matty Island, in the hope of meeting with natives, no traces +of them having been met with since leaving Cape Victoria. Off this +south-west point we found a deserted village of nearly twenty snow-huts, +besides several others, within a few miles upon either side of it; in +all of them I found shavings or chips of different kinds of wood from +the lost expedition; they appeared to have been abandoned only within a +fortnight or three weeks. Abundance of blubber was gathered up to +increase our stock of fuel, and had we encamped here, the dogs would +have feasted sumptuously off the scraps and bones of seals strewed +about. + +{NATIVE SLEDGES.} + +The runners (or sides) of some old sledges left here were very +ingeniously formed out of rolls of seal-skin, about 3-1/2 feet long, and +flattened so as to be 2 or 3 inches wide and 5 inches high; the +seal-skins appeared to have been well soaked and then rolled up, +flattened into the required form and allowed to freeze. The underneath +part was coated with a mixture of moss and ice laid smoothly on by hand +before being allowed to freeze, the moss, I suppose, answering the +purpose of hair in mortar, to make the compound adhere more firmly. + +[Illustration] + +From this spot the shore-line of Matty Island turned sharply to the +N.N.E.; there were some considerable islands to the east, but thinking +the most southerly of this group, named "Owut-t[=a]" by the Esquimaux, +the most likely place to find the natives, I pushed on in that direction +until we encamped. Thick fog enveloped us for the next two days; we +could not find the island, but found a very small islet near it, off +which was another snow-village very recently abandoned, the sledge +tracks plainly showing that the inhabitants had gone to the E.N.E., +which is straight for N[)e]itch[=i]ll[)e]e. It was now evident that +these places of winter resort were deserted, and that here at least we +should not find any natives; I was the more sorry at having missed +them, as, from the quantity of wood chips about the huts, they probably +had visited the stranded ship alluded to by the last Esquimaux we had +met, and the route to which lies up an inlet visible from here, and then +overland three or four days' journey to the westward, until the opposite +coast of King William's Land is reached. + +{NATIVE HUTS.} + +The largest huts measured 12 feet in diameter, by 6 or 7 feet high; the +greater part were constructed in pairs, having a passage 20 or 25 feet +long, serving as the common entrance; where the passage divides into two +branches, there was a small hut, which served as a sort of ante-chamber +for the reception of such articles as were intended to remain frozen. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[20] These islands were so named by me, at the request of Lady Franklin, +in grateful acknowledgment of many proofs of affectionate sympathy +received from the colony over which her husband presided for several +years, and, in particular, of the large contributions raised there in +aid of her expeditions of search. + + + + +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. + + +{MEET ESQUIMAUX.} + +_7th May._--To avoid snow-blindness, we commenced night-marching. +Crossing over from Matty Island towards the King William Island shore, +we continued our march southward until midnight, when we had the good +fortune to arrive at an inhabited snow-village. We found here ten or +twelve huts and thirty or forty natives of King William's Island; I do +not think any of them had ever seen white people alive before, but they +evidently knew us to be friends. We halted at a little distance, and +pitched our tent, the better to secure small articles from being stolen +whilst we bartered with them. + +{PURCHASE OF RELICS.} + +I purchased from them six pieces of silver plate, bearing the crests or +initials of Franklin, Crozier, Fairholme, and McDonald; they also sold +us bows and arrows of English woods, uniform and other buttons, and +offered us a heavy sledge made of two short stout pieces of curved wood, +which no mere boat could have furnished them with, but this of course +we could not take away; the silver spoons and forks were readily sold +for four needles each. + +They were most obliging and peaceably disposed, but could not resist the +temptation to steal, and were importunate to barter everything they +possessed; there was not a trace of fear, every countenance was lighted +up with joy; even the children were not shy, nor backward either, in +crowding about us, and poking in everywhere. One man got hold of our +saw, and tried to retain it, holding it behind his back, and presenting +his knife in exchange; we might have had some trouble in getting it from +him, had not one of my men mistaken his object in presenting the knife +towards me, and run out of the tent with a gun in his hand; the saw was +instantly returned, and these poor people seemed to think they never +could do enough to convince us of their friendliness; they repeatedly +tapped me gently on the breast, repeating the words "Kammik toomee" (We +are friends). + +Having obtained all the relics they possessed, I purchased some seal's +flesh, blubber, frozen venison, dried and frozen salmon, and sold some +of my puppies. They told us it was five days' journey to the wreck,--one +day up the inlet still in sight, and four days overland; this would +carry them to the western coast of King William Land; they added that +but little now remained of the wreck which was accessible, their +countrymen having carried almost everything away. In answer to an +inquiry, they said she was without masts; the question gave rise to some +laughter amongst them, and they spoke to each other about _fire_, from +which Petersen thought they had burnt the masts through close to the +deck in order to get them down. + +There had been _many books_ they said, but all have long ago been +destroyed by the weather; the ship was forced on shore in the fall of +the year by the ice. She had not been visited during this past winter, +and an old woman and a boy were shown to us who were the last to visit +the wreck; they said they had been at it during the winter of 1857-8. + +{NEWS OF FRANKLIN'S PEOPLE.} + +Petersen questioned the woman closely, and she seemed anxious to give +all the information in her power. She said many of the white men dropped +by the way as they went to the Great River; that some were buried and +some were not; they did not themselves witness this, but discovered +their bodies during the winter following. + +We could not arrive at any approximation to the numbers of the white men +nor of the years elapsed since they were lost. + +This was all the information we could obtain, and it was with great +difficulty so much could be gleaned, the dialect being strange to +Petersen, and the natives far more inclined to ask questions than to +answer them. They assured us we should find natives upon the south shore +of King William's Island only three days' journey from here, and also at +Montreal Island; moreover they said we might find some at the wreck. For +these reasons I did not prolong my stay with them beyond a couple of +hours. They seemed to have but little intercourse with other +communities, not having heard of our visit to the Boothians two months +before; one man even asked Petersen if he had seen his brother, who +lived in Boothia, not having heard of him since last summer. + +{JOURNEY CONTINUED.} + +It was quite a relief to get away from these good-humored, noisy +thieves, and rather difficult too, as some of them accompanied us for +miles. They had abundance of food, were well clothed, and are a finer +race than those who inhabit North Greenland, or Pond's Inlet: the men +had their hair cropped short, with the exception of one long, straggling +lock hanging down on each side of the face; like the Boothians, the +women had lines tattooed upon their cheeks and chins. + +We now proceeded round a bay which I named Latrobe in honor of the late +Governor of Victoria, and of his brother, the head of the Moravian +Church in London, both esteemed friends of Franklin. + +{FRIGHTEN A SOLITARY PARTY.} + +Finding the "Mathison Island" of Rae to be a flat-topped hill, we +crossed over low land to the west of it, and upon the morning of the +10th May reached a single snow-hut off Point Booth. I was quite +astonished at the number of poles and various articles of wood lying +about it, also at the huge pile of walrus' and reindeer's flesh, seal's +blubber, and skins of various sorts. We had abundance of leisure to +examine these exterior articles before the inmates would venture out; +they were evidently much alarmed by our sudden appearance. + +A remarkably fine old dog was tied at the entrance--the line being made +fast within the long passage--and although he wagged his tail, and +received us as old acquaintances, we did not like to attempt an +entrance. At length an old man and an old woman appeared; they trembled +with fear, and could not, or would not, say anything except "Kammik +toomee:" we tried every means of allaying their fears, but their wits +seemed paralyzed, and we could get no information. We asked where they +got the wood? They purchased it from their countrymen. Did they know the +Great River? Yes, but it was a long way off. Were there natives there +now? Yes. They even denied all knowledge of white people having died +upon their shores. A fine young man came out of the hut, but we could +learn nothing of him; they said they had nothing to barter, except what +we saw, although we tempted them by displaying our store of knives and +needles. + +The wind was strong and fair, and the morning intensely cold, and as I +could not hope to overcome the fears of these poor people without +encamping, and staying perhaps a day with them, I determined to push on, +and presented the old lady with a needle as a parting gift. + +The principal articles which caught my attention here were eight or ten +fir poles, varying in length from 5 to 10 feet, and up to 2-1/2 inches +in diameter (these were converted into spear handles and tent poles), a +kayak paddle constructed out of the blade of two ash oars, and two large +snow shovels 4 feet long, made of thin plank, painted white or pale +yellow; these might have been the bottom boards of a boat. There were +many smaller articles of wood. + +{GREAT FISH RIVER.} + +Half a mile further on we found seven or eight deserted snow-huts. Bad +weather had now fairly set in, accompanied by a most unseasonable degree +of cold. On the morning of the 12th May we crossed Point Ogle, and +encamped upon the ice in the Great Fish River the same evening; the cold +and the darkness of our more southern latitude, having obliged us to +return to day-travelling. All the 13th we were imprisoned in our tent by +a most furious gale, nor was it until late on the morning of the 14th +that we could proceed; that evening we encamped 2 miles from some small +islands which lie off the north end of Montreal Island. + +{MONTREAL ISLAND.} + +On the morning of the 15th we made only a short march of 6 miles, as one +of the men suffered severely from snow-blindness, and I was anxious to +recommence night-travelling; encamped in a little bay upon the N.E. side +of Montreal Island. The same evening we again set out, although it was +blowing very strongly, and "snowing for a wager," as the men expressed +it, but it was only necessary for us to keep close along the shore of +the island: we discovered, however, a narrow and crooked channel which +led us through to the west side of the island, and, one of the men +appearing seriously ill, we encamped about midnight. + +Whilst encamped this day, explorations were made about the N.E. quarter +of the island; islets and rocks were seen to abound in all directions; +eventually it proved to be a separate island upon which we had encamped. +The only traces or relics of Europeans found were the following +articles, discovered by Petersen, beside a native mark (one large stone +set upright on the top of another), at the east side of the Main--or +Montreal--island:--A piece of preserved-meat tin, two pieces of iron +hoop, some scraps of copper, and an iron-hoop bolt. These probably are +part of the plunder obtained from the boat, and were left here until a +more favorable opportunity should offer, or perhaps necessity should +compel the depositor to return for them. + +All the 16th we were unable to move, not only because Hampton was ill, +but the weather was extremely bad, and snow thickly falling with +temperature at zero; certainly strange weather for the middle of May! We +have not had a single clear day since the 1st of the month. + +{SEARCH FOR RELICS.} + +On the 17th the weather, though dull, was clear, so Mr. Petersen, +Thompson, and I, set off with the dog-sledge to complete the examination +of Montreal Island, leaving the other three men with the tent: we hoped +also to find natives, but had not seen any recent traces of them since +passing Point Booth. Petersen drove the dog-sledge close along shore +round the island to the south, and as far up the east side as to meet +our previously explored portion of it, whilst Thompson and I walked +along on the land, the one close down to the beach, and the other higher +up, examining the more conspicuous parts: in this order we traversed the +remaining portion of the island. + +Although the snow served to conceal from us any traces which might exist +in hollows or sheltered situations, yet it rendered all objects intended +to serve as marks proportionably conspicuous; and we may remember that +it was in its winter garb that the retreating crews saw Montreal Island, +precisely as we ourselves saw it. The island was almost covered with +native marks, usually of one stone standing upright upon another, +sometimes consisting of three stones; but very rarely of a greater +number. + +{TOTAL ABSENCE OF RELICS.} + +No trace of a cairn could be found. + +In examining, with pickaxe and shovel, a collection of stones which +appeared to be arranged artificially, we found a quantity of seal's +blubber buried beneath; this old Esquimaux cache was near the S.E. point +of the island. The interior of the island and the principal islets +adjacent were also examined without success, nor was there the slightest +evidence of natives having been here during the winter: it is not to be +wondered at that we returned in the evening to our tent somewhat +dispirited. The total absence of natives was a bitter disappointment; +circles of stones, indicating the sites of their tenting places in +summer, were common enough. + +Montreal Island is of primary rock, chiefly grey gneiss, traversed with +whitish vertical bands in a N. and S. direction (by them I often +directed my route when crossing the island). It is of considerable +elevation, and extremely rugged. The low beaches and grassy hollows were +covered with a foot or two of hard snow, whilst all the level, the +elevated, or exposed parts were swept perfectly bare; had a cairn, or +even a grave existed (raised as it must be, the earth being frozen hard +as rock), we must at once have seen it. If any were constructed they +must have been levelled by the natives; every doubtful appearance was +examined with the pickaxe. + +A remark made by my men struck me as being shrewd; they judged from the +washed appearance of the rock upon the east side of Montreal Island that +it must be often exposed to a considerable sea, such as would +effectually remove everything not placed far above its reach; when +looking over the smooth and frozen expanse one is apt to forget this. + +Since our first landing upon King William's Island we have not met with +any heavy ice; all along its eastern and southern shore, together with +the estuary of this great river, is one vast unbroken sheet formed in +the early part of last winter where _no ice previously existed_; this I +fancy (from the accounts of Back and Anderson) is unusual, and may have +caused the Esquimaux to vary their seal-hunting localities. Mr. Petersen +suggested that they might have retired into the various inlets after the +seals; and therefore I determined to cross over into Barrow's Inlet as +soon as we had examined the Point Ogle Peninsula. + +{SHOOTING GAME.} + +Upon Montreal Island I shot a hare and a brace of willow-grouse. Up to +this date we had shot during our journey only one bear and a couple of +ptarmigan. The first recent traces of reindeer were met with here. + +On the 18th May crossed over to the mainland near Point Duncan, but +Hampton again complaining, I was obliged to encamp. When away from my +party, and exploring along the shore towards Elliot Bay, I saw a herd +of eight reindeer and succeeded in shooting one of them. In the evening +Petersen saw another. Some willow-grouse also were seen. Here we found +much more vegetation than upon King William's Island, or any other +Arctic land I have yet seen. + +{RETURN JOURNEY COMMENCED.} + +{PROCEEDINGS OF THE DOGS.