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The Voyage of the ^Fox^ in the Arctic Seas. 
 A NARRATIYE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DISCOVERY or THE EATE 
 
 OP 
 
 SIR JOHN FRANKLIN 
 
 AND 
 
 HIS COMPANIOlSrS. 
 
 By captain M'CLINTO CK, E.N., LL.D. 
 
 WITU MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 BOSTON: 
 TICK NOR AND FIELDS. 
 
 M DCCC LX. 
 

 author's EDITIOW. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 My dear Lady Franklin, 
 
 There is no one to whom I could with so much pro- 
 priety 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, 
 w. r. hobson, . 
 Allen W. Young, 
 David Walker, M.D., 
 George Brands, . 
 Carl Petersen, 
 Thomas Blackwell, . 
 
 Wm. Harvet, . 
 Henry Toms, 
 Alex. Thompson, 
 John Simmonds, . 
 George Edwards, 
 EoBEKT Scott, 
 
 Thomas Grinstead, . 
 George Hobdat, . 
 Egbert Hasipton, . 
 John A. Haselton, 
 George Carey, 
 Ben. Pound, . 
 Wm. Walters, . 
 Wm. Jones, • 
 James Pitcher, 
 Thomas Flobancb, . 
 Richard Shingleton, 
 Anton Christian, . 
 Samuel Emanuel, : 
 
 Captain R. N. 
 
 Lieutenant R. N. 
 
 Captain, Mercantile Marine. 
 
 Surgeon and Naturalist. 
 
 Engineer, died 6tli Nov. 1858, (Apoplexy). 
 
 Interpreter. 
 
 Ship's Steward, died 14th June, 1859, 
 
 (Scni'vy). 
 
 Chief Quartermaster. 
 
 Quartermaster. 
 (( 
 
 Boatswain's Mate. 
 Carpenter's Mate. 
 Leading Stoker, died 4th Dec. 1857, (in 
 
 consequence of a fall). 
 Sailmaker. 
 Captain of Hold. 
 A. B. 
 
 Carpenter's Crew. 
 Dog-driver. 
 
 > Stokers. 
 
 Officers' Steward. 
 ) Greenland Esquimaux, discharged in Green- 
 J land. 
 
OFFICIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE 
 SERVICES OF THE YACHT 'FOX.' 
 
 Admiralty, Londo:?, 
 Sir, 24th Oct. 1859. 
 
 I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners of the 
 Admiralty to acquaint you, that, in consideration of the im- 
 portant services performed by you in bringing home the only 
 authentic intelligence of the death of the late Sir John Frank- 
 lin, 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 ab- 
 sent 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 ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your very humble servant, 
 
 W. G. ROMAINE, 
 
 Secretary to the Admiralty. 
 Captain Francis L. M'Clintock, E.N. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 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 fol- 
 lowed by our missing explorers. The highly deserv- 
 ing 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 Frank- 
 lin, has fallen to the share of his noble-minded widow. 
 
 Lady Franklin has, indeed, well shown what a der 
 voted and true-hearted English woman can accom- 
 plish. The moment that relics of the expedition com- 
 
 vii 
 
Tui PREFACE. 
 
 manded 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 EngUshmen 
 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* to state, that he had every 
 desire to carry out the wishes of the men of science f 
 who appealed to him, and that he was precluded from 
 acceding to theu" petition, by nothing but the strongly 
 expressed opinion of official authorities, that after so 
 many failures the Government were no longer justi- 
 fied 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 
 
 * Viscount Palmcrston. 
 
 tSee 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 Geo- 
 graphical Society, I presented to the Prime Minister ; and also tho 
 speech of Lord Wrotteslcy, the President of tlio Royal Society, who, in 
 the absence of tlio lamented Earl of EUesmere, brought tlio subject 
 earnestly under the notice of the House of Lords on the 18th of July, 
 1856. 
 
PEEFACE. ix 
 
 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 Re- 
 gions, La,dy Franklin was highly gratified when she 
 obtained the willing services of Captain M'Clintock 
 to command the yacht ' Fox,' which she had pur- 
 chased ; for that officer had signally distinguished him- 
 self 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 en- 
 tertain 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 ofi" 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^° 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, 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 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,* ample 
 grounds yet remained to lead us to hope for a suc- 
 cessful 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 sec- 
 ond in command ; of Captain Allen Young, his gen- 
 erous volunteer associate ; f 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 difficul- 
 ties of the enterprise were to commence. 
 ^ Any such misgivings were happily illusory ; and 
 
 * Since his return to Ccpenhagcn, Petersen has been worthily honored 
 by bis Sovereign with the silver cross of Dannebrog. 
 
 t Captain Allen Young of the merchant marine not only threw his scr-- 
 vices into this cause, and subscribed £500 in furtherance of the expedi- 
 tion, but, abandoning lucrative appointments in command, generously 
 accepted a subordinate post. 
 
PREFACE. ad 
 
 the reader who follows JVPClintock 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 foUowed. 
 
 "Whilst the revelation obtained from the long-sought 
 records, which were discovered by Lieutenant Hobson, 
 is most satisfactory to those who speculated on the 
 probability of Franklin having, in the first instance, 
 tried to force his way northwards through Wellington 
 Channel (as we now learn he did), those who held a 
 different hypothesis, namely, that he followed his 
 instructions, which directed him to the S. W., may 
 be amply satisfied that in the following season the 
 ships did pursue this southerly course till they were 
 finally beset in N. lat. 70° 05'.* 
 
 At the same time, the public should fully under- 
 stand the motive which prompted the supporters of 
 
 * Eor a r€sum^ of all the plans of researcli and the speculations of sea- 
 men and geographers, see the interesting and most useful Tolume of Mr. 
 John Brown, entitled, 'The North- West Passage and Search after Sir 
 John Pranklin,' 1858. In an Appendix to this work we leam, 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 expedi- 
 tions, 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 fonner 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, 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 Lady Franklin in advocating the last search. Put- 
 ting 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 Esqui- 
 maux, we had every reason to expect, that if the ships 
 were discovered, the scientific documents of the voy- 
 age, including valuable magnetic observations, would 
 be recovered. 
 
 In the absence of such good fortune we may, how- 
 ever, 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 Frank- 
 lin'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.* For, those who have not closely attended 
 
 * The letter A in Baffin Bay (llg. 1) indicates tlie spot where Franklin 
 was last seen. In fig. 2, B is the winter rendczvons at Bccchey Island ; 
 C the greatest nortliing of the expedition, viz. 77° N. lat. ; Z the final 
 beset of the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ; ' tho extreme north and south points 
 of their voyage being ropr«sented by two small ships. 
 
PEEFACE. :aii 
 
 to the results of other Arctic voyages may be in- 
 formed, that rarely has an expedition in the first 
 year accomplished more by its ships, than the estab- 
 lishing of good winter quarters, from whence the real 
 researches began by sledge-work in the ensuing spring. 
 Franklin, however, not only reached Beechey Island, 
 but ascended "Wellington Channel, then an unknown 
 sea, to 77° N. lat., a more northern latitude in this 
 meridian than that attained long afterw'^ards 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 Corn- 
 wallis and Bathurst Islands, though made in the 
 very summer he left England, has remained even 
 to this day unknown to other navigators ! 
 
 Franklin then, in obedience to his orders, steered 
 to the south-west. Passing, as M'Clintock believes, 
 down Peel's Strait in 1846, and reaching as far as 
 lat. 70° 05' N., and long. 98° 23' W., where the ships 
 were beset, it is clear that he, who, with others, had 
 previously ascertained the existence of a channel 
 along the north coast of America, with which the 
 sea wherein he was interred had a direct commu- 
 nication, was the first real discoverer of the North- 
 West Passage. This great fact must therefore be 
 inscribed upon the monument of Franklin. 
 2 
 
xiT PREFACE. 
 
 The adventurous M'Clure, who has been worthily 
 honored for working out another North- Western pas- 
 sage, which we now know to have been of subsequent 
 date,* as well as Collinson, who, taking the ' Enter- 
 prise' 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 affirm- 
 ing, that " Franklin and his followers secured the honor 
 for which they died — that of being the first discover- 
 ers of the North- West Passage." f 
 
 Again, when we turn from the discoveries of Frank- 
 lin to those of M'Clintock, as mapped in red colors on 
 the genera} map, on which is represented the amount 
 of outline laid down by all other Arctic explorers from 
 
 *Iii 1850. 
 
 t See a most heart-stirring skctcli of the last voyage of Sir Jolin Frank- 
 lin, by Captain Slierard Osborn, in the periodical Once a Week, of the 22d 
 and 29tli October and 5th November last. Possessing a tliorongii ac- 
 quaintance ■with tlie Arctic regions, the distinguished seaman lias sliown 
 more than liis ordinary power of description, in placing before tlio public 
 his conception of what may liavc been tlie' chief occurrences in tlie voyage 
 of the ' Erebus ' and ' Ten'or,' 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 pref- 
 aced by a spirited and graceful outline of all previous geographical dis- 
 coveries, from the day when they were originated by the father of nil 
 modern Arctic enterprise. Sir John Barrow, to wliom, and to many other 
 eminent persons, from Sir Edward Parry downwards, I have in varioua 
 Geographical Addresses offered the tribute of my admiration. 
 
PKEFACE. xr 
 
 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 Kenedy 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.* : 
 
 * In his volume before cited, p. xii., Mr. John Brown gave strong rea- 
 sons (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, how- 
 
xvi PREFACE. 
 
 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 addi- 
 tional Appendix,* 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 him- 
 self, along with Richardson, Back, Beechey, Dease, 
 Simpson, and R.ae, 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 sur- 
 vey and the discoveries of Parry, who had already, 
 
 ever, 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 ho 
 must have sailed down Peel Sound. 
 * Mach of this Appendix will bo prepared by Dr. David Walker. 
 
PREFACE. xvii 
 
 to his great renown, opened the first half of a more 
 northern course from east to west, when he was 
 areested 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 Kenedy, the commander of the ' Prince Al- 
 bert,' 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 em- 
 ployer, there can be no doubt, that much more 'satis- 
 factory results would have been obtained than those 
 which, after a lapse of seven years, have now been 
 realized by the undaunted perseverance of Lady Frank- 
 lin, 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 — con- 
 duct 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 Eoyal Geographi- 
 cal Society in 1845, when my cherished friend. Sir 
 2* B 
 
xviii PREFACE. 
 
 John Franklin, went forth for the third time to seek 
 a North- West passage, it became my boundcn 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 ex- 
 peditions, 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 de- 
 light, than when Captain CoUinson, whose labors to 
 support and carry out this last search have been sig- 
 nally serviceable, forwarded to me a telegram to be 
 communicated to the British Association at Aberdeen 
 announcing the success of M'Clintock. That docu- 
 ment 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 asso- 
 ciates (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* took the deepest interest 
 
 * At the Aberdeen mcctinj,' the Prince Consort thus spoke: — "The 
 Aberdeen whaler braves the icy regions of the Pohar sea to seek and to 
 battle with tlie great monster of the deep ; ho has materially assisted ia 
 opening these icebound regions to t!ie rcscarciies of science ; lie fearlessly 
 aided in the scarcli after Sir Jolm Franklin and his gallant companions 
 whom their country sent forth on tliis 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 acknowl- 
 edgments of a grateful nation." 
 
PREFACE. xix 
 
 in this intelligence — such as, indeed, they have always 
 evinced whenever the search for the missing navigators 
 has been brought under their consideration. The im- 
 mediate 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 re- 
 corded by the native Esquimaux, who saw these no- 
 ble 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 as- 
 sociates in the belief, that none of the missing navi- 
 gators 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 
 
XX PREFACE. 
 
 self-sacrifice of Franklin, Crozier, Fitzjames, and their 
 associates, the searches after them which are now ter- 
 minated, 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 test- 
 ing, 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. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Cause of delaj 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 Green- 
 land — Frederickshaah, in Davis' Straits, .... Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Fiskernaes and Esquimaux — The * Fox ' reaches Disco — Disco Fioi'd 
 
 — Summer scenery — Waigat Strait — Coaling from the mine — Pur- 
 chasing 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 win- 
 ter 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 sortiC; . . 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Burial in tlie pack — Musk oxen in lat. 80° north — Thrift of the Arctic 
 fox — The aurora affects the electrometer — An Arctic Christmas — 
 Sufferings of an Arctic jiarty — 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 
 
xxii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A holi(l:iy in Greenland — A lady blue with cold — The loves of Grccn- 
 landers — Close shaving — Meet the whalers — Information of whal- 
 ers — Disco — Danish hospitality — Sail from Disco — Kindness of 
 the whalers — Danish establishments in Greenland, . ■ 100 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ' Fox ' nearly wrecked — Afloat, and push ahead — Arctic Iiairbrcadth 
 escapes — Nearly cau^'ht in the pack — Shooting little auks — Tho 
 Arctic Ili-^hlandcrs — Cape York — Crimson snow — Stru;:gling to 
 the westward — Reach the AVest-land — Ofl" the entrance of Lancaster 
 Sound, 116 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Off Cape "Warrendcr — Sight the wlialers again — Enter Pond's Bay — 
 Communicate with Esquimaux — Ascend Pond's Inlet — Esqnimaiix 
 information — Arctic summer abode — An Arctic village — No intel- 
 ligence of Franklin's ships — Arctic trading — Geographical infor- 
 mation of natives — Information of Rae's visit — Imj)rovidence of 
 Esquimaux — Travels of Esquimaux, 132 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Leave Pond's Bay — A gale in Lancaster Sound — The Becchey Island 
 Depot — An Arctic monnment — Reflections at Becchey Island — Pro- 
 ceed up Barrow's Strait — Peel Sound — Port Leopold — Prince Regent's 
 Inlet — Bellot Strait — Flood-tide from tlie 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 — Strug- 
 gles in Bellot Strait — Falcons, good Arctic Aire — The resources of 
 Bootliia Felix — Future sledge travelling — Heavy gales — llobson's 
 party start — Winter quarters — BcUot's Strait — Advanced depot es- 
 tablished — Observatories — Intense cold — Autumn travellers — Nar- 
 row escape, 174 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Death of our engineer — Scarcity of game — The cold unusally trying — 
 JoUj', under adverse circumstances — Petersen's information — ijeiurn 
 of the sun of 1859 — Early spring sledge parties — Unusual severity of 
 the winter — Severe harilships of early sledging — Tiie western shores 
 of Bootliia — Meet the EscjuinKuix — Intelligence of Franklin's shijis — 
 Return to the ' Fox ' — Allen Young returns, .... 192 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Dr. "Walker's sledge journey — Snow-blindness attacks Young's party — 
 Departure of all slcdgc-jiartics — Equipment of sicdge-parties — Meet 
 the same party of natives — Intelligence of the second ship — My de- 
 pot robbed — Part company from Hobson — Matty Island — Deserted 
 snow-huts — Native sledges — Land on King William's Land, iil7 
 
CONTENTS. xxiii 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Meet Esquimaux — News of Franklin's people — Frighten a solitary 
 party — Reach the Great Eish River — On Montreal Island — Total ab- 
 sence of all relics — Examine Ogle Peninsula — Discover askeleton — 
 Vagueness of Esquimaux information — Cape Herschel — Cairn, 235 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The cairn found empty — Discover Hobson's letter — Discovery of Cro- 
 zier's record — The deserted boat — Articles discovered about the boat 
 — The skeletons and relics — The boat belonged to the ' Erebus ' — Con- 
 jectures, 253 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Errors in Franklin's records — Relics found at the cairn — Reflections on 
 the retreat — Returning homeward — Geological remarks — Difficul- 
 ties 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, 375 
 
 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 Pro- 
 fessor Haugliton, 341 
 
 No. V. — List of Subscribers to the 'Fox' Expedition, . . 373 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The 'Fox ' steaming out of the Rolling Pack. Drawn 
 
 hy Captain May Frontispiece. 
 
 Sketch Map of the Drift of the 'Fox' down BaflBn's 
 
 Bay in the floating Ice To face pofje ix 
 
 Sketch Map of Arctic Regions at the time of Franklin's 
 
 Last Expedition — xii 
 
 A Funeral on the Ice — the effect of Paraselcna (Mock 
 
 Moons). Drawn hy Captain May — 68 
 
 The Greenlander's Supper appi-opriated by a Bear. 
 
 Ditto — 93 
 
 The ' Fox 'on a Rock near Buchan Island. Ditto — 116 
 
 Esquimaux imitating animals to induce Europeans to 
 
 approach. From a Sketch by Captain Allen Young — 123 
 
 The Village and Glacier of Kaparoktolik. Drawn by 
 
 Captain May — 141 
 
 The ' Fox ' arriving at Beechey Island. Ditto — 1 55 
 
 M'Clintock in his Boat sailing through Bellot Strait. 
 
 Ditto — 174 
 
 A Dog Sledge or Scout Party — 182 
 
 Interior of tlie Observatory- Ditto — 187 
 
 Moonlight in tlic Arctic Regions. Ditto — 217 
 
 M'Clintock's Travelling Party discovering the Remains 
 
 of Cairn at Cape Herschel. Drawn by Captain 
 
 May — 251 
 
 Facsimile of the Record found of Franklin's Expedition. — 255 
 
 Isolated Iceberg. Drawn by P. SIcel ton, from a SIcetch 
 
 by Captain Allen Young — 279 
 
 Walrusses — a Family Party. From a Sketch by Cap- 
 tain Allen Young — 295 
 
 Geological Map of the Arctic Regions — 341 
 
 Cape Bunny, Peel Sound Page 346 
 
 Map of the North- West Passage, by John Arrowsmith, 
 
 F.R.G.S At the end. 
 
 xxiv 
 
JOUKNAL OF THE SEARCH 
 
 SIR JOHN FRANKLIN 
 
 CHAPTEE 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 Green- 
 land — Frcderickshaab, in Davis' Straits. 
 
 It is now a matter of history how Government 
 and private expeditions prosecuted, with unpre- 
 cedented zeal and perseverance, the search for 
 Sir John Frankhn'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 
 
2 FORMER EXPEDITIONS. Chap. I. 
 
 Captain Ommanney, RN., of H.M.S. * Assistance,* 
 and by Captain Penny, of the ' Lady Franklin.* 
 
 In October, 1854, Dr. Kae 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 Kiver, 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 
 belono:ed to Sir John Franldin 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 por- 
 tion 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 Eapids, no 
 additional information w^as obtained either from 
 the discovery of records, or through the Esqui- 
 maux. Mr. Anderson, the Hudson Bay Companj'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 
 
Ape. 1857. CAUSE OF DELAY R? EQUIPMENT. 3 
 
 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 excite- 
 ment at home. 
 
 Lady Franklin, and the advocates for further 
 search, now pressed upon government the neces- 
 sity 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 eifort, 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 mem- 
 bers of Her Majesty's Government, having come, 
 with great regret, to the conclusion that there 
 was no prospect of saving life, would not be justi- 
 fied, 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 distina-uished scien- 
 tific men in England,* and especially Sir Roderick 
 
 * A list of them and their subscriptions to be given in Appendix. 
 
4 N03kUNATI0N OF COMMANDER. Chap. I. 
 
 Murchison, whose zeal was as practical as it was 
 enlightened — hastened to tender their aid, and 
 soon a very considerable sum was raised in fur- 
 therance of so trul}^ noble an effort. 
 
 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 pos- 
 terity, the honor of tilling 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 prac- 
 ticable north-west passage — would indeed be 
 leaving strong inducement for future explorers to 
 reap the rich reward of our long-continued exer- 
 tions. 
 
Ai-K. 1857. PURCHASE OF THE 'FOX.' 5 
 
 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 com- 
 mence 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 
 skjT'-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 mas- 
 sive 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 edge- 
 ways ; even the yacht's rig had to be altered. 
 
 She was placed in ^le 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. 
 
6 FITTINGS OF THE 'FOX.' Cii.vr. I- 
 
 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 win- 
 ter 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/. 
 
 Havmg thus far commenced the refit of the 
 vessel, I turned my attention to the selection of 
 a crew and to the requisite clothing and pro- 
 visions for our voyage. 
 
 Many worthy old shipmates, my companions in 
 the previous Arctic voyages, most readily volun- 
 teered their services, and they were as cheerfully 
 accepted, for it was my anxious wish to gather 
 round me av ell-tried men, who -svere 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 applica- 
 tions 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 
 
Apk. 1857. OFFICEES OF THE EXPEDITION. 7 
 
 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 
 Jove of hardy enterprise still lives amongst Eng- 
 lishmen, 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 Eno;land what she is. 
 
 My second in command was Lieutenant W. E. 
 Hobson, E.N., an of&cer already distinguished in 
 Arctic service. Captain Allen Young joined me 
 as sailing-master, contributing not only his val- 
 uable services but largely of his private funds 
 to the expedition. This gentleman had pre- 
 viously commanded some of our very finest mer- 
 chant 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 disin- 
 terested conduct. David Walker, M.D., volun- 
 teered 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 
 
8 ASSISTANCE FROM PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS. Chap. L 
 
 interpreter in the expeditions of Captain Penny 
 and Dr. Kane, came to join me from Copen- 
 hagen, 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 securino: his valuable services. 
 
 Like the Paris omnibuses we were at length 
 tout complete 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 pre- 
 served 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 seud out an expedition, 3-ct 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 Admiralt}' caused GG82 lbs. of 
 pemuiican to be prepared for our use. Not less 
 than 85,000 lbs. of this invaluable food have been 
 prepared since 1845 at the Eoyal Clarence Vict- 
 ualing Yard, Gos2:)ort, 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 
 
FIG 1. 
 
 isr 
 
 j^~~^<^- °'^- 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 6KET( H MAP OF THE DRIFT OF THE ' POX ' DOWN BAFFIN'S HAT 1» 
 THE Fl.OATI>0 ICK. 
 
Apk. 1857. DONATION FROM EOYAL SOCIETY. 9 
 
 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 hbrarj, hydrographical instruments, 
 charts, chronometers, and an ample supply of arc- 
 tic clothing which had remained in store from 
 former expeditions. The Board of Trade con- 
 tributed 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. 
 
 The President and Council of the Eoyal So- 
 ciety voted the sum of 60/. from their donation 
 fund for the purchase of magnetic and other 
 scientific instruments, in order that our antici- 
 pated 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 Eoyal 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. 
 
10 REFLECTIONS UPON THE UNDERTAKING. Chap. I. 
 
 Lastly, upon the very day of sailinj^, I was pro- 
 posed for the Pioyal Yacht Squadron, to wliich 
 the yacht had previously helonged -when the 
 property of Sh' Richard Stratton. 
 
 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 Lad}'' Franklin in her dis- 
 tress, 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 
 Ena;lish 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 mdional dniij. I could 
 not but feel that, if the fjio-antic and admirablv 
 equipped national expeditions sent out on pre- 
 cisely the same duty, and reflecting so much 
 credit upon the Board of Admiralit}^, were ranked 
 amonQ;st the noblest efforts in the cause of human- 
 ity any nation ever engaged in, and that, if high 
 honor was awarded to all composing those splen- 
 did expeditions, surely the effort became still 
 more remarkable and worthy of approbation when 
 its means were limited to one little vessel, con- 
 taining but twenty-five souls, equipped and pro- 
 
Apr. 1857. LADY FRANKLIN'S VISIT. H 
 
 visioned (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 ves- 
 sel had long since been withdrawn — the more 
 glorious would be the success, the more honora- 
 ble even the defeat, if again defeat awaits us. 
 
 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 feel- 
 ing 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. 
 
 Aberdeen, June 29, 1857. 
 Mt dear Captain M'Clintock, 
 
 You have kindly invited me to give you "Instruc- 
 tions," but I cannot bring myself to feel that it would be right 
 
12 LADY FRANKLIN'S INSTRUCTIONS. Ciiai'. L 
 
 in me in any wny (o influence your judgment in the conduct of 
 your noble undertaking; and indeed 1 have no temptation to 
 do so, since it appears to me that your views are almost iden- 
 tical with those w'lieh I had independently formed before I had 
 the advantage of being thoroughly possessed of yours. But 
 had tliis been otherwise, I trust you would have found me 
 ready to prove the implicit confidence I place in you by yield- 
 ing my own views to your more enlightened judgment; know- 
 ing 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 re-cue 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 i^ecovery 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 ac- 
 cepted 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 ycur- 
 selves 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 hai in 
 amidst the labors and jierils 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 w/ialcver. 
 
MS. 2. 
 
 SKETCH MAP OF AKCTIO BKOIOKS AT THE TIME OF PKAhKLISS LA8T EXPEDIMON. 
 
July, 1857. ORKNEYS AND GEEENLAND. 13 ; 
 
 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. 
 
 We were not destined to get to sea that even- 
 ing. 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 rush- 
 ing 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 unin- 
 telligible dialect, the shrill cry of innumerable 
 2 
 
14 GREE^^LAND. Chap. I. 
 
 sea-bird?, the howling breeze and angry sea, made 
 us feel as if we had suddenly awoke in Green- 
 land 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 grasf) of winter in his shattered 
 bark, and firmly purposing to bid a long farewell 
 to this cheerless land, history altogether fails to 
 enlighten us. 
 
 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 
 alonsfshore to the northward about as far as Baal's 
 River, a. distance of 250 miles. Although it effect- 
 ually 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 Green- 
 lander 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 
 
JuLT, 1857. SPITZBERGEN ICE. Ig, 
 
 embrace tlie earliest opportunity of sending him 
 home out of a climate so fatal to those who are 
 thus affected ; and having learnt from Mr. Peter- 
 sen, who had quitted Greenland only in April 
 last, that a vessel would very soon leave Freder- 
 ickshaab for Copenhagen, I resolved to go to 
 that place in order to catch this homeward-bound 
 ship. 
 
 It was necessary to push through the Spitzber- 
 gen ice, and we fortunately succeeded in doing so 
 after eia;hteen hours of buffetino; with this formi- 
 dable enemy ; at first we found it tolerably loose, 
 and the wind being strong and favorable, we 
 thumped along pleasantly enough ; but as we ad- 
 vanced, 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 be- 
 tween 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 main- 
 land, 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 innu- 
 merable islets, backed by lofty mountains, and. 
 
16 FINE ^UlCTIC SCENERY. Cdap. I. 
 
 being richly tinted by a glorious -svesteni 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 ! 
 
 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 Spitzbcr- 
 gen current. 
 
 July 2Wi. — 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 
 m.ixed population amount to about 7000 souls. 
 About 1000 Danes reside constantly there for the 
 jDurpose of conducting the trade, -which consists 
 almost exclusivelj'' in the exchange of European 
 goods for oil and the sldns of seals, reindeer, and 
 a few other animals. 
 
Jolt, 1857. DAjN'ISH ESTABLISHMENTS, GEEENLAND. 17 
 
 The Esquimaux are not subject to Danish laws, 
 but although proud of their nomina,! 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 dis- 
 tress, which not unfrequently hajDpens 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 Freder- 
 ickshaab 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 Green- 
 land, in 1848; we had not seen one another since, 
 so we had much to talk about. Dr. Rink is a gen- 
 tleman of acknowledged talent, a distinguished 
 traveller, and is thoroughly conversant with the 
 sciences of geology and botany. 
 
 2* B 
 
18 FREDERICKSIIAAB, DAVIS' STRAITS. Cii.vr;.!. 
 
 Unfortunately for me his excellent work on 
 Greenland has not l)een translated into Engli.xh. 
 
 AYe were kindly permitted to purchase eight 
 tons of coals, and such small things as were re- 
 quired ; the only fresh supplies to be ol>tained 
 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 midsum- 
 mer, — 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, Podiccps cmiaUis, I 
 imagine. Frederickshaab is just now well sup- 
 plied 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 SejDtem- 
 ber. 
 
July, 1857. LICHTENEELS. 19 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Fiskernaes and Esquimaux — The ' Fox ' reaches Disco — Disco Fiord 
 
 — Summer scenery — Waigat Strait — Coaling from the mine — Pur- 
 chasing Esquimaux dogs — Heavy gale off Upernivik — Melville Bay 
 
 — The middle ice — The great glacier of Greenland — Reindeer 
 cross the glacier. 
 
 23rJ 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 Fisk- 
 ernaes, 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 Mora- 
 vian 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 distinguish- 
 able from the ground they stand on, even at 
 a very short distance. The land immediately 
 behind is a barren rocky steep, now just suffi- 
 ciently 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 
 
20 nSKERNAES, Chai-. II. 
 
 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 
 lis, 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 Ingleficld, R.N., and Dr. Kane, 
 U.S.N., and still more recently by Prince Napo- 
 leon. Dr. Kane's account of his visit is full and 
 very interestino:. Cod-fishina; was now in fidl 
 activity, and the few men not so employed had 
 gone up the fiord to hunt reindeer. 
 
 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 Avhite, floors yel- 
 low, 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 ac- 
 knowledged she was, heartily tired of the solitude. 
 She gave me coffee, and some seeds for cultiva- 
 tion at our winter quarters; these were lettuce, 
 spinach, turnips, carraway 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 inte- 
 rior of an Esquimaux tent. Peterson pulled aside 
 the thin membrane of some animal, which hung 
 
July, 1857. AND ESQUIMAUX. 21 
 
 across the doorwajj and served to exclude the 
 wind, but admitted light, for, although past mid- 
 night, 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 satisfac- 
 tion biscuits in exchano;e. 
 
 By next morning we were able to put to sea, 
 and early on the day following arrived off the 
 large settlement of Godhaad ; it is in the " Gil- 
 bert Sound " of Davis, and appears in many old 
 charts as Baal's River. Almost adjoining God- 
 haab 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. 
 
 A few years after Egede's successful beginning, 
 
22 MORAVIAN MISSIONS. JiiAi-. IL 
 
 the Moravian mission still existing under the 
 name of New Ilerrnhut 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 
 door-driver, was received with favor amonirst 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 keensighted, and so vigi- 
 lant, it was quite a comfort to have him on board 
 during the foggy weather, for he could recognise, 
 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 Kookor- 
 nen Islands, the wind suddenly failed, and at tlie 
 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 p-^sition was most critical. 
 
July, 1857. THE 'EOX' BEACHES DISCO. 23 
 
 July Z\st. — ^Anchored at Godhaven (or Lievely), 
 in Disco, for a few hours. I presented a letter 
 from the Directors of the Royal Greenland Com- 
 merce to the Inspector of North Greenland, Mr. 
 Olrik, authorising him to furnish us with any 
 needful supplies. Our only wants were sledge- 
 doars and a native to manao;e them. We soon 
 obtained ten of the former, but were advised to 
 go into Disco Fiord, where many of the Esqui- 
 maux 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 recep- 
 tion 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 col- 
 lecting 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 
 
24 DISCO Fl mo. Chap. II. 
 
 was all broken up, and that they thought wo 
 should find but little difficulty at thi.s late period 
 in passing through it into the North Water. 
 
 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 mom- 
 ing. After despatching the pilot to announce 
 our arrival to his countiymen 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 
 amonrvst 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 fovmd 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. 25 
 
 Some kayaks soon came off to the ship, bring- 
 ing salmon-trout, both fresh and smoked. 
 
 A young Esquimaux, named Christian, volun- 
 teered his services as our dog-driver, and was 
 accepted ; he is about 23 years of age, unmar- 
 ried, 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 admir- 
 ing 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 
 kayalv 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. 
 
 i:th 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 runnino; about 24 miles, towards eveninor 
 
 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 
 
 3 
 
26 COALING — WAIGAT SCENERY. Ceap. II. 
 
 commenced coaling. It was fortunate we did po, 
 for soon it began to blow hard ; and ere noon 
 to-day we were obliged, for the safety of the ship, 
 to leave onr exposed anchorage, having howtver 
 secured eight or nine tons of tolerable coal. For- 
 merly these coal-seams were worked for the sup- 
 ply 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. 
 
 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 com- 
 posed of trap, sandstone appearing only at the 
 beach, and occasionally rising in cliffs to about 
 100 feet. Upon the moss-clad slopes many frag- 
 ments 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. 
 
 ^th. — A pleasant faur wind carries us rapidly 
 northward, passing many icebergs. Our rigging 
 is richly garnished with split codfish, which we 
 hoped would dr}^ 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 Qur native auxiliaries, as without them we 
 
Aug. 1857. PURCHASING ESQUIMAUX DOGS. 27 
 
 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. 
 
 Wi. — 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. 72f N. Here Petersen re- 
 sided for twelve of the eighteen years he has spent 
 in Greenland, and his unlooked-for re-appearance 
 astonished and delighted the small communit}^, 
 more especially Governor Fliescher and his house- 
 hold, who received us with a most hearty wel- 
 come. 
 
