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#«^y»!»

THE

DISCOVERY

OF THE

NOHTH-WEST PASSAGE

'\:

H.M.S. " INYESTIGATOR," CAPT. R M'CLURE,

1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854.

EDITED BY

COMMANDER SHERARD OSBORN,

AUTHOR or " STKAV LRaVBS FROM AN ARCTIC JOVRNAI.,"

FROM THE LOGS AND JOURNALS OF CAPT. ROBERT LE M. M'CLURE.

ILLUSTRATED BY COMMANDER S. GURNEY CRESSWELL, R.N.

LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, & ROBERTS.

1856.

The right oj traH.t1<ition is resei'vcJ^

S^t^t^

L</NDON :

Printed !iy Spottiswoode & Co.,
Nfiw-strect-Square,

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE

LORDS COMMISSIONERS of the ADMIRALTY,

DESCRIPTIVE OF THE VOTAOS OF IIER MAJESTY'S DISCOVERY SHIP
"INVBSTIQATOB,"

WHILE IN SEARCH OF THE EXPEDITION UNDER CAPT. SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, R.N. K.C.H,,

AND OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-AVEST PASSAGE BY

CAPTAIN ROBERT LB ME8DR1EK M'CLCRE, R.N.,

ARE, WITH THEIR LORDSHIPS' PERMISSION, '

ilrspcctfu'lij &c&ic;itrb

UY THEIR lordships' HOST OBEDIENT AND HDHBLE SERVANT,

SHERARD OSBORN,

LATE COMMANDER OF H.M.S.V. "PIONEER."

A 2

iiMk

rilEFAOE.

The annals of Arctic History afford so many noble
illustrations of the spirit of enterprise and hardi-
hood of our sailors, that in this point of view
alone they can, it is to be hoped, never fail to
interest the British people. It is easy to attempt
to cast ridicule on any generous impulse of a
nation or an individual, by speaking of it as
Quixotic, foolhardy, and so forth; but if it be
a weakness in English seamen, that for three
centuries they have sought to win honour and
renown in regions where the ordinary hardships of
those whose business is upon the great waters
are multiplied a hundredfold, it will assuredly
be no joyous day for England, when her sailors
shall be free from the charge of any such chival-
rous extravagance.

Sir John Franklin and his hundred and thirty-

A 3

TRKFACE.

eight gallant followers, went forth to achieve the
North-west Passage. They discovered it, and
perished victims to their zeal ; and then came one
worthy to follow in their footsteps — Captain Sir
Kobert Lc Mesurier M'Clure ! lie canu, indeed,
too late to save Franklin ; but at least he completed
the search for him on one given line, by passing
from ocean to ocean, and he secured to the Tioyal
Navy and to Great l^ritain the imperishable renown
of having successfully accomplished the enterprise
so long attempted in vain.

The Editor feels that in the following narrative,
he has scarcely done justice to the many noble
qualities of every individual forming the gallant
company of the " Investigator"; but he has at any
rate endeavoured to place on record some feeble
acknowledgment of their heroic courage and self-
devotion.

The delay in the productioa of this work has
arisen from the Editor having been obliged to leave
England upon active service ; and the many calls
upon his time and attention have rendered perhaps
still more imperfect the naturally uni)olishcd style

rREFACF.

Vii

of'ji snilor's nnrrativc. Hut into tlic truth of that
narnitivc tliu pAlitor challenges tlie closest investi-
gation, for his ambition is that the work may re-
main as the history of a great event in naval
chronicles, and perhaps awaken in the breasts of
future Franklins, Parrys, or iM'Clures that love
for perilous adventure, which nuist ever form a
most valuable trait iu the character of a maritime
people.

The Editor ho«> not indulged in wholesale praise,
for it was no part of his task to write up every
man as a hero who sailed into the Arctic Seas,
and out again. Indiscriminate commendation is
loathsome to all rightminded men ; and it would
be poor reward in<lced to those whose tale of suf-
fering and gallantry is recounted in the following
pages, to compare their successes with the failures
as rife in the Arctic Seas as elsewhere.