} + +On the evening of the 19th we commenced our return journey, but for the +three following weeks our route led us over new ground. Hampton being +unable to drag, I made over my puppy-team to him, and was thus left free +to explore and fully examine every doubtful object along our route. I +shall not easily forget the trial my patience underwent during the six +weeks that I drove that dog-sledge. The leader of my team, named "Omar +Pasha," was very willing, but very lame; little "Rose" was coquettish, +and fonder of being caressed than whipped; from some cause or other she +ceased growing when only a few months old; she was therefore far too +small for heavy work; "Darky" and "Missy" were mere pups; and last of +all came the two wretched starvelings, reared in the winter, "Foxey" and +"Dolly." Each dog had its own harness, formed of strips of canvas, and +was attached to the sledge by a single trace 12 feet long. None of them +had ever been yoked before, and the amount of cunning and perversity +they displayed to avoid both the whip and the work, was quite +astonishing. They bit through their traces, and hid away under the +sledge, or leaped over one another's backs, so as to get into the middle +of the team out of the way of my whip, until the traces became plaited +up, and the dogs were almost knotted together; the consequence was I had +to halt every few minutes, pull off my mitts, and, at the risk of frozen +fingers, disentangle the lines. I persevered, however, and, without +breaking any of their bones, succeeded in getting a surprising amount of +work out of them. Hobson drove his own dog-sledge likewise, and as long +as we were together we helped each other out of difficulties, and they +were frequently occurring, for, apart from those I have above mentioned, +directly a dog-sledge is stopped by hummock, or sticks fast in deep +snow, the dogs, instead of exerting themselves, lie down, looking +perfectly delighted at the circumstance, and the driver has to extricate +the sledge with a hearty one, two, three haul! and apply a little gentle +persuasion to set his canine team in motion again. + +Having searched the east shore of this land for 7 or 8 miles further +north, we crossed over into Barrow's Inlet, and spent a day in its +examination, but not a trace of natives was met with. + +{EXAMINE OGLE PENINSULA.} + +Regaining the shore of Dease and Simpson's Strait, some miles to the +west of Point Richardson, we crossed over to King William's Island upon +the morning of the 24th, striking in upon it a short distance west of +the Peffer River. The south coast was closely examined as we marched +along towards Cape Herschel. Upon a conspicuous point, to the westward +of Point Gladman, a cairn nearly five feet high was seen, which, +although it did not appear to be a recent construction, was taken down, +stone by stone, and carefully examined, the ground beneath being broken +up with the pickaxe, but nothing was covered. + +The ground about it was much exposed to the winds, and consequently +devoid of snow, so that no trace could have escaped us. Simpson does not +mention having landed here, or anywhere upon the island except at Cape +Herschel, yet it seemed to me strange that natives should construct such +a mark here, since a huge boulder, which would equally serve their +purpose, stood upon the same elevation, and within a couple of hundred +yards. We had previously examined a similar but smaller cairn, a few +miles to the eastward. + +{A SKELETON DISCOVERED.} + +We were now upon the shore along which the retreating crews must have +marched. My sledges of course travelled upon the sea-ice close along the +shore; and, although the depth of snow which covered the beach deprived +us of almost every hope, yet we kept a very sharp look-out for traces, +nor were we unsuccessful. Shortly after midnight of the 24th May, when +slowly walking along a gravel ridge near the beach, which the winds kept +partially bare of snow, I came upon a human skeleton, partly exposed, +with here and there a few fragments of clothing appearing through the +snow. The skeleton--now perfectly bleached--was lying upon its face, the +limbs and smaller bones either dissevered or gnawed away by small +animals. + +A most careful examination of the spot was of course made, the snow +removed, and every scrap of clothing gathered up. A pocket-book afforded +strong grounds of hope that some information might be subsequently +obtained respecting the unfortunate owner and the calamitous march of +the lost crews, but at the time it was frozen hard. The substance of +that which we gleaned upon the spot may thus be summed up:-- + +This victim was a young man, slightly built, and perhaps above the +common height; the dress appeared to be that of a steward or officer's +servant, the loose bow-knot in which his neck-handkerchief was tied not +being used by seamen or officers. In every particular the dress +confirmed our conjectures as to his rank or office in the late +expedition,--the blue jacket with slashed sleeves and braided edging, +and the pilot-cloth great-coat with plain covered buttons. We found, +also, a clothes-brush near, and a horn pocket-comb. This poor man seems +to have selected the bare ridge top, as affording the least tiresome +walking, and to have fallen upon his face in the position in which we +found him. + +It was a melancholy truth that the old woman spoke when she said, "they +fell down and died as they walked along." + +I do not think the Esquimaux had discovered this skeleton, or they would +have carried off the brush and comb: superstition prevents them from +disturbing their own dead, but would not keep them from appropriating +the property of the white man if in any way useful to them. Dr. Rae +obtained a piece of flannel, marked "F. D. V., 1845," from the Esquimaux +of Boothia or Repulse Bay: it had doubtless been a part of poor Des +V[oe]ux's garments. + +{VAGUENESS OF INFORMATION.} + +At the time of our interview with the natives of King William's Island, +Petersen was inclined to think that the retreat of the crews took place +in the fall of the year, some of the men in boats, and others walking +along the shore; and as only five bodies are said to have been found +upon Montreal Island with the boat, this fact favored his opinion, +because so small a number could not have dragged her there over the ice, +although they could very easily have taken her there by water. +Subsequently this opinion proved erroneous. I mention it because it +shows how vague our information was--indeed all Esquimaux accounts are +naturally so--and how entirely we were dependent upon our own exertions +for bringing to light the mystery of their fate. + +The information obtained by Dr. Rae was mainly derived second-hand from +the Fish River Esquimaux, and should not be confounded with that +received by us from the King William's Island Esquimaux. These people +told us they did not find the bodies of the white men (that is, they did +not know any had died upon the march) until the following winter. This +is probably true, as it is only in winter and early spring they can +travel overland to the west shore, or that they make a practice of +wandering along the shore in search of seals and bears. + +The remains of those who died in the Fish River may very probably have +been discovered in the summer shortly after their decease. + +Along the south coast of King William's Land, as upon the mainland, I +was sadly disappointed in my expectation of meeting natives. We found +only six or eight deserted snow-huts, showing that they had recently +been here, and consequently there was the less chance of meeting with +them on our further progress, as the season had now arrived when they +seek the rivers and the favorite haunts and passes of the reindeer in +their northern migration. + +{CAPE HERSCHEL.} + +Hobson was however upon the western coast, and I hoped to find a note +left for me at Cape Herschel containing some piece of good news. After +minutely examining the intervening coast-line, it was with strong and +reasonable hope I ascended the slope which is crowned by Simpson's +conspicuous cairn. This summit of Cape Herschel is perhaps 150 feet +high, and about a quarter of a mile within the low stony point which +projects from it, and on which there was considerable ice pressure and a +few hummocks heaped up, the first we had seen for three weeks. Close +round this point, or by cutting across it as we did, the retreating +parties _must_ have passed; and the opportunity afforded by the cairn of +depositing in a known position--and that, too, where their own +discoveries terminated--some record of their own proceedings, or, it +might be, a portion of their scientific journals, would scarcely have +been disregarded. + +{SIMPSON'S CAIRN.} + +Simpson makes no mention of having left a record in this cairn, nor +would Franklin's people have taken any trouble to find it if he had left +one; but what now remained of this once "ponderous cairn" was only four +feet high; the south side had been pulled down and the central stones +removed, as if by persons seeking for something deposited beneath. After +removing the snow with which it was filled, and a few loose stones, the +men laid bare a large slab of limestone; with difficulty this was +removed, then a second, and also a third slab, when they came to the +ground. For sometime we persevered with a pickaxe in breaking up the +frozen earth, but nothing whatever was found, nor any trace of European +visitors in its vicinity. There were many old caches and low stone +walls, such as natives would use to lurk behind for the purpose of +shooting reindeer; and we noticed some recent tracks of those animals +which had crossed direct hither from the mainland. + + + + +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. + + +{THE CAIRN EMPTY.} + +As the Esquimaux of this land, as well as those of Boothia and Pond's +Inlet, have long since given up the practice of building stone +dwellings--passing their winters in snow-huts, and summers in tents--no +other traces of them than those described remain; so that when or in +what numbers they may have been here one cannot form any opinion, the +same caches and hiding-places serving for generations. + +I cannot divest myself of the belief that _some record was left here_ by +the retreating crews, and perhaps some most valuable documents which +their slow progress and fast failing strength would have assured them +could not be carried much further. If any such were left they have been +discovered by the natives, and carried off, or thrown away as worthless. +Doubtless the natives, when they ascertained that famine and fatigue had +caused many of the white men "to fall down and die" upon their fearful +march, and heard, as they might have done, of its fatal termination +upon the mainland, lost no time in following up their traces, examining +every spot where they halted, every mark they put up, or stone +displaced. + +{APPEARANCE OF CAIRNS.} + +It is easy to tell whether a cairn has been put up or touched within a +moderate period of years; if very old, the outer stones have a weathered +appearance, lichens will have grown upon the sheltered portions and moss +in the crevices; but if recently disturbed, even if a single stone is +turned upside down, these appearances are altered. If a cairn has been +recently built it will be evident, because the stones picked up from the +neighborhood would be bleached on top by the exposure of centuries, +whilst underneath they would be colored by the soil in which they were +imbedded. To the eye of the native hunter these marks of a recent cairn +are at once apparent: and unless Simpson's cairn (built in 1839) had +been disturbed by Crozier, I do not think the Esquimaux would have been +at the trouble of pulling it down to plunder the cache; but having +commenced to do so, would not have left any of it standing, _unless they +found what they sought_. + +I noticed with great care the appearance of the stones, and came to the +conclusion that the cairn itself was of old date, and had been erected +many years ago, and that it was reduced to the state in which we found +it by people having broken down one side of it; the displaced stones, +from being turned over, looking far more fresh than those in that +portion of the cairn which had been left standing. It was with a feeling +of deep regret and much disappointment that I left this spot without +finding some certain record of those martyrs to their country's fame. +Perhaps in all the wide world there will be few spots more hallowed in +the recollection of English seamen than this cairn on Cape Herschel. + +A few miles beyond Cape Herschel the land becomes very low; many islets +and shingle-ridges lie far off the coast; and as we advanced we met with +hummocks of unusually heavy ice, showing plainly that we were now +travelling upon a far more exposed part of the coast-line. We were +approaching a spot where a revelation of intense interest was awaiting +me. + +{INTEREST ATTACHING TO THE CAIRN.} + +About 12 miles from Cape Herschel I found a small cairn built by +Hobson's party, and containing a note for me. He had reached this his +extreme point, six days previously, without having seen anything of the +wreck, or of natives, but he had found a record--the record so ardently +sought for, of the Franklin Expedition--at Point Victory, on the N.W. +coast of King William's Land. + +{DISCOVERY OF GORE'S RECORD.} + +That record is indeed a sad and touching relic of our lost friends, and, +to simplify its contents, I will point out separately the double story +it so briefly tells. In the first place, the record paper was one of the +printed forms usually supplied to discovery ships for the purpose of +being enclosed in bottles and thrown overboard at sea, in order to +ascertain the set of the currents, blanks being left for the date and +position; any person finding one of these records is requested to +forward it to the Secretary of the Admiralty, with a note of time and +place; and this request is printed upon it in six different languages. +Upon it was written, apparently by Lieutenant Gore, as follows:-- + + "28 of May, { H.M. ships 'Erebus' and 'Terror' wintered in the + 1847. { ice in lat. 70 deg. 05' N.; long. 98 deg. 23' W. + + "Having wintered in 1846-7 at Beechey Island, in lat. 74 deg. 43' 28" + N., long. 91 deg. 39' 15" W., after having ascended Wellington Channel + to lat. 77 deg., and returned by the west side of Cornwallis Island. + + "Sir John Franklin commanding the expedition. + + "All well. + + "Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left the ships on Monday + 24th May, 1847. + + "GM. GORE, Lieut. + + "CHAS. F. DES V[OE]UX, Mate." + +{GORE'S RECORD.} + +There is an error in the above document, namely, that the 'Erebus' and +'Terror' wintered at Beechey Island in 1846-7,--the correct dates should +have been 1845-6; a glance at the date at the top and bottom of the +record proves this, but in all other respects the tale is told in as few +words as possible of their wonderful success up to that date, May, 1847. + +We find that, after the last intelligence of Sir John Franklin was +received by us (bearing date of July, 1845), from the whalers in +Melville Bay, that his Expedition passed on to Lancaster Sound, and +entered Wellington Channel, of which the southern entrance had been +discovered by Sir Edward Parry in 1819. The 'Erebus' and 'Terror' sailed +up that strait for one hundred and fifty miles, and reached in the +autumn of 1845 the same latitude as was attained eight years +subsequently by H.M.S. 'Assistance' and 'Pioneer.' Whether Franklin +intended to pursue this northern course, and was only stopped by ice in +that latitude of 77 deg. north, or purposely relinquished a route which +seemed to lead away from the known seas off the coast of America, must +be a matter of opinion; but this the document assures us of, that Sir +John Franklin's Expedition, having accomplished this examination, +returned southward from latitude 77 deg. north, which is at the head of +Wellington Channel, and re-entered Barrow's Strait by a new channel +between Bathurst and Cornwallis Islands. + +Seldom has such an amount of success been accorded to an Arctic +navigator in a single season, and when the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' were +secured at Beechey Island for the coming winter of 1845-6, the results +of their first year's labor must have been most cheering. These results +were the exploration of Wellington and Queen's Channel, and the addition +to our charts of the extensive lands on either hand. In 1846 they +proceeded to the south-west, and eventually reached within twelve miles +of the north extreme of King William's Land, when their progress was +arrested by the approaching winter of 1846-7. That winter appears to +have passed without any serious loss of life; and when in the spring +Lieutenant Gore leaves with a party for some especial purpose, and very +probably to connect the unknown coast-line of King William's Land +between Point Victory and Cape Herschel, those on board the 'Erebus' and +'Terror' were "all well," and the gallant Franklin still commanded. + +{DISCOVERY OF CROZIER'S RECORD.} + +But, alas! round the margin of the paper upon which Lieutenant Gore in +1847 wrote those words of hope and promise, another hand had +subsequently written the following words:-- + + "April 25, 1848.--H.M. ships 'Terror' and 'Erebus' were deserted on + the 22nd April, 5 leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since + 12th September, 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105 + souls, under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in + lat. 69 deg. 37' 42" N., long. 98 deg. 41' W. Sir John Franklin died on the + 11th June, 1847; and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has + been to this date 9 officers and 15 men. + + (Signed) (Signed) + + "F. R. M. CROZIER, "JAMES FITZJAMES, + "Captain and Senior Officer. "Captain H.M.S. Erebus. + + "and start (on) to-morrow, 26th, + for Back's Fish River." + +{ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION.} + +This marginal information was evidently written by Captain Fitzjames, +excepting only the note stating when and where they were going, which +was added by Captain Crozier. + +There is some additional marginal information relative to the transfer +of the document to its present position (viz., the site of Sir James +Ross' pillar) from a spot four miles to the northward, near Point +Victory, where it had been originally deposited by the _late_ Commander +Gore. This little word _late_ shows us that he too, within the +twelvemonth had passed away. + +In the short space of twelve months how mournful had become the history +of Franklin's expedition; how changed from the cheerful "All well" of +Graham Gore! The spring of 1847 found them within 90 miles of the known +sea off the coast of America; and to men who had already in two seasons +sailed over 500 miles of previously unexplored waters, how confident +must they have felt that that forthcoming navigable season of 1847 would +see their ships pass over so short an intervening space! It was ruled +otherwise. Within a month after Lieutenant Gore placed the record on +Point Victory, the much-loved leader of the expedition, Sir John +Franklin, was dead; and the following spring found Captain Crozier, upon +whom the command had devolved at King William's Land, endeavoring to +save his starving men, 105 souls in all, from a terrible death by +retreating to the Hudson Bay territories up the Back or Great Fish +River. + +A sad tale was never told in fewer words. There is something deeply +touching in their extreme simplicity, and they show in the strongest +manner that both the leaders of this retreating party were actuated by +the loftiest sense of duty, and met with calmness and decision the +fearful alternative of a last bold struggle for life, rather than perish +without effort on board their ships; for we well know that the 'Erebus' +and 'Terror' were only provisioned up to July, 1848. + +{DISCREPANCY IN THE RECORD.