 ^th. — Yesterday, when we hove to off Uper- 
 nivik, 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, witli 
 overcast murky sky, and a heavy sea running. 
 When four miles outside the outer island, break- 
 ers were suddenly discovered ahead, only just in 
 time to avoid the ledge of sunken rocks upon 
 which the sea was beating most violently. Many 
 
28 HEAVY GALE OFF UPERNIVIK. Chap. II. 
 
 such rocks lie at consideral^le distances beyond 
 the islands which border this coast, and greatly 
 add to the danif-ers of its navio:ation. Beinfj; now 
 fairly at sea, and the ship under easy sail for 
 the night, I went early to bed in the hcpe 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 corre- 
 spondence, 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 w^retched dogs in concert on 
 deck, together with the tumbling about of every 
 thing below, long kept sleep in abeyance. 
 
 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 
 
Aug. 1857. PASSAGE THROUGH BAFFIN'S BAY. 29 
 
 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. 
 
 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 — ob- 
 structs 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 Pas- 
 sage," 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. 
 
 Wi — Last night we reached the edge of the 
 middle ice, about 70 miles to the west of Uper- 
 3* 
 
80 MELVILLE BAY. Chap. n. 
 
 nivik, 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) ^yQ ran on to 
 the southward until evening, but found the pack 
 edge still composed of light ice very closely 
 pressed together. 
 
 Having now closely examined it for an extent 
 of 40 miles, I was satisfied that w^e could not force 
 a j^assage through it across Baffin's Ba}^, 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. 
 
 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 Isl- 
 ands, and covering the whole bay to the north- 
 ward, quite in the steep face of the glacier. This 
 is evidently the result of long-continued south- 
 erly winds ; but as the ice is very much broken 
 
Aug. 1857. THE MIDDLE ICE. 31 
 
 up, we may expect it to move off rapidly be- 
 fore the autumnal northerly winds now due, and 
 these winds invariably remove the previous sea- 
 son's ice. All that we know of Melville Bay 
 navigation in August, is derived from the expe- 
 rience of Government and private searching ex- 
 peditions 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° and 69° 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 success- 
 ful, w^ould 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 appre- 
 ciate the grandeur of this mighty glacier, extend- 
 ing 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 
 
32 GliEAT GLACIER OF GREE^'LA^'D. Cuap. II. 
 
 to mere chippings off its edge, and the floe-ice to 
 the thhmest .shavings. 
 
 The far-off outhne of glacier, seen against the 
 eastern sky, has a faint tinge of j^ellow; it is 
 almost horizontal, and of unknown distance and 
 elevation. 
 
 There is an unusual dearth of hirds 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 pro- 
 moting 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 down^^'ard march is so 
 extremely slow, and its augmentations behind so 
 regular, that no change in its appearance is per- 
 ceptible from age to age. If even the untaught 
 savages of luxuriant tropical regions regard the 
 earth merelj^ as a temporar}^ abode, surel}' all 
 who gaze upon this ice-overwhelmed region, this 
 wide expanse of "terrestrial wreck," must be 
 
Aug 1857. GI^'^'*-'^ GLACIER OF GREENLAND. 33 
 
 similarly assured that here "we have no abid- 
 ing place." 
 
 During daytime the strong glare is very dis- 
 tressing, 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 be- 
 tween 30° and 40° 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 envel- 
 oped in the glacier, and far within it an occasional 
 mountain-peak protrudes from beneath. 
 
 From observing closely the variations in the 
 glacier surface, I think we may safely infer that 
 where it lies unbroken and smooth, the support- 
 ing land is level ; and where much crevassed, the 
 land beneath is imeven. The crevassed parts are 
 of course impassable, but, by following the wind- 
 ings 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 iinable 
 
 to account for occasional disappearances and re- 
 
 c 
 
34 REINDEER CROSS THE GLACIER. Chap. U. 
 
 appearances 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 exclu- 
 sively to the islands and sea-coasts. 
 
Aug. 1857. MELVILLE BAY. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Melville Bay — Beset in Melville Bay — Signs of Winter — The coming 
 storm — Drifting in the pack — Canine appetite — Eesigned to a winter 
 in the pack — Dinner stolen by sharks — The Arctic shark — White 
 Whales and Killers. 
 
 Ihth 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 ofi' 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. 
 
 l^th. — One of the loveliest mornings imagin- 
 able : 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 bne 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 
 
S6 MELVILLE BAY. 
 
 CuAp. HI. 
 
 might have taken place further off shore. The 
 barometer was imusually low, yet no indication 
 of any change of weather. A seaman's chest was 
 picked up ; it contained onl}'' 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 consider- 
 ably ; 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 f)ursuing our 
 course without let or hindrance. 
 
 17//^. — 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 rapidl}' 
 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 drij snow. 
 This evening we again made last, the floes having 
 closed together, cutting off advance and retreat. 
 A wintry night, much wind and snow. 
 
 \Wi. — Continued strong S.E. winds, pressing 
 the ico closely together, dark sky and snow; 
 
Aug. 1857. MELVILLE BAY. 37 
 
 everytW^g wears a wintry and threatening as- 
 j3Poi:; we are closely hemmed in, and have our 
 rudder and screw unshipped. This recommence- 
 m.ent 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. 
 
 2Wi. — 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 ; unfor- 
 tunately, 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 
 aflford to lose many more days. Of all the 
 voyages to Barrow Strait, there are but two 
 which were delayed beyond this date, viz.. Par- 
 ry's in 1824, and the ^ Prince Albert's ' in 1851. 
 4 
 
38 BESET IN MELVILLE BAY. Chap. HI 
 
 Should we not be released, and therefoi^ be com- 
 pelled to winter in this pack, notwithstanding all 
 our efforts, I shall repeat the trial next jear, and 
 in the end, with God's aid, perfomi my sacred 
 duty. 
 
 The men enjoy a game of rounders on the ice 
 each evenmg; Petersen and Christian are con- 
 stantly on the look-out for seals, as well as Hob- 
 son and Young occasionally ; if in good condition 
 and killed instantaneously, the seals float ; several 
 have already been shot ; the Hver fried with ba- 
 con 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. 
 
 2At/i. — 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 turnmg 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 im- 
 prisonment is to me, no one without similar ex- 
 perience can form any idea. As yet the crew 
 have but little suspicion how blighted our pros- 
 pects are. 
 
Aug. 1857. BESET IN MELVILLE BAT. 39 
 
 2']th. ^^6 daily make attempts to push on, 
 
 and «<7metimes 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 ac- 
 counted 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 pre- 
 vent their escaping under the ice. Petersen and 
 Christian practise an Esquimaux mode of attract- 
 ing 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. 
 
 Christian came back a few days ago, like a 
 
40 SEAL SUOOTING. Cnxp. III. 
 
 true seal-hunter, carrying his kayak on his head 
 and dragging a seal behind him. Onij' 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 w^ell 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 bet- 
 ter adapted for Arctic work, — an ardent sports- 
 man, 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.' 
 
 SOth. — The whole distance across Melville Bay 
 is 170 miles: of this we have performed about 
 120, 40 of wdiich w^e have drifted in the last four- 
 teen 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 win- 
 ter quarters in Wolstenholme Sound, What a 
 precedent for us ! 
 
 Yesterday we set to work as usual to warp the 
 ship along, and moved her ten feet : an insig- 
 nificant hummock then blocked up the narrow 
 
Sept. 1857. THE COMING STORM. 41 
 
 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° last night, and the 
 pools are strongly frozen over. I now look mat- 
 ters steadily and calmly in the face ; whilst rea- 
 sonable ground for hope remained I was anx- 
 ious 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 excit- 
 ing foot-races on the ice yesterday evening. 
 
 1^^ 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 
 4* 
 
42 DEIFTING IN THE PACK. Cuap. III. 
 
 the S.E. quarter, dark-l^lue sk}^ 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. 
 
 On comparing Petersen's experience with my 
 o^vn 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 Parr}'-, 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, includ- 
 ing Wolstenholme Sound, open water remains 
 until October. It is strange that we have ceased 
 to drift lately to the westward. 
 
 Wi. — During the last week we have only 
 drifted 9 miles to the west. Obtained soundings 
 in 88 fiithoms; 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 slowl}^ 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 
 
Sept. 1857. DEITTING IN THE PACK. 43 
 
 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. 
 
 Wi. — On this day, in 1824, Sir Edward Parry 
 got out of the middle ice, and succeeded in reach- 
 ing Port Bowen. To continue hoping for release 
 in time to reach Bellot Strait would be absurd ; 
 yet to employ the men we continue our prepa- 
 ration of tents, sledges, and gear for travelling. 
 Two days ago the ice became more slack than 
 usual, and a long lane opened ; its western ter- 
 mination 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 extri- 
 cated ourselves completel}^, 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. 
 
 IWi. — 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 
 
44 CANINE APPETITE. Cuap. III. 
 
 drifting past it to the westward, and was crushing 
 up against its side to a height of 50 feet. 
 
 13//^. — Thermometer has fallen to 17° at noon. 
 We have drifted 18 miles to the W. in the last 
 week ; therefore our neighbors, the icebergs, are 
 not alwa^'s 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 ive only advance 
 12 or 15 miles in iliat direction, I am convinced ive 
 slioidd he free to steer for Barrow Strait. Forty- 
 three seals have been secured for the dogs ; one 
 dog is missing, the remaining twenty-nine de- 
 voured 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 fight- 
 ing. We do not allow them on board. 
 
 16//^. — At length we have drifted past the 
 large icebergs, obtaining soundings in 69 fath- 
 oms within a mile of them ; they must now 
 be aground, and have frequently been so during 
 the last three wrecks; 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 tempera- 
 ture having fallen to 3°, new ice rapidly forms, so 
 
Sept. 1857. PEEPARIITG FOR WINTER. 45 
 
 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. 
 
 18ih. — Lanes of water in all directions j 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-e asters. The tem- 
 perature fell to 2° 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 unfortu- 
 nate detention, and which for more than three 
 weeks were in advance of us to the westward, are 
 nov/, 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 provi- 
 sions 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 
 
46 ^ PROSPECT FOR WINTER. Chap. III. 
 
 all enjoy perfect health, and the men are most 
 cheerful, willing, and quiet. 
 
 Our " native auxiliaries," consisting of Christian 
 and his twenty-nine dogs, are capable of perform- 
 ing immense service; whilst Mr. Petersen, from 
 his great Ai'ctic experience, is of much use to me, 
 besides being all that I could wish as an inter- 
 preter. Humanly speaking, we are not unreason- 
 able 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 abso- 
 lute inutility, if not of idleness, in comparative 
 peril and privation; nevertheless the men seem 
 very happy — thoughtless, of course, as true sail- 
 ors always are. 
 
 We have drifted off the bank into much deeper 
 water, and suppose this is the reason that seals 
 have become more scarce. 
 
 22wc/. — Constant N.W. Avinds continue to drift 
 us slowly southward. Strong indications of water 
 in the N.W., W., and S.E. ; its vicinity may ac- 
 count for a rise in the temperature, without 
 apparent cause, to 27° 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. 
 
Sept. 1857. BEARS — AMUSEMENTS. 47 
 
 2Uh. — 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 com- 
 fortably warm. The thermometer stood at -f- 5°. 
 
 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°. 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 re- 
 minded that others may have ears more sensi- 
 tive and discriminating than their own. 
 
 26M. — The mountain to the North of Melville 
 Bay, known as the ^ Snowy Peak,' was visible yes- 
 terday, although 90 miles distant ; I have calcu- 
 lated its height to be 6000 feet. A raven was 
 shot to-day. 
 
 21th. — 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 
 
48 DINNER STOLEN BY SHARKS. CuAt.III. 
 
 fragment of it remained. Wc 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 pro- 
 vision 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 wonder- 
 ful stories are told us of their doinQ:s in Green- 
 land: 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 emploj'ed. In 
 early winter the sharks are caught with hook and 
 line throu2;h 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 
 
Sept. 1857. THE ARCTIC SHARK. 49 
 
 entangled in his net ! ! It is not sufficient to 
 drive tliem 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 prac- 
 tised upon them by the Esquimaux must be cruel 
 indeed. 
 
 It is only in certain localities that sharks are 
 found, and in these places they are often at- 
 tracted 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 mi- 
 gration, 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 
 6 D 
 
50 KILLERS. Chap. IIL 
 
 short time suffices to drown them, as, like all the 
 whale tribe, they are obliged to come to the sur- 
 face to breathe. 
 
 The killer is also a cetacean of considerable 
 size, 15 to 20 feet in length, but of very different 
 haljits; it is very swift, is armed with power- 
 ful 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 instantlj'^ seek refuge from them in the 
 various creeks and inner harbors ; and the Esqui- 
 maux hunter in his frail kayak, when he sees the 
 huge pointed dorsal fin swiftly cleaving the sur- 
 face of the sea, is scarcel}^ 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 jot- 
 ting scraps of them down. 
 
Oct. 1S57. FIXED IN THE ICE. 51 
 
 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. 
 
 Sd 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, drift- 
 ing 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 -j-SG'^ and -2°, Two more bears 
 and a raven have been seen. A wearied ptarmi- 
 gan 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 
 
52 S^'O^V CRYSTALS. CnAi'. IV. 
 
 men enjoy its pleasing tones, whilst Christian un- 
 ceasingly turns the handle in a state of intense 
 delight \ he regards it with such awe and admira- 
 tion, and is so entranced, that one cannot help 
 envying him ; of course he never saw one before. 
 The instrument was presented by the Prince Con- 
 sort 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 re2;ions. 
 
 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 remem- 
 ber noticing them at Melville Island in March, 
 1853, when the temperature rose to-|-S° ; as these 
 were formed last night between the temperatures 
 of _|_6° and -4-12°, it would appear that the form 
 
Oct. 1857. MONOTOKOUS LEFE. 53 
 
 is due to a certain fixed temperature. In the sun, 
 or even in moonlightj 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. 
 
 loth. — 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 re- 
 member the date. We take our guns and walk 
 long distances, but see nothing. Two of the dogs 
 go hunting on their own account, sometimes re- 
 maining absent all night. What they find or do 
 is a mystery. The weather is generally ca,lm 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 sur- 
 prised 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 
 5* 
 
51 •' HARNESS JACK." Chap. IV, 
 
 Americana' the extreme northern limit of these 
 birds is given as 66° ; but Upernivik is in 724". 
 
 A few bear and fox tracks have been seen, but 
 no living creatures for several daj's, except a Hock 
 of ducks hastening southward, and a solitary ra- 
 ven. 
 
 It is said that Esquimaux dogs will eat every- 
 thing except fox and raven. There are excep- 
 tions, 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 okl Jack will not permit himself to be mi- 
 robed ; when attempted he very plainly threatens 
 to use his teeth. This canine oddity suddenly 
 became immensely popular, by constituting him- 
 self protecting head of the establishment when 
 one of his tribe littered ; he took up a most un- 
 comfortable position on top of the family cask 
 (our wijorompiu kennel), and prevented the ap- 
 proach 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 ll.\ feet 
 in length, I fiiled of any approach to accuracy. 
 
Oct. 1857. AN AKCTIC SCHOOL. 55 
 
 The mean of several observations gave 17° 47', 
 whereas the change due to our latitude is about 
 14° 30^ A single experiment gave 14° 10', and 
 this was the longest in point of time of any of 
 them, the pendulum having swung for thirty-six 
 minutes. 
 
 2A.tJi. — Furious N.W. and S.E. gales have alter- 
 nated of late ; the ship is housed over, to keep 
 out the driving snow ; so high is the snow carried 
 in the ah' 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 Cassiopoeia in a 
 N.N.E. dnection 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 illumi- 
 nation for lightning. 
 
 2^th. — 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 instruc- 
 tive, so he intends to make them acquainted with 
 
56 ICE DISTURBANCE. Chap. IV. 
 
 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 in- 
 terest 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. 
 
 2Wi. — Midnight. This evening, to our great 
 astonishment, there occurred a disruption and 
 movement of the ice within 200 vards 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 dis- 
 tant surf, and there arc manj^ 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 appalhng; 
 even as it is, they are sufficiently ominous to 
 invite reflection. Cape York has been in sight 
 for some days past. 
 
 2Wi. — Another heavenly night, and still greater 
 ice disturbance ; some of the crushed-up pieces are 
 
Nov. 1857. THE DOGS INVADE US. 57 
 
 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-move- 
 ments 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 evi- 
 dent — the weather continues calm, therefore the 
 winds are not concerned in the matter. 
 
 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 
 
58 BEAR-IIUXTLNG BY NIGHT. Cuaf. IV. 
 
 point out to me the various corners between 
 decks where the " ice corrodes," i.e., the moisture 
 condenses and forms frost j a ramble over the 
 ice is called " a bit of a peruse." I presume this 
 indignity is offered to the word perambulation. 
 
 There was a very sudden call " to arras" to- 
 night. Whether sleeping, prosing, or schooling, 
 every one flew out upon the ice on the in.stant, 
 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 3^elping dogs. Poor fellow ! Ilobson, 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, fear- 
 ing harm to the numerous b3'-standers and dogs, 
 or that he might escape, 1 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 
 
Nov. 1857. THE SUN'S LAST VISIT. 59 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
 Srd. — 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-hke 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 lamp- 
 light 
 
60 GUY FAWKES' l^AY. Cuap. IV. 
 
 ^th. — In order to vary our monotonous routine, 
 we determined to celebrate the da}'' ; 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 
 l)oard for occasional use. It is excellent. 
 
 This evening a well-got-up -^^rocession 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. 
 
 12ih. — 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 entice? 
 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 drift- 
 ing before northerly winds. 
 
 IWi. — A renewal of ice-crushing within a few 
 hundred ^^ards of us. I can hear it in my bed. 
 The ordinary sound resembles the roar of dis- 
 
Nov. 1857. ICE-AETILLEKY. 61 
 
 tant surf breaking heavily and contiiiuouslj ; 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 un- 
 disturbed spectators of ice-conflicts, which would 
 be irresistible to anything of human construc- 
 tion. 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 dryj all are in excel- 
 lent 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. 
 
 Petersen saw aLnd fired a shot into a narwhal, 
 which brought the blubber out. When most 
 Arctic creatures are wounded in the water, blub- 
 ber more frequently than blood appears, particu- 
 larly if the wound is superficial — it spreads over 
 6 
 
62 ARCTIC PALATES. Cii^i>. IV. 
 
 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 aflbrds 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 muUoii! 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 ! 
 
 \Wi. — A heavy southerly gale has increased 
 the ice movements ; happilj- we are undisturbed. 
 As Young was seated under the lee of a hum- 
 mock, 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 mixtui'e of snow and water. 
 
Nov. 1857. A LUCKY DOG. 63. 
 
 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 pos- 
 sible — 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. 
 
 23rc?. — A heavy gale commenced at N.E. on 
 the 21st, and continued for thirty-six hours una- 
 bated 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° ; the upper 
 deck sloppy; the lower deck temperature during 
 Divine Service was 75° ! ! As the wind veered 
 round to S.S.W., the wind moderated, and tempera- 
 
64 SUDDEN lUSE OF TEMl'ERATURE. Chap. IV. 
 
 ture fell: this evening it is —7°. 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". lias 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 fiir south, in order to 
 mitigate the severity of this northern climate. 
 
 Petersen tells me the same M-arm 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 tempera- 
 ture rapidly falls : this is precisely the change we 
 have experienced in lat. 75°. I believe a some- 
 what similar, but less remarkable, change of 
 temperature was noticed in Smith's Sound, lat 
 78f N. 
 
 2Wi. — Mild "Madeira weather," as Ilobson 
 calls it, temperature up to -\-T. 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. 
 
Nov. 1857. THE DOGS' SO'RTEE. 65 
 
 suffer intense pain, and often fall down in fits; 
 nor that snow, falling upon young (sea) ice, 
 wholly or partially thaws, even when the tem- 
 perature is but little above zero ; when near the 
 freezing-point the young ice thus coated over 
 becomes sludgy and unsafe. 
 
 2Mi. — 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 every- 
 where the sailor's friend, she is a source of com- 
 fort to us here. Nothing to excite conversation, 
 except an occasional inroad of the dogs in search 
 of food ; this generally occurs at night. When- 
 ever 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 w^ery moment 
 that there light goes out, and the quartermaster 
 turns his back, they makes a regular sort(?e, and 
 in they all comes." " But zvhere 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 regu- 
 lar 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 
 6* E 
 
66 PROXIMITY OF OPEN SEA. Cuap. IV. 
 
 and flashing about the ship enough to frighten a 
 fellow"! 
 
 30//^. — Severe cold has arrived Avith the fall 
 moon; eight days ago the thermometer stood at 
 the freezing-point, it is now 64° below it! So 
 dark is it now that I was able to obsers'e 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.K winds ; each time we have gained 
 a more off-shore position, being gradually sepa- 
 rated further and farther from the land by fresh 
 growths of ice, which invariably follow uj) 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 strug- 
 gled 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 
 probabilit}^ — 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. 
 
Dec. 1857. BUBIAL IN THE PACK. 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Burial in the pack — Musk oxen in lat. 80° north — Thrift of the Arctic 
 fox — The aurora affects the electrometer — An Arctic Christmas — 
 Sufferings of 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 — Eevolving storm. 
 
 Mil Dec. — I HAVE just returned on board from 
 the performance of the most solemn duty a com- 
 mander 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 dis- 
 tance 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, 
 
•^8 BURIAL IN THE PACK. Chap. V. 
 
 and bell mournfully tolling ; our little procession 
 slowly marcliing over the rough surface of the 
 frozen sea, guided by lanterns and direction-posts, 
 amid the dark and dreary depth of Arctic win- 
 ter; the deathlilve 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 aj> 
 peared the segments of two other halos, and there 
 were also mock moons or paraselena) to the num- 
 ber 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 in- 
 ternal injuries then received ; he was a steady, 
 serious man ; a widow and family will mourn his 
 loss. He was our engine-driver ; we cannot re- 
 place him, therefore the whole duty of working 
 the engines will devolve upon the engineer, 
 Mr. Brand. 
 
 11th. — Calm, clear weather, pleasant for ex- 
 ercise, but steadily cold ; thermometer varies be- 
 tween -20° and -30°. 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 
 
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 1.1 I 
 
 I ' ' I, 
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 Iii'i |i'il 
 
 ii"ii ii 
 
 ii 
 
 Ml 
 
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 fi I'V 
 
 ' .'h'l''. 
 
 ': I'll' ' 
 
 'i I I 
 
 III I ii- .1 
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 I 'II 'III 
 
 mm.'! 
 
 !!!j;,!w;iiiiiii!!iir/i'' i' ' 
 
 II 
 
 w'm'\ 
 
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 III 
 
 ji " 'i I I ii 
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 If 
 
 '«f!liii(i'A^i|'l'lili;i'i!''i 
 
 .■1,-1 I'l , ''iiiW fiViii i'!''" I 
 
 ';';;i'/'i^''';''i r',111"' ' 
 
 iii'ii"i'i'ii'i iiii'iii ill I 'Mill 'II 
 
 iiiiiiiis 
 
Dec. 1857. MUSK OXEN EST LAT.80°N. G9 
 
 the zenith very distinct. Although there is a 
 light north wind, thin mackerel-clouds are pass- 
 ing from south to north, and the temperature 
 has risen 10°. 
 
 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 paral- 
 lel. 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 al- 
 lowed 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 building^s, 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, 
 
70 TimiPT OF THE ARCTIC FOX. Chai-. V. 
 
 as is plainly shown by similar ruins over which 
 the tides now flow. 
 
 Anything which illustrates the habits of ani- 
 mals in such extremely high latitudes I think is 
 most interesting; their instincts must be quick- 
 ened in proportion as the difficulty of subsisting 
 increases. Foxes, white and blue, are very nu- 
 merous ; 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 sea- 
 son ; he once saw a fox carry off eggs m 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 knowl- 
 edge is almost indispensable. Upon a calm day 
 the temperature of the external air being —33'^, 
 within a snow hut the thermometer stood 17° 
 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 
 
Dec. 1857. THE AURORA. 71 
 
 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. 
 
 lUh. — Of late there has been much damp 
 upon the lower deck. This has now been reme- 
 died by enclosing the hatchway within a com- 
 modious snow-porch, which serves as a condenser 
 for the steam and vapor from the inhabited deck 
 below. 
 
 19/4 — Light N.W. winds, with occasional mists; 
 the temperature is comparatively mild : -12° to 
 -25°. 
 
 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. Yester- 
 day 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 perfectl// clear atmosphere. I 
 often observe it just silvering or rendering lumi- 
 
72 AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS. Chap. V. 
 
 nous 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 w^as so ver}^ w^eak that the gold-leaves 
 diverged at regular intervals of four or five sec- 
 onds. Some hours afterwards it was strong 
 enough to liCcp them diverged. 
 
 2I5/. — Midwinter day. Out of the Arctic re- 
 gions it is better known as the shoiiest day. At 
 noon we could just read type similar to the lead- 
 ing article of the ' Times.' Few people could 
 read more than two or three lines without their 
 eyes aching. 
 
 27//«. — 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, sweet- 
 meats, 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 pufis, cakes, and loaves of all sizes and 
 shapes. We bake all our own bread, and ex- 
 cellent it is. In the background were nicely- 
 
Dec. 1857. AN AECTIC CHRISTMAS. 
 
 73 
 
 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 compli- 
 mented them on their taste and spirit in getting 
 up such a display. Our silken sledge-banners had, 
 been borrowed for the occasion, and were re- 
 garded 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 per- 
 fectly 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 
 FrankHn, who was so deeply interested in every- 
 thing relating to them. I drank their healths, 
 and hoped our position next year would be more 
 suitable for our purpose. We all joined in drink- 
 ing the healths of Lady Franklin and Miss Cra- 
 croft, and amid the acclamations which followed 
 1 returned to my cabin, immensely gratified by 
 such an exhibition of genuine good feehng, 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 cheer- 
 ing view of our future prospects. I verily beHeve 
 7 
 
74 NEW YEAR'S DAY. Chap. V. 
 
 I ^vas the happiest incliviclual on board, that 
 happy evening. 
 
 Our Christmas-box has come in the sliape of 
 northerly Avinds, which bid fair to drift us south- 
 ward towards those latitudes wherein we hope 
 for liberation next spring from this icy bondage. 
 
 28//^. — \ye have been in expectation of a gale 
 all day. Tliis evening there is still a doubtful 
 sort of truce amongst the elements. Barometer 
 down to 28-83 ; thermometer up to +5°, 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. 
 
 2nd Jan. 1858. — New-Year's day was a second 
 edition of Christmas, and quite as pleasantly spent. 
 We dwelt inuch upon the anticipations of the fu- 
 ture, being a more agreeable theme than the fail- 
 ure 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 — strik- 
 ing up at my door. There was also a procession, 
 Or perhaps I should say a continuation of the 
 band ; these performers were grotesquely attired, 
 
Jan. 1858. SUTFEEINGS OF AN AECTIC PARTY. 76 
 
 and armed with frying-pans, gridirons, kettles, 
 pots, and pans, with which to join in and add to 
 the effect of the other music ! 
 
 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 formida- 
 ble 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 suffer- 
 ings when with the party which had left Dr. 
 Kane. They spent the months of October and 
 November in Booth Sound, lat. 77°; 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 ac- 
 count 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 
 
76 ICE ACTED ON BY WIND ONLY. Chap. V. 
 
 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; lan^i-uasre. 
 
 During December we drifted 07 miles, directly 
 down Baffin's Bay towards the Atlantic, and are 
 now in lat. 74°. Although it is quite impossible 
 to discriminate between the several influences 
 which probably govern our movements, or to as- 
 certain 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 ao-ent in hastenino; this vast coiili- 
 nent 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 obe}^ the same influ- 
 ences 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. 
 
 Wi. — 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 
 
Jan. 1858. RETURN OF THE SUN. 77 
 
 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 ! 
 
 To-day I put a tumblerful of our strong ale 
 ( Allsopp's) on deck to freeze : this was soon effect- 
 ed, the temperature being —35°. After bringing 
 it below, and when its temperature had risen 
 to 17°, it was almost all thawed — at 22° 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. 
 
 l^th. — 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. 
 
 2Sth. — 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 
 
78 THE SICK LIST. CHi.r. V. 
 
 soon fluttered in a breeze cool enough to stiflen 
 the limbs of ordinary lions, and in the evening 
 the eroo; was issued. 
 
 30//f. — Our messmate Pussy is unwell, and 
 wont eat; in vain has Hobson tempted her 
 with raw seal's flesh, preserved salmon, preserved 
 milk, etc. ; at length castor-oil was forcibly ad- 
 ministered. Puss is a great favorite. Our finest 
 dog, Sultan, is also sick, and his coat is in bad 
 order J 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 dove- 
 kie, in its white winter plumage, and two seals 
 have been seen lately. 
 
 \Wi Feb. — The returning daylight cheers us 
 up wonderfully — not that we were sufiering, 
 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 visi- 
 
Feb. 1858. CONSTANT ACTION OF THE ICE. 79 
 
 ble in the distance ; almost the whole of the in- 
 tervening ice was of this winter's growth, and in 
 many places much crushed up. 
 
 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 fa- 
 VDred, 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 my- 
 self cut oK 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 j 
 cracks and lanes are very numerous. 
 
 On the 1st a blue (or sooty) fox was shot. Al- 
 though 130 geographical miles from the nearest 
 land he was very fat, hence we argue dovekies 
 
80 RETURN OF A DESERTER. Chap. V. 
 
 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 re- 
 turned, after an absence of six days, decidedly 
 hungiy, 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 as- 
 sociates, after which he sought out and attacked 
 the weakest of his enemies, and, soothed by their 
 how^hngs, coiled himself up for a long sleep. 
 
 1st March. — February has been a remarkably 
 mild, cloudy, wdndy month : the winter tempera- 
 ture may be said to have passed away by the 
 10th, the average temperature for the first ten 
 days being -25°, whilst for the remainder of the 
 month it Tvas -11°. Had one fallen asleep for a 
 month at least, he could not reasonably have ex- 
 pected to find a greater change on awaking. Our 
 drift has been also great, — 1G6 miles. We arc 
 south of the 70th parallel, and may soon be ex- 
 pelled from our icy home. 
 
 On the 24th there w\as a fearful gale of wind. 
 Had not our housing been very well secured, it 
 must have been blown awa}^ We are preparing 
 for sea, removing the snow from off the deck and 
 round the shijD ; our skylights have been dug out 
 
Mar. 1858. KETUEN OF THE SEALS. 81 
 
 (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 in- 
 tolerably sooty and smoke-dried everything looks ! 
 
 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 stand- 
 ing at — 22° ! 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 com- 
 menced this voyage with us last October, in 
 751° 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 Lan- 
 caster 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° 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 shijD's head slowly 
 
82 REVOLVING STOKM. Cuap. V. 
 
 shifted back to the right as far as W.N.W. ; 
 latterly it has not changed at all : v,e 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. 
 
 6th. — On the 2nd four fat seals and some dove- 
 kics were shot; the largest seal weighed 170 
 lbs., the smallest 150 lbs. ; they were males 
 of the species Phoca hespida, or Phoca foetida, 
 the latter epithet being by far the most appro- 
 priate at this season ; the disagreeable odor re- 
 sembles garlic, and taints the whole animal so 
 strongly that even Esquimaux are nearly over- 
 piowered by it : this is almost the only descrip- 
 tion of seal we have obtained, but the females 
 are at all seasons free from fetor. Several long 
 lanes of water extend at rigjlit angles to the 
 straits. 
 
 The Doctor has taken a photograph of the 
 ship by the albumen process on glass ; the tem- 
 perature at the time was below zero. Upon the 
 3rd and 4th a well-remarked revolving stoim 
 passed nearl}^ over us to the W.N.W. ; its ex- 
 treme 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.AV. The 
 barometer was rather high, having risen just be- 
 fore 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 — 
 
Ux-R. 1858. DISCO SIGHTED. 83 
 
 through S.E. to S.S.W. ; immediately the barom- 
 eter got up rapidly. As the barometer fell, the 
 temperature rose from zero to -f--''-^^ ^^^ ^^^1 
 again after the change of wind. This violent 
 storm brought with it a smart hail-shower. 
 
 The depression of the ice about the bows, in 
 consequence of a vast accumulation of snow-drift 
 uj)on it, brought the ship down by the head con- 
 siderably ; to-day this ice suddenly detached it- 
 self, 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-qiialce ; it inchnes 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. 
 
84 A BEAR FIGHT. Chap. VI. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A bear-figlit — An ice-nip — Strong gales, rapid drift — Tlio ' Fox ' 
 breaks out of tlic 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. 
 
 9//^ March. — A bear was seen this morning ; but 
 as he was going away from us, the dogs Avere 
 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 the}^ set off at 
 full speed. Bruin had seen them first, and in- 
 creased 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 follow- 
 ing 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 onl}^, — 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 infonned, will 
 do all the rest. It is really wonderful what cm'es 
 
Mae. 1858. SEAL STEAKS. 85 
 
 nature and instinct eflfect : 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. 
 
 nth. — 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. 
 
 \Wi. — Several long lanes of water have again 
 opened, but now all of them extend parallel to 
 the direction of the straits ; one lane passed with- 
 in 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. 
 
 IWi. — 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. 
 
 I went out with a lantern to see the nip, — 
 
86 AN ICE-NIP. Chap. VI. 
 
 it certainly was awe-inspiring ; no one in his 
 senses could avoid reflecting npon the inevitable 
 fate of a ship if exposed to such fearful pressure. 
 It is now spring tides. 
 
 19^^. — 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. 
 
 23r^. — Seals and dovekies are now common ; 
 the latter have already made considerable ad- 
 vances 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 ascer- 
 tained we thought the ice had broken up and 
 pressed against the ship. It was not so ; but 
 when the weather moderated w^e found that there 
 
Mar. 1858. STRONG GALES. 87 
 
 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 feet thick had been crushed during the 
 storm for a distance of about 50 yards. 
 
 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 ha« 
 yielded slightly, nipping the ship, inclining her 
 to port, and lifting her stern about a foot. Occa- 
 sional 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 scrib- 
 bling 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 advan- 
 tage of it, — so much so that the smaller pieces 
 
88 BREAKING UP OF ICE. Chap. VI. 
 
 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. 
 
 olst. — 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°. 
 The mean temperature for March has been unu- 
 sually high, -3'" ; whilst Lieutenant De Haven's 
 was -17°. Notwithstanding that heavy S.K 
 gales have three times driven us backward, yet 
 we have advanced 100 miles further down Davis' 
 Straits. 
 
 Qt/i April. — To-day we enjoy fine weather, the 
 more so since it comes after a tremendous north- 
 erly gale of forty-eight hours' duration. Two 
 days ago the friendly old floe, so long our bul- 
 wark of defence, was cracked ; the lane of water 
 thus formed soon widened to GO yards, passed 
 
Apk. 1858. BREAKING UP OF ICE. 89 
 
 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 a>s 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 ther- 
 mometer stood at 12° 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 ex- 
 tremely strong and keen, — fortunately the ice 
 remained perfectly still : our funnels refused to 
 draw up the smoke ; so that between the suffoca- 
 tion, the cold, and anxiety lest the ice should 
 move, our Easter Monday was sufficiently miser- 
 able. 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 
 canie across to us. 
 
 To-day we have recovered the boats, shot four 
 seals, seen two whales, and much water to the 
 
90 OUT OF THE PACK. Coap. VI. 
 
 eastward ; wc are in latitude 67° 18' N., and 
 highly delighted with the rapidity of our south- 
 ern drift. 
 
 lO/Zt. — Yesterday evening the setting sun ren- 
 dered 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. 
 
 \2th. — This morning we drifted ingloriously 
 out of the Arctic regions, and with what very dif- 
 ferent 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 tem- 
 perature improves; yesterday at one o'clock it 
 was -|-19° in the shade, -|-15° in the crow's-nest 
 70 feet high, and -|-51° against a black surfiice 
 exposed to the sun. 
 
 lUh. — 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 unluckj'^ 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. 
 
Apk. 1858. DOGS LOST. 91 
 
 To-niglit a dense fog-bank rests upon the water 
 to the southward ; its upper edge is illuminated 
 hj 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 se- 
 cure 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 re- 
 turned in safety, to my great relief, for it was 
 both dark and late. 
 
 ISth. — 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 ofi" 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 
 
92 THE ARCTIC BEAR. Chap. VI. 
 
 in sight was not more than two daj's old ; it 
 mainly owes its origin and rapid growth to the 
 immense quantities of snow blown oil' the pack. 
 
 It still blows hard, and the thermometer stands 
 at 11°. A sudden opening of the ice this fore- 
 noon allowed us to run a few miles southward, 
 and then it closed again ; we are now surrounded 
 by young ice. 
 
 20ih. — We have been carried rapidly past the 
 position where the Arctic discovery ship ' Reso- 
 lute ' was picked up. 
 
 Yesterday three bears, a fulmar petrej, 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 u})on 
 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 Uver for breakfast 
 very highly. 
 
 It seems hardly right to call polar bears land 
 animals; they abound here, — 110 geograpliical 
 miles from the nearest land, — upon very loose 
 broken-up ice, which is steadily drifting into the 
 Atantic at the rate of 12 or 14 miles daily j to re- 
 main 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 
 
The Greenlanflei's supper appropriated by a bear. 
 
Apr. 1858. THE ARCTIC BEAE. 93 
 
 prey, also serves the important purpose of guid- 
 ing 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 ex- 
 plains that to surprise the seal a Bear crouches 
 down with his fore-paws doubled underneath, and 
 pushes himself noiselessly forward with his hind- 
 er 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 attack- 
 ing men, except when wounded or provoked; 
 they never disturb the Esquimaux graves, although 
 they seldom fail to rob a c^che 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 pecu- 
 liarly grim old bear instead of his comrade ! with- 
 out deigning further notice of the man. Bruin tore 
 the seal out of the net and commenced his sup- 
 
94 THE OCEAN SWELL. Chap. VI. 
 
 per. lie was not interrupted ; nor did the man 
 wait to see the meal finished. 
 
 I had long ago resolved, if Ave escaped before 
 the 15th, or the 20th April at the latest, to go to 
 Newfoiuidland to refresh the crew and to refit, 
 even if no damage from the ice should be sus- 
 tained. 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 work- 
 ing the engines, so that ten or twelve hours daily 
 is all the steaming that could have been ex- 
 pected. 
 
 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. 
 
 24//^. — Another anxious week has passed. Latr 
 terly we have experienced south-westerly cur- 
 rents similar to those which Parr}^ 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 
 
Apk. 1858 AN ICE-TOUKNAMENT. 95 
 
 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 un- 
 pleasant 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 hearti- 
 ness, instead of audibly making known her suffer- 
 ings to us. Every considerable surface of ice has 
 been broken into many smaller ones ; with feel- 
 ings of exultation I watched the process from 
 aloft. A floe-piece near us, of 100 yards in diame- 
 ter, 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 resem- 
 blance 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. 
 
 IWi. — 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 merci- 
 ful protection contrasts — how strongly! — with 
 our own utter helplessness; as if the successive 
 
96 THE ' FOX ' IN PERIL. Chap. VI. 
 
 mercies vouchsafed to us during our loug, long 
 winter and mysterious ice-drift had heen con- 
 centrated 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. 
 
 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 in- 
 creased; it had evidently been approaching for 
 hours before it reached us, since it rose in propor- 
 tion 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 possi- 
 ble. 
 
 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 
 risino; ten feet above the trouQ-h of the sea. The 
 shocks of the ice against the ship were alarmingly 
 
Apr. 1858. CLEAR OP THE PACK. 
 
 97 
 
 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 smaU water-space in 
 Its wake, but sufficient to aUow the seas to break 
 agamst its chffs, and throw the spray in heavy, 
 showers quite over its summit. 
 
 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 
 hummockyice 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 viUanous "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, md screw; deprived of the one or 
 
 9 o 
 
98 DANGER FROM ICE-MASSES. CnAi-. VI. 
 
 the other, even for half an hour, I think our fiite 
 would have been sealed ; to have steered in any 
 other direction than arjahid the swell would have 
 exposed, and probably sacrificed both. 
 
 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 ob- 
 liquely, 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 re- 
 volve 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 suppoi't 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 inwardl}^ trusted that God would fiivor 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 re- 
 mained 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 Franlilin and 
 
Ape. 1858. STEERING FOR HOLSTEINBORG. 99 
 
 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| feet ; after passing through the last of it 
 there was no increase, but the sea was more con- 
 fused; in fact, within the ice all minor disturb- 
 ances 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 Baf- 
 fin's Bay and Davis' Straits we were drifted 1194 
 geographical or 1385 statute miles ; it is the long- 
 est drift I know of, and our winter, as a whole, 
 may be considered as having been mild, but very 
 windy. 
 
 We are steering now for Holsteinborg, where 
 I intend to refit and refresh the crew ; it is re- 
 puted to be the best place for reindeer upon 
 the coast. 
 
100 ANCHORED AT HOLSTEIMJORG. Chap. VTL 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A holiday in Greenland — A lady blue with cold — The loves of Green- 
 landers — Close shaving — Meet the wlialcrs — Information of wluil- 
 ers — Disco — Danish hospitality — Sail from Disco — Kindness of 
 the whalers — Danish establishments in Greenland. 
 
 Wednesday/ night, April 2Sth. — Safely anchored at 
 Holsteinborg, and moored to the rocks; a charm- 
 ing change, after our position only a few days 
 back. We have been visited by the Danish resi- 
 dents — 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 Co- 
 penhagen 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 codfishery, and not 
 a single reindeer has been killed throughout the 
 winter ! Eider-ducks, looms, and dovekies are 
 abundant, as well as hares and ptarmigan. 
 
 2dih. — A bright and lovely day. Our poor, 
 half-famished dogs have been landed near the 
 carcases of four whales, so they must be su- 
 
Ape. 1858. HOLIDAY IN GREENLAM). 101 
 
 premely happy. I visited the Governor to-day, 
 and found his little wooden house as scrupulously 
 clean and neat as the houses of the Danish res- 
 idents in Greenland invariably are. The only 
 ornaments about the room were portraits of his 
 unfortunate wife and two children: they em- 
 barked 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. 
 
 2>Wi. — This is a grand Danish holiday ; the in- 
 habitants are all dressed in their Sunday clothes 
 — at least, all who have got a change of gar- 
 ments — 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 
 
102 HOLIDAY IN GREENLAND. Chap. YU. 
 
 ladies danced away most furiously for hours. 
 These ladies can dance in the least pos:?ible 
 space, their costume being particularly well 
 adapted for the purpose, partaking as it does 
 much more of the " Bloomer " than the " crin- 
 oline." 
 
 Christian looks immensely happy : his country- 
 men 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 Eng- 
 lish, Danes, and Esquimaux. 
 
 7th May. — I intended sailing for Disco this 
 morning, but wind and weather were adver.se. 
 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 noiv 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. 
 
 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 sit- 
 ting in his room reading at the time, when he 
 
Mat, 185S. AN EARTHQUAKE. 103 
 
 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 Holstein- 
 borg 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 Iiymn-books in their hands, printed 
 in the Esquimaux language. 
 
 Ravens seem very abundant, also large grey 
 
104 THE LOVES OF GREENLANDERS. Chap. VII. 
 
 falcons: perhaps the dead whales may have at- 
 tracted an unusual number. 
 
 Poor Christian has not only fallen desperately 
 m 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 God- 
 havn, 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, 1 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 fiimily. 
 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 geologi- 
 cal date. 
 
 10^^. — On the morning of the 8 th we left Hoi- 
 
May, 1858. STOPPED BY THE ICE. 105 
 
 steinborg with a pleasant land wind and bright 
 weather. When 15 miles off shore we weie 
 stopped by ice formed during the last two nights, 
 the thermometer having fallen to 12° ; out in the 
 offing the weather was gloomy and cold, and 
 strong northerly winds were blowing. On clos- 
 ing the land again, we regained the offshore wind, 
 and briofht weather. 
 
 o 
 
 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 particu- 
 larly 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. 
 
 12tk — 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 icebero;s 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 
 
106 WHALEFISII ISLAITDS. Chap. VII. 
 
 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 nar 
 tives came about five miles off to us ; the water 
 washed over their little Imyaks, and kept the occu- 
 pants' sealskin dresses streaming with wet up to 
 their shoulders j this part of their dress seems 
 rather part of the kayak, as it is attached to it 
 round the hole in which the hayahcr 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 tliis outrstation 
 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. 
 
 \Uli. — Summer has suddenly burst upon us — 
 thermometer up to 40° ; moreover, we are enjoy- 
 ing English newspapers, and have dined off roast 
 beef and vegetables ! 
 
 Two days ago I sent a note off to a whaler by 
 a kayak, requesting her captain to lend me some 
 
Mat, 1858. MEET THE WHALERS. 107 
 
 newspapers ; the note reached Captain J. Walker, 
 of the 'Jane/ and yesterday his ship, accompa- 
 nied by the ^Heroine/ Captain J. Simpson, ap- 
 proached 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 '- Un- 
 daunted' 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. 682°, 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. 
 
 The position of the ice last season was con- 
 sidered 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 
 
108 UNUSUAL POSITION OF ICE. Chap. VII. 
 
 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 in- 
 tention to have sailed across to the west side if pos- 
 sible, 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 al the ihne, so 
 need only observe noiv, that, although I failed, I be- 
 lieve my decision was justified b}^ all former ex- 
 perience, 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 Ba}^, and with but little difficulty. Su* 
 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. 
 
 There is nothing more uncertain than ice- 
 navigation, dependent as it is upon winds, temper- 
 atures, and currents : one can only calculate upon 
 " the chances," and how nearly we succeeded we 
 have already seen. In the preceding year (1856) 
 
Mat, 1858. UNCEETAINTT OF ICE-NAVIGATION. 109 
 
 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 pos- 
 sessions 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 
 10 
 
110 
 
 DANISH HOSPITALITY. Ciiai-. VII. 
 
 upon its southern side ; and as the old sailing 
 whalers arc 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 unu- 
 sually warm Avcathcr, she was pounced upon by 
 
 the dogs. 
 
 Yllk^ — Yesterday our attempt to enter the 
 port of Godhavn failed, it is still fdled with ice. 
 This evening Young and I examined a nar- 
 row 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 sittmg 
 room ; it was unnecessary ; the windows looked to 
 the south, and the sun shone brightly in upon a 
 profusion of geraniums and European flowei-s, 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 
 
Mat, 1858. INTERCHANGE OF PRESENTS. IH 
 
 been in any way remarkable, except for the pre- 
 valence of strong winds ; April and the early 
 part of May have been unusLially cold. 
 
 2ith. — We did honor to Her Majesty's birth- 
 day 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 in- 
 terchange of presents between us and our Danish 
 friends. I have been given an eider-down cover- 
 let by the Governor, Mr. Andersen ; and, by Mrs. 
 Olrik, some delicious preserve of Greenland cran- 
 berries, 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 God- 
 havn ; we have certainly been treated as especial 
 favorites. 
 
 2Wi. — Left Godhavn early yesterday morn- 
 ing, and anchored this afternoon in our old posi- 
 tion off the Coal Cliffs in the Waigat ; a party of 
 seal-hunters from Atanekerdluk came off to us, 
 and their hunting having terminated successfully, 
 
112 COALING. Chap. VIL 
 
 they will assist us in coaling. From these men I 
 obtained much information about this part of the 
 coast ; "witliin 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 cov- 
 ered 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 ord April ; it has all drifted 
 out to the northward, only a few icebergs now 
 remain. 
 
 2Wi. — Again hastening northward; the busi- 
 ness of coaling was very speedily and satisfac- 
 torily completed, but the quality of the coals is 
 very inferior. Upon the green slopes our sports^ 
 men found nothing but a few ptarmigan and a 
 hare. 
 
 Shortly after running close past the deserted 
 settlement of Noursak, 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 " Mak- 
 kaks Elvin," or Clay Eiver, 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- 
 
Mat, 1858. PROXIMITY OE THE WHALERS. 113 
 
 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. 
 
 Slst — 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 pas- 
 sage 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 pre- 
 vailed to an unusual degree, therefore southerly 
 winds may novv^ be expected to continue ; if he 
 prove a prophet, it will be to our serious hinder- 
 ance at this critical season. Governor Fliescher 
 says the winter has been mild ; there has been 
 but little wind, and that chiefly from the south- 
 ward. 
 
 4:th 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 
 10* H 
 
114 KINDNESS OP THE WHALERS. Chap. VH. 
 
 stores, but provisions and coals, and in return I 
 have of course furnished him with a receipt for 
 his owners. Captain Simpson has most hand- 
 somely presented the ' Fox ' with a sail and 3'ards, 
 which, after some slight alterations, Avill 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 Cap- 
 tain Parker's beefsteaks and porter; we amply 
 availed ourselves of his hearty welcome. By the 
 arrival of the fine steam whaler * Tay,' from Scot- 
 land, we have received papers up to 17th April. 
 
 This morning we slowly steamed away from 
 Upemivik, 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 inscrip- 
 tion ; it was sent home to Copenhagen as a most 
 interesting relic of the early Scandinavian voya- 
 gers ; 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 proba- 
 bility their sojourn was extremely short, perhaps 
 
June, 1858. DANISH ESTABLISHMENTS. US j 
 
 I 
 
 only for a single summer. The Esquimaux did | 
 not make their appearance for nearly two centu- ^ 
 ries later. | 
 After Egede's settlement at Godhaab in 1721, I 
 the Danish trading establishments gradually ex- ' 
 tended along the coast, and Upernivik was one of 
 them; but it appears to have been soon aban- ;; 
 doned. During Napoleon's wars all the Danish ; 
 posts were withdrawn, as the British fleet effect- I 
 ually cut off communication with Europe ; but i 
 after peace was restored in 1815, the trading j 
 posts were again resorted to, and a new settle- 
 ment formed near the ruins of the old one at ^ 
 Upernivik ; it enjoys pre-eminence as the most i 
 northern abode of civilized man. . 
 
116 THE 'FOX' NEAKLY WRECKED. Cuap. VIIL 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 * 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 — Keach the West-land — Off the entrance of Lancaster 
 Sound. 
 
 June Wi. — Yesterday morning we passed close 
 outside Buchan Island ; it is small but lofty, its 
 north side is almost precipitous, yet notwithstand- 
 ing 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 distinguish- 
 able from the floatino- masses around ; the eiifrines 
 were stopped and reversed, but there was neither 
 time nor room to avoid the reef, which now ex- 
 tended 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 lloes lay within 30 j^ards 
 of us upon each side. I feared their drifting 
 down upon the ship and turning her over \ but 
 
:"'! i"i' IF 'lll^IlJ'llH'^I'"I ' I limn' 'wnn , in liiwriniiWiiiiMrinmi- 
 
June, 1858. THE 'EOX' NEAELY WRECKED. 117 
 
 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°; 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 in- 
 stantly 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. 
 
 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. 
 
 To-day we are steaming along after the three 
 vessels which passed us last evening and disap- 
 peared round Cape Shackleton during the night. 
 
118 AFLOAT, AND PUSH AHEAD. Chap. VIII. 
 
 The contrast between our prospects yesterday 
 and to-day fills one with delight, — to be afloat 
 and advancing unobstructedly once more is in- 
 deed charminor. 
 
 11//^. — 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. Tiiere 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. 
 
 In August, 1855, when Captain Deuchars was 
 crossing through the middle ice, in latitude 70°, 
 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 * Pio- 
 neer,' as two months later, and 250 miles further 
 south, the ' Resolute' was picked up. About two 
 or three years ago. Captain Deuchars lost his 
 
June, 1858, ARCTIC HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES. 119 
 
 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, re- 
 mamed on deck to see her pass safely between 
 them, but they closed too quickly; the vessel 
 wa& 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, ahove tvater, per- 
 fectly level, and moving extremely slow, could 
 possibly endanger a strong vessel ! The ' Prin- 
 cess 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. 
 
 \Wi. — "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 
 
120 SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS. Chap. VTU. 
 
 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, 
 
 lOik — 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 alono; the edo-e of the fixed 
 ice, passing about six miles outside of the Sabine 
 Islands, and are advancing as opportunities offer. 
 This morning the man wdio was stationed to 
 Avatcli 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 the}^ 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 bUibhcr ; 
 all scruples respecting it henceforth vanish. 
 
 2bih. — The land-ice broke away inshore of the 
 *Fox' on the 19th or 20th, and we found our- 
 selves drifting southward amongst extensive fields 
 of ice. Sad experience has already shown us how 
 
June, 1858. NEARLY CAUGHT IN THE PACK. 121 
 
 absolutely powerless our small craft is under such 
 circumstances. But after many attempts we re- 
 gained 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 encom-. 
 passed 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 move- 
 ment 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 un- 
 speakable rehef to have got out of the drifting 
 ice. 
 
 I have passed very many anxious days in Mel- 
 ville 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 nearl?/ 
 opened at high water, but closed again with the 
 ebb tide. I thought of the week already spent 
 11 
 
122 ARCTIC PERPLEXITIES. Chap. VHI. 
 
 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 impa- 
 tience and of bitter chagrin at being so repeatr 
 edly baflled 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, how- 
 ever, 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 car- 
 case 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. 
 
 27//i. — Lying fast to the ice off" the Crimson 
 Cliffs of Sir John Eoss. Yesterday we succeed- 
 ed in passing through the nip, and by evening 
 
'"1 
 
 \ 
 
 Esquimaux imitating animals to induce Europeans to approacli. 
 
June, 1858. THE ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS. 123 
 
 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 imme- 
 diately recognised Petersen, for they lived at Etah 
 in Smith's Sound when he was there in the Amer- 
 ican 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 re- 
 turn to Greenland, but had neither sledge-dogs 
 nor kayak; hunger had compelled him to eat the 
 sealskin which covered the framework of the lat- 
 ter. 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 any- 
 thing 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 angeJwk, or magician ; 
 he has a still flatter face than the rest of his 
 countrymen, but appears more thoughtful ar;d 
 intelligent. 
 
 Petersen pointed out to me a stout old fellow, 
 with a tolerable sprinkhng of beard and mous- 
 
124 THE ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS. Chap. Vm. 
 
 tache. This worthy perpetrated the only murder 
 which has taken place for several 3'ears in the 
 tribe : he disliked his victim and stood in need of 
 his dogs, therefore he killed the owner and appro- 
 priated 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 3'ears these Arctic Highlanders have be- 
 come 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 ap- 
 proach, 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 shaggj 
 bear-skin breeches, and these again came dowii 
 over the tops of their seal-skin boots. Most o\ 
 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 be- 
 cause they had behaved well to the white peo- 
 ple, (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 JVo?ih Water, an extensive sea through 
 
July, 1858. DAMAGE EKOM ICE. 125 
 
 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 bul- 
 let; none other will penetrate such a massive 
 skull : unfortunately for my collection of speci- 
 mens, and for the dogs, the animal sank. 
 
 Id July. — For five days we have been almost 
 beset amongst loose ice and grounded bergs ; the 
 winds were generally from the S.E. and accom- 
 panied 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. 
 
 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. 
 11* 
 
126 ROTCniES AJSTD GULLS. Chap. Vm. 
 
 Here and there under this noble range of cliffs, 
 which are composed of primary rock, there exists 
 much veo:etation for so hi2;h 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 Qg^ 
 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 sev- 
 eral dozen of their eggs. 
 
 The huge predatory gulls, long ago named 
 " Burgomasters " by Dutch seamen (because they 
 lord it over then- neighbors, and appropriate every 
 thing good to themselves), have estabUshed them- 
 selves in the cliffs, where their nests are gener- 
 ally inaccessible : we were a month too late for 
 their eggs; the young birds were as large as 
 spring chickens. Of course we obtained speci- 
 mens of the red snow, but had to seek rather dili- 
 gently for it ; its color was a dirty red, very like 
 the stain of port wine : very few patches of it 
 were found. 
 
July, 1858. FREE FROM THE ICE. 127 
 
 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! 
 
 t>th. — After getting free from the ice off the 
 Crimson Cliffs, we soon lost sight of the last frag- 
 ment, and steered for Pond's Bay. And now we 
 all set to work in zealous haste to write our last 
 lette-^s 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 impenetra- 
 ble, and there is a strong ice-bhnk 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 frac- 
 tured edges remaining sharp. 
 
 ^th. — Midnight. Last evening I persevered to 
 the N. until every hope of progress in that direc- 
 tion vanished. To the W. the pack appeared tol- 
 
128 ICE CLOSING AGAIN. Chap. VIIL 
 
 eraloly loose ; the wind was fresh at E.S.E., so I 
 determined once more to push into it, and en- 
 deavor 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 fi'om one water space to another. The wind 
 greatly increased, bringing much rain, but for- 
 tunately 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 gradu- 
 ally 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 mid- 
 night 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. 
 
 10//^. — 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 
 
July, 1858. STEUGGLING TO THE WESTWAED. 129 
 
 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,* 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 morn- 
 ing, when within 5 or 6 leagues of it. 
 
 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 whaUng friends 
 are about, and where they are ? 
 
 lUh. — The faint streak of water seen on the 
 night of the 10th proved to be an extensive sheet 
 
 * These birds are called willocks at home ; they are the " Uria Brunni- 
 chii" of naturalists. 
 
 I 
 
130 VISIT OF NATIVES. Cnxp. VIII. 
 
 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 mov- 
 ing offshore 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 Lancasj- 
 ter Sound. What a very different season he must 
 have experienced ! 
 
 Passing near Cape Horsburgh we approached 
 De Eos 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. 
 
 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 sj)ent 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 
 
JtjLT. 1858. OFF LANCASTEE SOIINI>. 131 
 
 * Phoenix' 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 ive 
 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 on- 
 ward, and on reaching a larger space of water our 
 hopes (somewhat depressed by the native intel- 
 ligence) 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 in- 
 creased 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 west- 
 ward of Point Osborn. Gradually the gale sub- 
 sided, 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. 
 
132 OFF CAPE WARRENDER. Chap. IX. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Off Capo "Warrendcr — Sight the whalers again — Enter Pond's Bay — 
 Communicate wiih Esquimaux — Ascend Pond's Inlet — Esquimaux 
 information — Arctic summer abode — An Arctic village — No intel- 
 ligence of Franklin's ships — Arctic trading — Geographical infor- 
 mation of natives — Information of Rae's visit — Improvidence of 
 Esquimaux — Travels of Esquimaux. 
 
 IWi Juhj. — To borrow a whaling phrase, we are 
 " dodging about in a hole of water " off Cape War- 
 render. I recognize the little bay just to the 
 west of the cape where Parry landed in Septem- 
 ber, 1824. The " immense mass of snow and ice 
 containing strata of mudd3'-looking soil " is there 
 still, and, I should thinlt, had considerably in- 
 creased. Here his party shot three reindeer out 
 of a small herd. We have narrowly scanned the 
 steep hill-sides with our glasses, but without dis- 
 covering any such inducement to land. 
 
 No cairns are visible upon Cape Warrender; 
 the natives have probably removed them. Dense 
 pack prevents us from aj^proaching Port Dundas 
 or crossing to the southern shore. We all find 
 these vexatious delays are by no means condu- 
 cive to sleep. The mind is busy with a sort of 
 magic-lantern representation of the past, the pre&- 
 
July, 1858. THE WHALERS AGAIN. 133 
 
 ent, and the future, and resists for weary hours 
 the necessary repose. 
 
 Vlth. — 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 east- 
 ward with the ice precisely as did the ' En- 
 terprise ' 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 prob- 
 ably effect a prodigious clearance of ice. 
 
 21^/. — 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' strug- 
 gling with steam and sails at the most favorable 
 intervals has only advanced us five miles. The 
 weather is remarkably warm, bright, and pleas- 
 ant. A very large bear came within 150 yards, 
 and was shot by Petersen, the Minie bullet pass- 
 ing through his body. This beast measured 
 8 ft. 3 in. in length j his fat carcase was hoisted 
 12 
 
134 OFF CAPE WALTER BATHURST. Cuap. IX. 
 
 on board with great satisfliction, as our clogs' food 
 was nearly expended. 
 
 %Uh. — Last night the ice became slack enough 
 to aflford some prospect of release, so we charged 
 the nips vigorously, and steamed away through 
 devious openings towards Cape Faushawe. For 
 several hours but little progress was made, but 
 this morning the ice became more open ; clear 
 vvater was seen ahead, and reached by noon. Al- 
 though 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 ice- 
 berg in sight. The sea-water is light green, as 
 remarked by Parry in 1819. 
 
 IWi. — 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 obstruc- 
 tion. 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, 
 
July, 1858. ENTER POND'S BAY. 135 
 
 we have made fast to a loose floe, and are drift- 
 ing very nearly a mile an hour to the south- 
 ward 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 unu- 
 sual and unaccountable abundance of ice which 
 everywhere fills up Baffin's Bay. All the ' Dia- 
 na's' steaming coals, her spare spars, wood and 
 even a boat, have been burnt in the protracted 
 struggle through the middle ice. 
 
 Iltli. — After putting our letter-bag on board 
 the ^ Diana' this morning we steamed on for 
 Pond's Bay, and at noon made fast near But- 
 ton Point to the land-ice, which still extends 
 across it. 
 
 For four hours Petersen and I have been bar- 
 gaining 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 
 
136 COM^IUNICATE WITH ESQUIMAUX. Chap. H. 
 
 on purpose to barter with the whalers, and can- 
 not 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 imprac- 
 ticable. 
 
 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 ao;o beset off Jones' Sound. The re- 
 maining steamer, the ^ Chase,' has not been seen 
 or heard of 
 
 2Wi. — The old woman's denial of all knowl- 
 edge of the wrecks or cast-away men was very 
 unsatisfactory. I determined to visit her coun- 
 trymen at their summer village of KaparOktolik, 
 which she described as being only a short day^s 
 journey up the inlet. 
 
 Petersen and one man accompanied me. "We 
 started yesterday morning with a sledge and a Hal- 
 kett boat. Although the ice over which we pur- 
 posed 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 KaparOktolik, so we were 
 obliged to return to the ship. Our walk afforded 
 
July, 1858. EXAMINE NATIVE CACHES. 137 
 
 the opportunity of examining some native en- 
 campments 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 to- 
 gether 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 ve- 
 racity. Since yesterday, ice, about 16 miles in 
 extent, has broken up in the inlet, and is drifting 
 out into Baf&n'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. 
 Yery 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 Kobert M'Clure found them, I know, 
 on Bank's 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 pro- 
 tected 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 j 
 12* 
 
138 ASCEND POND'S INLET. Chap. IX. 
 
 some of til em familiar to us at home, such as the 
 buttercup, sorrel, and dandelion. I have never 
 found the latter to the north of G9^ 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 under- 
 neath. This fragment is part of a floor timber, 
 English oak, Ta inches thick j it has been brought 
 on board. 
 
 30^/e. — 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 re- 
 turn of winter should freeze a safe pathway for 
 them ; they had, however, abundance of looms 
 stored up en cdcJie 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 hves at a place called 
 
Aug. 1858. ESQUIMAUX IKFOKMATION. 139 
 
 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. 
 
 Thinking it not quite impossible that this Ig- 
 loolik might be the place where Parry wintered 
 in 1822-3, 1 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 Igloo- 
 lik ! 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. 
 
 August 4dJi. — Our Esquimaux friends have de- 
 parted from us with every demonstration of friend- 
 ship, to return to their village. We have had 
 
140 TOOLS USED BY THE ESQUIMAUX. Chap. IX. 
 
 free commimication with them for four da^'s — 
 not only through Mr. Petersen, but also through 
 our two Greenlanclers; the result is, that they 
 have no knowledge whatever of either of the 
 missing or the abandoned searching ships. Nei- 
 ther Avrecked people nor wrecked ships have 
 reached their shores. They seemed to be much 
 in want of wood ; most of what they have con- 
 sists of staves of casks, probably from the Navy 
 Board Inlet depot. 
 
 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 pad- 
 dles from the ice. 
 
 Files were also in great demand, and I found 
 were required to convert pieces of iron-hooji 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 Bai/, and more recently Eclipse /Sound — 
 
T^^'^imf?''i:'fr-^^-^'\i' !"■ '^^"'^ II 
 
Aug. 1858. ARCTIC SUMMER ABODES. 141 
 
 appears to be most contracted, its width not ex- 
 ceeding 7 or 8 miles. Both its shores are very 
 bold and lofty, often forming noble precipices. 
 TJie prevailing rock is grey gneiss, generally dip- 
 ping at an angle of 35° to the west. 
 