} + +Another discrepancy exists in the second part of the record written by +Fitzjames. The original number composing the expedition was 138 +souls,[21] and the record states the total loss by deaths to have been 9 +officers and 15 men, consequently that 114 officers and men remained; +but it also states that 105 only landed under Captain Crozier's command, +so that 9 individuals are unaccounted for. + +Lieutenant Hobson's note told me that he found quantities of clothing +and articles of all kinds lying about the cairn, as if these men, aware +that they were retreating for their lives, had there abandoned +everything which they considered superfluous. + +Hobson had experienced extremely bad weather--constant gales and +fogs--and thought he might have passed the wreck without seeing her; he +hoped to be more successful upon his return journey. + +Encouraged by this important news, we exerted our utmost vigilance in +order that no trace should escape us. + +Our provisions were running very short, therefore the three remaining +puppies were of necessity shot, and their sledge used for fuel. We were +also enabled to lengthen our journeys, as we had very smooth ice to +travel over, the off-lying islets keeping the rough pack from pressing +in upon the shore. + +{CAPE CROZIER.} + +Upon the 29th of May we reached the western extreme of King William's +Island, in lat. 69 deg. 08' N., and long. 100 deg. 08' W. I named it after +Captain Crozier of the 'Terror,' the gallant leader of that "Forlorn +Hope" of which we now just obtained tidings. The coast we marched along +was extremely low--a mere series of ridges of limestone shingle, almost +destitute of fossils. The only tracks of animals seen were those of a +bear and a few foxes--the only living creatures a few willow-grouse. +Traces even of the wandering Esquimaux became much less frequent after +leaving Cape Herschel. Here were found only a few circles of stones, the +sites of tenting-places, but so moss-grown as to be of great age. The +prospect to seaward was not less forbidding--a rugged surface of +crushed-up pack, including much heavy ice. In these shallow ice-covered +seas, seals are but seldom found: and it is highly probable that all +animal life in them is as scarce as upon the land. + +{DESERTED BOAT.} + +From Cape Crozier the coast-line was found to turn sharply away to the +eastward; and early in the morning of the 30th May we encamped alongside +a large boat--another melancholy relic which Hobson had found and +examined a few days before, as his note left here informed me; but he +had failed to discover record, journal, pocket-book, or memorandum of +any description. + +A vast quantity of tattered clothing was lying in her, and this we first +examined. Not a single article bore the name of its former owner. The +boat was cleared out and carefully swept that nothing might escape us. +The snow was then removed from about her, but nothing whatever was +found. + +{ARTICLES FOUND NEAR HER.} + +This boat measured 28 feet long, and 7 feet 3 inches wide; she was built +with a view to lightness and light draught of water, and evidently +equipped with the utmost care for the ascent of the Great Fish River; +she had neither oars nor rudder, paddles supplying their place, and as a +large remnant of light canvas, commonly known as No. 8, was found, and +also a small block for reeving a sheet through, I suppose she had been +provided with a sail. A sloping canvas roof or rain-awning had also +formed part of her equipment. She was fitted with a weather-cloth 9 +inches high, battened down all round the gunwale, and supported by 24 +iron stanchions, so placed as to serve likewise for rowing thowels. +There were 50 fathoms of deep-sea sounding-line near her, as well as an +ice grapnel. She appeared to have been originally "carvel" built; but +for the purpose of reducing weight, very thin fir planks had been +substituted for her seven upper strakes, and put on "clincher" fashion. + +{DESCRIPTION OF THE BOAT.} + +The weight of the boat alone was about 700 or 800 lbs. only, but she was +mounted upon a sledge of unusual weight and strength. It was constructed +of two oak planks 23 feet 4 inches in length, 8 inches in width, and +with an average thickness of 2-1/2 inches. These planks formed the sides +or runners of the sledge; they were connected by five cross-bars of oak, +each 4 feet long, and 4 inches by 3-1/2 inches thick, and bolted down to +the runners; the underneath parts of the latter were shod with iron. +Upon the cross-bars five saddles or supporting chocks for the boat were +lashed, and the drag-ropes by which the crew moved this massive sledge, +and the weights upon it, consisted of 2-3/4 inch whale-line. + +I have calculated the weight of this sledge to be 650 lbs.; it could not +have been less, and may have been considerably more. The total weight of +boat and sledge may be taken at 1400 lbs., which amounts to a heavy +load for seven strong healthy men. + +[Illustration] + +The only markings about the boat were those upon her stem, by which we +learned that she was built by contract, was received into Woolwich +Dockyard in April, 184 ,[22] and was numbered 61. There may have been a +fourth figure to the right hand, as the stem had been reduced in order +to lighten the boat. The ground the sledge rested upon was the usual +limestone shingle, perfectly flat, and probably overflowed at times +every summer, as the stones were embedded in ice. + +The boat was partially out of her cradle upon the sledge, and lying in +such a position as to lead me to suppose it the effect of a violent +north-west gale. She was barely, if at all, above the reach of +occasional tides. + +One hundred yards from her, upon the land side, lay the stump of a +fir-tree 12 feet long, and 16 inches in diameter at 3 feet above the +roots. Although the ice had used it roughly during its drift to this +shore, and rubbed off every vestige of bark, yet the wood was perfectly +sound. It may have been and probably has been lying there for twenty or +thirty years, and during such a period would suffer less decay in this +region of frost than in one-sixth of the time at home. Within two yards +of it I noticed a few scanty tufts of grass. + +{SKELETONS AND RELICS.} + +[Illustration] + +But all these were after observations; there was that in the boat which +transfixed us with awe. It was portions of two human skeletons. One was +that of a slight young person; the other of a large, strongly-made, +middle-aged man. The former was found in the bow of the boat, but in too +much disturbed a state to enable Hobson to judge whether the sufferer +had died there; large and powerful animals, probably wolves, had +destroyed much of this skeleton, which may have been that of an officer. +Near it we found the fragment of a pair of worked slippers, of which I +give the pattern, as they may possibly be identified. The lines were +white, with a black margin; the spaces white, red, and yellow. They had +originally been 11 inches long, lined with calf-skin with the hair left +on, and the edges bound with red silk ribbon. Besides these slippers +there were a pair of small strong shooting half-boots. The other +skeleton was in a somewhat more perfect state,[23] and was enveloped +with clothes and furs; it lay across the boat, under the after-thwart. +Close beside it were found five watches; and there were two +double-barrelled guns--one barrel in each loaded and cocked--standing +muzzle upwards against the boat's side. It may be imagined with what +deep interest these sad relics were scrutinised, and how anxiously every +fragment of clothing was turned over in search of pockets and +pocket-books, journals, or even names. Five or six small books were +found, all of them scriptural or devotional works, except the 'Vicar of +Wakefield.' One little book, 'Christian Melodies,' bore an inscription +upon the title page from the donor to G. G. (Graham Gore?) A small Bible +contained numerous marginal notes, and whole passages underlined. +Besides these books, the covers of a New Testament and Prayerbook were +found. + +{RELICS ABOUT THE BOAT.} + +Amongst an amazing quantity of clothing there were seven or eight +pairs of boots of various kinds--cloth winter boots, sea boots, +heavy ankle boots, and strong shoes. I noted that there were silk +handkerchiefs--black, white, and figured--towels, soap, sponge, +tooth-brush, and hair-combs; mackintosh gun-cover, marked outside with +paint A 12, and lined with black cloth. Besides these articles we found +twine, nails, saws, files, bristles, wax-ends, sailmakers' palms, +powder, bullets, shot, cartridges, wads, leather cartridge-case, +knives--clasp and dinner ones--needle and thread cases, slow-match, +several bayonet-scabbards cut down into knife-sheaths, two rolls of +sheet-lead, and, in short, a quantity of articles of one description and +another truly astonishing in variety, and such as, for the most part, +modern sledge-travellers in these regions would consider a mere +accumulation of dead weight, but slightly useful, and very likely to +break down the strength of the sledge-crews. + +The only provisions we could find were tea and chocolate; of the former +very little remained, but there were nearly 40 pounds of the latter. +These articles alone could never support life in such a climate, and we +found neither biscuit nor meat of any kind. A portion of tobacco and an +empty pemmican-tin, capable of containing 22 pounds weight, were +discovered. The tin was marked with an E; it had probably belonged to +the 'Erebus.' None of the fuel originally brought from the ships +remained in or about the boat, but there was no lack of it, for a +drift-tree was lying on the beach close at hand, and had the party been +in need of fuel they would have used the paddles and bottom-boards of +the boat. + +In the after part of the boat we discovered eleven large spoons, eleven +forks, and four teaspoons, all of silver; of these twenty-six pieces of +plate, eight bore Sir John Franklin's crest, the remainder had the +crests or initials of nine different officers, with the exception of a +single fork which was not marked; of these nine officers, five belonged +to the 'Erebus,'--Gore, Le Vesconte, Fairholme, Couch, and Goodsir. +Three others belonged to the 'Terror,'--Crozier, (a teaspoon only), +Hornby, and Thomas. I do not know to whom the three articles with an owl +engraved on them belonged, nor who was the owner of the unmarked fork, +but of the owners of those we can identify, the majority belonged to the +'Erebus.' One of the watches bore the crest of Mr. Couch, of the +'Erebus,' and as the pemmican tin also came from that ship, I am +inclined to think the boat did also; the authorities at Woolwich could +tell (by her number) to which ship she was supplied; and as one of the +pocket chronometers found in the boat was marked, "Parkinson and +Frodsham 980," and the other "Arnold 2020," it could also be ascertained +to which ship they had been issued.[24] + +{CONJECTURES.} + +Sir John Franklin's plate perhaps was issued to the men for their use, +as the only means of saving it; and it seems probable that the officers +generally did the same, as not a single iron spoon, such as sailors +always use, has been found. Of the many men, probably twenty or thirty, +who were attached to this boat, it seemed most strange that the remains +of only two individuals were found, nor were there any graves upon the +neighboring flat land; indeed, bearing in mind the season at which these +poor fellows left their ships, it should be remembered that the soil was +then frozen hard, and the labor of _cutting_ a grave very great indeed. + +I was astonished to find that the sledge was directed to the N.E., +exactly for the next point of land for which we ourselves were +travelling! + +The position of this abandoned boat is about 50 miles--as a sledge would +travel--from Point Victory, and therefore 65 miles from the position of +the ships; also it is 70 miles from the skeleton of the steward, and 150 +miles from Montreal Island; it is moreover in the depth of a wide bay, +where, by crossing over 10 or 12 miles of very low land, a great saving +of distance would be effected, the route by the coast-line being about +40 miles. + +A little reflection led me to satisfy my own mind at least, that the +boat was returning to the ships: and in no other way can I account for +two men having been left in her, than by supposing the party were unable +to drag the boat further, and that these two men, not being able to keep +pace with their shipmates, were therefore left by them supplied with +such provisions as could be spared to last until the return of the +others from the ship with a fresh stock. + +Whether it was the intention of the retroceding party to await the +result of another season in the ships, or to follow the track of the +main body to the Great Fish River, is now a matter of conjecture. It +seems highly probable that they had purposed revisiting the boat, not +only on account of the two men left in charge of it, but also to obtain +the chocolate, the five watches, and many other articles which would +otherwise scarcely have been left in her. + +The same reasons which may be assigned for the return of this detachment +from the main body, will also serve to account for their not having come +back to their boat. In both instances they appear to have greatly +overrated their strength, and the distance they could travel in a given +time. + +Taking this view of the case, we can understand why their provisions +would not last them for anything like the distance they required to +travel; and why they would be obliged to send back to the ships for +more, first taking from the detached party all provisions they could +possibly spare. Whether all or any of the remainder of this detached +party ever reached their ships is uncertain; all we know is, that they +did not revisit the boat, and which accounts for the absence of more +skeletons in its neighborhood; and the Esquimaux report that there was +no one alive in the ship when she drifted on shore, and that but one +human body was found by them on board of her. + +{POINT FRANKLIN.} + +After leaving the boat we followed an irregular coast-line to the N. and +N.W., up to a very prominent cape, which is probably the extreme of land +seen from Point Victory by Sir James Ross, and named by him Point +Franklin, which name, as a cape, it still retains. + +I need hardly say that throughout the whole of my journey along the +shores of King William's Land I caused a most vigilant look-out to be +kept to seaward for any appearance of the stranded ship spoken of by the +natives; our search was however fruitless in that respect. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[21] See Conclusion, p. 317. + +[22] Only the first three figures of the date upon her stem remained, +thus--184 . + +[23] No part of the skull of either skeleton was found, with the +exception only of the lower jaw of each. + +[24] These chronometers, according to the receipts in office, were +supplied one to each ship in 1845; but it is impossible to tell to which +ship the boat belonged, as the number is imperfect. + + + + +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. + + +{JUNE, 1859.} + +{POINT VICTORY.} + +On the morning of 2nd June we reached Point Victory. Here Hobson's note +left for me in the cairn informed me that he had not found the slightest +trace either of a wreck anywhere upon the coast, or of natives to the +north of Cape Crozier. + +Although somewhat short of provisions, I determined to remain a day here +in order to examine an opening at the Bottom of Back Bay, called so +after Sir George Back, by his friend Sir James Ross, and which had not +been explored. This proved to be an inlet nearly 13 miles deep, with an +average width of 1-1/2 or 2 miles; I drove round it upon the dog sledge, +but found no trace of human beings; it was filled with heavy old ice, +and was therefore unfavorable for the resort of seals, and consequently +of natives also. + +The direction of the inlet is to the E.S.E.; we found the land on either +side rose as we advanced up it, and attained a considerable elevation, +except immediately across its head, where alone it was very low; I have +conferred upon it the name of Collinson, after one who will ever be +distinguished in connection with the Franklin search, and who kindly +relieved Lady Franklin of much trouble by taking upon himself the +financial business of this expedition. + +An extensive bay, westward of Cape Herschel, I have named after Captain +Washington, the hydrographer, a steadfast supporter of this final +search. + +All the intermediate coast-line along which the retreating crews +performed their fearful march is sacred to their names alone. + +Hobson's note informed me of his having found a second record, deposited +also by Lieut. Gore in May, 1847, upon the south side of Back Bay, but +it afforded no additional information. + +{ERRORS IN FRANKLIN'S RECORDS.