 Early on the 1st of August I set out for the na- 
 tive village with Hob son, 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 sur- 
 face of the ice was everywhere deeply channelled 
 and abundantly flooded by the summer's thaw ; 
 we were almost constanly launching our small 
 boat over the slippery ridges which separated 
 pools or channellings through which it was gener- 
 ally necessary to wade. 
 
 After toiling round the base of a precipice, we 
 came rather suddenly in view of a small semicircu- 
 lar 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 laud, stood seven tents, — 
 the summer village of Kaparok-to-lik. I never 
 saw a locality naore characteristic of the Esqui- 
 maux than that which they have here selected for 
 their abode ; it is widely picturesque in the true 
 Arctic application of the term. 
 
 Although August had arrived, and the summer 
 had been a warm one, the bay was still frozen 
 
142 AN ARCTIC VILLAGE. Chap. IX. 
 
 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 3-ards, — 
 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, fis- 
 sured by innumerable small rivulets, which threw 
 themselves over the glacier cliffs in pretty cas- 
 cades, or shot far out in strong jets from their 
 deeply serried channels in its face ; whilst other 
 streamlets near the base burst out throufj:h 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 unreflectins; sava2;e of its iDrosrressive motion. 
 
 The land is devoid of game, although lemmings 
 and ermines are tolerably numerous ; it only sup- 
 plies the moss which the natives burn with blub- 
 ber in their lamps, and the dry grass which they 
 put in their boots ; even the soft stone, lajm ollor 
 
Aug. 1858. AN AECTIC VILLAGE. 143 
 
 m, 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 defi- 
 ciency. The assembled population amounted to 
 only 25 souls : 9 men, the rest women and chil- 
 dren. 
 
 All of them evinced extreme delight at seeing 
 us ; as we approached the huts the w^omen and 
 children held up their arms in the air and shout- 
 ed "Pnietay" (give me), incessantly; the men 
 were more quiet and dignified, yet lost no oppor- 
 tunity, 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 unex- 
 pected. They had only two sledges ; both were 
 made of 2iinch 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 
 crossbars were ordinary staves of casks. Amongst 
 the poles and large bones which supported the 
 
144 NO INTELLIGENCE OF FRANKLIN. Chap. IX. 
 
 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. 
 
 Petersen questioned all the men separately as to 
 their knowledge of ships or wrecks ; but their ac- 
 counts only served to confirm the old woman's 
 story. None of them had ever heard of ships or 
 wrecks anywhere to the westward. Both individu- 
 ally 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, Noo-luk and A-wah-lah, soon made them- 
 selves known to me, and, when we desired to go 
 to sleej), 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-wah-lah has been to Igloolik; one of his 
 wives, for each chief has iwo, 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-\viXh- 
 lah constantly referred to others when his memory 
 failed him ; at length it was completed to the sat- 
 isfaction 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 
 
Aug. 1858. AGAIN IN DANGER. 145 
 
 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 neces- 
 sary to humor them. 
 
 According to their account the dep6t was dis- 
 covered 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-wah-lah and Noo-luk had re- 
 ceived the first information of its proximity. These 
 people of Kaparoktolik 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. 
 
 During my absence more ice had broken away, 
 involving the ship and almost forcing her on shore. 
 13 K 
 
146 GEOGRAPniCAL INTOKMATION. Chai-. IX. 
 
 It required every exertion to save her. For two 
 hours «ho 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, 
 fmir minutes only before these were crushed up 
 as^ainst the rocks ! 
 
 Four Esquimaux came off to the ship in their 
 kayaks, bringing whalebone, narwhals' horns, etc., 
 to barter. Next to handsaws and files, they at- 
 tached the greatest value to knives and large 
 needles. These men remained on board for nearly 
 two days, and drew several charts for us. Noo- 
 luk explained that seven or eight days' journey to 
 the southward there are iwo wrecks a short day's 
 journey apart. The southern is in an inlet or strait 
 which contains several islands, but here his knowl- 
 edge 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 Noo-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 3'cars previ- 
 ous to the arrival of this report through the Esqui- 
 maux to Igloolik, the whalers ' Dexterity ' and 
 
Atra. 1858. OF NATIVES. 147 
 
 ' Aurora ' were wrecked upon the west coast of 
 Davis' Strait, in lat. 72"", 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 Kaparoktolik ; 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 Par- 
 ry), 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. 
 
 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 
 
148 INFORJIATION OF EAE'S VISIT. Cuap. IX. 
 
 their snow-huts j they killed and eat reindeer 
 and narwhal, and smoked pipes ; they bought 
 dresses from the natives ; none died ; in sum- 
 mer 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 recol- 
 lect these particulars.'^' 
 
 The name of the locality, A-wee-lik (spelt as 
 written down at the moment), may be consid- 
 ered identical with "Ay-wee-lik," the name of 
 the land about Repulse Bay in the chart of the 
 Esquimaux woman, Iligliuk (Parry's ' Second Voy- 
 age,' p. 197). 
 
 We were of course greatlj^ 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 communica- 
 tion. They were anxiously and repeatedly ques- 
 tioned, 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 acquaint- 
 
 * Dr. Rae wintered at Repulse Bay ia stone huts ia 184G-7. Again 
 vyintered there iu snow huts ia 1853-4. 
 
Aug. 1858. BAKTEE WITH NATIVES. 149 
 
 ed with Ee-noo-loo-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-su-malek, but 
 that his sister still lives at Igloolik. 
 
 Although they told us the Igloolik people 
 were worse oif for wood than they were them- 
 selves, 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 ob- 
 tained 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-wah-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 whale- 
 bone was sold for upwards of a hundred pounds ! 
 Each successive year, when the same ship re- 
 turns to Pond's Bay, this native comes on board 
 to visit his friends, and goes on shore with many 
 13* 
 
150 TEMPTATIONS TO BARTER. Chap. IX. 
 
 presents in remembrance of the memorable trans- 
 action. It is much better for him thus to receive 
 annual gifts than to have received a large quan- 
 tity at first, as the improvidence of these men 
 surpasses belief. 
 
 Of the " rod of iron about four feet long, sup- 
 posed to have been at one time galvanized," 
 which Avas 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 val- 
 uable 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 bar- 
 tered away by the sailors. That there Avas no 
 galvanized iron on board any of the Govern- 
 ment searching-ships, nor in the missing expedi- 
 tion which sailed from Ena:land as fir back as 
 1845, 1 am almost certain. But is it certain that 
 this rod was galvanized ? The natives gave Cap- 
 tain 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 
 
Aug. 1858. TRAVELS OF ESQUIMAUX. 151 
 
 over the ice on twelve or fourteen sleclo-es 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 rendez- 
 vous. 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. 
 
 That the various tribes, or rather groups of 
 families, occasionally visit each other, sometimes 
 for change of hunting-grounds, but more fre- 
 quently for barter, is well known. Captain Par- 
 ker 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 Eepulse 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 with- 
 
152 TRAVELS OF ESQUIMAUX. Cn.v^ IX. 
 
 in 300, 400, or even 500 miles, the Pond's Bay 
 natives ^vould 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 for- 
 tune to see more than a few natives, and but two 
 sledges of ship's planking ; otherwise our own in- 
 formation might have been more copious, and the 
 origin of the fresh supply of planking decisively 
 ascertained. 
 
Aug. 1858. LEAVE POND'S BAY. 153 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Leave Pond's Bay — A gale in Lancaster Sound — The Beechej' Island 
 Depot — An Arctic monument — Reflections at Beecliey Island — Pro- 
 ceed up BarroAv'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 tlu'ough. 
 
 Wi 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 
 straitj 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 *ea 
 beyond. 
 
 Monday evening, Wi. — On the night of the 6 th 
 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, 
 
154 GALE IN LANCASTER SOUND. Cuap. X. 
 
 and is destined for the museum of the Royal 
 Dublm Society. On the 7th the wind gradually 
 freshened and frustrated my intention of examin- 
 ing the wreck spoken of near Cape Ilay ; at night 
 it increased to a very heavy gale. Although pa.st 
 Navy Board Inlet, very little ice had yet been 
 met with. The weather, and fear of ice to lee- 
 ward, 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, al- 
 though 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. Notwithstandiug 
 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 jDack 
 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 
 
Tlie 'Fox' ariviiig at Beeclioy Inland. 
 
Aug. 1858. BEECHY ISLAND DEPOT. 155 
 
 Bulleiij for the violent motion of the ship and 
 very weak horizontal magnetic force had ren- 
 dered 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 
 aTvay a maingaff and a jibstay, but have come re- 
 markably well through such a gale with such tri- 
 flinQ" damas:e. 
 
 lltk. — Before noon to-day we anchored inside 
 Cape Riley, and immediately commenced prepar- 
 ations for embarking coals. I visited Beechy 
 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 accumula- 
 tion of ice, in which the lower tier of casks be- 
 tween 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 perfect- 
 ly 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. 
 
156 BEECHEY ISLAIsTD DEPOT. Chap. X. 
 
 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 
 mitil 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 Frankhn's or Colhnson's expeditions and also 
 a 20-feet sledge-boat for our own travelling pur- 
 poses. 
 
 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 Eigby Buy, 
 and discovered a shoal off its entrance by ground- 
 ing upon it. After a quarter of an hour we 
 floated off unhurt. 
 
 In lowering a boat to pursue a bear, Eobert 
 Hampton fell overboard ; fortunately he could 
 swim, and was very soon picked up, but the in- 
 tense cold of the w^ater had almost paralj'zed his 
 limbs. The bear was shot and taken on board. 
 
 Sunda?/,lWi,^VM. — Our coaHng was complet- 
 ed yesterday, and the ship brought over and an- 
 chored off the house in Erebus and Terror Bay. 
 A small proportion of provisions and winter cloth- 
 ing has been embarked to complete our deficien- 
 cies ; the ice has been scraped out of the house 
 and its roof thoroughly repaired, a record de- 
 posited, and door securely closed. 
 
 I found lying at Godhavn a marble tablet 
 
Aug. 1858. AN ARCTIC MONUMENT. 157 
 
 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 record- 
 ing the names of those who perished in the Gov- 
 ernment 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 fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 14 
 
158 THE DfSCEIPTION. Chju X. 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 FRANKLIN, 
 CHOZIER, FITZJAMES, 
 
 AND ALL THEIR 
 
 GALLANT BROTHER OFFICERS AND FAITHFUL 
 
 COMPANIONS WHO HAVE SUFFERED AND PERISHED 
 
 IN THE CAUSE OP 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 THEIB 
 
 ADMIRING COUNTRYMEN AND FRIENDS, 
 
 AND THE ANGUISH, SUBDUED BY FAITH, 
 
 OF HER WHO HAS LOST, IN THE HEROIC 
 
 LEADER OP THE EXPEDITION, THE MOST 
 
 DEVOTED AND AFFECTIONATE OF 
 
 HUSBANDS. 
 
 O 
 
 " 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 b( tha 
 American Expedition, commanded by Lt. II. J. Ilartstein, in search of Dr. Kane and 
 his Companions. 
 
 This Tablet having been left at Disco by the 
 American Expedition, which was unable to 
 reach Becchcy Island, in lR."i5, was put on 
 board the Discovery Yacht Fox. ami is now 
 Bet up here by Captain M'Clintock, R.N., 
 commanding the final expedition of search 
 for ascertaining the fate of Sir John FranUin 
 and his compouioos, 1863. 
 
Aug. 185S. REFLECTIONS AT BEECHEY ISLAND. 159 
 
 We are now ready to proceed upon our voyage 
 from Beechey Island, and there is no ice in sight ; 
 but having worked ahnost unceasingly since our 
 arrival up to the present hour, the men require a 
 night's rest. Nearly forty tons of fuel have been 
 embarked. 
 
 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 dif- 
 ficulty 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 subse- 
 quently Captain Austin, Sir John Ross, and Cap- 
 tain 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 tiAe 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 
 
IGO CAPE nOTHAM. Ciiap. X 
 
 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 Avith 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 prelimmaries, — we are only noiv about to 
 commence the interesting part of our voyage. It 
 is to be hoped the poor ' Fox ' has many more 
 lives to spare. 
 
 Monday mgM,\Wi A\i(). — 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 ex- 
 ception of two casks landed in 1850. The boats 
 were sound, but several of their oars, which had 
 been secured upright, w^ere 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, un- 
 natural. Fragments of the depot and the broken 
 oars were tossed about in e\^ry direction. Nu- 
 merous 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. 
 
 Vltli. — Last night battUng against a strong foul 
 wind with sea, in rain and fog. To-day much loose 
 
Aug. 1S58. PEOCEED DOWN PEEL STKAIT. ' 161 
 
 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 ns in a wild state 
 of excitement — a mingling of anxious hopes and 
 fears ! 
 
 \Wi. — For 25 miles last evening we ran un- 
 obstructedly 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 immedi- 
 ately turned about for Bellot Strait, as affording 
 a better prospect of a passage into the western 
 sea discovered by Sir James Eoss from Four Eiver 
 Point in 1849. Our disappointment at the inter- 
 ruption 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 sup- 
 port. 
 
 14* L 
 
1G2 rORT LEOPOLD. Cuap. X. 
 
 19//^. — At anchor in Port Leopold; it is per- 
 fectly 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 con- 
 tains 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 ap- 
 pearing through it scarcely above high-water mark. 
 Amon2:st the missino: articles is the steam-en o-ine. 
 
 Although the jflagstaff 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 pro- 
 visions appeared to be sound, but were not gen- 
 erally 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 
 
Au«. iS5S. OFF FUEY POINT. 263 
 
 evening we were again speeding onward with 
 augmented resources, and the confidence inspired 
 by a secure depot in our rear ; buoyed up more- 
 over by the joyful anticipation of soon reaching 
 the goal of our long-deferred hopes. 
 
 20^/^. — 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 any- 
 thing, and a strong tide carried us past before we 
 were aware of it. 
 
 WQfeel 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. 
 
 list. — 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 Boss 
 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 vf e 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 conven- 
 
164 DEPOT BAY. Chap. X. 
 
 ient bay three or four miles witliin Po.s.session 
 Point. Here our depot is to be landed, therefore 
 we shall name this for the present Depot Bcuj ; a 
 very narrow isthmus between its head and Haz- 
 ard 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 dis- 
 tinguished fifty miles distant in clear weather ; be- 
 tween 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 won- 
 der that we should feel elated at such a glorious 
 prosjDect, and content to bide our time in the 
 security of Depot Bay. A feeling of tranquillity 
 
 — of earnest, hearty satisfaction — has come over 
 ns. There is no appearance amongst us of any- 
 thing boastful ; we have all experienced too keenly 
 the vicissitudes of Arctic voyaging to admit of 
 such a feelmo;. 
 
 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 in- 
 creased, and presently we were dismayed at see- 
 ing grounded ice near us, but were very quickly 
 swept past it at the rate of nearly six miles an 
 
Aug. 1858. BELLOT STEAIT. 165 
 
 hour, though within 200 ^^arcls 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 ofi" 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. 
 
 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°. Some of the hill-ranges rise to about 
 1500 or 1600 feet above the sea. 
 
 The low land eastward of Depot Bay is com- 
 posed 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. 
 
166 FLOOD TIDE FROM THE WEST. Ciiap. X. 
 
 The great rapidity of the tides in Bellot Strait 
 fully accounts for the spaces of open ^vater seen 
 by Mr. Kennedy =•' 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 Avater at about half-past eleven; as 
 nearly as we can estimate, the tide runs through 
 to the west, from two hours before high water 
 imtil 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 ad- 
 vance westward. 
 
 2ijrd. — Yesterday Bellot Strait was again ex- 
 amined, 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 
 
 * Mr. Kennedy discovered this important passage when in command 
 of the 'Prince Albert ' in 1851. 
 
Aug. 1858. EAMBLE INLAND. 167 
 
 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 Penin- 
 sula, 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 botaniz- 
 ing, and had no gun ; others were seen by some 
 of the men, and followed, but without success. 
 
 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 footprints of wild-fowl 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 re- 
 mote period the summer residence of wandering 
 
168 FOX'S HOLE. Chap. X. 
 
 Esquimaux ; hence I infer that fish abound in the 
 lake, and that this valley is a ftivorite deer-pass. 
 
 But the contemplation of these objects, although 
 agreeable, was not the object of my solitary ram- 
 ble ; 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. 
 
 2htJi. — 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. 
 
 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 63 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 
 
Aug. 1858. PERILOUS AMUSEMENT. 169 
 
 huge rampant ice-masses that wildly surged about 
 in the tideway, or we dashed through boiling ed- 
 dies, 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 posi- 
 tion. 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. 
 
 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 Avhirled about, as if with v/ilful im- 
 petuosity, 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 
 15 
 
170 PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES. Chap. X. 
 
 into the stream and entering into mighty conflict 
 with their fellows. After such a frolic the massses 
 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 
 liand ! Nothing but strong hope of success in- 
 duced me to encounter such dangerous opposition. 
 I not only hoped, but ahnost felt, that we deserved 
 to succeed. 
 
 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 provis- 
 ions 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 pro- 
 visions 60 or 70 miles to the southward, and down 
 Prince Regent's Inlet, in order to facilitate com- 
 munication 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 
 
Aug. 1858. STILLWELL BAY. 171 
 
 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 ex- 
 periences of Sir John Ross in 1829. 
 
 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-hne both north and south, as far as, 
 and beyond our present position, is a low shore of 
 pale limestone, destitute of fossils ; we can, how- 
 ever, 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. 
 
172 EOSS'S CAIRN. Chap. X. 
 
 2^th. — 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 re- 
 gion ! The delusion is charming. 
 
 30t7^. — Yesterday after anchoring in Depot Bay 
 I walked over to Possession Point, to visit Ross's 
 cairn. I found a few stones piled up on two large 
 boulders, and under each a halfpenny, one of Avhich 
 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 calcu- 
 lated upon finding the bottle sound, I was obliged 
 to make an imi:)romptu 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. 
 
 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 de- 
 feated 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 
 
Aug. 1858, MT. WALKEE. 173 
 
 west of Depot Bay, and anchored in a small creek 
 perfectly sheltered and land-locked, at the foot of 
 a sugarloaf hill.* The temperature is falling ; last 
 night it stood at 24.° 
 
 * Subsequently named Mount Walker. 
 
 15* 
 
174 PROCEED WESTWARD IN A BOAT. Chap. XI. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Proceed westward in a boat — Cheerless state of the western sea — Strug- 
 gles in Bcllot Strait — Falcons, good Arctic fare — Tlic resources of 
 Boothia Felix — Future sledge travelling — Heavy gales — Ilobson's 
 party start — Winter quarters — Bellot's Strait — Advanced depot es- 
 tablished — Observatories — Intense cold — Autumn travellers — Nar- 
 row escape. 
 
 Most anxious to know the real state of the ice in 
 the western sea — upon which our hopes so en- 
 tirely 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. 
 
 1st Sept. — My boat party consisted of four men 
 and the doctor, who came with me for the novel- 
 ty 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 spendid view to the west- 
 ward, as well as glimpses between the hills of the 
 
il'CIintoek in his boat sailing tlirougli Bellot Strait 
 
Sept. 1858. FOUR RIVER POINT. 175 
 
 blue eastern sea. Long and anxiously did I sur- 
 A^ey the western sea, ice, and lands, and could not 
 but feel that in all jirobability we should not be 
 permitted to pass beyond our present position. 
 
 To the northward Four River Point — Sir 
 James Ross' farthest in 1849 — was at once rec- 
 ognized ; 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 
 leadino; southward. The outline of the western 
 land is very distant ; it is of considerable but uni- 
 form 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 offlying 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 
 asrainst this shore in immense fields : there is but 
 
 o 
 
 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 de- 
 cayed, but, as I am surveying it from a height of 
 about 1600 feet, I may be deceived. 
 
176 CHEERLESS STATE OF WESTERN SEA. Chap. XI. 
 
 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 val- 
 ley which lies between a small inlet near Cape 
 Bird and Hazard Inlet — in fact, a sort of echo of 
 Bcllot 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 tvonde?vus rough country to scramble 
 over ; one never ceases to wonder how such huge 
 blocks of rock can have got into such strange po- 
 sitions. I noticed two masses in particidar, 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 occa- 
 sionally met with. 
 
 My walk occupied eleven hours, and, although 
 I everywhere saw traces of animals, the only liv- 
 ing 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 morn- 
 ing we explored the neighboring valleys; saw 
 three deer, and sliot 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 
 
Sept. 1858. STRUGGLES IN BELLOT STEAIT. 177 
 
 organized another boat party j Young will start 
 with it to-morrow morning to seek a sledge route 
 from the southern angle of Brentford Bay to the 
 western sea. 
 
 Wi. — 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 
 liigh Iptud, 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 morn- 
 ing, therefore, we shall make our ffth attempt to 
 get the 'Fox' through, 
 
 Wi. — Steamed through the clear waters of Bel- 
 lot 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 RocJc, having . 
 landed upon it a large supply of that substantial 
 traveller's fare, with other provisions for our fu- 
 ture sledging-parties. This ice is in large stout 
 fields, of more than one winter's growth, apjDar- 
 ently 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 fur- 
 ther seems improbable. 
 
 IWi. — I have explored a small inlet near Cape 
 Bird, which we have named False Strait, from its 
 
 M 
 
178 C.U'E BIRD. Chap. XI. 
 
 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 ex- 
 tend 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 is 500 feet high; from its summit 
 we carefully observe the ice. This granite coast 
 presents a jagged appearance ; it is deeply in- 
 dented 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 be- 
 fore they migrate southward. 
 
 12lh. — Yesterday we anchored within the en- 
 trance of our creek, being a more convenient 
 position than up at its head. We are already in 
 our wintering position, and, being without occu- ' 
 pation, one day seems most remarkably like 
 another! Although the fondly cherished hope 
 of pushing farther in our shij) 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 improba- 
 ble, of being able to do so. 
 
Sept. 1858. FALCONS GOOD ARCTIC FARE. 179 
 
 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 con- 
 tented and zealous sportsman, if not always a 
 successful one ; it is a powerful incentive to ex- 
 ercise. 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 heef in the country, and the young Urds 
 tender and white as chicJcen ! " 
 
 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 after- 
 wards unopened; there Avas 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 won- 
 derfully nutritious ? 
 
 Ihth. — Two nights ago a comet was observed 
 just beneath the constellation of the Great Bear ; 
 a series of measurements were commenced for de- 
 termining 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 Mel- 
 ville Island, where the game is abundant. To the 
 
180 PORT KENNEDY. Chat. XI. 
 
 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 Bafhn'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 be- 
 tween 20° and 30°. 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. 
 
 I have determined upon naming this beautiful 
 little anchorage Port Kennedy ^ after my prede- 
 cessor, the discoverer of Bellot Strait, of which 
 it is decidedly the port. This is not a compli- 
 ment 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 hav- 
 ing 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 fm-ther to the south-east. 
 
Sept. 1858. FUTUEE SLEDGE TRAVELLING. 181 
 
 Ylth. — Of late we have been preparing pro- 
 visions 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 au- 
 tumn, I hope, and from Gateshead Island west- 
 ward 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 communi- 
 16 
 
182 STEAM THROUGH BELLOT STRAIT. Ciiai-. XI. 
 
 cate with the Boothians, if possible, cither upon 
 the west or east coast, in November or Februarj^ 
 Sir John Ross' ' Narrative ' informs ns that they 
 sometimes winter as fiir north upon the east coast 
 as the Agnew River ; and we know tliat upon the 
 west, at the magnetic pole, their abandoned snow 
 huts were occupied in June by Sir James Ross. 
 
 19//^. — 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 tvitUh! 
 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 carrj'ing out the depot pro- 
 visions to or beyond this island by boat ; but as 
 the temperature fell to 18° last night, and new 
 
Dog sledge or scout party. 
 
Sept. 1858. HOBSON'S PAETY STAET. 183 
 
 ice forms wherever it is calm, I prefer the safer, 
 although more laborious m.ode of sledging ; ac- 
 cordingly to-day our dogs carried out two sledge- 
 loads of the provisions intended for the use of 
 our parties hereafter. 
 
 1%%d. — All the provisions have now been car- 
 ried out to the nearest island, which I shall tem- 
 porarily name Separation, * 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 Eock, 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 jQash of lightning was ob- 
 served ; its appearance in these latitudes is very 
 rare ; once only have I seen it before — in Sep- 
 tember, 1850. 
 
 25//^. — 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 ad- 
 vance the depots along shore to the south, and if 
 successful will reach latitude 71°. 
 
 * Subsequently named after my excellent friend A. Arcedeckne, Esq., 
 Comr^odore of the Eoyal London Yacht Club. 
 
184 WINTER QUARTERS. Cnxp. XL 
 
 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 com- 
 plexion. 
 
 28///. — The ship was kept available for prose- 
 cuting her voyage up to the laic.'<t 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 difficult}'' 
 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 posi- 
 tion, although our wintering place will be farther 
 out by a quarter of a mile than I intended. 
 
 To-day we are unbending sails and lajnng 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 hum- 
 ble, 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 securit}^ and quiet of winter quar- 
 ters, is an immense relief 
 
 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 
 
Oct. 1858. ERMINE HUNT. 185 
 
 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 
 lensfth one of the men secured it. This beautiful 
 little animal does not appear to be full grown ; its 
 extreme lenscth 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-appear- 
 ing 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. 
 
 &h. — A herd of a dozen reindeer crossed the 
 harbor to-day. Last night Hobson and his com- 
 panions returned, all well. They were stopped 
 by the sea washing against the cliffs in latitude 
 111°, and to that point they have advanced 
 the dep6ts. Although the w^eather 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 j)oint, 
 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 defence- 
 16* 
 
186 IIOBSON'S PARTY KETURNED. Chap. XL 
 
 less state, unable even to bark and arouse the 
 men, her amiable sisterliood attacked her so fiercely 
 that she died next day ! 
 
 In honor of so important and successful a com- 
 mencement 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 Avith 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. 
 
 Sih. — 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 ram- 
 ble upon snow-shoes to-day; without them I could 
 
Interior of tlie Observatory. 
 
Oct. 1858. FREQUENT GALES. 187 
 
 not have gone over half the distance — the snow 
 lies so deep and soft — but I only saw one rein- 
 deer. 
 
 iiiJi. — One of our magnetic observatories has 
 been built; it stands upon the ice, 210 yards S. 
 (magnetic) from the shij), 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. 
 
 lWi. — k\l the 17th a N.W. gale blew with 
 fearful violence ; yesterday it abated, but not suf- 
 ficiently to allow our party to start. This morn- 
 ing Hobson got away with his nine men and ten 
 dogs ] his absence may be from eighteen to twen- 
 ty 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 al- 
 ways 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 morn- 
 ing was fine, and temperature -[-8°. Having 
 completed the preliminary observations of the 
 times of horizontal and vertical vibrations, also 
 
188 ANOTHER OBSERVATORY BUILT. Cuap. XL 
 
 of the maguetic 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. 
 
 29//^. — It generally blows a gale of M'ind here ; 
 the only advantage in return for so much discom- 
 fort 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 engi- 
 neer, and the interpreter, in building another ob- 
 servatory, 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. 
 
 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 ptarmi- 
 gan were seen ; two of the latter and a hare were 
 shot. We have commenced brewinoj suo;ar beer. 
 
 2nd Nov. — Very dull times. No amount of in- 
 genuity could make a diary worth the paper it 
 is written on. An occasional raven flies past, a 
 
Nov. 1858. NARROW ESCAPE. 189 
 
 couple more ptarmigan have been shot : another 
 N.W. gale is blowing, with temperature down 
 to -12°. 
 
 Wi. — Saturday Night. The N.W. gale blew 
 without intermission for seventy hours, the tem- 
 perature being about —15° : 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 ex- 
 posure during their absence of nineteen days. 
 For the first six days they journeyed outward suc- 
 cessfully ; 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 fortu- 
 nately regained the land near the position from 
 which they were blown off; they have indeed 
 experienced much unusual danger and suffering 
 from cold. 
 
 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 
 
190 ADVANCED DEPOTS. Chap. XI. 
 
 of a wide inlet'-' until brought up against the op- 
 posite 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. 
 
 The depots were eventually established in lati- 
 tude 71° ; beyond this Lieutenant Uobson did not 
 attempt to advance, not only because their re- 
 maining provisions would not have warranted a 
 longer absence, but because the open sea was seen 
 to beat against the next headland. The}^ have 
 lived in tents onl}^, 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 car- 
 rying across their depot: the attempt to do so 
 would be extremely hazardous. "We must only 
 be stiring 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 fur- 
 
 * Named after Lord Wrottesley, in rememhrancc of the support given hj 
 him to the expedition, his advocacy of it in the House of Lords, and of 
 the facilities granted me by the Koyal Society — of which he was Presi- 
 dent — for the pm-suit of scientific observations. 
 
Nov. 1858. EFFECT OF GALES. 191 
 
 ther — i.e. from 60 to 90 miles distant from the 
 ship. 
 
 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. 
 
192 DEATH OF OUR ENGINEER. Chap. XH. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Death of onr engineer — Scarcity of game — The cold unusally trying — 
 Jolly, under adverse circumstances — Petersen's information — licturn 
 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 Franklia's ships— 
 Return to the ' Fox ' — Allen Young returns. 
 
 Nov. ^th. — Sunday evening. — Brief as is the inter- 
 val 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 5 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 knoAvs whose 
 turn it may be to go next." He finished his 
 evening j)ipe, 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. Apo- 
 plexy appears to have been the cause. He was a 
 steady, serioui^ man, under forty years of age, and 
 
Nov. 1858. THE FUNERAL. 193 
 
 leaves a widow and three or four children ; what 
 their circumstances are I am not aware. 
 
 lOtJi. — 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 some- 
 what 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. 
 
 lUh. — We have enjoyed ten days of moderate 
 winds and calms, but the temperature has fallen 
 as low as -31°. 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 sev- 
 eral inches, perhaps feet, off shore. 
 
 Mists have obscured the sun of late, and now 
 it does not rise at all. We are indifferent j its de- 
 17 N 
 
194 SCARCITY OF GAME. Chap XH. 
 
 ptarture 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 utiUty in preventing the escape of heat be- 
 came 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 greatlj^, whereas it offei's 
 but slight impediment to the deer, furnished as he 
 is with long legs and spreading Jboofs. 
 
 29//^. — Animals have become very scarce. A 
 few ptarmigan and willow-grouse have been seen, 
 and three shot. Two days ago I saw two rein- 
 deer. The eastern sea is frozen over, and our old 
 acquaintance the iceberg in Prince Eegent'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 hy the Greenlanders, so we 
 suppose the seals also have migrated elsewhere ; 
 if so, the Esquimaux could not winter here. AVe 
 have no regular school this winter, but five of the 
 men study navigation every evening under the 
 guidance of Young. Ilobson and I are doing all 
 
Dec. 1858. SEVERE WEATHER. 195 
 
 we can to make the ship 'dry, warm, and comfort- 
 able : our large snow porches over the hatchways 
 are a great improvement. 
 
 Wi 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. 
 
 12th. — Yery cold weather : thermometer down 
 to -41°, 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 in- 
 creased 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. 
 
19G COLD UNUSUALLY TRYING. Cii\r. XIL 
 
 26///. — Upon four clays only during the last 
 fourteen has the weather permitted us to walk. • 
 I allude to the wind as the obstacle to our exer- 
 cise ; 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 -4:7V', although blow- 
 ing a moderate gale at the time, and the atmos- 
 phere 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 ap- 
 peared upon the snow-white deal tables of the 
 men, as the officers and myself walked (by invi- 
 tation) 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 ordi- 
 nary smoky lamps. With so many comforts, and 
 the existence of so much genuine good feelmg, 
 their evening was a joyous one, enlivened also by 
 songs and music. 
 
 Whilst all was order and merriment within the 
 
Jan. 1859. NEW YEAE'S DAY. 197 
 
 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° and 80° helmo 
 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 ofi&- 
 cers discharged this duty for the quarter-masters 
 of the watches during the day and night. 
 
 Ist Jan. 1859. — This being Saturday night as 
 well as Neiv Year's Dag, " Sweethearts and Wives " 
 were remembered with even more than the ordi- 
 nary 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 com- 
 mencement of the new one was announced to me 
 by the hand — flutes, accordion, and gong — strik- 
 ing 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 una- 
 ble to show themselves to the ofl&cers, so they 
 echoed the chorus, and the effect was very pleas- 
 ing. Our new year's day has been commemo- 
 rated with all the substantial of Christmas fare, 
 but without so much display, — less tailoring in 
 17* 
 
198 INTENSE COLD. Chap. XII. 
 
 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°. 
 
 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° ; 
 and it was rendered more than ordinarily flark 
 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." 
 
 Wi. — Another week of uniform temperature 
 of -40°, and confinement to the ship by strong 
 winds ; the atmosphere is loaded with enveloping 
 mists which impart a raw and surprising!}- keen 
 edge to the chilling blasts, blasts that no human 
 nose can endure without blanching, be its propor- 
 tions 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 
 vp to -30°, we enjoyed walks on shore, although 
 the mist continued so dense as to limit our view 
 to a couple of hundred yards. 
 
 I learn from Petersen that the natives of Smith's 
 Sound are well acquainted with the continuation 
 
Jan. 1859. PETERSEN'S INFORMATION. 199 
 
 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* 
 
 Esquimaux exist upon the east coast of Green- 
 land as far north as lat. 76°; 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 modifica- 
 tion 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. 
 
 21sl — More pleasant weather since my last 
 entry ; and although last night the temperature 
 fell to -47°, yet it has generally been mild ;, once 
 it rose to -14°, but amply made amends by falling 
 to -38° within twelve hours. We have enjoyed 
 
 * Petersen conversed with two men who had themselves been up to 
 Umingmak Island. 
 
200 RETURN OF THE SUN, 1859. Chap. XII. 
 
 much of the moon's presence for the last ten days, 
 but now she is waning and hastening away to the 
 south. Dayhght increases in strength and dura- 
 tion, consequently we walk more, and see more, 
 and the winter's gloom gives place to activity and 
 cheerfulness. Several ptannigan, 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. 
 
 26^/i. — 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 min- 
 gled in his bright beams. Again I moved upward, 
 and vvdth more elastic step ; for now the sun of 
 1859 was shining upon all nature around me. 
 
 2nd Febnmrij. — A lovely, calm, bright day, and 
 beautifully clear, except over the waterspacc in 
 Bcllot Strait, where rests a densely black mist, 
 very strongly resembling the "West Indian rain- 
 squall as it looms upon the distant horizon. Tlio 
 
Feb. 1859. EAELY SPKING SLEDGE PARTIES. 201 
 
 increasing sunlight is cheering, but void of heat, 
 and the mercury is often frozen. A few more 
 ptarmigan have been shot. 
 
 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 Decem- 
 ber, mean temperature being -332°, but there has 
 been rather less wind. 
 
 Wi. — 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 accom- 
 pany 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 
 
202 ATTACK OF SCURVY. Chap. XII. 
 
 the strait, and finds it washes both shores, but ex- 
 tends 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. 
 
 James Pitcher has got a slight touch of scur- 
 vy; 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 re- 
 tained his health for seventeen months, under the 
 circumstances, speaks well for the wholesomcness 
 and quality of our provisions, and the ventilation 
 and cleanliness of the ship. 
 
 IWi. — 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 da3^s. 
 "We are drinking out a cask of sugar-beer, which 
 is a very mild but agreeable beverage ; we make 
 it on board. 
 
Feb. 1859. UNUSUALLY SEVEEE WEATHEE. 203 
 
 Sundaf/ night, I'^th. — 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 ptarmi- 
 gan. 
 
 The mean temperature of February up to this 
 date is -33-2°, 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 pre- 
 vious travellers, unless we are to make an excep- 
 tion 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°. 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. 
 
 15^/?. — A strong N.W. wind, with a tempera- 
 ture of -40°, confines us on board. One cannot 
 face these winds, therefore it is fortunate that we 
 
204 JOURNEY TO CAPE VICTOniA. Chap. XII. 
 
 did not start, the ship being much more comfort- 
 able than a snow-hut. 
 
 2Wi March. — Already I have been a week on 
 board, and so difficult is it to settle down to any- 
 thing 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 ITtli February the 
 weather moderated sufficiently for us to set out; 
 the temperature throughout the day varied be- 
 tween -31° and -42F. Leaving Young's party 
 to pass on through the strait, I proceeded by way 
 of the Long Lake, which I found to be lOi- geo- 
 graphical miles in length, with an average width 
 of half a mile. 
 
 We built our snow-hut uj^on the west coast, 
 near Pemmican Rock, after a march of 19 or 20 
 geographical miles. We always speak of (/co- 
 grapliical 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°;. the cold was therefore intense. 
 
 On the thhd da}'' our dogs "went lame in con- 
 sequence of sore feet ; the intense cold seems to 
 be the principal, if not the only cause, having 
 hardened the surface-snow bej-ond what their feet 
 can endure. I was obliged to throw off a part of 
 
Mar. 1859. TRAVELLING EOUTINE. 205 
 
 the provisions ; still we could not make more than 
 12 or 18 miles daily. We of com^se walked, so 
 that the dogs had only the remaining provisions 
 and clothing to drag, yet several of them re- 
 peatedly fell down in fits. 
 
 For several days this severe weather continued, 
 the mercury of my artificial horizon remaining 
 frozen (its freezing-point is -39°) ; and our rum, 
 at first thick like treacle, requked thawing lat- 
 terly, when the more fluid and stronger part had 
 been used. Yie 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 Si 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-hoUand tent, macintosh floor-cloth, and felk 
 robes; besides this, each man had a bag of double ' 
 blanketing, and a pah' 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 thi« foot-gear, carried no 
 spare clothes. The daily routine was as follows : 
 — I led the way; Petersen and Thompson fol- 
 lowed, conducting their sledges ; and in this man- 
 ner we trudged on for eight or ten hours without 
 halting, except when necessary to disentangle the 
 dog-harness. Y/hen we halted for the night, 
 18 
 
206 TRAVELLING ROUTINE. CnAr. XIL 
 
 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 »nost 
 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 un- 
 pa-cking the sledge, and carrying into our hut 
 ever3'thing necessary for ourselves, such as pro- 
 vision and sleeping gear, as well as all boots, fur 
 mittens, and even the sledge dog-harness, to pre- 
 vent the dogs from eating them during our sleep- 
 ing hours. The door was now blocked up with 
 snow, the cooking-lamj} lighted, foot-gear changed, 
 diary written up, watches wound, sleeping bags 
 wriggled into, pipes lighted, and the merits of the 
 various dogs discussed, until sujoper 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 
 
Mar. 1859. WESTERN SHORES OF BOOTHIA. 207 
 
 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, with- 
 out 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. 
 
 We coasted along a granitic land, deeply in- 
 dented and fringed with islands, and found it to 
 be the general characteristic of the Boothian 
 shore from Bellot Strait, until we had accom- 
 plished 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 ; 
 
208 WAGES OF NATIVE BUILDERS. Chap. XII. 
 
 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 ray 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 tlie reduced state of our provis- 
 ions and the wretched condition of the poor dogs 
 — six out of the fifteen being quite useless — I 
 could only advance one more march. 
 
 But we had done nothing; more than look 
 ahead ; Avhen 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 suow 
 village of eight huts was still a long way ofl', so 
 we hired them, at the rate of a needle for each 
 Esquimaux, to build us a hut, which they com- 
 pleted in an hour ; it was 8 feet in diameter, 5^ 
 feet high, and in it we all passed the night. Per- 
 
Mar, 1859. INEOEMATION FEOM ESQUIMAUX. 209 
 
 haps the records of architecture do not furnish 
 another instance of a dwelling-house so cheaply 
 constructed ! 
 
 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 op- 
 portunity 5 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. 
 
 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 ; be- 
 yond 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. — ex- 
 18* 
 
210 BARTER ■WITH NATIVES. Chap. XII. 
 
 pressed our desire to trade with them, and prom- 
 ised to purchase everything which Ijclonged 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 pur- 
 chased all the relics of the lost expedition, consist- 
 ing 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 be(5n a boat's keel. 
 
 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 in- 
 
Mar. 1859. INTELLIGENCE OF EEANKLIN'S SHIPS 211 
 
 dividual, and he inquired after Sir James by liis 
 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 63 feet long from a 
 man who told Petersen distinctly that a ship hav- 
 ing 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. 
 
212 RAE'S STATEMENTS CONFIRMED. Chap. XII. 
 
 One old man, " Oona-leo," made a rough sketca 
 of the coast-line with his spear upon the snow, and 
 said it was eight journc3'S to wlicre the ship sank, 
 pointing in the direction of Cape Felix. I can 
 make nothing out of his rude chart. 
 
 The information w^e 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 rein- 
 deer dresses, and looked clean; they appeared to 
 have abundance of provisions, but scarcely a scrap 
 of Avood 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 aflairs, consisting of two 
 frozen rolls of seal-skins coated Avitli ice, and at- 
 tached to each other by bones, which served as 
 the crossbars. The men were stout, hearty fellows, 
 and the women arrant thieves, but all were good- 
 humored and friendly. The women were decid- 
 edly 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 
 
Mar. 1859. RETURN TO THE 'FOX.' 218 
 
 a fresh rosy hue not often seen in combination 
 with oUve 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 bar- 
 gaining 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 crea- 
 ture (for it was perfectly naked) before me in the 
 breeze, the temperature at the time being Q0° 
 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. 
 
 We now returned to the ship with all the speed 
 we could command ; but stormy weather occa- 
 sioned two days' delay, so that we did not arrive 
 on board until the 14th March. Though consid- 
 erably reduced in flesh, I and my companions were 
 in excellent health, and blessed with insatiable 
 appetites. On washing our faces, which had be- 
 
214 ARCTIC FARE. Ciiai'. XII. 
 
 come perfectly black from the soot of om' blubber 
 lamp, smiclry .scars, relics of frost-bites, appeared ; 
 and the tips of our fingers, from constant frost- 
 bites, had become as callous as if seared A\dth hot 
 iron. 
 
 In this journey of twenty-five days we trav- 
 elled 360 geographical miles (420 English), and 
 completed the discovery of the coast-line of con- 
 tinental America, thereby adding about 120 miles 
 to our charts. The mean temperature througliout 
 the journey -was 30° below zero of Fahrenheit, or 
 62° 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 re- 
 mained one of the ships unaccounted for, and 
 therefore it was necessary to carry out all our 
 projected lines of search. 
 
 During this journey I acquired the Arctic ac- 
 complishment of eating frozen blubber, in deli- 
 cate 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 w^hich induced me to eat of such food 
 would doubtless enable me again to partake of it 
 very Mildly. 
 
 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 then* noses. 
 
]VlAR. 1859, CAPTAIN YOUNG'S JOUENEY. 215 
 
 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 Allen Young and his party had re- 
 turned 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 sea- 
 ward with an ancient land-floe. The remain- 
 ing 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 Eock. 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 satisfac- 
 tory, the general health good, and the eagerness 
 of my crew to commence travelling quite charm- 
 ing. 
 
 Young proposed carrying out another depot to 
 the north-west, in order to explore well up Peel 
 
216 SUGAR mSSlNG. Chap. XII. 
 
 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, al- 
 though 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. 
 
-*«ws 
 
 Moonlight in the Arctic Kegions. 
 
Mar. 1839. DE. WALKEK'S SLEDGE JOURNEY. 217 
 
 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 de- 
 pot robbed — Part company from Hobson — Matty Island — Deserted 
 snow-huts — Native sledges — Land on King William Land. 
 
 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 Augnst last. These trips will delay our spring 
 journeys for a few days. 
 
 During my absence from the ' Fox ' the wea- 
 ther was often stormy, and temperature unusually 
 low; the mean for the month of February was 
 -36°, 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. 
 
 2Wi. — Continued fine weather. A couple 
 more foxes and a lemming in its hrotvn coat have 
 19 
 
218 DR. WALKER'S RETURN. Chap. XIII. 
 
 been captured, and a hare and four ptarn-jigan shot. 
 This fine bright weather seems to have awakened 
 the lemmings and ermines ; their tracks, which 
 were very rarel}^ seen during winter, are now 
 tolerably numerous ; foxes appear in greater num- 
 bers, probably following up the ptarmigan from 
 the south. The thermometer ranges between 
 zero and -20°; it has once been up to -]-13°- 
 When exposed to a noonday sun against the 
 ship's side it rises 50° higher. The earth-ther- 
 mometer — placed 2 feet 2 inches beneath the 
 surface — which gradually fell until the 10th of 
 this month, has now begun to ascend ; its mini- 
 mum was -|-2° ; much snow also lay over it, 6 feet 
 deep at this season. 
 
 On the 25th Dr. Walker and his party re- 
 turned, 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 j " most of it was 
 good, and a plain pudding mad^ pf it for pur mess 
 
Mae. 1859. RETUEN OF CAPTAIN YOUNG. 219 
 
 could not be distinguislied from fresh flour. A 
 specimen has been preserved with the view of 
 identifying it with the Fury Beach or Port Leo- 
 pold stores of flour. With the exception of a soli- 
 tary bear, the party saw no living creatures. The 
 shore along which they travelled was a very low 
 shingly limestone. 
 
 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 de- 
 scribes 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 encoun- 
 tered, 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 obsta- 
 cle, upon their own backs. After this, snow-blind- 
 
220 SNOW BLINDNESS. Ciiap. XUI. 
 
 ness came on ; Young and one of his men be- 
 came blind as kittens; and the third man had to 
 load, lead, and unload them, when these portages 
 occurred. Young's Esquimaux dog-driver, Sam- 
 uel, Avas quite blind Avhen the party reached the 
 ship. Two dogs, not choosing to allow them- 
 selves 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 gravj^" 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 
 jDeas, 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 
 rejDairing flat sledges. No record was found. 
 
 We have now enousrh su^irar to last us for seven 
 or eight months, but by the survey of provisions 
 which has just been completed, we find a defi- 
 cienc}^ 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 
 
MsiR. 18.59. PREPARATION OP «LEDGE PARTIES. 221 
 
 a negligent steward may mislead one. This un- 
 fortunate man has now got scurvy ; want of exer- 
 cise and fresh air is the apparent cause, combined 
 with irregular living; the spirits have hitherto 
 been in his charge. 
 
 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 em- 
 bankment, 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, in- 
 cluding the depots, for an absence of about eightj'- 
 four days ; but not being able to afford auxiliary 
 or supporting sledge-pa-rties, 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, be- 
 sides 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. 
 
 '&' 
 
 24:ih June. — One thing is certain, the wild sort 
 19* 
 
222 THE 8TART. Chap. XHI. 
 
 of tent-life "sve 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 he 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 Franhlin 
 records picked up by Ilobson, and now safe in my 
 possession ! We now know the fate of the -Erebus' 
 and ' Terror.' The sole object of our voj'age has 
 at length been completed, and we anxiously await 
 the time when escape from these bleak regions 
 will become practicable. 
 
 The morning of April 2nd was inauspicious, but 
 as the day advanced the weather improved, so 
 that Ilobson and I were able to set out upon our 
 journeys ; we each had a sledge drawn by f jur 
 . men, besides a dog-sledge, and dog-driver. Mr. 
 Petersen havins^ volunteered his services to drive 
 my dogs, — an offer too valuable to be declined, 
 
Apr. 1859. EQUIPMENT OF SLEDGE PARTIES. 223 
 
 — 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 Eoyal 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 embroider}?- ; 
 it was worked by the sisters of Captain Collinson. 
 
 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, floorcloth, 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 
 
221 SLOW riJOGKESS. CiiAr. XIII. 
 
 200 lbs., and for each dog 100 lbs. Our provi- 
 sions consisted mainly of pcmmican, biscuit, and 
 tea, with a small addition of boiled pork, rum, and 
 some tobacco. 
 
 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 
 Arcedcckne 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 wc 
 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 
 (loth April) we reached the low limestone shore 
 in latitude 71° 7' N., and wdiicli continues thence 
 in almost a straight line southward for GO or 70 
 miles. We now commenced laying down provi- 
 sions for our consumption upon the return jour- 
 ney; and the snow being unusuall}'' level, we were 
 able to advance with the whole of our remaining 
 1^-ovisions, amounting to nearly sixty days' allow- 
 ance. 
 
 Hitherto the temperature continued low, often 
 nearly 30° below zero, and at times with cutting 
 north winds, bright sun, and inten.selj- strong 
 
Apr. 1859. 
 
 MEET OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 
 
 225 
 
 snow glare. Althoiigli we wore colored specta- 
 cles, 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 ; for- 
 tunately no serious frost-bites occurred, but frost- 
 bitten faces and fingers were universal. 
 
 On the 20th April, in latitude 70^° N., we met 
 two families of natives, comprising twelve indi- 
 viduals ; 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 tem- 
 perature and sharp marching had caused us both 
 at that time to shrink considerably. 
 
 Their snow-huts were built in the above form, 
 the common entrance and both passages being 
 
226 SNOW HUTS OF NATIVES. Cn.r. XIII. 
 
 just sufliciently 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 liimilj 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 sus- 
 pended 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 Govern- 
 ment broad arrow. 
 
 We saw two large snow shovels made of ma- 
 hogany 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 ol inches 
 deep ; there was no lid, but part of the brass 
 hino;es remained. 
 
 I also purchased a knife which had some indis- 
 tinct 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 
 
Aps. 1859. INTELLIGENCE OF SECOND SHIP. 227 
 
 his arm, but his countryman who picked it up 
 broke it into lengths to make knives. 
 
 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 unwit- 
 tingly 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 
 
228 CARTER WITU NATIVES. Cn.u'. XIII. 
 
 is all he recollected having been tokl, for he >vas 
 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 frhips 
 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 flimilies had been up as 
 far north as the Tasmania Group'-' in latitude 
 711^ N., and were returning to Neitchillee, hunt- 
 ing seals by the way; those Ave met at Cape 
 Victoria had alreadj^ gone there. The nearest 
 natives to us at present, ihey said, were resid- 
 ing at the island of Amitoke, ten days' journey 
 distant from here. Can this Amitoke be Matty 
 Island ? 
 
 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 ray homeward 
 
 * These islands were so named by me, nt the request of Lady Franklin, 
 in grateful acknowledgment of many proofs of afloctionatc sympatliy re- 
 ceived from tlic colony over which lier husband presided for several years, 
 and, in particular, of the large contributions raised there in aid of her 
 expeditions of search. 
 
Apk. 1859. DEPOT HOBBED. 229 
 
 track in March, discovering my dep6t of blub- 
 ber, articles for barter, and two revolvers, and 
 carried them all off to Neitchillee, — 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 countr^^men 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 
 20 
 
230 PART COMPANY FROM HOBSON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 position of our .ship, her size, and the number of 
 men. Had he been able to travel so far with hip 
 wife and several j^oung 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. Ilis 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° and a fresh wind, as I have previously 
 told. 
 
 The information respecting hotli the missing 
 ships was most important, and it remained for us 
 to discover, if possible, the stranded ship. 
 
 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 di- 
 rect for Cape Felix, King Vv^illiara'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. 
 
Apk. 1S59. MISS THE CLARENCE ISLANDS. 231 
 
 Hobson was unwell 'when we parted, complain- 
 ing of stitmess and pain in his legs ; neither of 
 us then suspected the cause. I gave him direc- 
 tions 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, com- 
 prising the blank space between the extremes 
 visited by Captain Collinson and Mr. Wynniatt. 
 
 I soon found that m}^ party had to labor across 
 a rough pack ; nor was it until the third day that 
 we completed the traverse of the strait, and en- 
 camped near to the entrance of Port Parry, in 
 King William's Island. Although the weather was 
 clear, and that by our reckoning we passed di- 
 rectly over the assigned position of the two south- 
 ern 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 beat- 
 ing them well and exposing them to the direct 
 rays of the sun.. Magnetic and other observations 
 gave me ample emploj^ment, the only immediate 
 
232 MATTY ISLAND. CuAr. XIIL 
 
 result of ^vhicll was my being almost snow-blind 
 for the two following days. 
 
 On May 2ncl 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 vei y 
 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. 
 
 We soon discovered that we had strayed in- 
 land ; but, guided by the wind, continued our 
 course. Upon May 4th we descended into Wel- 
 lington 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 havinsr been met with since 
 leaving Cape Victoria. Off tliis 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 onh^ within a fortnight or three 
 weeks. Abundance of blubber was gathered up 
 to increase our stock of fuel, and had we en- 
 camped here, the dogs would have feasted sump- 
 tuously off the scraps and bones of seals strewed 
 about. 
 
Mat, 1859. NATIVE SLEDGES. 233 
 
 The runners (or sides) of some old sledges left 
 here were very ingeniously formed out of rolls of 
 seal-skin, about 31 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 al- 
 
 lowed 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. 
 
 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-ta" 
 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, ofl" which was 
 another snow-village very recently abandoned, 
 the sledge tracks plainly showing that the inhab- 
 itants had gone to the E.N.E., which is straight for 
 Neitchillee. 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 
 20* 
 
234 NATIVE HUTS. Caxp. XIII. 
 
 more sorry at having missed them, as, from the 
 quantit}' of wood chips about the huts, they prob- 
 ably 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 west- 
 ward, until the opposite coast of King Wilham's 
 Land is reached. 
 
 The largest huts measured 12 feet in diameter, 
 by 6 or 7 feet high ; the greater part were con- 
 structed 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. 
 
:Mat, 1859. MEET ESQUIMAUX. 235 
 
 CHAPTER Xiy. 
 
 Meet Esquimaux — News of Franklin's people — Frighten a solitary 
 party — Eeach the Great Fish.Eiver — On Montreal Island — Total 
 absence of all relics — Examine Ogle Peninsula — Discover a skeleton 
 — Vagueness of Esquimaux information — Cape Herschel — Cairn. 
 
 7M May. — To avoid snow-blindness, we com- 
 menced 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-villao'e. We found here ten 
 
 o 
 
 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. 
 
 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 
 
23 G rURCriASE OF EELICS. Chap. XIV. 
 
 this of course wo could not take away ; the silver 
 spoons and forks were readily sold for four needles 
 each. 
 
 They were most obliging and peaceably dis- 
 posed, 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 trou- 
 ble 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 enoui2:li to convince us of their fricndli- 
 ness ; they rej^eatedly 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, fi-ozen 
 venison, dried and frozen salmon, and sold some 
 of m.y 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 
 
Mav, 1859. NEV/S or FRANKLIN'S PEOPLE. 207 
 
 of the wreck which v>^as accessible, their coimtry- 
 men having carried ahiiost 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 hooJcs 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 
 wi'eck ; they said they had been at it during the 
 winter of 1857-8. 
 
 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 discov- 
 ered their bodies durino- the winter followinii;. 
 
 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 
 
238 JOURNEY CONTINUED. Cuap. XIV. 
 
 than to answer them. They as.sured us we should 
 find natives upon the south shore of King V/il- 
 liani's Island only three days' journey from here, 
 and also at Montreal Island ; moreover they said 
 we miorht lind some at the wreck. For these 
 reasons I did not prolong my stay with them Ije- 
 yond 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. 
 
 It was quite a relief to get away from these 
 good-humored, no'i^y 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 Avho 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 Victo- 
 ria, and of his brother, the head of the Moravian 
 Church in London, both esteemed friends of 
 Franklin. 
 
 Finding the "Mathison Island" of Eae to be a 
 flat-topped hill, we crossed over low land to the 
 west of it, and upon the morning of the 10th May 
 
Mat, 1859. FRIGHTEN A SOLITARY PARTY. 239 
 
 reached a single snow liut oiF 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 en- 
 trance — 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 trem- 
 bled 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 infor- 
 mation. 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 noth- 
 ing to barter, except what we saw, although we 
 tempted them by displaying our store of knives 
 and needles. 
 
240 GREAT FISH lUVER. Cnxy. XIV. 
 
 The wind was strong and fair, and the morning 
 intensely cold, and as I could not hope to over- 
 come the fears of these poor people without en- 
 camping, 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 atten- 
 tion here were eight or ten fir poles, varying in 
 length from 5 to 10 feet, and up to 2h 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. 
 
 Half a mile further on we found seven or eight 
 deserted snow huts. Bad weather had now fairly 
 set in, accompanied b}^ a most unseasonable de- 
 gree 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 daj-t ravel- 
 ling. All the 13th we were imprisoned in our 
 tent by a most furious gale, nor was it until late 
 on tlie morning of the ,14th that we could pro- 
 ceed ; that evening we encamped 2 miles from 
 some small islands which lie off the north end of 
 Montreal Island. 
 
Mat, 1859. MONTEEAL ISLAND, 241 
 
 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 ar- 
 ticles, 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 cop- 
 per, 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 ive were unable to move, not only 
 21 Q 
 
242 SKA UCJI I'OU IIF. Lies. Cu.v. .XIV. 
 
 because Hampton was ill, but the weather was 
 extremely bad, and snow thickly falling with tem- 
 perature at zero; certainly strange weather for 
 the middle of May ! We have not had a single 
 clear day since the 1st of the month. 
 
 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- 
 sled ^e close alons^ shore round the island to the 
 south, and as far up the east side as to meet our 
 previously explored portion of it, whilst Thomp- 
 son and I walked along on the land, the one close 
 down to the beach, and the other higher up, ex- 
 amining the more conspicuous parts: in this order 
 we traversed the remaining portion of the i.'^land. 
 
 Although the snow served to conceal from us 
 any traces which might exist in hollows or shel- 
 tered situations, yet it rendered all objects in- 
 tended to serve as marks proportionably con- 
 spicuous ; 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 an- 
 other, sometimes consisting of three stones, but 
 ypry rarely of a greater number. 
 
Mat, 1859. TOTAL ABSENCE OF KELICS. 2^3 
 
 No trace of a cairn could be found. 
 
 In examining, with pickaxe and shovel, a col- 
 lection 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 
 durino; the winter : it is not to be wondered at 
 that we returned in the evening to our tent some- 
 what dispirited. The total absence of natives 
 was a bitter disappointment; circles of stones, 
 indicating the sites of their tenting places in sum- 
 mer, 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 con- 
 siderable 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 ex- 
 isted (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 lev- 
 elled by the natives ; every doubtful appearance 
 was examined with the pickaxe. 
 
 A remark made by my men struck me as being 
 
244 SHOOTING GAME. CuAr. XIV. 
 
 shrewd ; they judgecl from the washed appear- 
 ance of the rock upon the east side of Montreal 
 Island that it must be often exposed to a con- 
 siderable 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 previoiisli/ 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 Penin- 
 sula. 
 
 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 complain- 
 ing, I was obliged to encamp. When away from 
 my party, and exploring along the shore towards 
 
Mat, 1859. RETURN JOURNEY COMMENCED. 245 
 
 Elliot Bt).y, I saw a herd of eight reindeer and 
 succeeded in shooting one of them. In the 
 evenino; Petersen saw another. Some willow- 
 grouse also were seen. Here we found much 
 more vegetation than upon King William's Isl- 
 and, or any other Arctic land I have yet seen. 
 
 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 for- 
 get the trial my patience underwent during the 
 six weeks that I drove that doer-sled i]!;e. The 
 leader of my team, named " Omar Pasha," v/as 
 very Avilling, 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 n:onths 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 
 21* 
 
246 PROCEEDINGS OF THE DOGS. Cnxr. XIV. 
 
 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 conse- 
 quence 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 do^jr-sledG-e like- 
 wise, and as long as we were together we helped 
 each other out of difficulties, and they were fre- 
 quently occurring, for, apart from those I have 
 above mentioned, directly a dog-sledge is stopped 
 by hummock, or sticks flist 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 farther north, we crossed over 
 into Barrow's Inlet, and spent a day in its ex- 
 amination, but not a trace of natives was met 
 with. 
 
 Eegaining the shore of Dease and Simpson's 
 Strait, some miles to the west of Point Kichard- 
 son, we crossed over to King William's Island 
 
Mat, 1859. EXAMINE OGLE PENINSULA. 247 
 
 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 con- 
 struct 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 east- 
 ward. 
 
 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. 
 
248 A SKELETON DlSCOVEREb. Cii-vr. XIV. 
 
 Sliorlly ufler inidniglil. of the 24th May, when 
 bIowI)' ^v;^lkillti; alon,!!; a gravel ridge near the 
 beach, ^vhi(•h the Avinds kei)t partially hare of 
 snow, 1 came upon a human skeleton, partly 
 exposed, with here :ind there a lew fragments 
 of clothing appearing through the snow. The 
 skeleton — now perfectly bleached — was l3'ing 
 upon its face, the limljs and smaller bones either 
 disseveied or gnawed mnviiv by small animals. 
 
 A most careful examination of the spot was of 
 course made, the snow I'cmoved, and every scrap 
 of clothing gatiiered np. A pocket-book aflbrded 
 strong grounds of hope that some information 
 might be suhscMjueully obtained respecting the 
 nnfortunate owner and the calamitous march of 
 the lost ci'cws, Init at the time it was frozen hard. 
 The substance of that which we gleaned upon 
 the spot may thus be sumuied up : — 
 
 This victim was a young man, slightly built, 
 and perhaps above the connnon height; the dress 
 appeared to be that of a steward or otlicer's ser- 
 vant, the lt)Ose bow-knot In which liis ncck-hnnd- 
 kerchief was tied not being used by seamen or 
 oHiccrs. In every particular the dress confirmed 
 our conjectures as to his rank or ollice in the late 
 expedition, — the blue jacket with slashed sleeves 
 and hraided edging, and the pilot-cloth great-coat 
 with ])lain covered buttons. We found, also, a 
 clothes-brush near, and a horn pocket-comb. Tliis 
 poor man seems to have selected the bare ridge 
 
May. 1859. VAGUENESS OF INFORMATION. 249 
 
 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. Y., 
 1845," from the Esquimaux of Boothia or Repulse 
 Bay : it had doubtless been a part of poor Des 
 Voeux's garments. 
 
 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. Subse- 
 quently this opinion proved erroneous. I mention 
 it because it shows how vague our information 
 was — indeed all Esquimaux accounts are natu- 
 rally so — and how entirely we were dependent 
 
250 CAPE IIERSCIIEL. Citap. XIV. 
 
 upon our own exertions for bringing to light the 
 mystery of their fate. 
 
 The information obtained by Dr. Piae was 
 mainl}'^ derived second-hand from the Fit<h River 
 Esquimaux, and should not be confounded with 
 that received b}^ 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 Avas 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 meetino; with them 
 on our further progress, as the season had now 
 arrived when they seek the rivers and the favor- 
 ite haunts and passes of the reindeer in their 
 northern migration. 
 
 Hobson was however upon the western coast, 
 and I hoped to fmd a note left for me at Cape 
 Herschel containing some piece of good news. 
 
Mat, 1859. SIMPSON'S CAIRN. 251 
 
 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 re- 
 treating parties must hsiwe passed; and the op- 
 portunity 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 por- 
 tion of their scientific journals, would scarcely 
 have been disre2;arded. 
 
 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 " pon- 
 derous 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 
 
252 SIMPSON'S CAIRN. Chap. XIV. 
 
 breaking up the frozen earth, but nothing what- 
 ever 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 main- 
 land. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
Mat, 1859. THE CAIRN EMPTY. 253 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The cairn found empty — Discover Hobson's letter — Discovery of Cro- 
 zier's record — The deserted boat — Articles discovered about the boat 
 — The skeletons and relics — The boat belonged to the ' Erebus ' — Con- 
 jectures. 
 
 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 de- 
 scribed remain ; so that when or in what num- 
 bers 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 so7ue 
 record zvas 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 fur- 
 ther. If any such were left they have been dis- 
 covered 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 
 22 
 
254 APrEARANCE OF CAIRNS. Chap. XV. 
 
 might have clone, of its fatal termination upon 
 the mainland, lost no time in following up their 
 traces, examining every spot where they halted, 
 every mark they pnt up, or stone displaced. 
 
 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 al- 
 tered. 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 hav- 
 ing commenced to do so, would not have left any 
 of it standing, unless they found ivhat 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 
 

May, 1859. INTEREST ATTACHING TO THE CAIEN. 255 
 
 turned over, looking far more fresh than those in 
 that portion of the cairn which had been left stand- 
 ing. 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 
 thpir 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 be- 
 comes 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. 
 
 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 ardentlv sou2:ht 
 for, of the Franklin Expedition — at Point Vic- 
 tory, on the N.W.- coast of King William's Land. 
 
 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 j)aper 
 was one of the printed forms usually supplied 
 

 
 
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 .184) 
 
 Lat. > () ° .5- AT Long. G±lj^^^_Jf^ 
 
 9 
 
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 k. 
 
 "gOu '- '^—t^f /t^<. &^&fe'!--<-M« — ^ 
 
 lo-_ 
 
 £4/- 
 
 
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 </-^ . ^ 
 
 ■g- .^^ /tn^^^^pg. 
 
 
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 -A/^ 
 
 >_, w — eC^^J . — 
 
 YT^^. 
 