} + +It is strange that both these papers state the ships to have wintered in +1846-7 at Beechey Island! So obvious a mistake would hardly have been +made had any importance been attached to these documents. They were +soldered up in thin tin cylinders, having been filled up on board prior +to the departure of the travellers; consequently the day upon which they +were _deposited_ was not filled in; but already the papers were much +damaged by rust,--a very few more years would have rendered them wholly +illegible. When the record left at Point Victory was opened to add +thereto the supplemental information which gives it its chief value, +Captain Fitzjames, as may be concluded by the color of the ink, filled +in the date--28th--in May, when the record was originally deposited. The +cylinder containing this record had not been soldered up again; I +suppose they had not the means of doing so; it was found on the ground +amongst a few loose stones which had evidently fallen along with it from +the top of the cairn. Hobson removed every stone of this cairn down to +the ground and rebuilt it. + +Brief as these records are, we must needs be contented with them; they +are perfect models of official brevity. No log-book could be more +provokingly laconic. Yet, that _any record at all_ should be deposited +after the abandonment of the ships, does not seem to have been intended; +and we should feel the more thankful to Captains Crozier and Fitzjames, +to whom we are indebted for the invaluable supplement; and our gratitude +ought to be all the greater when we remember that the ink had to be +thawed, and that writing in a tent during an April day in the Arctic +regions is by no means an easy task. + +Besides placing a copy of the record taken away by Hobson from the +cairn, we both put records of our own in it; and I also buried one under +a large stone ten feet true north from it, stating the explorations and +discoveries we had made. + +{RELICS AT THE CAIRN.} + +A great quantity and variety of things lay strewed about the cairn, such +as even in their three days' march from the ships the retreating crews +found it impossible to carry further. Amongst these were four heavy sets +of boat's cooking stoves, pickaxes, shovels, iron hoops, old canvas, a +large single block, about four feet of a copper lightning conductor, +long pieces of hollow brass curtain rods, a small case of selected +medicines containing about twenty-four phials, the contents in a +wonderful state of preservation; a deep circle by Robinson, with two +needles, bar magnets, and light horizontal needle all complete, the +whole weighing only nine pounds; and even a small sextant engraved with +the name of "Frederick Hornby" lying beside the cairn without its case. +The colored eye-shades of the sextant had been taken out, otherwise it +was perfect; the movable screws and such parts as come in contact with +the observer's hand were neatly covered with thin leather to prevent +frost-bite in severe weather. + +The clothing left by the retreating crews of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' +formed a huge heap four feet high; every article was searched, but the +pockets were empty, and not one of all these articles were +marked,--indeed sailors' warm clothing seldom is. Two canteens, the +property of marines, were found, one marked "88 C^o. Wm. Hedges," and +the other "89 C^o. Wm. Hether." A small pannikin made out of a +two-pound preserved-meat tin had scratched on it "W. Mark." + +When continuing my homeward march, and, as nearly as I could judge, +2-1/2 or 2-3/4 miles to the north of Point Victory, I saw a few stones +placed in line, as if across the head of a tenting place to afford some +shelter; here it was I think that Lieutenant Gore deposited the record +in May, 1847, which was found in 1848 by Lieutenant Irving, and finally +deposited at Point Victory. Some scraps of tin vessels were lying about, +but whether they had been left by Sir James Ross' party in May, 1830, or +by the Franklin Expedition in 1847 or 1848, is uncertain.[25] + +Here ended my own search for traces of the lost ones. Hobson found two +other cairns, and many relics, between this position and Cape Felix. +From each place where any trace was discovered the most interesting of +the relics were taken away, so that the collection we have made is very +considerable. + +{REFLECTIONS AT THE RETREAT.} + +Of these northern cairns I will write a description when I have received +Hobson's account of his journey; but here it is as well to state his +opinion, as well as my own, that no part of the coast between Cape Felix +and Cape Crozier has been visited by Esquimaux since the fatal march of +the lost crews in April, 1848; none of the cairns or numerous articles +strewed about--which would be invaluable to the natives--or even the +driftwood we noticed, had been touched by them. From this very +significant fact it seems quite certain that they had not been +discovered by the Esquimaux, whose knowledge of the "white men falling +down and dying as they walked along" must be limited to the shore-line +southward and eastward of Cape Crozier, and where, of course, no traces +were permitted to remain for us to find. It is not probable that such +fearful mortality would have overtaken them so early in their march as +within 80 miles by sledge-route from the abandoned ships--such being +their distance from Cape Crozier; nor is it probable that we could have +passed the wreck had she existed there, as there are no off-lying +islands to prevent a ship drifting in upon the beach; whilst to the +southward they are very numerous; so much so that a drifting ship could +hardly run the gauntlet between them so as to reach the shore. + +The coast from Point Victory northward is considerably higher than that +upon which we have been so many days; the sea also is not so shallow, +and the ice comes close in; to seaward all was heavy close pack, +consisting of all descriptions of ice, but for the most part old and +heavy. + +{RETURNING HOMEWARD.} + +From Walls' Bay I crossed overland to the eastern shore, and reached my +depot near the entrance of Port Parry on the 5th June, after an absence +of thirty-four days. Hence I purposed travelling alongshore to Cape +Sabine, in order to avoid the rough ice which we encountered when +crossing direct from Cape Victoria in April, and also hoping to obtain a +few more observations for the magnetic inclination. + +The weather became foggy as we approached Prince George's Bay, therefore +we were obliged to go well into it before attempting to cross. We gained +the land--upon the opposite side, as I supposed--and which would lead us +direct to Cape Sabine; but when the weather cleared up we saw a long low +island to seaward of us, which puzzled me much. Eventually I found we +had discovered a strait leading from Prince George's Bay into Wellington +Strait, about 8 miles south of Cape Sabine. + +This discovery cost us a day's delay, and was therefore unwelcome, as we +were then in daily expectation and dread of the thaw, which renders all +travelling so very difficult; and we were still 230 long miles from our +ship. In this strait we found a deserted snow village of seventeen huts; +one of them was unusually large, its internal diameter being 14 feet. +The men soon scraped together enough blubber to supply us with fuel for +our homeward march. Strewed about on the ice or in every snow-hut were +shavings and chips of fresh wood; in one of them I found a child's +toy--a miniature sledge--made of wood. No traces of natives were found +upon either shore at this place, nor had I met with any since leaving +the western coast of the island to the southward of Cape Crozier. + +Having passed through nearly to the eastern end of the strait, we cut +off some distance by crossing overland, so as to reach the sea-coast 3 +or 4 miles southward of Cape Sabine. A few willow-grouse, two foxes, and +a young reindeer were seen. There was some vegetation upon the land, and +animals appeared to resort to this locality in tolerable abundance; the +contrast between it and the low, barren shore we had so recently come +from was striking indeed! + +{GEOLOGICAL REMARKS.} + +Nothing can exceed the gloom and desolation of the western coast of King +William's Island: Hobson and myself had some considerable experience of +it; his sojourn there exceeded a month; its climate seems different from +that of the eastern coast; it is more exposed to north-west winds, and +the air was almost constantly loaded with chilling fogs. Everywhere upon +the shores of the island I noticed boulders of dark gneiss; upon the +west coast they were generally small, and of a dark gray color. About +the north part of the island Hobson found a good deal of sandstone, the +probable result of ice-drift from Melville Island or Banks Land. + +This land gives one the idea of its having risen within a recent +geological period from the sea--not suddenly, but at regular intervals; +the numerous terraces or beach-marks form long horizontal lines, rising +very gradually, and in due proportion as their distance increases from +the sea; near the shore they are, of course, most distinct. Upon the +west coast some fossils were picked up, chiefly impressions of shells. + +King William's Island is for the most part extremely barren, and its +surface clotted over with innumerable ponds and lakes. It is not by any +means the "land abounding with reindeer and musk oxen" which we expected +to find: the natives told us there were none of the latter and very few +of the former upon it. + +{BOOTHIA FELIX.} + +On the 8th June the first ducks and brent geese were seen flying +northward. Passing over the extreme point of Cape Victoria, Boothia +Land, near which we saw the deserted snow-huts of our March +acquaintances, and shortly afterwards crossing the mouth of the deep bay +to the north of it, in which, sheltered by the island, a ship would find +security from ice pressure, and very tolerable winter quarters, we again +reached the straight low limestone coast of Boothia Felix. + +{THE MAGNETIC INCLINATION.} + +I was unable to make any delay at the Magnetic Pole, nor could I find a +trace of Ross' cairn;[26] but at each of our encampments along the +coast the magnetic inclination was carefully observed. Throughout my +whole journey I availed myself of every opportunity of obtaining these +most interesting observations, often remaining up, after we had encamped +for rest, six or seven hours in order to do so; but the instruments +supplied for this purpose were not well adapted, and occasioned me a +vast deal of labor and loss of time, so as to diminish to almost +one-third the results I should otherwise have obtained. Much snow has +disappeared off the land; and the ridges or ancient beaches, being the +parts most free from snow, showed out strongly in long, dark, horizontal +lines, rising above each other until lost to view in the interior. Here +and there a few fossil shells and corals were picked up, and four or +five willow-grouse shot. + +_13th June._--We passed from limestone to granite in lat. 71 deg. 10' N. +Here the land attains to considerable elevation. In the hollows of the +dark granite rocks we found abundance of water, and also in a few places +upon the sea-ice; it was quite evident that in another day or two the +snow would altogether yield to the warmth of summer; birds were now +frequently seen. + +We discovered a narrow channel to the eastward of the one between the +Tasmania Group, through which we had passed with so much difficulty in +April; our new channel was covered with smooth ice, and was also much +shorter. + +{ILLNESS OF HOBSON.} + +At one of our depots lately visited, a note left by Hobson informed me +of his being six days in advance of me, and also of his own serious +illness; for many days past he had been unable to walk, and was +consequently conveyed upon the sledge; his men were hastening home with +all their strength and speed, in order to get him under the Doctor's +care. We also were doing our best to push on, lest the bursting out of +melting snow from the various ravines should render the ice impassable. + +On the 15th the snow upon the ice everywhere yielded to the effects of +increased temperature; I was, indeed, most thankful at its having +remained firm so long. To make any progress at all after this date was +of course a very great labor, requiring the utmost efforts of both the +men and the dogs; nor was the freezing mixture through which we trudged +by any means agreeable; we were often more than knee-deep in it. + +We succeeded in reaching False Strait on the morning of the 18th June, +and pitched our tent just as heavy rain began to descend; it lasted +throughout the greater part of the day. After travelling a few miles +upon the Long Lake, further progress was found to be quite impossible, +and we were obliged to haul our sledges up off the flooded ice, and +commence a march of 16 or 17 miles overland for the ship. The poor dogs +were so tired and sore-footed, that we could not induce them to follow +us; they remained about the sledges. After a very fatiguing scramble +across the hills and through the snow valleys we were refreshed with a +sight of our poor dear lonely little 'Fox,' and arrived on board in time +for a late breakfast on the 19th June. + +{NAVIGABLE N.W. PASSAGE.} + +With respect to a _navigable_ North-West Passage, and to the probability +of our having been able last season to make any considerable advance to +the southward, had the barrier of ice across the western outlet of +Bellot Strait permitted us to reach the open water beyond, I think, +judging from what I have since seen of the ice in the Franklin Strait, +that the chances were greatly in favor of our reaching Cape Herschel, on +the S. side of King William's Land, by passing (as I intended to do) +_eastward_ of that island. + +From Bellot Strait to Cape Victoria we found a mixture of old and new +ice, showing the exact proportion of pack and of clear water at the +setting in of winter. Once to the southward of the Tasmania Group, I +think our chief difficulty would have been overcome; and south of Cape +Victoria I doubt whether any further obstruction would have been +experienced, as but little, if any, ice remained. The natives told us +the ice went away, and left a clear sea every year. As our discoveries +show the Victoria Strait to be but little more than 20 miles wide, the +ice pressed southward through so narrow a space could hardly have +prevented our crossing to Victoria Land, and Cambridge Bay, the +wintering place reached by Collinson, from the _west_. + +No one who sees that portion of Victoria Strait which lies between King +William's Island and Victoria Land, as we saw it, could doubt of there +being but one way of getting a ship through it, that way being the +_extremely_ hazardous one of drift through in the pack. + +The wide channel between Prince of Wales' Land and Victoria Land admits +a vast and continuous stream of very heavy ocean formed ice from the +N.W., which presses upon the western face of King William's Island, and +chokes up Victoria Strait in the manner I have just described. I do not +think the North-West Passage could ever be sailed through by passing +westward--that is, to windward--of King William's Island. + +If the season was so favorable for navigation as to open the northern +part of this western sea[27] (as, for instance, in 1846, when Sir J. +Franklin sailed down it), I think but comparatively little difficulty +would be experienced in the more southern portion of it until Victoria +Strait was reached. Had Sir John Franklin known that a channel existed +eastward of King William's _Land_ (so named by Sir John Ross), I do not +think he would have risked the besetment of his ships in such very heavy +ice to the westward of it; but had he attempted the north-west passage +by the _eastern_ route, he would probably have carried his ships safely +through to Behring Strait. But Franklin was furnished with charts which +indicated no passage to the eastward of King William's Land, and made +that land (since discovered by Rae to be an island) a peninsula attached +to the continent of North America; and he consequently had but one +course open to him, and that the one he adopted. + +My own preference for the route by the east side of the island is +founded upon the observations and experience of Rae and Collinson in +1851-2-4. I am of opinion that the barrier of ice off Bellot Strait, +some 3 or 4 miles wide, was the only obstacle to our carrying the 'Fox,' +according to my original intention, southward to the Great Fish River, +passing _east_ of King William's Island, and from thence to a wintering +position on Victoria Land. Perhaps some future voyager, profiting by the +experience so fearfully and fatally acquired by the Franklin expedition, +and the observations of Rae, Collinson, and myself, may succeed in +carrying his ship through from sea to sea: at least he will be enabled +to direct all his efforts in the true and only direction. In the mean +time to Franklin must be assigned the earliest discovery of the +North-West Passage, though not the actual accomplishment of it in his +ships.[28] + +{JULY, 1859.} + +_Saturday, 2nd July._--Upon my arrival on board on the morning of the +19th June, my first inquiries were about Hobson; I found him in a worse +state than I expected. He reached the ship on the 14th, unable to walk, +or even stand without assistance; but already he was beginning to amend, +and was in excellent spirits. Christian had shot several ducks, which, +with preserved potato, milk, strong ale, and lemon-juice, completed a +very respectable dietary for a scurvy-stricken patient. All the rest +were tolerably well; slight traces only of scurvy in two or three of the +men. The ship was as clean and trim as I could expect, and all had well +and cheerfully performed their duties during my absence; hardly any game +had been shot, except one bear. + +{DEATH FROM SCURVY.