 \ ^ /^ /fcc iH^-«'^t:^ ^ 6Lr..^^......t>^i^ JU^. "^ 
 
 yV "" ^^ ^ — ^ 'W^c^ 
 
 
 
 j WH0EV2R nnas this paper is requested to forward it to tlie Secretary ofj y'^ '^ 
 
 the Admiraicy, London, with a note of the time and place at which it nvar^^S^ O 
 found: or, if more convenient, to dehver it for that purpose to the BritisfTS ^\\ 1 
 Consul at the nearest Port. i ^ ■ J ^ 
 
 QuiNcoNQUE trouvera ce papier est prie d'y mai'quer le terns et lieu ouo ^^ 
 il I'aura trouvd, et de le faire parvenir au plutot au Secretaire de TAmira 
 Britannique a Londres. t i <i 
 
 CuAi,(yJiERA que hallare este Papel, se le suplica de enviarlo al Secretarl 
 del Almirantazgo, en Londrds, con una nota del tiempo y del lugar, 
 donde se hajld. 
 
 Een ieder die dit Papier mogt vinden, wordt hiermede verzogt, om het^ 
 zelve, ten spoedigste, te willen zenden aan den Heer Minister van ^ 
 Marine der NederJanden in 's Gravenhage, of wel aan den Secretaris de^ 
 Britsche Admiraliteit, te London, en daar by te voegen eene Nota^^j \ 
 ■ ^Xjjahoudende de tyd en de plaats alwaar dit Papier is gevonden geworden. ^^^ i^ °^ 
 
 r - "^ i-^ ^ J 
 
 ^ FiNDEREN af dette Papiir ombedes, naar Leilighed gives, at sende J J^i f 
 
 j) J ., sanune til Admiralitets Secretairen i London, eller noermeste Embedsmand ■ ^ ^ 
 
 '^ 'f^ LDanmark, Norge, eller Sverrig. Tiden og Stoedit hvor dette er fundet '"^ 
 
 s^ j.^ onskes venskabeligt paategnet. ~^ 
 
 Wer diesen Zettel findet, wird hier-durch ersucht denselben an den __f 
 Secretair des Admiralitets in London einzusenden, mit gefalliger angabe i 
 an welchen ort und za welcber zeit er gefundet worden ist. y^\ r\ -^ ft ? '^ 
 
 ^3^ 
 
 '4I^' 
 
256 DISCOVERY OF GOKES RECORD. Chap. XV. 
 
 to discovery ships for the purpose of being en- 
 closed in bottles and thrown overboard at sea, in 
 order to ascertain the set of tlie currents, blanks 
 being left for the date and position ; any person 
 finding one of these records is requested to for- 
 ward it to the Secretary of the Admiralty, with a 
 note of time and place ; and this request is print- 
 ed 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. 1 ice in lat. 70° 05' N. : lon<:. 98° 23' W. 
 
 Having wintered in 184C-7at Beechcy Island, in lat. 74° 43' 28" N., 
 long. 91° 39' 15" W., after having ascended Wellington Channel to 
 lat. 77°, 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<eux, Mate." 
 
 There is an error in the above document, name- 
 ly, 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 
 
May, 1859. GORE'S RECORD. 257 
 
 John Franklin was received by us (bearing date 
 of July, 1845), from the whalers in Melville 
 Bay, that his Expedition passed on to Lancas- 
 ter 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 pur- 
 sue this northern course, and was only stopped by 
 ice in that latitude of 77° north, or purposely re- 
 linquished 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 docu- 
 ment assures us of, that Sir John Franklin's Ex- 
 pedition, having accomplished this examination, 
 returned southward from latitude 77° north, which 
 is at the head of Wellington Channel, and re-en- 
 tered 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 
 22* K 
 
2.38 DISCOVERY OF CKOZIEli'S RECORD. Cni.v. XV. 
 
 of the extensive lands on either hand. In 1846 
 they proceeded to the south-we.st, and eventually 
 reached Avithin twelve miles of the north ex- 
 treme of King William's Land, when their prog- 
 ress was arrested by the approaching winter of 
 184G-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 ver};- probably to con- 
 nect the unknown coast-line of Kincr William's 
 Land between Point Victory and Cape Her.'>chel, 
 those on board the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' were 
 " all well/' and the gallant Franklin still com- 
 manded. 
 
 But, alas ! round the margin of the paper upon 
 which Lieutenant Gore in 1847 wrote tho.'^e words 
 of hope and promise, another hand had subse- 
 quently written the following words: — 
 
 " April 25, 1848. — II. M. sliips ' Terror' and ' Erebus' ■were de- 
 serted on ihc 22nd April, 5 leaoues N.N.W. of tlii.s, having been 
 beset since 12th September, 184C. The officers and crews, consisting 
 of 105 souls, under the command of Captain F. K. M. Crozicr, landed 
 herein lat. G9° 37' 42" N., long. 98° 41' W. Sir John Franklin 
 died on the 11th June, 1847; and the total loss by deaths in the ex- 
 pedition has been to this date oiRcers and 15 men. 
 (Signed) (Signed) 
 
 " F. R. M. Croziek, " James Fitzjames, 
 
 " Captain and Senior Officer. " Captain II. ^I. S. Erebus. 
 
 " and start (on) to-morrow, 2Gth, for 
 Back's Fish Kiver." 
 
 This marginal infonnation was evidently writ- 
 
Mat, 1859. ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION. . 959 
 
 ten by Captain Fitzjames, excepting only the note 
 stating when and where they were going, which 
 was added by Caj)tain Crozier. 
 
 There is some additional marginal information 
 relative to the transfer of the document to its 
 present position (viz., the site of Sir James Eoss's 
 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 tvv^elve 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 navi- 
 gable 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, endeavor- 
 ing to save his starving men, 105 souls in all, 
 
2G0 DISCREPAN'CYIN THE RECOKD. Chap. XV. 
 
 from a terrible death by retreating to the Hudson 
 Bay territories up the Back or Great Fish River. 
 
 A sad tale was nevev told in fewer words. 
 There is something deeply touching in their ex- 
 treme 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 fear- 
 ful 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 Jul\% 1848. 
 
 Another discrepancy exists in the second part 
 of the record written by Fitzjames. The original 
 number composing the expedition was 138 souLv' 
 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 Cro- 
 zier's command, so that 9 individuals are unac- 
 counted 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 con- 
 sidered superfluous. 
 
 Hobson had experienced extremely bad weather 
 
 * Sec Conclusion, p. 317. 
 
May, 1859. CAPE CROZIER. 261 
 
 — constant gales and fogs — and tliought he 
 miglit have passed the wreck without seemg 
 herj he hoped to be more successful upon his 
 return journey. 
 
 Encouraged by this important news, we ex- 
 erted our utmost vigilance in order that no trace 
 should escape us. 
 
 Our provisions were running very short, there- 
 fore 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 keep- 
 ing the rough pack from pressing in upon the 
 shore. 
 
 Upon the 29th of May we reached the western 
 extreme of King William's Island, in lat. 69° 08' 
 N., and long. 100° 08' W. I named it after Cap- 
 tain Crozier of the ' Terror,' the gallant leader of 
 that " Forlorn Hope " of which we now just ob- 
 tained tidings. The coast we marched along was 
 extremely low — a mere series of ridges of lime- 
 stone 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 w^andering 
 Esquimaux became much less frequent after leav- 
 ing 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 
 
262 DESERTED BOAT. Ciixr. XV. 
 
 surface of crushed-iip pack, including much heavy 
 ice. In these shallow ice-covered sea?;, seals are 
 but seldom found : and it is highly probable that 
 all animal life in them is as scarce as upon the 
 land. 
 
 From Cape Crozier the coast-line was found to 
 turn sharpl}^ away to the eastward ; and early in 
 the morning of the 3 0th May we encamped along- 
 side a large boat — another melancholy relic which 
 Hobson had found and examined a few days be- 
 fore, as his note left here informed me ; but he 
 had failed to discover record, journal, pocketbook, 
 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. 
 
 This boat measured 28 feet long, and 7 feet 
 3 inches wide ; she was JDuilt with a view to light- 
 ness 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 
 
May, 1859. ARTICLES FOUND NEAR HER. 2G3 
 
 rain-awning had also formed part of her equip- 
 ment. 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 thowells. 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. 
 
 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 con- 
 structed of two oak planks 23 feet 4 inches in 
 length, 8 inches in width, and with an average 
 thickness of 21 inches. These planks formed the 
 sides or runners of the sledge ; they were con- 
 nected by five cross-bars of oak, each 4 feet long, 
 and 4 inches by 83 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| inch whaleline. 
 
 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 v/eight 
 of boat and sledge may be taken at 1400 lbs.. 
 
2G4 DESCRIPTION OF THE BOAT. Cii.vi-. XV. 
 
 which amounts to a heavy load for seven strong 
 health}^ men. 
 
 The only markings about the boat were those 
 upon her stem, by which Ave learned that she was 
 
 built by contract, was received into "Woolwich 
 Dockyard in April, 184 ,'•' and was numbered 61. 
 There may have been a fourth figure to the right 
 hand, as the stem had been reduced in order 
 to lio-hten the boat. The around the sledoje 
 rested upon was the usual limestone shingle, per- 
 fectly flat, and probably overfloAved 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 
 
 * Only the first three figures of the date upon Iier stem remained, 
 thus — 184 . 
 
Mat, 1859. SKELETONS AND RELICS. 265 
 
 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 pe- 
 riod 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. 
 
 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 de- 
 stroyed 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 origin- 
 ally 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 
 
 23 
 
266 RELICS ABOUT THE BOAT. Chap. XV. 
 
 skeleton was in a somewhat more perfect state,* 
 and was enveloped with clothes and furs ; it lay 
 across the l)oat, 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 up- 
 wards 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 pocketbooks, journals, or even names. Five 
 or six small books were found, all of them scrip- 
 tural or devotional works, except the ' Yicar of 
 Wakefield.' One little book, ' Christian Melodies,' 
 bore an inscription upon the titlepage 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. 
 
 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, morked outside with paint 
 A 12, and lined with black cloth. Besides these 
 
 *No part of tlie skull of cither skeleton was found, witli tlio exception 
 only of the lower jaw of each. 
 
Mat, 1859. RELICS ABOUT THE BOAT. 267 
 
 articles we found twine, nails, saws, files, bristles, 
 wax-ends, sailro.akers' 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 rea;ions 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 
 Vv^ith an E -, it had probably belonged to the ' Ere- 
 bus.' 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 tea- 
 spoons, all of silver; of these twenty-six pieces 
 
268 RELICS ABOUT THE BOAT. Ciiah. XV. 
 
 of plate, eight bore Sir John Franklin's crest, the 
 remainder had the crests or initials of nine difler- 
 ent olTicers, with the exception of a single fork 
 which was not marked; of these nine oflficers, 
 five belonged to the ' Erebus/ — Gore, Le Yes- 
 conte, 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 en- 
 graved on them belonged, nor who was the owner 
 of the unmarked fork, but of the owners of those 
 we can identif)^, 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 Wool- 
 wich could tell (by her number) to which ship 
 she was supplied ; and as one of the pocket chro- 
 nometers found in the boat was marked, " Park- 
 inson and Frodsham 980," and the other *•' Arnold 
 2020," it could also be ascertained to which ship 
 they had been issued."-^ 
 
 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 gen- 
 erally did the same, as not a single iron spoon, 
 such as sailors always use, has been found. Of 
 
 * These chronometers, according to the receipts in office, were suj)- 
 plicd one to each ship in 1845 ; hut it is impossible to tell to which ship 
 the hoat belonged, as tlic namber is imperfect. 
 
May, 1859. CONJECTURES. 269 
 
 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 neigh- 
 boring 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 Isl- 
 and ; it is moreover in the depth of a wide bay, 
 where, b}^ 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 fur- 
 ther, and that these two men, not being able to 
 keep pace with their shipmates, were therefore 
 left by them supplied with such provisions as 
 23* 
 
270 CONJECTURES. Ciui-. XV. 
 
 could be spared to last until the return of the 
 others from the ship Avith a fresh stock. 
 
 Whether it was the intention of the retroced- 
 ing 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 ac- 
 count of the two men left in charge of it, but 
 also to obtain the chocolate, the live watches, 
 and many other articles wliich would otherwise 
 scarce!}' 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 hav- 
 ing 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 under- 
 ' stand why their provisions would not last them 
 for anything like the distance thc}^ 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 re- 
 visit the boat, and which accounts for the absence 
 of more skeletons in its neighborhood ; and the 
 
Mat, 1859. - POINT FRANKLm. 271 
 
 Esquimaux report that tliere 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. 
 
 After leaving the boat we followed an irregular 
 coast-line to the N. and N.W., up to a very prom- 
 inent 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 Wilham'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. 
 
272 POmT VICTORY, " Chat. XVI. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Errors in Franklin's records — Relics found at the cairn — Reflections on 
 the retreat — Returning homeward — Geological remarks — Difiicul- 
 lics of summer sledging — Arrive on board the 'Fox' — Navigaljlo 
 N.W. passage — Death from scurvy — Anxiety for Captain Young — 
 Young returns safely. 
 
 On the mornino: of 2ncl June we reached Point 
 Victory. Here Hobson's note left for me in the 
 cairn informed me that he had not found the 
 shghtest trace either of a wreck anywhere upon 
 the coast, or of natives to the north of Cape Cro- 
 zier. 
 
 Although somewhat short of provisions, I de- 
 termined to remain a day here in order to exam- 
 ine an opening at the Bottom of Back Ba}', called 
 so after Sir George Back, b}^ 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^ or 2 miles ; I drove round 
 it upon the dog sledge, but found no trace of hu- 
 man beings ; it was filled Avith 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, ex- 
 
June, 1859. EEEORS IN ERANKLIN'S EECOEDS. 273 
 
 cept 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 distin- 
 guished in connection with the Franklin search, 
 and w^ho kindly relieved Lady Franklin of much 
 trouble by taking upon himself the financial busi- 
 ness of this expedition. 
 
 An extensive bay, westward of Cape Herschel, 
 I have named after Captain Washington, the hy- 
 drographer, 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. 
 
 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 dam- 
 aged by rust, — a very few more years would 
 have rendered them wholly illegible. When the 
 record left at Point Victory was opened to add 
 
274 RELICS AT THE CAIRN. Chap. XVI. 
 
 thereto the supplemental information which gives 
 it its chief value, Captain Fitzjames, as may be 
 concluded by the color of the ink, fdled in the 
 date — 28th — in May, "when the record -was origi- 
 nally deposited. Tlie 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. Ilobson removed every stone of this 
 cairn down to the ground and rebuilt it. 
 
 Brief as these records are, we must needs be 
 contented vfith them ; they are perfect models 
 of official brevity. No log-book could be more 
 provokingl}^ laconic. Yet, that an?/ 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 Cro- 
 zier and Fitzjames, to Avhom 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 re- 
 gions is by no means an easy task. 
 
 Besides plachig a copy of the record taken 
 away by Hobson from the cairn, we both put rec- 
 ords 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. 
 
June, 1859. EELICS AT THE CAIRN. 275 
 
 A great quantity and variety of things lay 
 strewed about the cairn, such as even in their 
 three days' march from the ships the retreat- 
 ing 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 lightnmg conductor, long pieces of hol- 
 low 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 with- 
 out its case. The colored eye-shades of the sex- 
 tant 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 cov- 
 ered with thin leather to prevent frost-bite in 
 severe weather. 
 
 The clothing left by the retreating crcAVS 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 ai ti- 
 des were marked, — indeed sailors' warm clothing 
 seldom is. Two canteens, the property of marines, 
 were found, one marked "88 C°. Wm. Hedges," 
 and the other « 89 C°. Wm. Hether." A small 
 
276 EELICS AT THE CAIUN. Chap. XVI. 
 
 panniken made out of a two-pound pre^erved-mcat 
 tin had scratched on it " W. Mark." 
 
 When continuing my homeward march, and, as 
 nearl}- as I could judge, 22 or 2f 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 Ij^ing about, but whether they 
 had been left by Sir James Ross' party in May, 
 1830, or hy the Franklin Expedition in 1847 or 
 1848, is uncertain.'-'- 
 
 Here ended m}^ 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 con- 
 siderable. 
 
 Of these northern cairns I will write a descrip- 
 tion 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 
 
 * It is a remaikablo circumstance that wlien, 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 tliose headlands. 
 
June, 1859. REFLECTIONS AT THE RETEEAT. 277 
 
 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 drift- 
 wood we noticed, had been touched by them. 
 From this very significant fact it seems quite cer- 
 tain 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 j)robable that such fearful mortality would 
 have overtaken them so early in their march as 
 within 80 miles by sledge-route from the aban- 
 doned 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 ofi-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 con- 
 siderably 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. 
 
 From Walls' Bay I crossed overland to the 
 eastern shore, and reached my depot near the 
 24 
 
278 RETURNING HOMEWARD. Chap. XVI. 
 
 entrance of Port Parry on the 5th June, after an 
 absence of thirtj^-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 laud — 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 leadiufj; from Prince Georsre'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 suppl}^ 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 
 
Isolated Iceberf;. 
 
June, 1859. GEOLOGICAL EEMAEKS. 279 
 
 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 tol- 
 erable abundance ; the contrast between it and 
 the low, barren shore we had so recently come 
 from was striking indeed ! 
 
 Nothing can exceed the gloom and desolation 
 of the western coast of King William's Island : 
 Hobson and myself had some considerable expe- 
 rience 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 prob- 
 able result of ice-drift from Melville Island or 
 Banks Land. 
 
 This land gives one the idea of its having risen 
 
280 BOOTUIA FELIX. Chap. XVI. 
 
 •within a recent geological period from the sea — • 
 not suddenly, but at regular intervals; the numer- 
 ous 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 ex- 
 tremely barren, and its surface dotted 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 na- 
 tives told us there were none of the latter and 
 very few of the former upon it. 
 
 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 cross- 
 ing the mouth of the deep bay to the north of it, 
 in wdiich, 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. 
 
 I was unable to make any delay at the Mag- 
 netic Pole, nor could I find a trace of Ross' 
 cairn ;=•= but at each of our encampments along 
 
 • Tliis cairn, as well as the one built on Point Victory in 1S30, was 
 removed by the natives ; fortunately they had not visited Point Victory 
 
June, 1859. THE MAGNETIC INCLINATION. 281 
 
 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 occa- 
 sioned 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. 
 
 loth June. — We passed from limestone to gran- 
 ite in lat. 71°10' N. Here the land attains to con- 
 siderable elevation. In the hollows of the dai'k 
 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 east- 
 ward of the one between the Tasmania Group, 
 through which we had passed with so much dif- 
 
 whilst the Franklin cairn and record remained there, otherwise neither 
 cairn nor record would have remained for us to discover. 
 
 24* 
 
282 ILLNESS OF HOBSON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 ficulty in April ; our new channel was covered 
 with smooth ice, and was also much shorter. 
 
 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 doino; 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 everjrwhere 
 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, requir- 
 ing the utmost efforts of both the men and the 
 dogs i 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 reachins; 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, fur- 
 ther 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 
 
.Ji:nb/1859. NAVIGABLE N.W. PASSAGE. 283 
 
 17 miles overland for the ship. The poor dogs 
 were so tired and sore-footed, that we could not 
 induce them to follow us j 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. 
 
 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 
 fiivor of our reaching Cape Herschel, on the S. 
 side of King William's Land, by passing (as I in- 
 tended 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 diffi- 
 culty would have been overcome ; and south 
 of Capt 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 sliow the 
 
284 NAVIGABLE N.W. PASSAGE. CnAr. XVI. 
 
 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 ]>y ColHnson, 
 from the v.'cst. 
 
 No one avIio sees that portion of ^'ictoria 
 Strait which lies between Kino; William's Isl- 
 land and Victoria Land, as wc 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 AVales' 
 Land and Victoria Land admits a vast and con- 
 tinuous 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 de- 
 scribed. I do not think the North- West Passage 
 could ever be sailed through by passing west- 
 ward — that is, to windward — of King William's 
 Island. 
 
 If the season was so favorable for navio-ation 
 ^as to open the northern part of this western sea'^ 
 (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 
 
 * This clinnncl is now named after the illustrious navigator, Admiral 
 Sir John Franklin. 
 
JuNJE, 1859. NAVIGABLE N.W. PASSAGE. 285 
 
 reached. Had Sir John Franklin known that 
 a channel existed eastward of King William's 
 Land (so named by Sir John Eoss), I do not 
 think he would have risked the besetment of 
 his ships in such very heavy ice to the west- 
 ward 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's Straits. But Franklin was fur- 
 nished 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 observa- 
 tions and experience of Eae and Collinson in 
 1851-2-4. I am of opinion that the barrier of 
 ice ojBf 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 winter- 
 ing position on Victoria Land. Perhaps some 
 future voyager, profiting by the experience so 
 fearfully and fatally acquired by the Franldin 
 expedition, and the observations of Eae, Collin- 
 son, and myself, may succeed in carrying his 
 
28C DEATH FROM SCURVY. Chai-. XVI. 
 
 ship through from sea to sea : at least he Tvill 
 be enabled to direct all his efforts in the true 
 and only direction. In the mean time to Frank- 
 lin must be assigned the earliest discovery of the 
 North-West Passage, though not the actual ac- 
 complishment of it in his ships/=' 
 
 Scdurdai/, 2ncl Juhj. — Upon my arrival on board 
 on the morning of the lOtli June, my first inqui- 
 ries 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 po- 
 tato, milk, strong ale, and lemon-juice, completed 
 a very respectable dietary for a scurvy-stricken 
 patient. All the rest Avere tolerably well ; slight 
 traces only of scurvy in two or three of the men. 
 The ship w^as as clean and trim as I could expect, 
 and all had well and cheerfully performed their 
 duties during my absence ; liardlj' any game had 
 been shot, except one bear. 
 
 The Doctor now acquainted me with the death 
 of Thomas Blackwell, ship's steward, which oc- 
 
 * This will be understood wlscn it is recollected tliat W. of Siinpsun's 
 Straits or Victoria Land, a navijjablc jiassagc to Bclnin;^'s Straits is known 
 to exist along the coast of North America. Franklin himself, with his 
 companion Richardson, surveyed by far the greater jtartion of that dis- 
 tance. Franklin's and Parry's discoveries overlap each other in longi- 
 tude, and for the last thirty years or more the discovery of the Nonli- 
 Wcst Passage has been reduced to the discovery of a link uniting tlio 
 two. 
 
July, 1859. ANXIETY FOR CAPTAIN YOUNG. 287 
 
 curred only five days previously, and was occa- 
 sioned 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 
 ai/ . For months past the ship's spirits had been 
 of necessit}^ 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 re- 
 mains were buried beside those of our late shin- 
 mate Mr. Brand. 
 
 The news of our success to the southward in 
 tracing the footsteps of the lost expedition great- 
 ly 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 explora- 
 tions 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, Sam- 
 uel ; finding in his progress that a channel exist- 
 
288 ANXIETY FOR CAPTAIN YOUNG. Ciiai-. XVL 
 
 ed 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, encamp- 
 ing 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 com- 
 plete 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 com- 
 panions, should receive permanent injury ; in fact 
 this was now my only cause of anxiety. The 
 season was rather forward here, and advancing 
 with imusual 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 
 
JPLT, 1859. TREATMENT OE DOGS. 289 
 
 Long Island. After a day or two I could per- 
 ceive a vast improvement in Hobson ; and my own 
 four men, with the exception of Hampton, who re- 
 quired 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. 
 
 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 re- 
 solved to carry on provisions as far as Four Eiver 
 Point, in the hope of meeting with him, and of fa- 
 cilitating his return. To our surprise the water 
 had all drained off the frozen surface of the Long 
 Lake, and it therefore afforded excellent travel- 
 ling. We found the poor dogs lying quietly be- 
 side 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 Hfe of it in these re- 
 gions. 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 
 25 1' 
 
290 TREATMENT OF DOGS. Cuw. XVI. 
 
 knock an Esquimaux dog about the head with 
 any article, however heavy, witli perfect impunily 
 to the brutes. One of us upbraided him the 
 other day because he broke his whip-handle over 
 the head of a dog. '-lYicd ?uas nolldnf) at all" he as- 
 sured 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 b}' 
 laying them with their mouths open to the wind, 
 they soon revived, got up and ran about "«// 
 
 We lost no time in giving them a good feed, 
 the first for seven days, yet they did not seem 
 unusually hungrj', and soon coiled themselves up 
 to sleep again. Whilst the men and dogs were 
 employed next da}^ in conveying a sledge to the 
 east end of the lake, I walked to Cape Bird to 
 look out for the absent party, l^ut they had not 
 yet returned to Pemmican Eock. 
 
 When vainly endeavoring, with felonious in- 
 tentions, 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 breed- 
 ing-place. Many seals were basking on the ice, 
 and the watercourse by which our sledges as- 
 cended a week before to the Long Lake was now 
 a strong and rapid stream. A few reindeer were 
 seen. 
 
July, 1859. YOUNG RETURNS SAFELY. 291 
 
 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 success- 
 ful journey the particulars of which I will give 
 hereafter. 
 
 Young was greatly reduced m flesh and strength, 
 so much Aveakened 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 de- 
 void 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, a,nd 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 whaleskin — a famous antiscorbutic — ad 
 libitum for all who liked it. The weather, which 
 for the last week had been wet, windy, and miser- 
 able, now set in fair. The carpenter's hammer, 
 and the men's voices at their work, were new and 
 animating sounds. 
 
202 SIGNS OF RELEASE. Chap. XVII. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Signs of release — Dearth of animal life — Owl is pood beef — Beat out 
 of winter quarters — Our painc-list — TJoacli Fury Beacli — Escape from 
 Regent's Inlet — In Baffin's Bay — Captain Alien youn<:'8 journey — 
 Diseo ; sad di.sappoinimcnt — Bart from our Esquimaux friends — 
 Adieu to Greenhuul — Arrive home. 
 
 To-day {2nd Jul//) I took a long and delightful 
 walk, but shot only two ducks; Petersen went 
 in another dhection, and got nothhig ; Christian, 
 after toiling all day in his kayak, returned with 
 only two divers and a duck. Lately he has ob- 
 tained 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 er- 
 mine in its summer coat. Yesterday one of tlie 
 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 brouQ-ht 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 some- 
 what warmer than usual, its mean temperature 
 being +351°. 
 
 9ih. — The ship has been thoroughly cleaned and 
 
July, 1859. SIGNS OF RELEASE. 293 
 
 restowedj 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 dis- 
 cover 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 observa- 
 tion and angle book, and have at length laid 
 down upon paper the west coast of King Wil- 
 liam's Land to my satisfaction. Tidal observa- 
 tions are commenced ; and the aneroid and mer- 
 curial barometers are again being compared in 
 order to verify the former. 
 
 16//^. 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 Eegent'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 
 25* 
 
294 SHOOTING SEALS. Chap. XVIL 
 
 behind a small calico screen, fitted npon a minia- 
 ture sledo'c about a foot lono- on which there is a 
 rest for the muzzle of his rifle, and a sht in the 
 calico through which he fires it. The seals aflbrd 
 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 ex- 
 posed the summer coat of dull lead color. Sev- 
 eral 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 survej-ing 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 ever}^ 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 conti- 
 nent 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 
 
Walruses — A family partv 
 
July, 1859. DEARTH OF ANIMAL LIFE. 295 
 
 cliampion of Lady Franklin when she needed all 
 the support which private friendship and public 
 spirit could bestow. 
 
 23}xl — The ice in Prince Regent's Inlet is 
 broken up into pack^ but the prevalence of east- 
 erly 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 hy 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 seeJs 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 Pedicidaris 
 hirsida. 
 
 The seine has been hauled in the narrow lake 
 at the head of the harbor, but, as it was not vv^ell 
 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 proceed- 
 
290 DEARTH OF ANIMAL LIFE. Chap. XVIL 
 
 ings lias been placed in a cairn upon the west 
 point of Depot Bay. 
 
 16/ liuf/ust. — A long continuance of imu.sually 
 calm, bright, and warm weather has been favor- 
 able to our painting and cleaning the ship, scrap- 
 ing masts, and so forth. The result is that she 
 looks unusually smart and gay, and our impa- 
 tience to exhibit her, and ourselves at home is 
 much increased. With the exception of a few 
 gulls, and a duck, our hunters have shot noth- 
 ing 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 Avhicli was white and ten- 
 der, but, to my palate, tasteless, although Peter- 
 sen considers that " owl is the best beef in the 
 country." 
 
 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 alonfj; the 
 
Aug. 1859. OUT OF WINTEE QUARTERS. 297 
 
 cliffs to the westward, gave us some hours' occu- 
 pation. At length it stuck fast between Fox Isl- 
 and 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 Kenedy. 
 
 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 un- 
 disturbed. There is no immediate prospect of 
 escape, but we expect a prodigious smashing up 
 of the ice whenever a strong wind springs up to 
 set it in motion. To-day the steam was got up, 
 and with the help of our two stokers I worked 
 the engines for a short time. It is very cheering 
 to know that we still have steam power at our 
 command, although, by the deaths of poor Mr. 
 Brand and Robert Scott, we were deprived of our 
 engineer and engine-driver. 
 
 The mean temperature for July has been 40°'14, 
 which is above the averas!:e for this regrion ; the 
 July temperatures have usually varied from 36° 
 to 42^ 
 
 All are now in good health, but Hobson still a 
 little lame. The issue of lemon-juice has been re- 
 duced to the ordinary allowance of half an ounce 
 daily (as we have but little that is really good), 
 
298 WAITING TO ESCAPE. Chap. XVII. 
 
 lest another winter should become inevitable, 
 ■which, I can devoutly say, ma}^ God forbid ! 
 
 Monday iiir/ht, Slh. — Very anxiously awaiting 
 an opportunity to escape. AVe have constantly 
 watched the ice from the neiixliborini!; hills, includ- 
 ing 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 dis- 
 tinguished, 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 np in Brentford Bay, 
 and that there were streaks of water alon<? the 
 land between Possession Point and Hazard Inlet ; 
 this water, however, was not accessible to us. 
 
 The ice about Pemmican Bock 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 bej'ond. It now blows very strong- 
 ly from the S.W., the most desirable quarter; and 
 as the anxious desire to escape has become op- 
 pressive, it is not to be wondered at that now our 
 hopes have become extravagant. We may even 
 
Aug. 1859. GAME LIST. 299 
 
 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 win- 
 ter 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. 
 
 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 w^hat 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. 1 1 11 Months in Port Kenedy, 1858-9. 
 
 Bears. 
 2 
 
 Seals. Dovekies. Foxes. j Bears. 
 73 38 12 
 
 Deer. 
 8 
 
 Hares. Foxes. 
 9 19 
 
 Ptarmi- 
 gan. 
 82 
 
 Wild 1 Seals. 
 Fowl.l 
 98 1 18 
 
 At Port Kenedy several ermines and lemmings were also caught. 
 The ptarmigan all disappeared after 1st April. 
 
300 CRESSWELL BAY. CnAP. XVn. 
 
 Only 2 dovekics were seen, 1 in winter, ami 1 in sumnict plumage. 
 A few seals were seen as early as tlic month of February. 
 Ducks, geese, and gulls were tlio usual kind of wild fowl killed. 
 During tlic 4 months occupied in sailing from Davis Strait to Bellot 
 Strait, many looms and rotcliics, and 5 or 6 bears were shot. 
 
 Wednesda?/, 10^/^. — The S.W. wind proved a 
 good friend to us ; by the morning of the Uth 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 Lond Island, made sail along 
 the land towards Cape Garry, there being a chan- 
 nel about 2 or 3 miles wide between the pack and 
 the shore. 
 
 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 Cress^vell 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 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 
 
Aug. 1859. TRACES OF OUR VISIT. 301 
 
 noticed for eleven and a half months. Dovekies 
 are likewise abundant, and a seal has already been 
 shot Cresswell Bay is perfectly clear of ice, but 
 this pale limestone land is the perfection of steril- 
 ity, even with the rugged hills of Brentford Bay 
 in lively recollection. 
 
 Upon the east side of Port Kenedy 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 frag- 
 ments 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. 
 
 Of the traces which we have left behind us, the 
 most considerable are the graves of our two ship- 
 mates within the western point of our little har- 
 bor ; they were tastefully sodded round, and plant- 
 ed 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. 
 