} + +The Doctor now acquainted me with the death of Thomas Blackwell, ship's +steward, which occurred only five days previously, and was occasioned +by scurvy. This man had scurvy when I left the ship in April, and no +means were left untried by the Doctor to promote the recovery and rally +his desponding energies; but his mind, unsustained by hope, lost all +energy, and at last he had to be forcibly taken upon deck for fresh air. +For months past the ship's spirits had been of necessity removed from +under his control. + +When too late his shipmates made it known that he had a dislike to +preserved meats, and had lived the whole winter upon salt pork! He also +disliked preserved potato, and would not eat it unless watched, nor +would he put on clean clothes which others in charity prepared for him. +Yet his death was somewhat unexpected; he went on deck as usual to walk +in the middle of the day, and, when found there, was quite dead. His +remains were buried beside those of our late shipmate Mr. Brand. + +{ANXIETY FOR CAPTAIN YOUNG.} + +The news of our success to the southward in tracing the footsteps of the +lost expedition greatly revived the spirits of my small crew; we wished +only for the safe and speedy return of Young and his party. + +Captain Young commenced his spring explorations on the 7th April, with a +sledge-party of four men, and a second sledge drawn by six dogs under +the management of our Greenlander, Samuel; finding in his progress that +a channel existed between Prince of Wales' Land and Victoria Land +whereby his discovery and search would be lengthened, he sent back one +sledge, the tent, and four men to the ship, in order to economise +provisions, and for forty days journeyed with one man (George Hobday) +and the dogs, encamping in such snow lodges as they were able to build. + +This great exposure and fatigue, together with extremely bad weather, +and a most difficult coast-line to trace, greatly injured his health; he +was compelled to return to the ship on 7th June for medical aid, but +proposing at all hazards to renew his explorations almost immediately. +Dr. Walker met this determination by a strong protest in writing against +his leaving the ship again, his health being quite unequal to it; but +after three days Young felt himself somewhat better, and, with a zeal +which knew no bounds, set off to complete his branch of the search, +taking with him both his sledge-parties. + +From the Doctor's account I felt most anxious for his return, lest his +health, or that of his companions, should receive permanent injury; in +fact this was now my only cause of anxiety. The season was rather +forward here, and advancing with unusual rapidity, rain and wind +dissolving the snow and ice; there was much water in Bellot Strait, +extending from Half-way Island eastward to the table-land, and thence in +a narrow lane to Long Island. After a day or two I could perceive a +vast improvement in Hobson; and my own four men, with the exception of +Hampton, who required rest, were in sound health; so also was my +companion Petersen. On 24th June Christian shot two small reindeer, +which gave us 170 lbs. of meat; a few days before that he shot a seal, +which afforded two sumptuous meals for all on board. + +{TREATMENT OF DOGS.} + +The time having elapsed during which Young expected to remain absent, +and the difficulties of the transit from the western sea having become +greatly increased, I set off early on the 25th June with my four men, +intending to visit Pemmican Rock; but failing to come across him there, +I resolved to carry on provisions as far as Four River Point, in the +hope of meeting with him, and of facilitating his return. To our +surprise the water had all drained off the frozen surface of the Long +Lake, and it therefore afforded excellent travelling. We found the poor +dogs lying quietly beside our sledges; they had attacked the pemmican, +and devoured a small quantity which was not secured in tin, also some +blubber, some leather straps, and a gull that I had shot for a specimen; +but they had not apparently relished the biscuit. Poor dogs! they have a +hard life of it in these regions. Even Petersen, who is generally kind +and humane, seems to fancy they must have little or no feeling: one of +his theories is, that you may knock an Esquimaux dog about the head +with any article, however heavy, with perfect impunity to the brutes. +One of us upbraided him the other day because he broke his whip-handle +over the head of a dog. "_That was nothing at all_," he assured us: some +friend of his in Greenland found he could beat his dogs over the head +with a heavy hammer,--it stunned them certainly,--but by laying them +with their mouths open to the wind, they soon revived, got up and ran +about "_all right_." + +We lost no time in giving them a good feed, the first for seven days, +yet they did not seem unusually hungry, and soon coiled themselves up to +sleep again. Whilst the men and dogs were employed next day in conveying +a sledge to the east end of the lake, I walked to Cape Bird to look out +for the absent party, but they had not yet returned to Pemmican Rock. + +When vainly endeavoring, with felonious intentions, to climb up a steep +cliff to the breeding-places of some silvery gulls, I saw and shot a +brent goose, seated upon an accessible ledge, and made a prize of four +eggs; it seems strange that this bird should have selected so unusual a +breeding-place. Many seals were basking on the ice, and the watercourse +by which our sledges ascended a week before to the Long Lake was now a +strong and rapid stream. A few reindeer were seen. + +{YOUNG RETURNS SAFELY.} + +On the 27th I sent three of the men back to the ship, and with Thompson +and the dogs went on to Pemmican Rock, where, to our great joy, we +happily met Young and his party, who had but just returned there, after +a long and successful journey the particulars of which I will give +hereafter. + +Young was greatly reduced in flesh and strength, so much weakened indeed +that for the last few days he had travelled on the dog sledge; +Harvey--also far from well--could just manage to keep pace with the +sledge; his malady was scurvy. Their journeys had been very depressing; +most dismal weather, low, dreary limestone shores devoid of game, and no +traces of the lost expedition. The news of our success in the southern +journeys greatly cheered them. On the following day we were all once +more on board, and indulging in such rapid consumption of eatables as +only those can do who have been much reduced by long-continued fatigue +and exposure to cold. Venison, ducks, beer and lemon-juice, daily; +preserved apples and cranberries three times a week; and pickled +whale-skin--a famous antiscorbutic--_ad libitum_ for all who liked it. +The weather, which for the last week had been wet, windy, and miserable, +now set in fair. The carpenter's hammer, and the men's voices at their +work, were new and animating sounds. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[25] It is a remarkable circumstance that when, in 1830, Sir James Ross +discovered Point Victory, he named two points of land, then in sight, +Cape Franklin and Cape Jane Franklin respectively. Eighteen years +afterwards Franklin's ships perished within sight of those headlands. + +[26] This cairn, as well as the one built on Point Victory in 1830, was +removed by the natives; fortunately they had not visited Point Victory +whilst the Franklin cairn and record remained there, otherwise neither +cairn nor record would have remained for us to discover. + +[27] This channel is now named after the illustrious navigator, Admiral +Sir John Franklin. + +[28] This will be understood when it is recollected that W. of Simpson's +Straits or Victoria Land, a navigable passage to Behring Strait is known +to exist along the coast of North America. Franklin himself, with his +companion Richardson, surveyed by far the greater portion of that +distance. Franklin's and Parry's discoveries overlap each other in +longitude, and for the last thirty years or more the discovery of the +North-West Passage has been reduced to the discovery of a link uniting +the two. + + + + +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. + + +{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 deg. + +_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 Depot 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 deg., which is above the +average for this region; the July temperatures have usually varied from +36 deg. to 42 deg. + +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 Depot 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 vertebrae, 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 Depot 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 deg. 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 depots 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 deg. 08' 43" N., long. 99 deg. 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 deg. 09' N., long. 99 deg. 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. 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. + +Contents of Boat's Medicine Chest:-- + + One bottle labelled as zinzib. R. pulv., full; ditto, spirit. rect., + empty; ditto, mur. hydrarg. seven-eighths full; ditto, ol. + caryphyll., one-fifth full; ditto, ipec. P. co., full; ditto, ol. + menth. pip., empty; ditto, liq. ammon. fort., three-quarters full; + ditto, ol. olivac., full; ditto, tinct. opii. camph., three-quarters + full; ditto, vin. sem. colch., full; ditto, quarter full; ditto, + calomel, full (broken); ditto, hydrarg. hit. oxyd., full; ditto, + pulv. gregor, full (broken); ditto, magnes. carb., full; ditto, + camphor, full; two bottles tinc. tolut., each quarter full; one + bottle ipec. R. pulv., full; ditto, jalap R. pulv., full; ditto, + scammon. pulv., full; ditto, quinac bisulph., empty; ditto (not + labelled), tinct. opii., three-quarters full; one box (apparently) + purgative pills, full; ditto, ointment, shrunk; ditto, emp. + adhesiv., full; one probang, one pen wrapped up in lint, one lead + pencil, one pewter syringe, two small tubes (test) wrapped up in + lint, one farthing, bandages, oil silk, lint, thread. + + + + +No. IV. + +GEOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC ARCHIPELAGO, + +DRAWN UP PRINCIPALLY FROM THE SPECIMENS COLLECTED BY + +CAPTAIN F. L. M'CLINTOCK, R.N., + +From 1849 to 1859. + +BY THE REV. SAMUEL HAUGHTON, F.R.S., + +Fellow of Trinity College, Professor of Geology in the University of +Dublin, and President of the Geological Society of Dublin. + + +The map which accompanies this geological description is arranged from +the specimens brought home by Captain F. L. M'Clintock, R.N., from the +four Arctic Expeditions in which he served from 1848 to 1859. These +specimens are all deposited in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, +and form a more extensive and better collection of Arctic rocks and +fossils than is to be found in any other museum in Europe. + +It will be most convenient to describe the geology of the Arctic Islands +by the formations which are to be found there, which are the +following:-- + + 1. The Granitic and Granitoid Rocks. + 2. The Upper Silurian Rocks. + 3. The Carboniferous Rocks. + 4. The Lias Rocks. + 5. The Superficial Deposits. + +I shall describe these successive formations briefly, and add a few +remarks of a theoretical character, to indicate the important inferences +which may be drawn from the facts respecting them made known to us by +M'Clintock's discoveries. + + +I.--_The Granitic and Granitoid Rocks._ + +These rocks form a considerable part of North Greenland, on the east +side of Baffin's Bay, and constitute the rock of the country at the east +side of the island of North Devon, which forms a portion of the +coast-line of the west of Baffin's Bay, and the north side of the +entrance into Lancaster Sound. + +1. _Whale Fish Islands_, lat. 69 deg. N., are composed of a very +fine-grained, flaggy, black mica schist, composed of black mica in very +small plates, occasionally putting on a hornblendic lustre, and minute +grains of quartz interstratified with the mica. The softer varieties are +cut by the natives into grissets and cooking utensils of various shapes, +some of which resemble the cambstones found in Ireland, which are made +from a kind of potstone, abundant in parts of the County Donegal. + +2. _Upernivik_, lat. 72 deg. N., Greenland.--This district is famous for the +occurrence of large quantities of plumbago, which is found in a +metamorphic rock of the following character. Fine-grained, amorphous, +granitoid rock, composed of minute particles of grey quartz; a +honey-colored felspar of waxy lustre, of unknown composition; minute +particles of red semitransparent garnet, of conchoidal fracture; and +small particles, with occasional large nests, of plumbago. The plumbago +occurs both amorphous, and in long acicular crystals. Sometimes the rock +becomes of coarser texture and more crystalline, and the yellow color of +the felspar gives place to a greenish tinge; and it sometimes also +becomes a felspar of perfect cleavage, semitransparent, and white. The +dodecahedral crystals of garnet reach the diameter of one inch. + +The general character of the rocks near Upernivik is different from +that of the rock in which the plumbago is found; they consist of a +fine-grained black mica schist, with very little felspar or quartz, and +intersected by thin veins of elvan composed of quartz and white felspar. +The cooking utensils of the natives are made from this fine schist, in +preference to any other description of rock. + +3. _Woman's Islands._--These islands, off the west coast of Greenland, +are composed of a garnetiferous mica slate, formed of black mica in +layers, with alternating plates, composed of white felspar and quartz, +and filled with fine garnets, rose-colored, vitreous in fracture, and +transparent. + +4. _Cape York_, lat. 76 deg. N., Greenland.--This cape is composed of a +fine-grained granite, consisting of quartz, white felspar, with minute +specks of a black mineral, of pitchy lustre, composition not yet +determined. + +5. _Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds_, lat. 77 deg. N., Greenland.--At +Wolstenholme Sound the granitoid rocks of Greenland become converted +into mica slate and actinolite slate of a remarkable character. The mica +slate is composed of large plates of an intimate mixture of black and +white mica, the chemical examination of which will doubtless prove of +interest. These plates of mica are separated by bands of pure white +felspar. The actinolite slate is dark green, and formed by an almost +insensible gradation from the mica slate. In the low ground between +Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds, the granitic rocks cease, and are covered +by deposits of fine red gritty sandstone, of a banded structure, and a +remarkable coarse white conglomerate. The boundary between these +formations is also marked by the development of masses of dolerite and +clayey basalt. + +6. _Carey's Islands_, 76 deg. 40' N., Greenland, lie to the westward of +Wolstenholme Sound, and are composed of a remarkable gneissose mica +schist, formed of successive thin layers of quartz granules, containing +scarcely any felspar, and layers of jet black mica, with occasional +facets of white mica. This mica schist passes into a white gneiss, +composed of quartz, white felspar, and black mica, penetrated by veins, +coarsely crystallised, of the same minerals. Yellow and white sandstones +are also found in small quantity on the islands, reposing upon the +granitoid rocks. + +7. _Capes Osborn and Warrender_, lat. 74 deg. 30' N., North Devon.--The +granitoid rocks between these two capes are composed of graphic granite, +consisting of quartz (grey) and white felspar; this graphic granite +passes into a laminated gneiss, consisting of layers of black mica and +white translucent felspar, sparingly mixed with quartz: with the gneiss +are interstratified beds of garnetiferous mica slate, consisting of +quartz, pale greenish white felspar, black and white mica in minute +spangles, and crystals of garnet, rose-colored, disseminated regularly +through the mass. Quartziferous bands of epidotic hornstone occur with +the foregoing beds; and the whole series is overlaid by red sandstones, +of banded structure, which bear a striking resemblance to those that +overlie the granitoid beds of Wolstenholme Sound. + +8. _North Somerset._--The granitoid rocks are found again on the west +side of the island of North Somerset, where they form the eastern +boundary of Peel Sound. Boulders of granite are found at a considerable +distance (100 miles) to the north-eastward of the rock _in situ_, as at +Port Leopold, Cape Rennell, etc. The general character of the granitic +rocks in the north and west of North Somerset are thus described by +Captain M'Clintock:-- + +"Near Cape Rennell we passed a very remarkable rounded boulder of gneiss +or granite; it was 6 yards in circumference, and stood near the beach, +and some 15 or 20 yards above it; one or two masses of rounded gneiss, +although very much smaller, had arrested our attention at Port Leopold, +as then we knew of no such formation nearer than Cape Warrender, 130 +miles to the north-east; subsequently we found it to commence _in situ_ +at Cape Granite, nearly 100 miles to the south-west of Port Leopold. + +"The granite of Cape Warrender differs considerably from that of North +Somerset; the former being a graphic granite, composed of grey quartz +and white felspar, the quartz predominating; while the latter, or North +Somerset granite, is composed of grey quartz, red felspar, and green +chloritic mica, the latter in large flakes; both the granite and gneiss +of North Somerset are remarkable for their soapy feel."