 Monday ,Votli. — Strong east winds, with much 
 rain, have imprisoned us here for the last four 
 26 
 
302 A WHITE WHALE SHOT. Chai. XVII. 
 
 days, and driven the whole pack close in, com- 
 pletely filling up Cresswell Bay. We remain fast 
 to the grounded ice, which shields us from pres- 
 sure, otherwise we should have been driven irre- 
 trievably on shore. A couple more seals and a 
 white whale have been shot ; the latter measured 
 182 feet long, and proved to be a female of ordi- 
 nary 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 tlie 
 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 whole- 
 some dread of scurvy, and unbounded confidence 
 in "blood-meat," such as this! The Doctor has 
 picked up a few fossils very similar to those for- 
 merly brought home from Port Leopold. 
 
 To our great joy the east wind died away this 
 morning, and immediatelj^ a west wind sprang 
 up, which very quickly freshened to a smart gale. 
 At four o'clock this afternoon we were able to 
 
Aug. 1859. PASS FUEY BEACH. 303 
 
 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. 
 
 Vjth. — After passing Fury Beach it fell calm, 
 so we steamed up as far as Batty Bay. On Tues- 
 day afternoon we w^ere off Port Leopold, run- 
 ning fast, w^hen 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 be- 
 hind us. Towards evening the wind became 
 contrary. 
 
 Sunday evening, 2157^. — 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 
 
304 CAPTAIN YOUNG'S JOURNEY. Chap. XVII. 
 
 finding any whaling vessels off Pond's Inlet, the 
 land-ice which shelters the whales having all di.s- 
 appeared, 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 icehergs 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 3'es- 
 terday, 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. 
 
 25/A. — Becalmed off Hare Island, and getting 
 the steam ready. We are onl}'- 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 Baffm's Bay, but 
 many icebergs. This morning the lofty snow- 
 clad land of Noursoak and Disco was beauti- 
 fully distinct; and at the same time the wind 
 died away, leaving us, at least, the opportunity 
 to contemplate at our leisure their gloomy gran- 
 deur. 
 
 2Wi. — Steamed for ten hours last night. Fair 
 winds and calms have alternated since then, Ijut 
 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 com- 
 
Aug. 1859. CAPTAIN YOUNG'S JOURNEY. 305 
 
 prises seventy-eight days of sledge-travelling, and 
 certa,inly 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 mo- 
 notonous coast alone indicating the line of demar- 
 cation 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 contin- 
 uous ice-stream from the N.W. His opinion coin- 
 cides with my own, and with those of CaptaiUuS 
 Ommanney and Osborn, when those officers ex- 
 26* u 
 
30G CAPTAIN YOUNG'S JOURNKY. Cuxv. XVII. 
 
 plored the north-western shores of Prince of 
 Wales' Land in 1851. 
 
 Fearing that his provisions might run short he 
 sent hack one sledge with four men, and con- 
 tinued his march with only one man and the 
 dogs for forty da3's! The3^ were obliged to 
 build a snow-hut each night to sleep in, as the 
 tent was sent back with the men ; but latterly, 
 wdien the weather became more mild, they pre- 
 ferred 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 flxrthest, up nearly to lat. 73° N., but 
 no cairn was found. Young, however, recognized 
 the remarkably shaped conical hills spoken of by 
 Osborn, when he at his farthest, in 1851, struck 
 off to the westv/ard. 
 
 The coast-line througliout 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 
 ofl" 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 tlie 
 
Aug. 1859. HOBSON'S JOURNEY. 307 
 
 exploration of both shores of the continuation of 
 Peel Soundj between the position of the '■ Fox ' 
 and the points reached bj Sir James Eoss in 
 1849, and Lieutenant Broy/ne 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 au- 
 tumn. 
 
 The extent of coast-line explored by Captain 
 Young amounts to 380 miles, whilst that discov- 
 ered by Hobson and mj^self amounts to nearly 
 420 miles, making a total of 800 geographical 
 miles of new^ coast-line which we have laid down. 
 
 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 quah ty, the most 
 nutritious description of food that we know of, 
 
308 nOBSON'S JOURNEY. Ciiai'. XVII. 
 
 and viiried q^casioually by such game as thoy 
 were able to shoot In spite of this fresh-meat 
 diet, scurvy advanced Avith rapid strides. 
 
 After leaving me at Cape Victoria, he says — 
 " No difficulty was experienced in crossing James 
 Itoss Strait. The ice appeared to be of but oue 
 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, — " Tlie 
 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 consid- 
 erable 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 char- 
 acter of the ice as Ilobson left the Boothian shore 
 and advanced towards Victoria Strait. The " very 
 heavy masses of ice, evidently of foreign forma- 
 tion," 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 
 
Aug. 1859. HOCSON'S JOURNEY. 309 
 
 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 des- 
 joerately 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 dis- 
 cretionary power with sound judgment, and com- 
 pleted 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. 
 
 Sunday evening, 2Wi. — Calm, warm, lovely, 
 weather ; and we are thoroughly enjoying it in 
 the quiet security of Lievely harbor, or Godhavn. 
 
310 LETTERS FROM ENGLAND. CiiAr. XVII. 
 
 Although Friday night was dark, we managed to 
 find out the harbor's mouth, and slowly steamed 
 into it. The inhabitants were awoke bj'' 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, there- 
 fore the letters on board of them were imavoida- 
 bly carried northward. Some few, however, which 
 came out in the 'Truelove,' were landed at tlie 
 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 Avere 
 able, thank God ! to congratulate each other upon 
 the receipt of cheering home news. Lad}^ Frank- 
 lin and Miss Cracroft wTote to me from Bourne- 
 mouth in March last. They have travelled more 
 than we have, I think, having visited almost 
 all the countries borderino; 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. 
 
 Yesterda}^ morning I called upon the inspector, 
 Mr. Olrik, who has been home to Denmark since I 
 
Aug. 1859. STAY AT GODHAVK 311 
 
 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 expect- 
 ed 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 exceed- 
 ingly acceptable, and told us that Austria was at 
 war with France and Sardinia. By the latest 
 news a battle had been fouarht and won bv 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. 
 
 \8t Sept., Thursday night. — At sea, on the passage, 
 and already enjoying, by anticipation, the pleas- 
 ures of home ! Five busy days v/ere 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 
 
312 PART FROM OUR ESQUIMAUX FRIENDS. Chap. XVII. 
 
 large store ; wliilst the officers and myself spent 
 the time with Mr. Olrik or the other Danish gen- 
 tlemen — 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 recollec- 
 tions of Godhavn ; twice has it been to us an Arc- 
 tic home. 
 
 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 re- 
 pair, 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. Bul- 
 brue ; they seemed to understand the importance 
 of husbandina; their wealth. Christian said he 
 thought it would not be all spent under three 
 years. First of all he intended buA'ing 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 Ycry well — 
 "all the same as brothers;" and they really 
 seemed sorry to leave the ship ; the}'' would come 
 on board and look gravely about at everything 
 as if regretting the coming separation. Even 
 
Sept. 1859. LEAVE GODHAVN. 313 
 
 our poor dogs seemed to think the ship their nat- 
 ural abode ; although landed at the settlement, 
 they soon ran round the harbor to the point near- 
 est 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 our- 
 selves ; 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 
 suj)plies 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 God- 
 liavn during the present season, the summer hav- 
 ing: been cold and wet. 
 
 lOzf/i ^ept., 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 temjoerature is 
 already perceptible. 
 
 Saturday nighty Vltli Sept. — A week of favora- 
 27 
 
314 VOYAGE HOME. CiiAr. XVII. 
 
 ble 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 maybe; and our two years' 
 sojourn in the still waters of the frozen North has 
 made us very susceptible of .the change. 
 
CONCLUSION. - - 315 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 We sailed all the way liome 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 kind- 
 ness and promptitude of the Lords of the Admi- 
 ralty, 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 ser- 
 vice, 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 find- 
 ing the enthusiasm with which we were all re- 
 ceived on landing upon our native shores. The 
 blessing of Providence had attended our efforts. 
 
316 CONCLUSION. 
 
 and more than a full measure of approval from 
 our friends and country-men has been our reward. 
 For myself the testhnonial given me by the offi- 
 cers and crew of the * Fox ' has touched me per- 
 haps 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 har- 
 mony, that mutual esteem and goodwill, which 
 made our ship's company a happy little commu- 
 nity, 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 en- 
 deavored to honor the members of the lost expe- 
 dition, 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 com- 
 memorated by preceding commanders, and which 
 therefore are already in our charts. Besides 
 the individuals already mentioned in the nar- 
 rative, Sir Thomas D. Acland, one of the most 
 zealous promoters of the search, both in and 
 out of the House of Commons ; Monsiem* De 
 la Roquette, Vice-President of the Geographical 
 Society of Paris, and author of an interesting bio- 
 
CONCLUSION. 317 
 
 graphy of Franklin ; Rear- Admiral Fitzroy ; and 
 Major-General Pasley, K.E.j stand higli 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 pocketbook 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 de- 
 gree refer to the proceedings of the lost expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 It will be seen that I have noticed (page 260) 
 the discrepancy between the number of souls ac- 
 counted 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 Admh^alty, 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 
 invahds were — 
 
 From H.M.S. * Terror,' Jolin Bro-wn, Able seaman. 
 
 " Eobert Carr, Armorer. 
 
 " James Elliot, Sallmaker. 
 
 " William Aitken, Marine. 
 
 From H.M.S. 'Erebus,' Thomas Birt, Armorer. 
 
 27* 
 
318 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The relics we have brought home ha\ e 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 iJic North- West 
 Passage. 
 
 London^ 2Ath Nov. 1859. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 A LETTER TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, K.G., &c., 
 EROM 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* 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 aug- 
 mentation 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 
 
 * See Appendix II. 
 
320 APPENDIX. No. I. 
 
 absent, were known to be favorable to another elTort 
 for its completion. And though that united applica- 
 tion 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 ad- 
 dressed to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty 
 in April last, and a copy of which accompanied, I be- 
 lieve, the Memorial to your Lordship, wherein I ear- 
 nestly 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 ascer- 
 tained, 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 possi- 
 bility 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), re. -^pect fully 
 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 
 Straits was by some of the most competent Arctic 
 
No. I. APPENDIX. 321 
 
 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 re- 
 ceived 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 as- 
 surance that Her Majesty's Government would give 
 the subject their serious consideration during the re- 
 cess. I may be permitted to add, that, in the con- 
 versation which followed, Lord Stanley expressed him- 
 self 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 as- 
 sisted in fitting out my own expedition ; an assurance 
 which Lord Wrottesley had the kindness to communi- 
 cate 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 an- 
 other final effbrt, and as they put it aside at that time 
 on the sole ground that it was too late to equip a ves- 
 sel for that season, 1 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 
 
 V 
 
322 APPENDIX. Ko. L 
 
 pardoned for pressing your Lordship, with whom I 
 believe the question rests, for a decision, since by 
 further delay even my own ellbrts 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 respon- 
 sibility 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 obliga- 
 tion, 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 w^hich has excited the sympathy of the civil- 
 ized world, remains uncleared. Nor less would I en- 
 treat 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 country- 
 men'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 
 
No. I. APPENDIX. 323 
 
 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 v/haler, 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 lav- 
 ishly re-equipped, and is now on her passage to Eng- 
 land, 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 be- 
 tween 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 mis- 
 sion. 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 com- 
 
324 ArPENDIX. No. I. 
 
 mittcd 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, what- 
 ever 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 conjec- 
 tural 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, com- 
 bined as it must be with the fact that our most ex- 
 perienced Arctic officers are willing to stake their 
 reputation upon the feasibility of reaching the spot 
 where so many secrets lie buried, if only they arc sup- 
 plied 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 ob- 
 jection, 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 
 
No. I. APPENDIX. 325 
 
 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 ser- 
 vice, 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 exigenc)\ 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 arc 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 la- 
 bors, or, in the beautiful words of Sir John Richardson, 
 that " they forged the last link of the North- West pas- 
 sage with their lives." 
 28 
 
326 APPENDIX. No. I. 
 
 Surely, then, I may plead for such men, that a care- 
 ful 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 be- 
 half 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 be- 
 half of my own expedition which I have been led to 
 expect on the authority of Lord Stanley, as communi- 
 cated to me by Lord Wrotteslcy, 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 consci- 
 entious and high-minded Arctic ofticcrs who have gen- 
 erously offered me their services, that my expedition 
 should be made as efficient as possible, however re- 
 
No. I. APPENDIX. 327 
 
 stricted 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 ail I can with my own means, 
 any deficiencies and shortcomings of a private expedi- 
 tion cannot I think be justly laid to my charge. 
 
 In conclusion, I would earnestly entreat of Her Maj- 
 esty'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 con- 
 sidered 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 im- 
 pelled to feel that the shortest and surest way to set 
 
328 AVVESDIX. No. L 
 
 the iniporinniiic question at rest, is to submit it to 
 that final investigation which will satisfy the yearn- 
 ings of sundving relatives and friends, and, what is 
 justly of higher import to your Lordsiiip, the credit 
 and honor of the country. 
 
 I have the honor to be, etc., 
 
 Jane Fiianklin. 
 The lliglit lion. Viscount Palmcrston, K.G. 
 
No. II. APPEIS'DIX. 329 
 
 No. II. 
 
 MEMORLiL TO THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT 
 PALMERSTON, M.P., G.C.B. 
 
 London, June 5tli, 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 sym- 
 pathy 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 Govern- 
 ment, 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 re- 
 search, now that the locality has been clearly indicated 
 where the vessels or their remains must lie, — includ- 
 ing, 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. 
 
 28* 
 
330 APPENDIX. No. II. 
 
 Although most persons have arrived at the con- 
 elusion that there can now be no survivors of Frank- 
 lin'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 tlian any other indi- 
 vidual, 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 our- 
 selves 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 accom- 
 
No. II. APPENDIX. 331 
 
 plished by the crew of a man-of-war, — to say nothing 
 of the moral influence of a strong armed party remain- 
 ing 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 screio-^essel 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 ex- 
 pressed 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 miss- 
 ing vessels or their remains must lie, and those formerly 
 necessarily tentative explorations in various directions, 
 
•^32 APPENDIX. No II. 
 
 the frequent allusions to the difficulty of w;.ich, in 
 regions far to the north of the voyage now contem- 
 plated, have led persons unacquainted with geography 
 to suppose that such a modified and limited attempt 
 as that which wc propose involves farther risk and 
 may call for future researches. The very nature of the 
 former cxpediiions 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 ditliculty by one of Ilcr 
 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 re- 
 flected 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 Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 "We have the honor to be, &c., 
 F. Beaufort, L. ITouxkr, 
 
 R. I. MuRcnisoN, W. II. Fitton. 
 
 F. W. Beechey, Lyon Playfair, 
 
 Wrottesley, T. TnoRp, 
 
No. II. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 E. Sabine, 
 
 Egerton Ellesmeke, 
 
 W. Wpirwell, 
 
 R. Collins ON, 
 
 W. H. Sykes, 
 
 C. Daubeny, 
 
 J. Fergus, 
 
 P. E. DE Stzrelecki, 
 
 W. II. Smyth, 
 
 A. Majendie, 
 
 R. FiTZROY, 
 
 E. Gardiner Fishbourne, 
 
 R. Brown, 
 
 G. Macartney, 
 
 C. WheaTstone, 
 W. J. Hooker, 
 J. T>. 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 Edvtard 
 
 Belcher ; 
 Commodore Kellett ; 
 Captains Austin, 
 
 Bird, 
 
 Ommanney, 
 
 Sir Robert M'Clure, 
 
 Sherard Osborn, 
 
 Inglefield, 
 
 Captains Maguire, 
 
 M'Clintock, and 
 
 Richards ; 
 Commanders Aldrich, 
 
 Me CHAM, 
 
 Trollope, and 
 Cresswell ; 
 Lieutenants Hamilton and 
 
 PiM. 
 
334 APPENDIX. Ko. m. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 LIST OF RELICS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION, 
 Brought to England in the ' Fox,' by Captain M'CujrrocK. 
 
 Relics brought from the boat found in lat. G9^ 08' 43" 
 N., long. 99° 24' 42" W., upon the West Coast of 
 King William Island, May 30, 1859:— 
 
 Two double-barrelled guns, one barrel in each is loaded. Found 
 standing up against the side in the after part of the boat. 
 
 A small Prayer Book ; cover of a small book of ' Family Prayers ; ' 
 ' Christian Melodies,' an inscription Avitliin the cover to " G. G." 
 (Graham Gore V) ; ' Vicar of Wakefield ; ' a small Bible, interlined 
 in many places, and with numerous references wi-itlen 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, inches long, for supporting 
 a weather cloth, wliich was round the boat. 
 
 2G pieces of silver plate — 11 spoons, 11 forks, and 4 teaspoons; 
 3 pieces of thin elmboard (tingles) for repairing the boat, and meas- 
 uring 11 inches by G inches, and 3-lOths 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 hanilkcrchief, 
 thread-case, piece of scented soap, three shot charges in kiil 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 snood- 
 ing 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 
 
No. III. APPENDIX. 335 
 
 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 fraine, 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 20lb. or 22lb. 
 
 Two yellow glass beads, a glass seal with symbol of Freemasonry. 
 
 A 4-inch block, strapped, with copper hook and thimble, probably 
 for the boat's sheet. 
 
 Relics seen in lat. 69° 09' N., long. 99° 24' W., not 
 brought away, 80th of May, 1859: — 
 
 A large boat, measuring 28 ft. in extreme length, 7 ft. 3 in. in 
 breadth, 2 fl;. 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, aiimiunition, 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 5 
 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 hand- 
 
33G APPENDIX. No. III. 
 
 kerchiefs (black, white, and colored), towels, sponge, tooth-brush, 
 hair comb, a mackintosh, gun cover (mai-ked in paint "A. 12"), 
 twine, files, knives; a small worsted-work slipper, lined with calf- 
 Bkin, bound with red riband; a great quantity of clothing, and a 
 wolf-skin robe ; part of a boat's sail of Xo. 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 i\. 9 in. above 
 the gunwale. 
 
 Relics found about Ross Cairn, on Point Victory, May 
 
 and June, 1859, brought away : — 
 
 A G-inch dip circle by Robinson, marked I 22. A case of medi- 
 cines, consisting of 25 small bottles, canister of pills, ointinent, plas- 
 ter, oiled silk, etc. A 2-foot rule, two joints of the cleaning i-od 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 en- 
 graved *' C. II. Osmcr, 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 quar- 
 ters 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 2lb. prescrved- 
 meat tin, and marked " W. Mark ; " a small deal box for gtm 
 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 
 Bide, three boat-hook staves, strips of copper, a 9-inch single block 
 
No. III. APPENDIX. 337 
 
 strapped, a piece of rope and spunyarn. Among the clothing was 
 found a stocking marked "W," green, and a fragment of one marked 
 " W. S." 
 
 Kelics 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 gloA'e, colors red, white 
 and blue ; bung-stave of a marine's water keg or bottle, brass orna- 
 ments 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 cojoper 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 Cann, not brought 
 
 away : — 
 
 Fragments of two broken bottles, several pieces of broken basins 
 or cups, blue and white delfware, 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 bearskin 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 can- 
 ister, marked " cheese," preserved-potato tin, feathers of ptarmigan, 
 and salt-meat bones. 
 
 Seen near Cape Maria Louisa: — 
 
 Pa"t 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. 
 
 29 W 
 
338 APPENDIX. No. III. 
 
 Relics obtained from the Boolhian Esquimaux, near 
 tlie Magnetic Pole, in March and April, 1859: — 
 
 Seven knives made by the natives out of materials obtalncil 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 geoop, 
 the handle of pine or bone, the bowl of musk-ox horn; six silver 
 spoons and forks, the property of Sir John Franklin, Lieutenants 
 II. D. Yescomtoand Fairholme, A. M'Donald, Assistant-Surgeon, and 
 ]>ieutenant E. Coucli (sii])poscd 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, 18;]8 : some bows and arrows, in which wood, iron, or copper 
 has been used in the construction — of no other interest. 
 
 Remarlcs upon these Articles. 
 
 The spear-staff measures G 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 Eivcr. Another spear of the 
 same kind was seen. Tlie knives are made either of iron or steel, 
 riveted to two strips of lioop, 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 
 bo found in a copper-fastened boat, but those which have been exam- 
 ined 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 tlie broad arrow stamped upon their 
 iron and copper work. One small knife appears to have been a 
 surgical instrument. A large knife obtained in AprU 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 aim 
 
No. III. APPENDIX. 339 
 
 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 orna- 
 ments 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 con- 
 nected together by cross bars of bones. Many more knives, bows 
 and buttons, similar to those brought away, might have been ob- 
 tained, but no personal or important relics. 
 
 Seen in a Snow Hut in lat. 70^° 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 Nor- 
 ton, 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 bear- 
 ing the Franklin crest; the other is also crested, probably Captain 
 Crozier's ; silversmith's name is " I. West ; " two teaspoons, one en- 
 graved "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 Her- 
 
340 APPENDIX. No. III. 
 
 schcl, 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 coloreil 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 1841. 
 
 Articles seen among the natives at Cape Norton, not purchased, — 
 Bows made of wood, knives, uniform and plain buttons, a slcd'^e 
 made of two long pieces of hard wood. 
 
 From beside an Esquimau.x stone-mark, on the east side of 
 Montreal Island: — Part of a prcscrvcd-mcat 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 s^hovels 
 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 bottoua boards of a boat. There was abundance of wood 
 fashioned into smaller articles. 
 
 Contents of Boat's Medicine Chest : — 
 
 One bottle labelled as zinzib. E. pulv., full; ditto, spirit, rect., 
 empty; ditto, mur. hydrarg. seven-eigliths full; ditto, ol. carj-phyll., 
 one-fifth full; ditto, ipce. P. co., full ; ditto, ol. menth. pip., empty; 
 ditto, llq. ammon. fort., three-quarters full ; ditto, ol. olivac., full ; 
 ditto, tinct. opii. camph., three-quarters full ; ditto, vin. scm. colch., 
 full; ditto, quarter full; ditto, calomel, full (broken) ; ditto, hydrarg. 
 hit. o.xyd., full; ditto, pulv. gregor, full (broken); ditto, magnes. 
 carb., full; ditto, camplior, full; two bottles line, 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 la- 
 belled), tinct. opii., three-quarters full ; one box (apparently) purga- 
 tive 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, ono 
 farthing, bandages, oil silk, Hut, thread. 
 
/:.,l(u^H.«^^:.-^'Jl. ST 11 A IT -s.^paP^.'l«««. 
 
 ^ 1^:^M«-"'- 
 
 
No. IV, APPENDIX. 341 
 
 No. IV. 
 GEOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE AECTIC AECHIPELAGO, 
 
 DEAWN DP PEDfCIPALLT FROM THE SPECIMENS COLLECIED BY 
 
 Captain E. L. M'Clintock, E.N., 
 Erom 1849 to 1859. 
 
 BY THE REV. SAMUEL HAUGHTON, F.E.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 descrip- 
 tion 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 
 fi-om the facts respecting them made known to us by 
 M'Clintock's discoveries. 
 29* 
 
342 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 I. — TJie Granitic and Granitoid Rocks. 
 
 These rocks form a considerable part of North 
 Greenland, on the east side of Baffin's Bay, and con- 
 stitute 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° 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 pot- 
 stone, abundant in parts of the County Donegal. 
 
 2. Upernavik, lat. 72° 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, grani- 
 toid 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 Upernavik 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 343 
 
 is different from that of the rock in v/hich the plum- 
 bago is fomid; 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 descrip- 
 tion of rock. 
 
 3. Wo7nan''s Islands. — These islands, off the west 
 coast of Greenland, are composed of a garnetiferous 
 mica slate, formed of black mica in layers, with alter- 
 nating plates composed of white felspar and quartz, and 
 filled with fine garnets, rose-colored, vitreous in frac- 
 ture, and transparent. 
 
 4. Cape YorA;, lat. 76° 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 deter- 
 mined. 
 
 5. Wolstenholme and Wliale Sounds, lat. 11° 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 ex- 
 amination of which will doubtless prove of interest. 
 These plates of mica are separated b}^ 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 con- 
 glomerate. The boundary between these formations 
 
344 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 is also marked by the development of massc3 of doler- 
 ite and clayey basalt. 
 
 6. Carey's Islands, 7G° 40' N., Greenland, lie to the 
 westward of Wolstenholme Sound, and are composed 
 of a remarkable gneissose mica schist, formed of suc- 
 cessive thin layers of quartz granules, containing 
 scarcely any felspar, and layers of jet black mica, with 
 <;ccasional facets of white mica. This mica schist 
 passes into a white gneiss, composed of quartz, white 
 felspar, and black mica, penetrated by veins, coarsely 
 crystalised, 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° 30' N., 
 North Devon. — The granitoid rocks between these 
 two capes are composed of graphic granite, consisting 
 of quartz (gi*ey) 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 arc 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. Quartzifer- 
 ous bands of epidotic hornstone occur with the forego- 
 ing beds; and the whole series is overlaid by red sand- 
 stones, of banded structure, which bear a striking re- 
 semblance 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 dis- 
 tance (100 miles) to the north-eastward of the rock in 
 
 I 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 345 
 
 situ, as at Port Leopold, Cape Rennell, etc. The gen- 
 eral 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 considera- 
 bly 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." * 
 
 To the east of Cape Bunny, where the Silurian 
 Kmestone ceases, and south of which the granite com- 
 mences, is a remarkable valley called Transition Val- 
 ley, 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 Wolsten- 
 holme 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, 
 
 * Journal of the Koyal Dubliu Society, 1857. 
 
346 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 m 
 
 but it appears highly probable that 
 the granite of North Somerset, as 
 well as that of the oihcr localities 
 mentioned, is overlaid by a group 
 of sandstones and conglomerates, 
 on which the Upper Silurian lime- 
 stones 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 interi- 
 or, composed of quartzose sandstone, 
 carnelian, and Silurian limestone. 
 The accompanying sketch was made 
 by Captain INl'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 be- 
 fore it was visited by Sir James C. 
 Eoss and Lieutenant M'Clintock, in 
 their first sledge journey on the ice. 
 Cape Granite is the northern bound- 
 ary of the granite, which retains the 
 same character as far as Howe Har- 
 bor. 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 gran- 
 
No. IV. . APPENDIX. 347 
 
 ite, found as a pebble at Graham -Moore Bay, Bath- 
 iirst Island, S.W., a locality 135 knots distant from 
 Cape Granite, to the N.W. 
 
 9. Bellofs Straits, lat. 72° N., separate North Somer- 
 set from Boothia Felix. The ' Fox ' Expedition win- 
 tered here in 1858, and had abundant means of ascer- 
 taining 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 hori- 
 zontal 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. 
 
 a. Blackish grey, fine grained, gneissose granite, com- 
 posed 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° S.E. 
 
 jS. A red granite, graphic texture, composed of quartz 
 and red felspar, coarse grained. 
 
 y. 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's Straits. 
 Large quantities of hornblende are also met with at 
 Leveque Harbor, Bellot's Straits, composed of facetted 
 crystals agglutinated together into large masses, form- 
 ing a crystalline hornblendic gneiss. 
 
 10. Pond's Bay, Baffin's Bay, lat. 72° 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° 
 "W.S.W. (true). 
 
348 APPENDIX. . No. IV. 
 
 11. Montreal Island, mouth of the Fish Rivor, lat. 
 67° 45' N. — The granitoid rocks, which everywhere, 
 in the Arctic Arcliipelago, underlie the Silurian lime- 
 stone, appear at Montreal lifland as a gneiss, composed 
 of bands of felspar (pink) and quartz (^ 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° 52' N., and 
 occasionally gneissose, as at lat. 72° 13' N. Between 
 these two points, at lat. 72° 37' N., a limestone blulF 
 occurs containing the characteristic Silurian fossils, 
 and is succeeded at 72° 40' by a ferruginous limestone, 
 
 (bright red, and a few beds of line 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 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 349 
 
 the peculiar Silurian limestone found on the vest 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 fer- 
 ruginous limestone, containing rounded particles of 
 quartz, which rapidly pass into a fine greyish green 
 earthy limestone, abounding in fossils, and occasion- 
 ally 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° to 5° 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 ap- 
 pearance of the rocks is similar to the Dudley lime- 
 stone, 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 Eng- 
 land and America, arranged in horizontal layers, give 
 to the cliffs around Port Leopold the peculiar appear- 
 ance which has been described by different Polar navi- 
 gators as " buttress-like," " castellated ; " this appear- 
 ance is produced by the unequal weathering of the 
 cliff, which causes the hard limestone to stand out in 
 bands. Excellent sketches of this remarkable appear- 
 ance, drawn by Lieutenant Beechey, are figured at 
 page 35 of Parry's First Voyage, ' Hecla ' and ' Gri- 
 per,' 1819-20. The Western side of King William's 
 30 
 
350 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 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 princi- 
 pal fossils brought home by Captain M'Clintock : — 
 
 No. I. GARNIER BAY (Lat. 74° N. ; Long. 92° W.) 
 
 1. Cyatliophyllum Itelianllioides, several specimens. 
 
 2. Helioliles porosa. Gamier Bay. Another specimen from near " 
 
 Cape Bunny. 
 
 3. Specimens of carnelian, gneiss, chalcedony, etc., etc., from the 
 
 shingle near Cape Bunny. 
 
 4. Cromus Arclicus, several specimens. 
 
 5. Atnjpa phoca (Salter). 
 
 6. Atrypa reticularis. 
 
 7. Brachiopoda on slab (various). 
 
 8. Cyathophyllum. 
 
 9. Columnaria Sutherlandi (Salter). Several specimens. 
 
 No. n. PORT LEOPOLD (Lat. 73° 50' N.; Long. 90° 15' W.). 
 
 1. Limestone containing numerous fossils of the Upper Silurian 
 
 type : Calamopora Golhlandica, Goldf. PJiyncliondla cuneata t 
 Dalm. Cyathophylban, 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 selcnitc from shaly beds in cliff. 
 
 4. Fibrous gj-psum from same. 
 
 No. in. GRIFFITH'S ISLAND (Lat. 74° 35' N. ; Long. 95° 30' W.). 
 
 1. Beautiful specimens of the Cromus Arclicus. PI. VI. Fi"-. 5, 
 
 Journ. R.D.S.,Vol. I 
 
 2. Ortlioceras GriffuM. PI. V. Fig. 1, Journ. R.D.S., Vol. L 
 
 3. An Orthoceras with lateral siphuncle, and simple circular out- 
 
 line of septa. 
 
 4. Loxonema Rossi. PI. V. Figs. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, Journ. R. D. S., 
 
 Vol.1 
 
 5. Numerous specimens of crinoidal limestone. 
 
 6. Sirophomena Donnetti (Salter). Sutherland's Voyage; PI. V. 
 
 Figs. 11, 12. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 351 
 
 7. Atrypa pJioca (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. PI. VTI. Fig. 6, Journ. 
 
 E. D. S., Vol. I. 
 
 9 . Calophyllum Pliragmoceras (Salter) . Sutherland ; PI. VI. Fig. 4. 
 
 10. Syringopora geniculata. 
 
 11. An undescribed species of MacrocJieilus. 
 
 No. IV. BEECHEY ISLAND. (Lat. 74° 40' N. ; Long. 92° W.). 
 
 1. Orthoceras (species). 
 
 2. Great multitudes of Atrypa pJioca, forming, in fact, a dark- 
 
 colored earthly Atrypa limestone. 
 
 3. With these -were associated many species of Loxoncma, some- 
 
 times so abundant as to form a pale pink and whitish Loxon- 
 ema limestone. 
 
 4. A species of ribbed Atrj'pa. 
 
 5. Crinoidal limestone in abundance. 
 
 6. Syringopora reticulata. 
 
 7. Calophyllum pliragmoceras (Salter). Sutherland; PI. VI. Fig. 4. 
 
 8. Cyathophyllwn ccBspitosum, 
 
 9. CyatliopTiyllum articulatum (Edwardes and Haime). 
 
 10. Calamopora Gothlandica. 
 
 11. Calamopora alveolaris. 
 
 12. Favistella FranUini (Salter). Sutherland ; PI. VI. Fig. 8. 
 
 13. ClisiopJiyllum Salteri. Sutherland; PI. VI. Fig. 7. 
 
 14. Cyathopliyllum (species). 
 
 15. Loxonema Salteri, described by Mr. Slater in Sutherland's 
 
 ' Voyage to Wellington Channel; ' PI. V. Fig. 19. 
 
 Tills Is a fine slab of hmestone, almost together composed of 
 the remains o? Loxonema Salteri and Atrypa phoca. It appears 
 to have been quietly deposited at the bottom of a deep sub- 
 marine depression, swarming with Pyramidellidse 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 remoTed. 
 
352 APPENDLv. No. IV. 
 
 No. V. CORNWALLIS ISL A^^D, Assistance Bay (Lat 74° 40' N. ; 
 Long. 94° W.). 
 
 1. Orihoceras Ommaneyi (Salter). Sutherland ; PI. V. Figs. 16, 17. 
 
 2. Penlamerus conclddium (Dalman). Sutherland ; PI. Y. Figs. 
 
 9, 10. 
 
 3. Pcntamerus limestone. 
 
 4. Cromus Arcticus. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. VI. 
 
 5. Cardlola Saltcri. PI. VII. Fig. 5. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. 
 
 6. Syringopora rjeniculala. 
 
 No. VL CAPE YORK, Lancaster Sound (Lat. 73° SO' N. ; 
 Long. 87° W.). 
 A specimen of the same fossil coral which I have named, 
 doubtfully, from Beechey Island, as Favositcs or Calamopora 
 Goihlandica ; it is not impossible, however, that it is not a Calam- 
 opora at all, but a species of Chastctes. 
 
 No. Vn. POSSESSION BAY, South entrance into Lancaster 
 Sound (Lat. 73° 30' N. ; Long. 77° 20' W.). 
 Specimens of brown earthy limestone, with a fetid smell 
 •when sti'uck with a hammer ; resembles closely the limestone of 
 Cape York, Lancaster Sound. 
 
 No. Vni. DEPOT BAY, BeUof s Straits (Lat.72'' N.; Long. 94° W.). 
 
 1. Maclurea sp. 
 
 2. CyatliophyUum helianihoides (Goldfuss). 
 
 The limestone at this locality is white and saccharoid, with 
 large rhombohedral crystals of calcspar. 
 
 *No. rS. CAPE FARRAND, East side of Boothia (Lat. 71° 38' ; 
 Long. 93° 35' W.). 
 
 1. Atrypa plioca (Salter). Sutherland; PL V. Fig. 3. 
 
 2. Loxonema Rossi. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. V. 
 
 3. Atrypa (ribbed sp.) 
 
 4. Calamopora Goihlandica (Goldfuss). 
 
 5. Cyrloceras sp. 
 
 The rock at this locality is a grey mud limestone. 
 
 * Collected by Dr. Walker, surgeon to the ' Fcx ' E.'tpedilion. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 853 
 
 No. X. WEST SHORE OF BOOTHIA (Lat. 70° to 71° N.), 
 
 containing the Magnetic Pole. 
 
 1. AtrypapTioca (Salter). 
 
 2. Loxonema Rossi. Joiirn. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. V. 
 
 3. Favistella FranUini (Salter). Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. XI. 
 
 4. Loxonema Salicri. Sutherland; PI. 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. 
 
 *No. XI. FURY POINT (Lat. 72° 50' N; Long. 92° W.). 
 
 1. Cromus Arcticus. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. VI. 
 
 2. Maclurea sp. 
 
 3. Mya rotundata (?). 
 
 4. Stromatopora concentrica. 
 
 5. Cyatliophyllura helianthoides (Goldfuss). 
 
 6. Petraia hina. 
 
 7. Calamopora Goihlandica (Goldfuss). 
 
 8. Favosites megastoma (?). 
 
 9. Cyatliopliyllum ccespitosum. 
 
 10. Favistella FranUini (Salter). Sutherland ; PI. VI. Fig. 3. 
 
 11. Strepliodes Austini (Salter). Sutherland; PI. VI. Fig. 6. 
 
 12. Atrypaphoca (Salter). 
 
 The limestone here is of the same grey earthy aspect as at 
 Beechey Island and Port Leopold. 
 
 t No. XII PRINCE OF WALES' LAND (Lat. 72° 38' N. ; 
 Long. 97° 15' W.). 
 
 1. CyatliopTiyllum 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. Xm. WEST COAST OF KING WILLIAM'S ISLAND. 
 
 1. Loxonema Rossi. Journ. R. D. S., Vol I. PI. V. 
 
 2. Catenipora escliaroides. 
 
 3. Orihoceras sp. 
 
 * Collected by Dr. Walker, surgeon to the ' Fox ' Expedition. 
 t Collected by Captain Allen Young. 
 
 30* X 
 
354 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 4. Maclurea sp. 
 
 5. Atn/pa sp. 
 
 G. Syringnpora geniculata.- 
 
 7. Clkiophjllum sp. 
 
 8. Orlhis elegantula. 
 
 III. — T/ie Carboniferous Rocks. 
 
 The Upper Silurian limestones already described are 
 sncceeded by a most remarkable scries of close-grained 
 w^hite 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 spe- 
 cies of ribbed Atnjpa, which I believe to be identical 
 with the Atrj/pa 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 jNIartin's Island, and the 
 ■whole of Bathurst Island. Carboniferous limestone, with char- 
 acteristic fossils, was found along the north coast of Bathurst 
 Island, and at Hillock Point, Melville Island. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 355 
 
 I have marked on the map the coal-beds of the 
 Pany Islands, which appear to be prolonged into 
 Baring Island, as observed by Captain M'Clm-e. 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 sur- 
 veyed 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 out- 
 crop of the coal-beds, which agrees remarkably well 
 with the boundary of the formations laid down from 
 totally different data. 
 
 No. I. HILLOCK POINT, MelTllle Island (Lat. 76° N.; Long. 
 111° 45' W.). 
 
 Productussulcatus. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. VII. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 
 
 4,7. 
 Spirifer Arcticus. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. Pi. IX. 
 
 No. n. BATHURST ISLAND, North Coast, Cape Lady 
 
 Franklin (?) (Lat. 76° 40' N.; Long. 98° 45' W.). 
 Spirifer Arcticus. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. IX. Fig. 1. 
 Litliostrotion basaltiforme. 
 
 *No. m. BALLAST BEACH, Baring Island (Lat. 74° 30' N.; 
 Long. 121° 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° 45' N.; Long. 117° 30' W.). 
 1. Nodules of clay ironstone, converted partially into brown hema- 
 tite. 
 
 * These specimens are "Drift," but are mentioned here- as they were 
 founi on the carboniferous sandstone area. 
 
356 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 2. Native copper in large masses, procured from the Esquimaux 
 
 in Prince of Wales' Strait. 
 
 3. Brown hematite, pisolitlc. 
 
 4. Greyish yellow sandstone, same as Cape Hamilton and Byam 
 
 Martin's Island. 
 
 5. Terehratula aspera (Sehlotheim). Joum. E. D. S., Vol. I. PI. IX. 
 
 Fig- 4. 
 This interesting brachiopod was found in the lime- 
 stone by Captain M'Clurc, at the Princess Royal Isl- 
 ands, in the Prince of Wales' Strait, between Baring 
 Island and Prince Albert Land. I have no hesitation 
 in pronouncing it to be identical with Schlothcim's 
 fossil, which is found in the greatest abundance at 
 Gerolstein, in the Eifel. Banks' Land, or Baring Isl- 
 and, is composed of sandstone, similar to that at Byarri 
 Martin's Island, and at the Bay of Mercy. This sand- 
 stone contains beds of coal, apparently the continuation 
 of the well-known coal-beds of INIelville Island. It is 
 a remarkable fact, that these carboniferous sandstones 
 underlie beds of undoubtedly the carboniferous lime- 
 stone 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 Mel- 
 ville 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 carbonif- 
 erous 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 char- 
 acteristic of the Eifelian beds of Germany, which form, 
 in that country, the Upper Silurian Strata. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 357 
 
 No. V. CAPE HAMILTON, Baring Island (Lat. 74° 15' N. ; Long. 
 117° 30' W.). 
 
 1. Greyisli-ycUow sandstone, like that found in situ in Byam Mar- 
 
 tin's Island. 
 
 2. Coal. — The coal found in the Arctic regions, excepting that 
 
 brought from Disco Island, West Greenland, which is of ter- 
 tiary origin, presents everywhere the sanae characters, which 
 are somewhat remarkable. It is of a brownish color and lig- 
 naceous textm-e, in fine layers of brown coal and jet-black 
 glossy coal intcrstratified 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 brilKaut 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° 30' N. ; Long. 
 113° 45' W.). 
 Fine specimens of coal. 
 
 No. VH. CAPE SIR JAMES EOSS, Melville Island (Lat- 74° 
 45' N. ; Long. 114° 30' W.). 
 Sandstone passing into blue quartzite. 
 
 No. VIH. CAPE PROVIDENCE, Melville Island (Lat. 74° 20' N. ; 
 Long. 112° 30' W.). 
 
 A specimen of ci-lnoldal limestone, apparently similar to that oc- 
 curring 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 circum- 
 stances differing considerably from those now prevallbg in 
 Barrow's Strait. 
 
 Yellowish-grey sandstone. 
 
 Clay ironstone passing into pisolitic hematite. 
 
 No. IX. "WINTER HARBOR, Melville Island (Lat. 74° 35' N. ; 
 Long. 110° 45' W.). 
 Fine yellow and grey sandstone. 
 
358 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 No. X. BPtroPORT mLET, :Mc1v111c Island (Lat. 75'' N. ; Long. 
 109° ^V.). 
 Coal, with impressions of Sphenopteris. 
 
 Ferruginous spotted white sandstone. 
 
 Clay ironstone, passing into brown hematite. 
 
 No. XL SKENE BAY, Melville Island (Lat. 75° N.; Long. 
 108° 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. Xn. HOOPER ISLAND, Liddon's Gulf, Melville Island (Lat. 
 75° 5' N.; Long. 112° 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 Lid- 
 don's Gulf, and as far as Cape Dundas, are generally- 
 bare, composed of frozen mud, arising from the disin- 
 tegration of shale, the annual dissolving snows wash- 
 ing them down and giving them a rounded form. The 
 southern slopes generally support vegetation. Frag- 
 ments of coal are very frequently met with, and at Ihc 
 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. Xm. BYAM MAPvTIN'S ISLAND (Lat. 75° 10' N. ; Long. 
 104° 15' W.). 
 
 Yellowish-grey sandstone, in sku, containing a ribbed Atn/pa, 
 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 braehiopod as the last. 
 
 Coal of the usual description. 
 
 Fine-grained red sandstone, passing into red slate. 
 
 Scoriaceous hornblcndic trap (boulders). 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 359 
 
 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 sand- 
 stone and slate found between Wolstenholme Sound 
 and Whale Sound, West Greenland, lat. 77° N. The 
 other sandstone of Byam Martin's Island is fine, pale- 
 greenish, or rather greyish-yellow, and not distinguish- 
 able 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 correspond- 
 ing rocks of Melville Island, Baring Island, and Bath- 
 urst Island, are low down in the Carboniferous System, 
 and that there is in these northern coal-fields no subdi- 
 vision 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, Mel- 
 ville 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 MelviUe 
 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. 
 
360 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 No. XIY. GRAHAI\I MOORE'S BAY, Bathurst Mand (Lat. 75" 
 30' N. ; Long. 102° W.). 
 Coal of the usual quality. 
 
 At Cape Lady Franklin, and at many other locali- 
 ties along the north shore of Bathur.st Island, carbonif- 
 erous fossils in limestone, clay ironstone balls passing 
 into brown hematite, cherty limestone, and earthy fos- 
 siliferous limestone, with the same species of Atrypa as 
 at Byam Martin's Island, Nvere found in abundance by 
 Sherard Osborn, Esq., Commander of H.M.S. * Pio- 
 neer,' 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." * 
 
 It is to be hoped that they may soon be made avail- 
 able for the elucidation of the geology of this most 
 interesting portion of the Arctic discoveries. 
 
 No. XV. BATHURST ISLAND, Bedford Bay (Lat. 75° N.; 
 
 Long. 95° 50' W.). 
 
 In this locality abundance of vesicular scoriaceous trap rocks 
 
 •were found by Captain M'ClIntock ; they appear to nic to be the 
 
 representatives of the volcanic rocks found everywhere at the 
 
 commencement of the carboniferous period. 
 
 No. XVI. CORNWALLIS ISLAND, ]\rDougall Bay. 
 
 1. Syringopora geniculala. Joui-n. R D. S., Vol. I. PI. XL Fig. 2. 
 
 2. Cardiola Salterl Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. ATI. Fig. 5. 
 
 The Syringopore found at CornwalUs Island appears 
 to be identical with the variety of the Irish carbonifer- 
 ous S. g-eniculata, in which the corallites are at a dis- 
 tance from each other somewhat exceeding their diani- 
 
 * Fi'de Arctic Expeditions, 1854-55, p. 254. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 361 
 
 etersj 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 oc- 
 curring 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 depos- 
 its, — 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 occur- 
 rence 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, andBeechey 
 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 
 31 
 
3G2 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 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 tiie darkness of the long win- 
 ter's night at Melville Island. This difficulty is in- 
 creased by the facts made known to us by the dis- 
 covery 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 An- 
 jou, 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'' N. This statement, which was published in 
 Admiral Von Wrangcl's journal, attracted but little 
 attention, until it was confirmed, as far as probability 
 of such fossils occurring at so high a latitude is con- 
 cerned, by the remarkable discovery of similar fossils 
 by Captain M'Clintock, in lat. 76° 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 flic 
 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 re- 
 sembled marble. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. ' 863 
 
 " 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 carbonif- 
 erous 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 appear- 
 ing 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 MelviUe Island. The 
 eastern shores of Intrepid Inlet is composed of this 
 formation; while the western, rising into hills and ter- 
 races, 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 Cap- 
 tain M'Clintock's return to Dublin.from his third Arctic 
 expedition. 
 
 No. 1. WILKIE POINT, Prince Patrick's Land (Lat. 76° 20' N. ; 
 Long. 117° 20' W.). 
 
 LIAS FOSSILS. 
 
 (a) Ammonites M^Clintocki. Joum. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. IX. Figs. 
 2, 3, 4. 
 
364 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 Monotis septentrionalis. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. IX. Figa. 
 6, 7. 
 
 Pleurotomaria, sp. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. IX. Fig. 8. 
 
 Cast of some Univalve. Journ. R. D. S., Vol. I. PI. IX. Fig. 7, 
 
 Nucula, sp. 
 (a) Ammonites M'Clintocki (Haughton). — Testa compressa, carin- 
 ata, anfraclibus latis, lateribus, complanatis, (ransversim undato-costatis ; 
 cosiis simplicibus, juxla marginem interiorem levigatis ; dorso carinato 
 acuto ; aperturCi sagUtatu, compressu, andce carinata; seplis lateribus 
 4-lobaiis. 
 
 This fine ammonite resembles several species com- 
 mon in the upper lias of the Plateau de Larzac, Sev- 
 ennes, 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 fol- 
 lowing measurements give an exact idea of its form, 
 as compared with that of the species mentioned : — 
 
 
 Diameter, 
 Inches. 
 
 Width of 
 
 last Spire. 
 
 Diam.=100. 
 
 1 1 
 Thickness Overlapping Width 
 of last of last of 
 Spire. Spire. Umbilic. 
 
 A. M' Clintocki, 
 A. concavus, . 
 
 1-83 
 2-95 
 
 T0% 
 
 
 
 ^0% 
 
 The principal difference here observable is in the 
 so-mewhat 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° 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 rela- 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 365 
 
 tive 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 improb- 
 able that such causes could have ever produced a tem- 
 perature in the sea at 76° north latitude which would 
 allow of the existence of ammonites, especially ammo- 
 nites 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 commence- 
 ment 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° 
 12' N., long. 96° 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, rnust be aban- 
 doned, as the fossils found by M'Clintock were unques- 
 tionably in situ, and it is impossible to evade the con- 
 sequences that follow to geological theory from their 
 discovery. 
 
 Captain Sherard Osborn, also, found broken ver- 
 tebrae of an ichthyosaurus, 150 feet up Rendezvous 
 HiU, the north-west extreme of Bathurst Island : of 
 these specimens, one lay among a mass of stone t'lat 
 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 
 31* 
 
3G6 AITENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 Arctic seas will be disposed of by some geologists, 
 who will remind us that the saurians, and jirobably the 
 ammonites, were endowed with a complicated optical 
 apparatus, rendering them capable of using their eyes, 
 not only for the distinct vision of objects diflering 
 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 tem- 
 perature ? It was certainly necessary for an ammonite 
 to have a sea free from ice, on which to float and basic 
 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 F. between 
 the mean annual temperature of Point Wilkie and 
 Dublin; and if this change of temperature be supposed 
 to be caused \>y 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 sup- 
 posed to be raised to 99^-5 F. ; while the temperature 
 of the thermal equator will exceed 124° — a tempera- 
 ture only a few degrees below that requisite to boil an 
 eggl 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 cli- 
 mate 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 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 367 
 
 a constant to our present climates, leaving the differ- 
 ences 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 differ- 
 ences as at present. 
 
 The only speculation with which I am acquainted, 
 which is capable of solving this opprobrium geolog- 
 icorum, is the hypothesis of a change in the axis of ro- 
 tation of the earth, the admission of which, as a geo- 
 logical possibility, is mathematically demonstrable, and 
 which has recently had some singular evidence in its 
 favor advanced by geologists. In 1851, I brought for- 
 ward, at the Geological Society of Dublin, a case of 
 angular fragments of granite occurring in the carbonif- 
 erous 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 ante- 
 cedent 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 deter- 
 mine its amount and direction, and to assign the cause 
 of such a movement. The solution of this problem I 
 regard as quite possible. 
 
868 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 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 
 li^ht, and the ammonites that of heat, insuperable ob- 
 jections 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, through- 
 out 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 Euorpe, and re- 
 ferred 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'Clin- 
 tock, 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 (Bath- 
 urst 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 gran- 
 ite at Port Leopold is 100 miles N.E. of the granite 
 which gave origin to it ; and the specimens from Gra- 
 ham Moore Bay are 190 miles to the N.W. of their 
 source. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 369 
 
 At Cape E-ennell (North Somerset), in a direction 
 intermediate between the two former directions, a re- 
 markable boulder of the same granite was found, con- 
 firming the general direction of the transporting force 
 from south to north. Its position and size are thus 
 recorded by Captain M'Clintock : — " Near Cape Ren- 
 nell 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 an- 
 nual 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 Rod- 
 erick 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 
 
 Y 
 
37a APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 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.* So 
 far as the evidence of drift boulders is concerned, 1 
 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, suh silentio, by the geologists. Many other 
 drift theories have, in like mannner, 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 wan- 
 dered 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 
 
 * Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond., vol. VIII. p. Ixiv. 
 
No. IV. APPENDIX. 371 
 
 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 Cijprina 
 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 occur- 
 rence 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 Kenedy, at eleva- 
 tions of from 100 to 500 feet : — 
 
 1. Sax'icava rugosa. 
 
 2. Tellina proxima. 
 
 3. Asiarfe Arctica (Borealis.) 
 
 4. Mya Uddevallensis. 
 6. 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 pub- 
 lish 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 
 
S72 APPENDIX. No. IV 
 
 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 infornriation within my reach, among 
 which I am bound to mention in particular the ex- 
 cellent 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 ' Expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 1 
 
No. V. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 373 
 
 No. V. 
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO THE 'FOX' EXPEDITIOK 
 
 £ s.d. 
 
 AcLAND, "Sir T. D. Bart 100 
 
 Adams. Dr. Walter, Edinburgh. 3 3 
 
 Aldricii, Captain, R.N 110 
 
 Allan, Rob. M., Esq .- 1 1 
 
 Allen, Captain Robert 5 5 
 
 Allen, Captain, R.N 2 2 
 
 Ames, Mrs 5 
 
 Ames, Bliss 10 
 
 Anon 6 
 
 Armstrong, Mrs 1 1 
 
 Armstrong, children of Mrs. ... 089 
 
 Arnold, Mrs 110 
 
 Arrowsmith, John, Esq 5 
 
 Austin, Rear-Adm. Uoratio T. 
 
 R.N., C.B 5 
 
 Babbage, Charles, Esq 10 
 
 Baikie, Dr 110 
 
 Baker, Mrs 5 
 
 Earkworth, Geo., Esq 5 
 
 Barras, Miss 110 
 
 Barrett, H. J., Ksq 10 
 
 Barrow, John, Esq 25 
 
 Barstow, Lieutenant, R.N 10 
 
 Barth, Dr. Henry 5 5 
 
 Bath, W. J. C, Esq 2 6 
 
 Batty, Mrs. J. M 110 
 
 Beaufort, Rear-Adm. Sir Fran- 
 cis, K.C.B 50 
 
 Bell, Thos., Esq., Pres. Lin. Soc. 10 10 
 
 Bennett, John S., Esq 5 
 
 Birch, J. W. N., Esq 10 
 
 Bird, Captain, R.N 5 
 
 Birmingham, small sums col- 
 lected at Evans' Library 8 1 
 
 Booth, Mrs 5 
 
 Eorton. Mrs., collected by 1 10 
 
 Boston, collected at, by Mr. 
 
 Morton 4 4 
 
 Eovill, Walter, Esq 5 
 
 Eoyer, Lieut. R.N 10 
 
 Boyle, the Hon. Carolina C 1 
 
 Brigg, collected at 1 1 
 
 Brine, Captain, R.E 110 
 
 Brooking, J. Holdsworth, Esq. . 10 
 
 Brown, Robert, Esq., V.P.L.S.. 20 
 
 Brown, John, Esq 5 5 
 
 Brown, J. E., Esq., R.N 5 
 
 Bruce, the Rev. C 110 
 
 Burgoyne, Captain, R.N 1 
 
 Burton, Alfred, Esq 1 1 
 
 Byron, the Hon. Fred 5 
 
 Chesnet, Major-General 2 2 
 
 CoUinson, Captain, R.N., C.B. . 20 
 
 Coningham, W., Esq., M.P 100 
 
 Coote, C. W., Esq 10 
 
 Coote, Charles, Esq 10 
 
 Courtauld, Samuel, Esq 25 
 
 Courtauld, George, Esq 15 
 
 Coutts, Messrs. & Co 50 
 
 32 
 
 £ s. d. 
 Crasp, J., Esq., Surgeon, 63rd 
 
 Regt 10 
 
 Crauford, John, Esq 5 
 
 Cress well, S. Gurney, Comman- 
 der, R N 5 
 
 Dalgett, F. T., Esq 10 10 
 
 DolaRoquette,M., V.P.ofGeog. 
 
 Soo. of Paris, 1000 fr 40 
 
 Dilke, C. W., Esq 5 
 
 Dixon. James, Esq 10 
 
 Do.xat; Alexis J., E.=q 10 10 
 
 Doxat, Miss H., collected by. . . 4 
 
 "Dubious" 2 
 
 Dufferin, Lord 25 
 
 Edgar, Mrs., collected by 5 
 
 Ellesmere, the Earl of. 15 
 
 Elphinstone, the Hon. Mount- 
 Stewart 10 
 
 Elton, Sir Arthur H., Bart 5 5 
 
 Emanuel, Ezekiel, Esq 1 
 
 Faikholme, the Hon. Mrs 150 
 
 FiUiter, George, Esq 10 
 
 Fitton, Dr 21 
 
 Fortescue, Rev. T. F. G 2 2 
 
 Gakling, H., Esq 1 
 
 Gassiot, J. P., Esq 25 
 
 Gimingham, W., Esq., & Mrs. . 2 
 
 Gipps, Lady 5 
 
 Gowen, J. R., Esq 5 
 
 Graves, Messrs. Pall Mall 1 
 
 Griffiths, G. H., Esq 5 
 
 Gruneisen, Ch. Lewis, Esq 1 
 
 Gruneisen, Mrs 1 
 
 Guillemard, the Rev. W. H. . . . 5 
 
 Guillemard, Miss 1 
 
 Hall, Jas., Esq 5 
 
 Hanbury, Mrs 1 
 
 Hardiuge, Commander, R.N. . . 
 
 Hardwicke, Philip, Esq 5 
 
 Harney, Julian, Esq., collected 
 
 by, at Jersey 50 
 
 Healcs, Alfred, Esq 5 
 
 Herring, Miss 2 
 
 Hicks, John, Esq 2 
 
 Hill, Col. 63rd Regt 1 
 
 Hodgson, Mrs 10 
 
 Holland, Commander, R.N .... 5 
 
 Tlollingsworth, H., Esq 2 
 
 Holland, Rob., Esq 10 
 
 Hooker, Dr. J. D 5 
 
 Hornby, Miss Georgina 100 
 
 Hornby, the Rev. Edward 25 
 
 Hornby, >Irs. Edmund. 5 
 
 Hornby, Miss Georgina, col- 
 lected by 13 
 
 Hovejl, W. H. Esq 6 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
374 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. V 
 
 £ s. 
 
 Hughes, Lieuteuant, R N 2 
 
 I.VGUS, Lnflv 10 
 
 Irby, T. \V.', Esq 1 1 
 
 Jackson, N. Ward, Esq 21 
 
 Jansou, .T. C, Ksfj 5 5 
 
 JeaiifS, II. W., Esq., U.N 10 
 
 Jersey " Times " 2 10 
 
 Kellett, Commodore, C.B 10 
 
 Kendall, Mrs 1 
 
 Kendall, the llev. Professor. ... 10 
 
 Key, Lieut., K.N 5 
 
 King, William, Esq 5 
 
 Laird, MaogreKor, E-q 60 
 
 Laird. John, Esq 25 
 
 L. and N. W 1 4 
 
 Lanford, J., Esq., Quartermas- 
 ter 63rd Kcginient 10 
 
 Langhorne, A., Esq 1 1 
 
 Larcom. JIrs 1 
 
 Leach, William, Esq 5 5 
 
 Lo Feuvrc, W. J., Esq 50 
 
 Lcfroy. C. E., Esq 2 
 
 Leicester, the Uev. F 1 1 
 
 Letlibridge, Lieut., R.N 5 
 
 " Lochmaben Castle," Owners 
 
 of the 5 5 
 
 Lyall, D. Esq., K.N.,SI.D 5 
 
 Mackintosh, Eneas, Esq 10 
 
 Maguire, Captain, R.N 3 3 
 
 Ilaitlaiid, Capt. SirThos., R.N. 1 
 Majendie, Ashhurst, Esq., and 
 
 Mr.s 100 
 
 Servants of the above 14 
 
 Malhy, Messrs 5 
 
 Malby, Messrs., Workmen in 
 their Establishment by a Gd. 
 
 Subscription 4 11 
 
 Mansfield, W. IL S., Esq 10 
 
 Mantell, Dr A. A 1 
 
 Markhani, Clements, E.sq 1 1 
 
 Marlcman, Mrs 1 
 
 M-Crea. Captain, R.N 10 
 
 M'Kiiil.ay, Miss 1 
 
 M-Ki:ilay, Miss Eli7Jibeth 1 
 
 I\I' William, Dr. R.N 1 1 
 
 Merrv, W. L., Esq 1 1 
 
 Morris, Rev. F n 1 
 
 Morris. Sir Armine, Bart 5 
 
 Murchison, Sir Roderick Iinpev, 
 G.C.St.S., Pre-sident of the 
 
 Royal Geographical Society. . . 100 
 
 Murray, John, Esq 20 
 
 Nares, Fras., Esq 2 2 
 
 Newall, W. L., Esq 100 
 
 Nicholson, Sir Charles 5 
 
 N.J 2 2 
 
 Norwood, collected at, by a 
 
 Lady 7 15 
 
 OMMANi<iEr,Capt. Erasmus, R.N. 2 
 
 Osborn, Sir George, Bart 1 
 
 £ t. 1. 
 
 Paget, A. F., Esq 10 6 
 
 Paget, C. ir. M.. lv<q 110 
 
 Palscv, Gen. Sir Charles AV., 
 
 K.C.B 10 
 
 Second Sub.scriptiou 10 
 
 Third Sub.scription 5 
 
 Pattin.son, n.L.,Esq 50 9 
 
 Pearcc, Stephen. E-sq 2 2 
 
 Phillimore, Captjiiu, R.N 2 2 
 
 Pigou, Fred., E-q 10 
 
 Prescott. Vice- Admiral Sir Hen- 
 ry, K.C.B 6 
 
 R.twxsLEr, the Rev. Drummond 6 
 
 Ilawsnley, Mrs, coUecte.l by 10 
 Rawuslcy, William Franklin, 
 collected by, at Uppingham 
 
 School 10 
 
 Raynsford, Mrs 110 
 
 Reynardson, II. B., lisq 6 
 
 Rogers, Lieut., R.N 10 
 
 Rogot, Dr. P. M 6 
 
 Hop; r, Geo.. ICfq 5 5 
 
 lloss, Kear-Admiral Sir J.as. C. . 21 
 
 r>upcrt'8 I>and, Bishop of 5 
 
 Sabine, M-ijor-Cicneral 25 
 
 Sadler, W. F., E-iq 10 10 
 
 Pefton, the Countess of. 10 
 
 Shearlev, W.. Esq 2 
 
 Shcil, Sir Justin 6 
 
 Shenell, John Tulmin, Esq. .. . 5 6 
 
 Simpson, J., Esq., R.N 1 10 
 
 Skcv, Dr 2 2 
 
 Smith, Eric E.. Esq 2 
 
 Smith. John Uenry, Egq 10 10 
 
 Smith, O.sborn, Esq 2 2 
 
 Smith. Archibald, Esq 5 5 
 
 Sparrow, J;i.«.. E^q 5 
 
 St. A.«aph, the Bishop of. 10 
 
 St. Davids, the Bishop of. 10 
 
 St. Selger, A. B 5 
 
 Stiinton, J. J., E.sq 3 8 
 
 Statham, J. L., E.<q 110 
 
 Stephenson. Robert, E.<q 20 
 
 Stirling. Commander. RN 10 
 
 Str/elecUi, Count P. dc 2.0 
 
 Swinburne, Re;ir-Admiral 30 
 
 Sykes, Col., M.P 5 
 
 Taylor, William, E.«q 5 
 
 Tennant, James, Esq 2 
 
 T. II., collected in shillings by. 2 
 
 Thackeray, W. Jl., Esq 5 
 
 Thompson, J., Esq 1 1 D 
 
 Tindal, Commander. R.N 2 2 
 
 Tinner, W. II., F^sq., Q.C if) 
 
 Tito, W., E.sq., M.P 50 
 
 Trcvelvan, Sir W. C, Bart 4i) 
 
 Trevelyan. Ixadv 10 
 
 Trevilun, M C., M-q 2 2 
 
 Trollope, Cammandor, R.N 2 2 
 
 Tucketf. Fred., Esq 6 9 
 
 Tudor, J.. Eq 10 
 
 Turner, Alfred, Esq 1.') 
 
 Twcedio, W. M, Esq 6 
 
 Vincent, John, Esq 10 
 
No. V. 
 
 APrENDIX. 
 
 375 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 ■Walker, James, E<q 21 
 
 ■Washington, Captain. R.N., Ily- 
 
 drographcrof the Navy 21 
 
 ■Waterfuid, jCdward, Esq 5 
 
 ■Wayse, the Itev .7. Vv' 5 
 
 ■Weld, Charles H., Esq 5 
 
 Whoatstone, Professor 5 
 
 ■\VilIes, Hon. Mr. Justice 21 
 
 ■Wilson, Kobert, Esq 116 
 
 Wittenoom, Mess 110 
 
 Wodebou.<;e, Commander 10 
 
 Woodoork, J. Parry, Esq 5 
 
 Worsley, Jl.arcus, Esq 10 
 
 ■^'right. the iiev. R. F 2 2 
 
 Wrottesley, Lord 50 
 
 rouiTG, Chas. F., Esq 5 
 
 £ 
 
 Young, Miss. 5 
 
 ■Voung, A. ■^'erity, Esq 2 
 
 Yule, Mrs. ri 6 
 
 The brotlier an-* sisters of the 
 late John and ?honias Hart- 
 nell, of II. M.S. ' Erebus,' 
 
 buried at Eeechey Island 5 
 
 A Commander, R N 
 
 A Commander in the Mercliant 
 
 Service 500 
 
 A Friend. C. H 
 
 A Friend \ 
 
 The daughters of a retired Com- 
 mander 2 
 
 A Sympathiser 1 
 
 s. d. 
 
 
 JE2981 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 inveot-or. 
 
 Three travelling-tents, by Messrs. Winsor and Newton. 
 
 A stove, by Blr. Rettic. 
 
 20 dozen "Isle of Wight sauce," by Mr. Tucker of Newport. 
 
 Apparatus for reefing topsails, from Mr. Cunningham, the inventor. 
 
'Vi 
 
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