[30] + +[Illustration: Cape Bunny, Peel Sound.] + +To the east of Cape Bunny, where the Silurian limestone ceases, and +south of which the granite commences, is a remarkable valley called +Transition Valley, from the junction of sandstone and limestone that +takes place there. The sandstone is red, and of the same general +character as that which rests upon the granitoid rocks at Cape Warrender +and at Wolstenholme Sound. Owing to the mode of travelling, by sledge on +the ice, round the coast, no information was obtained of the geology of +the interior of the country, but it appears highly probable that the +granite of North Somerset, as well as that of the other localities +mentioned, is overlaid by a group of sandstones and conglomerates, on +which the Upper Silurian limestones repose directly. A low, sandy beach +marks the termination of the valley northwards, and on this beach were +found numerous pebbles, washed from the hills of the interior, composed +of quartzose sandstone, carnelian, and Silurian limestone. The +accompanying sketch was made by Captain M'Clintock, on the spot, in +1849, and afterwards finished by Lieutenant Browne. It represents the +island called Cape Bunny, which forms the eastern headland of the +entrance of the now famous Peel Sound, down which the 'Erebus' and +'Terror' sailed, three years before it was visited by Sir James C. Ross +and Lieutenant M'Clintock, in their first sledge journey on the ice. +Cape Granite is the northern boundary of the granite, which retains the +same character as far as Howe Harbor. It is composed of quartz, red +felspar, and dark green chlorite; and is accompanied with gneiss of the +same composition. I have in my possession a specimen of this granite, +found as a pebble at Graham Moore Bay, Bathurst Island, S.W., a locality +135 knots distant from Cape Granite, to the N.W. + +9. _Bellot Strait_, lat. 72 deg. N., separate North Somerset from Boothia +Felix. The 'Fox' Expedition wintered here in 1858, and had abundant +means of ascertaining the geological structure of the neighborhood. The +junction of the granitoid and Silurian rocks occurs in these straits, +the low ground to the east being horizontal beds of Silurian limestone, +while on the west the granite hills of West Somerset rise to a height of +1600 feet above the narrow straits. The granite here is of three +varieties. + +[alpha]. Blackish grey, fine grained, gneissose granite, composed of +quartz, white felspar, and large quantities of fine grains and flakes of +hornblende, passing into black mica. The gneissose beds of this granite +dip 13 deg. S.E. + +[beta]. A red granite, graphic texture, composed of quartz and red +felspar, coarse grained. + +[gamma]. Syenite, composed of honey-yellow felspar and hornblende, in +very large crystals, the felspar passing into red and pink, and the +whole rock mass penetrated by veins of the same material, but fine +grained. This variety of igneous rock was met with principally at +Pemmican Rock, western inlet of Bellot Strait. Large quantities of +hornblende are also met with at Levesque Harbor, Bellot Strait, composed +of facetted crystals agglutinated together into large masses, forming a +crystalline hornblendic gneiss. + +10. _Pond's Bay_, _Baffin's Bay_, lat. 72 deg. 40' N.--In this locality a +quartziferous black mica schist underlies the Silurian limestone, and is +interstratified with gneiss and garnetiferous quartz rock, all in beds, +inclined 38 deg. W.S.W. (true). + +11. _Montreal Island_, mouth of the Fish River, lat. 67 deg. 45' N.--The +granitoid rocks, which everywhere, in the Arctic Archipelago, underlie +the Silurian limestone, appear at Montreal Island as a gneiss, composed +of bands of felspar (pink) and quartz (1/4 inch thick), separated by +thin plates composed altogether of black mica; the whole rock exhibiting +the phenomena of foliation in a marked degree. + +The east side of King William's Island, though composed of Silurian +limestone like the rest of the island, is strewed with boulders of black +and red micaceous gneiss, like that of Montreal Island, and black +metamorphic clay slate, in which the crystals of mica (qu. Ottrelite) +are just commencing to be developed. It is probable that the granitoid +rocks appear at the surface somewhat to the eastward of this locality. + +12. _Prince of Wales' Island_, west of Peel Sound.--The granitoid rocks +extend across Peel Sound into Prince of Wales' Island, in the form of a +dark syenite composed of quartz, greenish white felspar passing into +yellow, and hornblende. This rock is massive and eruptive at Cape +M'Clure, lat. 72 deg. 52' N., and occasionally gneissose, as at lat. 72 deg. 13' +N. Between these two points, at lat. 72 deg. 37' N., a limestone bluff +occurs containing the characteristic Silurian fossils, and is succeeded +at 72 deg. 40' by a ferruginous limestone, bright red, and a few beds of +fine red sandstone, like those observed by M'Clintock at Transition +Valley, North Somerset. The entire western portion of Prince of Wales' +Land is composed of Silurian limestone, which in the extreme west, at +Cape Acworth, becomes chalky in character and non-fossiliferous, +resembling the peculiar Silurian limestone found on the west side of +Boothia Felix. + + +II.--_The Silurian Rocks._ + +The Silurian rocks of the Arctic Archipelago rest everywhere directly on +the granitoid rocks, with a remarkable red sandstone, passing into +coarse grit, for their base. This sandstone is succeeded by ferruginous +limestone, containing rounded particles of quartz, which rapidly pass +into a fine greyish green earthy limestone, abounding in fossils, and +occasionally into a chalky limestone, of a cream color, for the most +part devoid of fossils. The average dip of the Silurian limestone varies +from 0 deg. to 5 deg. N.N.W., and it forms occasionally high cliffs, and +occasionally low flat plains, terraced by the action of the ice as the +ground rose from beneath the sea. The general appearance of the rocks is +similar to the Dudley limestone, and would strike even an observer who +was not a geologist. This resemblance to the Upper Silurian beds extends +to the structure of the rocks on the large scale. Alternations of hard +limestone and soft shale, so characteristic of the Upper Silurian beds +of England and America, arranged in horizontal layers, give to the +cliffs around Port Leopold the peculiar appearance which has been +described by different Polar navigators as "buttress-like," +"castellated;" this appearance is produced by the unequal weathering of +the cliff, which causes the hard limestone to stand out in bands. +Excellent sketches of this remarkable appearance, drawn by Lieutenant +Beechey, are figured at page 35 of Parry's First Voyage, 'Hecla' and +'Griper,' 1819-20. The Western side of King William's Island (now, +alas! invested with so sad an interest) is a good example of the low +terraced form which the limestone rocks assume at times. + +The following lists contain the names of the principal fossils brought +home by Captain M'Clintock:-- + + +No. I. GARNIER BAY (Lat. 74 deg. N.; Long. 92 deg. W.) + + 1. _Cyathophyllum helianthoides_, several specimens. + 2. _Heliolites porosa_. Garnier Bay. Another specimen from near + Cape Bunny. + 3. Specimens of carnelian, gneiss, chalcedony, etc., etc., from the + shingle near Cape Bunny. + 4. _Cromus Arcticus_, several specimens. + 5. _Atrypa phoca_ (Salter). + 6. _Atrypa reticularis._ + 7. Brachiopoda on slab (various). + 8. Cyathophyllum. + 9. _Columnaria Sutherlandi_ (Salter). Several specimens. + + +No. II. PORT LEOPOLD (Lat. 73 deg. 50' N.; Long. 90 deg. 15' W.). + + 1. Limestone containing numerous fossils of the Upper Silurian type: + _Calamopora Gothlandica_, Goldf. _Rhynchonella cuneata_? Dalm. + _Cyathophyllum_, sp. + 2. Dark earthy limestone, containing multitudes of the _Loxonema + M'Clintocki_, as casts--1100 feet above sea-level on North-east + Cape. + 3. Fine specimens of selenite from shaly beds in cliff. + 4. Fibrous gypsum from same. + + +No. III. GRIFFITH'S ISLAND (Lat. 74 deg. 35' N.; Long. 95 deg. 30' W.). + + 1. Beautiful specimens of the _Cromus Arcticus_. Pl. VI. Fig. 5, + Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. + 2. _Orthoceras Griffithi._ Pl. V. Fig. 1, Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. + 3. An Orthoceras with lateral siphuncle, and simple circular outline + of septa. + 4. _Loxonema Rossi._ Pl. V. Figs. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, Journ. R. D. S., + Vol. I. + 5. Numerous specimens of crinoidal limestone. + 6. _Strophomena Donnetti_ (Salter). Sutherland's Voyage; Pl. V. + Figs. 11, 12. + 7. _Atrypa phoca_ (Salter). Pl. V. Figs. 3, 4, 7, Journ. R. D. S., + Vol. I.; and a ribbed Atrypa, not identified with European + species, and undescribed. + 8. An undescribed bryozoan Zoophyte. Pl. VII. Fig. 6, Journ. + R. D. S.,Vol. I. + 9. _Calophyllum Phragmoceras_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. VI. Fig. 4. + 10. _Syringopora geniculata._ + 11. An undescribed species of _Macrocheilus_. + + +No. IV. BEECHEY ISLAND. (Lat. 74 deg. 40' N.; Long. 92 deg. W.). + + 1. Orthoceras (species). + 2. Great multitudes of _Atrypa phoca_, forming, in fact, a + dark-colored earthly Atrypa limestone. + 3. With these were associated many species of Loxonema, sometimes so + abundant as to form a pale pink and whitish Loxonema limestone. + 4. A species of ribbed Atrypa. + 5. Crinoidal limestone in abundance. + 6. _Syringopora reticulata._ + 7. _Calophyllum phragmoceras_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. VI. Fig. 4. + 8. _Cyathophyllum caespitosum._ + 9. _Cyathophyllum articulatum_ (Edwardes and Haime). + 10. _Calamopora Gothlandica._ + 11. _Calamopora alveolaris._ + 12. _Favistella Franklini_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. VI. Fig. 3. + 13. _Clisiophyllum Salteri._ Sutherland; Pl. VI. Fig. 7. + 14. _Cyathophyllum_ (species). + 15. _Loxonema Salteri_, described by Mr. Slater in Sutherland's + 'Voyage to Wellington Channel;' Pl. V. Fig. 19. + + This is a fine slab of limestone, almost together composed of the + remains of _Loxonema Salteri_ and _Atrypa phoca_. It appears to have + been quietly deposited at the bottom of a deep submarine depression, + swarming with Pyramidellidae and deep-water Brachiopoda. The physical + conditions indicated by the fossils are also rendered probable by + the rock itself, which consists of fine grey limestone, + subcrystalline, and intimately blended with the finest and most + delicate description of mud, such as could only be found where the + water was deep, and all currents far removed. + + +No. V. CORNWALLIS ISLAND, Assistance Bay (Lat 74 deg. 40' N.; Long. 94 deg. W.). + + 1. _Orthoceras Ommaneyi_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. V. Figs. 16, 17. + 2. _Pentamerus conchidium_ (Dalman). Sutherland; Pl. V. Figs. 9, 10. + 3. Pentamerus limestone. + 4. _Cromus Arcticus._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. VI. + 5. _Cardiola Salteri._ Pl. VII. Fig. 5. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. + 6. _Syringopora geniculata._ + + +No. VI. CAPE YORK, Lancaster Sound (Lat. 73 deg. 50' N.; Long. 87 deg. W.). + + A specimen of the same fossil coral which I have named, doubtfully, + from Beechey Island, as Favosites or _Calamopora Gothlandica_; it is + not impossible, however, that it is not a Calamopora at all, but a + species of Chaetetes. + + +No. VII. POSSESSION BAY, South entrance into Lancaster Sound (Lat. 73 deg. +30' N.; Long. 77 deg. 20' W.). + + Specimens of brown earthy limestone, with a fetid smell when struck + with a hammer; resembles closely the limestone of Cape York, + Lancaster Sound. + + +No. VIII. DEPOT BAY, Bellot Strait (Lat. 72 deg. N.; Long. 94 deg. W.). + + 1. _Maclurea_ sp. + 2. _Cyathophyllum helianthoides_ (Goldfuss). + + The limestone at this locality is white and saccharoid, with large + rhombohedral crystals of calcspar. + + +[31]No. IX. CAPE FARRAND, East side of Boothia (Lat. 71 deg. 38'; Long. 93 deg. +35' W.). + + 1. _Atrypa phoca_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. V. Fig. 3. + 2. _Loxonema Rossi._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. V. + 3. _Atrypa_ (ribbed sp.) + 4. _Calamopora Gothlandica_ (Goldfuss). + 5. _Cyrtoceras_ sp. + + The rock at this locality is a grey mud limestone. + + +No. X. WEST SHORE OF BOOTHIA (Lat. 70 deg. to 71 deg. N.), containing the +Magnetic Pole. + + 1. _Atrypa phoca_ (Salter). + 2. _Loxonema Rossi._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. V. + 3. _Favistella Franklini_ (Salter). Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. XI. + 4. _Loxonema Salteri._ Sutherland; Pl. V. Fig. 18. + + The cream-colored chalky limestone found on the west side of Prince + of Wales' Island here occurs, and is generally destitute of fossils, + like that of Prince of Wales' Land. + + +[32]No. XI. FURY POINT (Lat. 72 deg. 50' N.; Long. 92 deg. W.). + + 1. _Cromus Arcticus._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. VI. + 2. _Maclurea_ sp. + 3. _Mya rotundata_ (?). + 4. _Stromatopora concentrica._ + 5. _Cyathophyllum helianthoides_ (Goldfuss). + 6. _Petraia bina._ + 7. _Calamopora Gothlandica_ (Goldfuss). + 8. _Favosites megastoma (?)._ + 9. _Cyathophyllum caespitosum._ + 10. _Favistella Franklini_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. VI. Fig. 3. + 11. _Strephodes Austini_ (Salter). Sutherland; Pl. VI. Fig. 6. + 12. _Atrypa phoca_ (Salter). + + The limestone here is of the same grey earthy aspect as at Beechey + Island and Port Leopold. + + +[33]No. XII. PRINCE OF WALES' LAND (Lat. 72 deg. 38' N.; Long. 97 deg. 15' W.). + + 1. _Cyathophyllum_ sp. + 2. _Calamopora Gothlandica_ (Goldfuss). + 3. _Stromatopora concentrica._ + + These fossils occur in grey earthy limestone, near its junction with + the red arenaceous limestone already described. + + +No. XIII. WEST COAST OF KING WILLIAM'S ISLAND. + + 1. _Loxonema Rossi._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol I. Pl. V. + 2. _Catenipora escharoides._ + 3. _Orthoceras_ sp. + 4. _Maclurea_ sp. + 5. _Atrypa_ sp. + 6. _Syringopora geniculata._ + 7. _Clisiophyllum_ sp. + 8. _Orthis elegantula._ + + +III.--_The Carboniferous Rocks._ + +The Upper Silurian limestones already described are succeeded by a most +remarkable series of close-grained white sandstones, containing numerous +beds of highly bituminous coal, and but few marine fossils. In fact, the +only fossil shell found in these beds, so far as I know, in any part of +the Arctic Archipelago, is a species of ribbed _Atrypa_, which I believe +to be identical with the _Atrypa fallax_ of the carboniferous slate of +Ireland. These sandstone beds are succeeded by a series of blue +limestone beds, containing an abundance of the marine shells commonly +found in all parts of the world where the carboniferous deposits are at +all developed. The line of junction of these deposits with the Silurians +on which they rest is N.E. to E.N.E. (true). Like the former they occur +in low flat beds, sometimes rising into cliffs, but never reaching the +elevation attained by the Silurian rocks in Lancaster Sound. + +The following lists contain the principal fossils and specimens +presented to the Royal Dublin Society by Captain M'Clintock and by +Captain Sir Robert M'Clure. + + Coal, sandstone, clay ironstone, and brown hematite, were found + along a line stretching E.N.E. from Baring Island, through the south + of Melville Island, Byam Martin's Island, and the whole of Bathurst + Island. Carboniferous limestone, with characteristic fossils, was + found along the north coast of Bathurst Island, and at Hillock + Point, Melville Island. + +I have marked on the map the coal-beds of the Parry Islands, which +appear to be prolonged into Baring Island, as observed by Captain +M'Clure. The discovery of coal in these islands is due to Parry, but the +evidence of the extent and quantity in which it may be found was +obtained during the expeditions of Austin and Belcher. In addition to +the localities surveyed by himself, Captain M'Clintock has given me +specimens of the coal found at other places by other explorers; and it +is from a comparison of all these specimens that I have ventured to lay +down the outcrop of the coal-beds, which agrees remarkably well with the +boundary of the formations laid down from totally different data. + + +No. I. HILLOCK POINT, Melville Island (Lat 76 deg. N.; Long. 111 deg. 45' W.). + + _Productus sulcatus._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. VII. Figs. 1, 2, + 3, 4, 7. + _Spirifer Arcticus._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. IX. + + +No. II. BATHURST ISLAND, North Coast, Cape Lady Franklin (?) (Lat. 76 deg. +40' N.; Long. 98 deg. 45' W.). + + _Spirifer Arcticus._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. IX. Fig. 1. + _Lithostrotion basaltiforme._ + + +[34]No. III. BALLAST BEACH, Baring Island (Lat. 74 deg. 30' N.; Long. 121 deg. +W.). + + 1. Wood fossilized by brown hematite; structure quite distinct. + 2. Cone of the spruce fir, fossilized by brown hematite. + + +No. IV. PRINCESS ROYAL ISLANDS, Prince of Wales' Strait, Baring Island +(Lat. 72 deg. 45' N.; Long. 117 deg. 30' W.). + + 1. Nodules of clay ironstone, converted partially into brown hematite. + 2. Native copper in large masses, procured from the Esquimaux in + Prince of Wales' Strait. + 3. Brown hematite, pisolitic. + 4. Greyish yellow sandstone, same as Cape Hamilton and Byam Martin's + Island. + 5. _Terebratula aspera_ (Schlotheim). Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. + IX. Fig. 4. + +This interesting brachiopod was found in the limestone by Captain +M'Clure, at the Princess Royal Islands, in the Prince of Wales' Strait, +between Baring Island and Prince Albert Land. I have no hesitation in +pronouncing it to be identical with Schlotheim's fossil, which is found +in the greatest abundance at Gerolstein, in the Eifel. Banks Land, or +Baring Island, is composed of sandstone, similar to that at Byam +Martin's Island, and at the Bay of Mercy. This sandstone contains beds +of coal, apparently the continuation of the well-known coal-beds of +Melville Island. It is a remarkable fact, that these carboniferous +sandstones _underlie_ beds of undoubtedly the carboniferous limestone +type, and that at Byam Martin's Island, where fossils are found in this +sandstone, they are allied to _Atrypa fallax_ and other forms +characteristic of the lower sandstones of the carboniferous epoch. It +is, therefore, highly probable that the coal-beds of Melville Island are +very low down in the series, and do not correspond in geological +position with the coal-beds of Europe, which rest on the summit of the +carboniferous beds. It is interesting to find at Princess Royal Island, +where, from the general strike of the beds, we should expect to find the +Silurian limestone underlying the coal-bearing sandstones, that this +limestone does occur, and contains a fossil, _T. aspera_, eminently +characteristic of the Eifelian beds of Germany, which form, in that +country, the Upper Silurian Strata. + + +No. V. CAPE HAMILTON, Baring Island (Lat. 74 deg. 15' N.; Long. 117 deg. 30' +W.). + + 1. Greyish-yellow sandstone, like that found _in situ_ in Byam + Martin's Island. + 2. _Coal._--The coal found in the Arctic regions, excepting that + brought from Disco Island, West Greenland, which is of tertiary + origin, presents everywhere the same characters, which are + somewhat remarkable. It is of a brownish color and ligneous + texture, in fine layers of brown coal and jet-black glossy coal + interstratified in delicate bands not thicker than paper. It + has a woody ring under the hammer, recalling the peculiar clink + of some of the valuable gas coals of Scotland. It burns with a + dense smoke and brilliant flame, and would make an excellent + gas coal; and, in fact, it resembles in many respects some + varieties of the coal which has acquired such celebrity in the + Scotch and Prussian law-courts, under the title of the Torbane + Hill mineral. + + +No. VI. CAPE DUNDAS, Melville Island (Lat. 74 deg. 30' N.; Long. 113 deg. 45' +W.). + + Fine specimens of coal. + + +No. VII. CAPE SIR JAMES ROSS, Melville Island (Lat. 74 deg. 45' N.; Long. +114 deg. 30' W.). + + Sandstone passing into blue quartzite. + + +No. VIII. CAPE PROVIDENCE, Melville Island (Lat. 74 deg. 20' N.; Long. 112 deg. +30' W.). + + A specimen of crinoidal limestone, apparently similar to that + occurring in Griffith's Island, from which, however, it could + not have been brought by the present drift of the floating ice, + as the set of the currents is constant from the west. If + brought to its present position by ice, it must have been under + circumstances differing considerably from those now prevailing + in Barrow's Strait. + Yellowish-grey sandstone. + Clay ironstone passing into pisolitic hematite. + + +No. IX. WINTER HARBOR, Melville Island (Lat. 74 deg. 35' N.; Long. 110 deg. 45' +W.). + + Fine yellow and grey sandstone. + + +No. X. BRIDPORT INLET, Melville Island (Lat. 75 deg. N.;, Long. 109 deg. W.). + + Coal, with impressions of Sphenopteris. + Ferruginous spotted white sandstone. + Clay ironstone, passing into brown hematite. + + +No. XI. SKENE BAY, Melville Island (Lat. 75 deg. N.; Long. 108 deg. W.). + + Bituminous coal, with finely divided laminae, associated with brown + crystalline limestone, with cherty beds, and grey-yellowish + sandstone, passing into brownish-red sandstone. + + +No. XII. HOOPER ISLAND, Liddon's Gulf, Melville Island (Lat. 75 deg. 5' N.; +Long. 112 deg. W.). + + Nodules of clay ironstone, very pure and heavy, associated with + ferruginous fine sandstone and coal of the usual description. + +The hill-tops and sides along the south shore of Liddon's Gulf, and as +far as Cape Dundas, are generally bare, composed of frozen mud, arising +from the disintegration of shale, the annual dissolving snows washing +them down and giving them a rounded form. The southern slopes generally +support vegetation. Fragments of coal are very frequently met with, and +at the mouth of a ravine on the south shore of Liddon's Gulf there is +abundance, of very good quality; it contains a considerable quantity of +pyrites or bisulphuret of iron. + + +No. XIII. BYAM MARTIN'S ISLAND (Lat. 75 deg. 10' N.; Long. 104 deg. 15' W.). + + Yellowish-grey sandstone, _in situ_, containing a ribbed _Atrypa_, + allied to the _A. primipilaris_ of V. Buch, and the _A. fallax_ + of the carboniferous rocks of Ireland. + Reddish limestone, with broken fragments of shells, of the same + description of brachiopod as the last. + Coal of the usual description. + Fine-grained red sandstone, passing into red slate. + Scoriaceous hornblendic trap (boulders). + +The sandstone of Byam Martin's Island is of two kinds--one red, finely +stratified, passing into purple slate, and very like the red sandstone +of Cape Bunny, North Somerset, and some varieties of the red sandstone +and slate found between Wolstenholme Sound and Whale Sound, West +Greenland, lat. 77 deg. N. The other sandstone of Byam Martin's Island is +fine, pale-greenish, or rather greyish-yellow, and not distinguishable +in hand specimens from the sandstone of Cape Hamilton, Baring Island. It +contains numerous shells and casts of a terebratuliform brachiopod, +closely allied to the _Terebratula primipilaris_ of Von Buch, found +abundantly at Gerolstein in the Eifel. On the whole, I incline to the +opinion that the sandstones, limestone, and coal of Byam Martin's +Island, are the corresponding rocks of Melville Island, Baring Island, +and Bathurst Island, are low down in the Carboniferous System, and that +there is in these northern coal-fields no subdivision into red +sandstone, limestone, and coal-measures, such as prevails in the west of +Europe. If the different points where coal was found be laid down on a +map, we have in order, proceeding from the south-west--Cape Hamilton, +Baring Island; Cape Dundas, Melville Island, south; Bridport Inlet and +Skene Bay, Melville Island; Schomberg Point, Graham Moore Bay, Bathurst +Island; a line joining all these points is the outcrop of the coal-beds +of the south of Melville Island, and runs E.N.E. At all the localities +above mentioned, and, indeed, in every place where coal was found, it +was accompanied by the greyish-yellow and yellow sandstone already +described, and by nodules of clay ironstone, passing into brown +hematite, sometimes nodular and sometimes pisolitic in structure. + + +No. XIV. GRAHAM MOORE'S BAY, Bathurst Island (Lat. 75 deg. 30' N.; Long. +102 deg. W.). + + Coal of the usual quality. + +At Cape Lady Franklin, and at many other localities along the north +shore of Bathurst Island, carboniferous fossils in limestone, clay +ironstone balls passing into brown hematite, cherty limestone, and +earthy fossiliferous limestone, with the same species of _Atrypa_ as at +Byam Martin's Island, were found in abundance by Sherard Osborn, Esq., +Commander of H.M.S. 'Pioneer,' in whose journal the following note +respecting them may be found:-- + +"The above collection was delivered over to Captain Sir Edward Belcher, +C.B., by Commander Richards, at 2 P.M., on 7th Nov. 1853."[35] + +It is to be hoped that they may soon be made available for the +elucidation of the geology of this most interesting portion of the +Arctic discoveries. + + +No. XV. BATHURST ISLAND, Bedford Bay (Lat. 75 deg. N.; Long. 95 deg. 50' W.). + + In this locality abundance of vesicular scoriaceous trap rocks were + found by Captain M'Clintock; they appear to me to be the + representatives of the volcanic rocks found everywhere at the + commencement of the carboniferous period. + + +No. XVI. CORNWALLIS ISLAND, M'Dougall Bay. + + 1. _Syringopora geniculata._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. XI. Fig. 2. + 2. _Cardiola Salteri._ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. VII. Fig. 5. + +The Syringopore found at Cornwallis Island appears to be identical with +the variety of the Irish carboniferous _S. geniculata_, in which the +corallites are at a distance from each other somewhat exceeding their +diameters, and in which the connecting tubes are about two diameters +apart. + +A question of very considerable geological interest is raised by the +occurrence together of corals, in the same locality, of silurian and +carboniferous forms. + +I entertain no doubt of their being _in situ_, and occurring in the same +beds, for the following reasons:-- + +1st. The Syringopores of Griffith's Island were found at an elevation of +400 feet above the sea, and, therefore, could not be brought by drifting +ice. + +2nd. The specimens were apparently of the same texture and composition +as the native rock, whenever the latter was visible from under the snow. + +3rd. I do not believe in the lapse of a long interval of time between +the silurian and carboniferous deposits,--in fact, in a Devonian period. + +4th. The same blending of corals has been found in Ireland, the Bas +Boulonnais, and in Devonshire, where silurian and carboniferous forms +are of common occurrence in the same localities. + +5th. In the carboniferous beds proper of Melville Island and Bathurst +Island, there were not found, so far as I am aware, any corals of the +same character as those at Griffith's Island, Cornwallis Island, and +Beechey Island, which could give a supply to be drifted to the latter +localities in a Pleistocene sea. It is plain, from the height at which +the corals were found that, if they were brought to their present +localities by ice, it must have been during the period known as +Post-tertiary, as the present conditions of drift-ice in Barrow's +Straits do not permit us to suppose them to have been placed where we +now find them by existing causes. + +The occurrence of coal-beds in such high latitudes has been speculated +on by many geologists--in my opinion, not very satisfactorily; as it is +very difficult to conceive how, even if the question of temperature was +settled, plants even of the fern and lycopodium type could exist during +the darkness of the long winter's night at Melville Island. This +difficulty is increased by the facts made known to us by the discovery +of ammonites and lias fossils in Prince Patrick's Island by Captain +M'Clintock. + + +IV.--_The Lias Rocks._ + +Many years ago it was asserted by Lieutenant Anjou, of the Russian navy, +that ammonites had been found by him in the cliffs on the south shore of +the island of New Siberia, off the north coast of Asia, in lat. 74 deg. N. +This statement, which was published in Admiral Von Wrangel's journal, +attracted but little attention, until it was confirmed, as far as +probability of such fossils occurring at so high a latitude is +concerned, by the remarkable discovery of similar fossils by Captain +M'Clintock, in lat. 76 deg. 20' N., at Point Wilkie, in Prince Patrick's +Island. + +In a paper, published by the Royal Dublin Society, in the first volume +of their journal, p. 223, Captain M'Clintock thus describes the finding +of these fossils:-- + +"After returning to Cape de Bray, we took up the provisions that the +officer after whom it is called had left for us, and crossed the strait +to Point Wilkie; reached it on the 14th May. This traverse was the more +difficult from the great load upon our sledge, and the unfavorable state +of the ice and snow. The freshly fallen snow was soft and deep, and +beneath it the older snow lay in furrows across our route, hardened and +polished by the winter gales and drifts, so that it resembled marble. + +"On landing I found the beach low, composed of mud, with the foot-prints +of animals frozen in it. A few hundred yards from the beach there are +steep hills, about 150 feet in height, and upon the sides of these, in +reddish-colored limestone, casts of fossil shells abound. Inland of +these, the ordinary pale carboniferous sandstone and cherty limestone +re-appeared. The fossils are all small, and of only a few varieties, +some being ammonites, but the greater part bivalves. They differed from +any I had met with before, and the rock was almost brick-red; I picked +up what appeared to be fossil bone (_Ichthyosaurus?_), only part of it +appearing out of the fragment of the rock. + +"Point Wilkie appears to be an isolated patch of liassic age, resting +upon carboniferous sandstones and limestones, with bands of chert, of +the same age as the limestones and sandstones of Melville Island. The +eastern shores of Intrepid Inlet is composed of this formation; while +the western, rising into hills and terraces, is of the underlying +carboniferous epoch. At the western side of Intrepid Inlet I found upon +the ice a considerable quantity of white asbestos, but did not ascertain +from whence it had been brought." + +The fossils thus found _in situ_, I have no doubt, belong to the liassic +period; and as their geological interest is indubitable, I offer no +apology for inserting here the following description, written by me on +Captain M'Clintock's return to Dublin from his third Arctic expedition. + + +No. I. WILKIE POINT, Prince Patrick's Land (Lat. 76 deg. 20' N.; Long. 117 deg. +20' W.). + +LIAS FOSSILS. + + (a) _Ammonites M'Clintocki_ Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. IX. Figs. + 2, 3, 4. + _Monotis septentrionalis_, Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. IX. Figs. 6, 7. + _Pleurotomaria_, sp. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. IX. Fig. 8. + Cast of some Univalve. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pl. IX. Fig. 7. + _Nucula_, sp. + + (a) Ammonites M'Clintocki (Haughton).--_Testa compressa, carinata, + anfractibus latis, lateribus, complanatis, transversim + undato-costatis; costis simplicibus, juxta marginem interiorem + levigatis; dorso carinato acuto; apertura sagittata, compressa, + antice carinata; septis lateribus 4-lobatis._ + +This fine ammonite resembles several species common in the upper lias of +the Plateau de Larzac, Sevennes, in France. It approaches _A. concavus_ +of the lower Oolite, but is distinguished by having only four lobes on +the lateral margins of the septa, and by its showing no tendency to a +tricarinated keel. The following measurements give an exact idea of its +form, as compared with that of the species mentioned:-- + + ------------------+---------+-----------+---------+-----------+-------- + |Diameter,| Width of |Thickness|Overlapping| Width + |Inches. |last Spire.| of last | of last | of + | | Diam.=100 | Spire | Spire |Umbilic. + ------------------+---------+-----------+---------+-----------+-------- + _A. M'Clintocki_, | 1.83 | 51/100 | 24/100 | 20/100 | 20/100 + _A. concavus_, | 2.95 | 50/100 | 24/100 | 19/100 | 16/100 + ------------------+---------+-----------+---------+-----------+-------- + +The principal difference here observable is in the somewhat greater size +of _A. concavus_, and the larger umbilic of _A. M'Clintocki_. It +certainly resembles this well-known ammonite very closely; and it +appears to me difficult to imagine the possibility of such a fossil +living in a frozen, or even a temperate sea. + +The discovery of such fossils _in situ_, in 76 deg. north latitude, is +calculated to throw considerable doubt upon the theories of climate +which would account for all past changes of temperature by changes in +the relative position of land and water on the earth's surface. No +attempt, that I am aware of, has ever been made to calculate the number +of degrees of change possible in consequence of changes of position of +land and water; and from some incomplete calculations I have myself made +on the subject, I think it highly improbable that such causes could have +ever produced a temperature in the sea at 76 deg. north latitude which would +allow of the existence of ammonites, especially ammonites so like those +that lived at the same time in the tropical warm seas of the south of +England and France, at the close of the Liassic, and commencement of the +lower Oolitic period. + +During the course of the same Arctic expedition in which these organic +remains were found, Captain Sir Edward Belcher discovered in some loose +rubble, of which a cairn was built on Exmouth Island (lat. 77 deg. 12' N., +long. 96 deg. W.), vertebral bones of, apparently, same liassic +enaliosaurian. All doubt as to the reality of this discovery, and all +idea of accounting for the occurrence of such remains by drift, must be +abandoned, as the fossils found by M'Clintock were unquestionably _in +situ_, and it is impossible to evade the consequences that follow to +geological theory from their discovery. + +Captain Sherard Osborn, also, found broken vertebrae of an ichthyosaurus, +150 feet up Rendezvous Hill, the north-west extreme of Bathurst Island: +of these specimens, one lay among a mass of stone that had slipped from +the N.W. face of the hill; the other was by the side of a ravine or deep +watercourse on the southern face of the same elevation. I have no doubt +but that they were _in situ_. + +I am well aware that the question of light in the Arctic seas will be +disposed of by some geologists, who will remind us that the saurians, +and probably the ammonites, were endowed with a complicated optical +apparatus, rendering them capable of using their eyes, not only for the +distinct vision of objects differing greatly in distance, but also of +using them, under widely differing conditions of light and darkness; and +I readily admit the force of such observations. + +But what are we to say as to the question of temperature? It was +certainly necessary for an ammonite to have a sea free from ice, on +which to float and bask in the pale rays of the Arctic sun; and +therefore I claim a temperature for those seas, at least similar to that +which now prevails in the British Islands: and I may add that the +ammonite, from its habits, was essentially dependent on the temperature +of the air, as well as on that of the water. + +There is at present a difference of 49.5 deg. F. between the mean annual +temperature of Point Wilkie and Dublin; and if this change of +temperature be supposed to be caused by a change of the relative +positions of land and water, the temperature of Dublin, or of some place +on the same parallel of latitude, must be supposed to be raised to 99.5 deg. +F.; while the temperature of the thermal equator will exceed 124 deg.--a +temperature only a few degrees below that requisite to boil an egg! I +reject, without scruple, a theory that requires such a result, which +must be considered as a minimum; as it is probable that the ammonite +required a finer climate than that of Britain for the full enjoyment of +his existence. + +The theory of central heat, also, appears to me to be open to the same +objection, as a mode of explaining this remarkable geological fact; for +it will simply add a constant to our present climates, leaving the +differences to remain, as at present, to be accounted for by latitude +and distribution of land and water. The astronomical theory of Herschel, +also, which would account for former changes of climate by changes in +the radiating power of the sun, would only increase the temperature at +each latitude, leaving the differences as at present. + +The only speculation with which I am acquainted, which is capable of +solving this _opprobrium geologicorum_, is the hypothesis of a change in +the axis of rotation of the earth, the admission of which, as a +geological possibility, is mathematically demonstrable, and which has +recently had some singular evidence in its favor advanced by geologists. +In 1851, I brought forward, at the Geological Society of Dublin, a case +of angular fragments of granite occurring in the carboniferous limestone +of the County Dublin; and explained the phenomena by the supposition of +the transporting power of ice. In 1855, Professor Ramsay laid before the +Geological Society of London a full and detailed theory of glaciers and +ice as agents concerned in the formation of a remarkable breccia, of +Permian age, occurring in the central counties of England; and still +more recently the same agent has been employed by the geological +surveyors of India to account for the transport of materials at +geological periods long antecedent to those in which ice transport is +commonly supposed to have commenced. The motion of the earth's axis +would reconcile all the facts known, and it must be regarded as a +geological desideratum to determine its amount and direction, and to +assign the cause of such a movement. The solution of this problem I +regard as quite possible. + +It is well worthy of remark, that the arguments from the occurrence of +coal-plants and ammonites strengthen each other; the coal-plants +rendering the question of _light_, and the ammonites that of _heat_, +insuperable objections to the admission of any received geological +hypothesis to account for the finding of such remains, _in situ_, in +latitudes so high as those of Melville Island, Prince Patrick's Island, +and Exmouth Island. + + +V.--_The Superficial Deposits._ + +The surface of the ground, where exposed, throughout the Arctic +Archipelago, does not appear to be covered with thick deposits of clay +or gravel, such as are found generally in the north of Europe, and +referred by geologists to what they call "the Glacial Epoch." There are +not, however, wanting abundant evidences of the transport of drift +materials, and there is some good evidence, collected by Captain +M'Clintock, of the direction in which the drift was moved. + +Specimens of granite, which I have no hesitation in referring to the +characteristic granite of the west side of North Somerset, were found at +Leopold Harbor (North Somerset) and at Graham Moore Bay (Bathurst +Island); one of these localities is N.E. and the other N.W. of the +granite of North Somerset, from which I infer that there was no constant +prevailing direction for the drift ice that carried these boulders, but +that they were transported to the northward in various directions, +according to the varying motion of the currents that moved the ice. The +boulder of granite at Port Leopold is 100 miles N.E. of the granite +which gave origin to it; and the specimens from Graham Moore Bay are 190 +miles to the N.W. of their source. + +At Cape Rennell (North Somerset), in a direction intermediate between +the two former directions, a remarkable boulder of the same granite was +found, confirming the general direction of the transporting force from +south to north. Its position and size are thus recorded by Captain +M'Clintock:--"Near Cape Rennell we passed a very remarkable rounded +boulder of gneiss or granite; it was 6 yards in circumference, and stood +near the beach, and some 15 or 20 yards above it; one or two masses of +rounded gneiss, although very much smaller, had arrested our attention +at Port Leopold." + +It is well known that Captain Sir Robert M'Clure brought home specimens +of pine-trees found in the greatest abundance in the ravines on the west +coast of Baring Island; one of his specimens preserved in the museum of +the Royal Dublin Society measures 15 inches by 12 inches, and contains +three knots that prove it formed a portion of the stem high above its +root. The bark is not found on this specimen, which does not represent +the full thickness of the tree; I have estimated that this fragment +contains 70 rings of annual growth. + +Similar remains were found by Captain M'Clintock and Lieutenant Mecham +in Prince Patrick's Island, and in Wellington Channel by Sir Edward +Belcher. On the coast of New Siberia, Lieutenant Anjou found a clay +cliff containing stems of trees still capable of being used as fuel. The +original observers all agree in thinking that these trees grew where +they are now found; and Captain Osborne, in mentioning Sir Roderick I. +Murchison's opinion that they are drift timber, justly adds the remark, +that a sea sufficiently free from ice to allow of their being drifted +from the south would indicate also a climate sufficiently mild to allow +of their having grown upon the land where they now occur. Mr. Hopkins, +in his anniversary address as President of the Geological Society of +London, has published a remarkable geological speculation, which would +account for the facts above mentioned.[36] So far as the evidence of +drift boulders is concerned, I have shown that the direction of the +currents was from the south; a fact which falls in with the drift +theory, so far as it goes. + +We cannot, however, dissociate these trees from the facts connected with +the distribution of the remains of the Siberian Mammoth in Asia and +America. It is now known that this elephant was provided with a warm +fur, and that his food was of a kind which grows even now in Northern +Siberia; so that the drift theory, which was formerly supposed necessary +to account for the occurrence of these remains, has now been quietly +dropped, _sub silentio_, by the geologists. Many other drift theories +have, in like manner, lived their short day, and gone the way of all +false hypotheses; among others, the drift theory of the origin of coal. +Further investigation may show that the glacial epoch of Europe was one +of a very different character in Asia and America, and that, while +glaciers clothed the sides of Snowdon and Lugnaquillia, pine forests +flourished in the Parry Islands, and the Siberian elephants wandered on +the shores of a sea washed by the waves of an ocean that carried no +drifting ice. + +There is abundant evidence, however, that the Arctic Archipelago was +submerged in very recent geological periods; for we know that subfossil +shells, of species that now inhabit the waters of the neighboring seas, +are found at considerable heights throughout the whole group of islands. +M'Clure found shells of the _Cyprina Islandica_, at the summit of the +Coxcomb range, in Baring Island, at an elevation of 500 feet above the +sea-level; Captain Parry, also, has recorded the occurrence of _Venus_ +(probably _Cyprina Islandica_) on Byam Martin's Island; and in the +recent voyage of the 'Fox,' Dr. Walker, the Surgeon of the expedition, +found the following subfossil shells at Port Kennedy, at elevations of +from 100 to 500 feet:-- + + 1. _Saxicava rugosa._ + 2. _Tellina proxima._ + 3. _Astarte Arctica_ (Borealis.) + 4. _Mya Uddevallensis._ + 5. _Mya truncata._ + 6. _Cardium_ sp. + 7. _Buccinum undatum._ + 8. _Acmea testudinalis._ + 9. _Balanus Uddevallensis._ + +At the same place a portion of the palate-bone of a whale (Right Whale) +was found at an elevation of 150 feet. + +All these facts indicate the former submergence of the Arctic +Archipelago, but this submergence must have been anterior to the period +when pine forests clothed the low sandy shores of the slowly emerging +islands, the remains of which forests now occupy a position at least 100 +feet above high-water mark. + +The geological map which I am enabled to publish from the data collected +by Captains M'Clintock, M'Clure, Osborn, &c., is an enlargement of that +which was published in 1857 by the Royal Society of Dublin, to +illustrate the fine collection of Arctic fossils and minerals deposited +in the museum of that body by Captains M'Clintock and M'Clure. In +perfecting it for its present purpose I have availed myself of all the +other sources of information within my reach, among which I am bound to +mention in particular the excellent Appendix to Dr. Sutherland's 'Voyage +of the Lady Franklin and Sophia,' written by Mr. Salter, Palaeontologist +of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. + +Many of the mineral specimens from Greenland, and the fossils from Cape +Riley, Cape Farrand, Point Fury and Brentford Bay, were collected by Dr. +David Walker, surgeon and naturalist to the 'Fox' Expedition. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[30] Journal of the Royal Dublin Society, 1857. + +[31] Collected by Dr. Walker, surgeon to the 'Fox' Expedition. + +[32] Collected by Dr. Walker, surgeon to the 'Fox' Expedition. + +[33] Collected by Captain Allen Young. + +[34] These specimens are "_Drift_" but are mentioned here as they were +found on the carboniferous sandstone area. + +[35] _Vide_ Arctic Expeditions, 1854-55, p. 254. + +[36] Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond., vol. VIII. p. lxiv. + + + + +No. V. + +LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THE 'FOX' EXPEDITION. + + + L s. d. + ACLAND, Sir T. D. Bart. 100 0 0 + Adams, Dr. Walter, Edinburgh. 3 3 0 + Aldrich, Captain, R.N. 1 1 0 + Allan, Rob. M., Esq. 1 1 0 + Allen, Captain Robert 5 5 0 + Allen, Captain, R.N. 2 2 0 + Ames, Mrs. 5 0 0 + Ames, Miss 1 0 0 + Anon. 5 0 0 + Armstrong, Mrs. 1 1 0 + Armstrong, children of Mrs. 0 8 9 + Arnold, Mrs. 1 1 0 + Arrowsmith, John, Esq. 5 0 0 + Austin, Rear-Adm. Horatio T. R.N., C.B. 5 0 0 + + BABBAGE, Charles, Esq. 10 0 0 + Baikie, Dr. 1 1 0 + Baker, Mrs. 5 0 0 + Barkworth, Geo., Esq. 5 0 0 + Barras, Miss 1 1 0 + Barrett, H. J., Esq. 1 0 0 + Barrow, John, Esq. 25 0 0 + Barstow, Lieutenant, R.N. 1 0 0 + Barth, Dr. Henry 5 5 0 + Bath, W. J. C., Esq. 0 2 6 + Batty, Mrs. J. M. 1 1 0 + Beaufort, Rear-Adm. Sir Francis, K.C.B. 50 0 0 + Bell, Thos., Esq., Pres. Lin. Soc. 10 10 0 + Bennett, John S., Esq. 5 0 0 + Birch, J. W. N., Esq. 10 0 0 + Bird, Captain, R.N. 5 0 0 + Birmingham, small sums collected at + Evans' Library 3 1 0 + Booth, Mrs. 5 0 0 + Borton, Mrs., collected by 1 10 0 + Boston, collected at, by Mr. Morton 4 4 0 + Bovill, Walter, Esq. 5 0 0 + Boyer, Lieut. R.N. 0 10 0 + Boyle, the Hon. Carolina C. 1 0 0 + Brigg, collected at 1 1 0 + Brine, Captain, R.E. 1 1 0 + Brooking, J. Holdsworth, Esq. 10 0 0 + Brown, Robert, Esq., V.P.L.S. 20 0 0 + Brown, John, Esq. 5 5 0 + Brown, J. E., Esq., R.N. 0 5 0 + Bruce, the Rev. C. 1 1 0 + Burgoyne, Captain, R.N. 1 0 0 + Burton, Alfred, Esq. 1 1 0 + Byron, the Hon. Fred. 5 0 0 + + CHESNEY, Major-General 2 2 0 + Collinson, Captain, R.N., C.B. 20 0 0 + Coningham, W., Esq., M.P. 100 0 0 + Coote, C. W., Esq. 1 0 0 + Coote, Charles, Esq. 10 0 0 + Courtauld, Samuel, Esq. 25 0 0 + Courtauld, George, Esq. 15 0 0 + Coutts, Messrs. & Co. 50 0 0 + Crasp, J., Esq., Surgeon, 63rd Regt. 1 0 0 + Crauford, John, Esq. 5 0 0 + Cresswell, S. Gurney, Commander, R.N. 5 0 0 + + DALGETY, F. T., Esq. 10 10 0 + De la Roquette, M., V.P. of Geog. + Soc. of Paris, 1000 fr. 40 0 0 + Dilke, C. W., Esq. 5 0 0 + Dixon, James, Esq. 10 0 0 + Doxat, Alexis J., Esq. 10 10 0 + Doxat, Miss H., collected by 4 0 0 + "Dubious" 0 2 6 + Dufferin, Lord 25 0 0 + + EDGAR, Mrs., collected by 5 0 0 + Ellesmere, the Earl of 15 0 0 + Elphinstone, the Hon. Mount-Stewart 10 0 0 + Elton, Sir Arthur H., Bart. 5 5 0 + Emanuel, Ezekiel, Esq. 1 0 0 + + FAIRHOLME, the Hon. Mrs. 150 0 0 + Filliter, George, Esq. 10 0 0 + Fitton, Dr. 21 0 0 + Fortescue, Rev. T. F. G. 2 2 0 + + GARLING, H., Esq. 1 1 0 + Gassiot, J. P., Esq. 25 0 0 + Gimingham, W., Esq., & Mrs. 2 2 0 + Gipps, Lady 5 0 9 + Gowen, J. R., Esq. 5 0 0 + Graves, Messrs. Pall Mall 1 1 0 + Griffiths, G. H., Esq. 5 5 0 + Gruneisen, Ch. Lewis, Esq. 1 1 0 + Gruneisen, Mrs. 1 1 0 + Guillemard, the Rev. W. H. 5 0 0 + Guillemard, Miss 1 0 0 + + HALL, Jas., Esq. 5 0 0 + Hanbury, Mrs. 1 1 0 + Hardinge, Commander, R.N. 0 10 0 + Hardwicke, Philip, Esq. 5 0 0 + Harney, Julian, Esq., collected by, + at Jersey 50 0 0 + Heales, Alfred, Esq. 5 5 0 + Herring, Miss 2 2 0 + Hicks, John, Esq. 2 0 0 + Hill, Col. 63rd Regt. 1 0 0 + Hodgson, Mrs. 10 0 0 + Holland, Commander, R.N. 5 0 0 + Hollingsworth, H., Esq. 2 2 0 + Holland, Rob., Esq. 10 10 0 + Hooker, Dr. J. D. 5 5 0 + Hornby, Miss Georgina 100 0 0 + Hornby, the Rev. Edward 25 0 0 + Hornby, Mrs. Edmund 5 0 0 + Hornby, Miss Georgina, collected by 13 4 0 + Hovell, W. H., Esq. 5 5 0 + Hughes, Lieutenant, R.N. 2 0 0 + + INGLIS, Lady 10 0 0 + Irby, T. W., Esq. 1 1 0 + + JACKSON, N. Ward, Esq. 21 0 0 + Janson, J. C., Esq. 5 5 0 + Jeanes, H. W., Esq., R.N. 0 10 0 + Jersey "Times" 2 10 0 + + KELLETT, Commodore, C.B. 10 0 0 + Kendall, Mrs. 1 0 0 + Kendall, the Rev. Professor 1 0 0 + Key, Lieut., R.N. 0 5 0 + King, William, Esq. 5 0 0 + + LAIRD, Macgregor, Esq. 50 0 0 + Laird, John, Esq. 25 0 0 + L. and N. W. 1 4 0 + Lanford, J., Esq., Quartermaster 63rd + Regiment 0 10 0 + Langhorne, A., Esq. 1 1 0 + Larcom, Mrs. 1 0 0 + Leach, William, Esq. 5 5 0 + Le Feuvre, W. J., Esq. 50 0 0 + Lefroy, C. E., Esq. 2 0 0 + Leicester, the Rev. F. 1 1 0 + Lethbridge, Lieut., R.N. 0 5 0 + "Lochmaben Castle," Owners of the 5 5 0 + Lyall, D., Esq., R.N., M.D. 5 0 0 + + MACKINTOSH, Eneas, Esq. 10 0 0 + Maguire, Captain, R.N. 3 3 0 + Maitland, Capt. Sir Thos., R.N. 1 0 0 + Majendie, Ashhurst, Esq., and Mrs. 100 0 0 + Servants of the above 0 14 0 + Malby, Messrs. 5 0 0 + Malby, Messrs., Workmen in their + Establishment by a 6_d._ Subscription 4 11 6 + Mansfield, W. H. S., Esq. 0 10 0 + Mantell, Dr. A. A. 1 0 0 + Markham, Clements, Esq. 1 1 0 + Markman, Mrs. 1 0 0 + M'Crea, Captain, R.N. 0 10 0 + M'Kinlay, Miss 1 0 0 + M'Kinlay, Miss Elizabeth 1 0 0 + M'William, Dr., R.N. 1 1 0 + Merry, W. L., Esq. 1 1 0 + Morris, Rev. F. B. 1 0 0 + Morris, Sir Armine, Bart. 5 0 0 + Murchison, Sir Roderick Impey, G.C.St.S., + President of the Royal Geographical + Society 100 0 0 + Murray, John, Esq. 20 0 0 + + NARES, Fras., Esq. 2 2 0 + Newall, W. L., Esq. 100 0 0 + Nicholson, Sir Charles 5 0 0 + N. J. 2 2 0 + Norwood, collected at, by a Lady 7 15 0 + + OMMANNEY, Capt. Erasmus, R.N. 2 0 0 + Osborn, Sir George, Bart. 1 0 0 + + PAGET, A. F., Esq. 0 10 6 + Paget, C. H. M., Esq. 1 1 0 + Palsey, Gen. Sir Charles W., K.C.B. 10 0 0 + Second Subscription 10 0 0 + Third Subscription 5 0 0 + Pattinson, H. L., Esq. 50 9 0 + Pearce, Stephen, Esq. 2 2 0 + Phillimore, Captain, R.N. 2 2 0 + Pigou, Fred., Esq. 10 0 0 + Prescott, Vice-Admiral Sir Henry, K.C.B. 5 0 0 + + RAWNSLEY, the Rev. Drummond 5 0 0 + Rawnsley, Mrs., collected by 1 0 0 + Rawnsley, William Franklin, collected + by, at Uppingham School 0 10 0 + Raynsford, Mrs. 1 1 0 + Reynardson, H. B., Esq. 5 0 0 + Rogers, Lieut., R.N. 1 0 0 + Roget, Dr. P. M. 5 0 0 + Roper, Geo., Esq. 5 5 0 + Ross, Rear-Admiral Sir Jas. C. 21 0 0 + Rupert's Land, Bishop of 5 0 0 + + SABINE, Major-General 25 0 0 + Sadler, W. F., Esq. 10 10 0 + Sefton, the Countess of 10 0 0 + Shearley, W., Esq. 2 0 0 + Sheil, Sir Justin 5 0 0 + Shewell, John Tulmin, Esq. 5 5 0 + Simpson, J., Esq., R.N. 1 10 0 + Skey, Dr. 2 2 0 + Smith, Eric E., Esq. 2 0 0 + Smith, John Henry, Esq. 10 10 0 + Smith, Osborn, Esq. 2 2 0 + Smith, Archibald, Esq. 5 5 0 + Sparrow, Jas., Esq. 5 0 0 + St. Asaph, the Bishop of 10 0 0 + St. David's, the Bishop of 10 0 0 + St. Selger, A. B. 5 0 0 + Stainton, J. J., Esq. 3 3 0 + Statham, J. L., Esq. 1 1 0 + Stephenson, Robert, Esq. 20 0 0 + Stirling, Commander, R.N. 0 10 0 + Strzelecki, Count P. de 25 0 0 + Swinburne, Rear-Admiral 30 0 0 + Sykes, Col., M.P. 5 0 0 + + TAYLOR, William, Esq. 5 0 0 + Tennant, James, Esq. 2 0 0 + T. H., collected in shillings by 2 0 0 + Thackeray, W. M., Esq. 5 0 0 + Thompson, J., Esq. 1 1 0 + Tindal, Commander, R.N. 2 2 0 + Tinney, W. H., Esq., Q.C. 20 0 0 + Tite, W., Esq., M.P. 50 0 0 + Trevelyan, Sir W. C., Bart. 40 0 0 + Trevelyan, Lady 10 0 0 + Trevilian, M. C., Esq. 2 2 0 + Trollope, Commander, R.N. 2 2 0 + Tuckett, Fred., Esq. 5 0 9 + Tudor, J., Esq. 0 10 0 + Turner, Alfred, Esq. 15 0 0 + Tweedie, W. M., Esq. 5 0 0 + + VINCENT, John, Esq. 1 0 0 + + WALKER, James, Esq. 21 0 0 + Washington, Captain, R.N., Hydrographer + of the Navy 21 0 0 + Waterfield, Edward, Esq. 5 0 0 + Wayse, the Rev. J. W. 5 0 0 + Weld, Charles R., Esq. 5 0 0 + Wheatstone, Professor 5 0 0 + Willes, Hon. Mr. Justice 21 0 0 + Wilson, Robert, Esq. 1 1 6 + Wittenoom, Mess. 1 1 0 + Wodehouse, Commander 0 10 0 + Woodcock, J. Parry, Esq. 5 0 0 + Worsley, Marcus, Esq. 10 0 0 + Wright, the Rev. R. F. 2 2 0 + Wrottesley, Lord 50 0 0 + + YOUNG, Chas. F., Esq. 5 0 0 + Young, Miss 5 0 0 + Young, A. Verity, Esq. 2 2 0 + Yule, Mrs. H. 5 0 0 + + The brother and sisters of the late + John and Thomas Hartnell, of H.M.S. + 'Erebus,' buried at Beechey Island 5 0 0 + A Commander, R.N. 0 5 0 + A Commander in the Merchant Service 500 0 0 + A Friend. C. H. 0 5 0 + A Friend 1 0 0 + The daughters of a retired Commander 2 0 0 + A Sympathiser 1 0 0 + ----------- + L2981 8 9 + + +A life-boat, presented by Messrs. White of Cowes. + +A large quantity of preserved potatoes, by Messrs. King, late Edwards. + +Apparatus for lowering a boat at sea, presented by Mr. Clifford, the +inventor. + +Three travelling-tents, by Messrs. Winsor and Newton. + +A stove, by Mr. Rettie. + +20 dozen "Isle of Wight sauce," by Mr. Tucker of Newport. + +Apparatus for reefing topsails, from Mr. Cunningham, the inventor. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's In the Arctic Seas, by Francis Leopold McClintock + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE ARCTIC SEAS *** + +***** This file should be named 37669.txt or 37669.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/6/6/37669/ + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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