For information on various points, and for assist-
ance in the pleasing but anxious task of collating
this narrative with various authorities, the Editor
has been indebted to Captain (now Sir Robert)
M'Clurc, Commander Gurney Cresswell (whose

A 4

VIU

I'REPACE.

skotchcs enliven the letter- press), John Harrow,
Esq.,F.R. S., Captain Washington, llydrographer to
th'^ Admiralty, John Hay, Esq., of the Admiralty,
and other kind friends, to whom he tenders his
hearty thanks.

II. M. S. " Medusft," Sen of Azov,
April, \856.

C 0 N T R ?\^ T 8.

ciiAriiai I.

Introduction

Pago 1

CHAP II.

Return of the Arctic Squadron of 1S48, and immediate Re-
tquipnicnt of the " Enterprise '' and ** Investigator.'' —
Appointment of Captain M'Clure. — Preparations for speedy
Departure. — The two Vessels pass the Nore. — Heavy Gales
in the Channel. — Put into Plyniouth. — Engagement of an
Interpreter. — Final Departure from England. — Appearance
of Arctic Ships. — " Investigator " reaches the South
Atlantic - - - • - - 17

CHAP. III.

Slow sailing of the Arctic Ships Reach Terra del Fuego. —

II.M S.V. "Gorgon" in Possession Bay. — Reach Port
Famine. — Shipwrecked American Schooner. — American
Go-aheadism. — Sublime Scenery. — " Investigator " meets
the " Enterprise." — American River Steamer in the Pacific.
— Heavy Gale. — Captain M'Clure's Care of the Men 23

CHAP. IV.

Voyage continued to Honolulu. — Leak in the Bread-Room —
Loneliness of this Ocean. — Good Feeling between Officers
and Men. — Arrival at Honolulu. — Replenishing and De-
parture. — Great Anxiety of Ofticers and Men to reach the
Ice. — Passing the Aleutian Islands. — Dense Fogs. — The

CONTENTS.

Arctic Circle crossed. — Meet the "Plover" Depot Ship. —
Unfavourable Report of the State of the Ice. — Captain
M'Clure's Plan of Operations. — Preparations for meeting
the Ice. — Il.M.S. " Herald " met with. — Captain Kellett's
Discovery . . . ^ . Pago 31

CHAP. V.

The " Investigator " gives up the Hope of meeting the " Enter-
prise," and departs alone. — The first Ice. — Immense herd
of Walruses. — Mothers and Babies. — Value of the Walrus
to the Esquimaux. — A Blind Lead. — Cape Barrow doubled.
— Proceeding in a North-easterly Direction. — Great Excite-
ment. — Tliree Esq>iimaux met with. — Their Astonishment
at Sight of t)ie Vessel - - - - -55

CHAP. VI.

The Narrative of Captain INIaguire. — The Esquimaux Report —
The Coast of America in this Region. — The Pack Ice and
Floes. — Reach Jones' Island. — Visited by Twenty-four
Natives. — Recognition of the Chief. — Simple Cunning of
the Savages. — A Fair Malefactor. — Gallantry of the "In-
vestigators." — Hazardous and DifTicult Navigation. — The
Delta of the IMackonzie. — The Ship aground. — Serious
Loss of Provisions _ . . . qq

CHAP. VII.

A Thunder-storm. — Slow Progress. — Signs of the near
Approach of Winter. — Going ahead again. — The Ship runs
into a Trap in the Main Pack. — Works out again. —
Commander PuUen and a Boat's Crew pass without being
seen. — Landing at Point AVarreu. — Hostile Reception. —
Reconciliation - - - - - - 80

CHAP. VIII.

Approach to Cape Bathurst. — Whale-fishing of the Natives.
— Celebration of their Victories over the Leviathan. —
Esquimaux Charmers. — Tlie »Io},s of Cape Bathurst. —

CONTENTS.

The Land of the White Bear. — An Esquimaux Swindler.
— Mode of settling Quai'rels. — Judicious Missionra'ies de-
sirable for these People. — Admirable Qualifications of Mr.
Mierching ----- Pag«. 89

CHAP. IX.

Cape Bathurnt left. — Fires observed on Shore — prove to be
Volcanoes. — Cape Parry reached. — New Land discovered.
— Possession taken in the Queen's Name. — The "Lives-
tigator" proceeds on a North-easterly Course — Barrow's
Strait only Sixty Miles further. — Captain M'Clure's
Journal - - - - - - 99

CHAP. X.

Signs of a rapidly approaching Winter. — Critical Position of
the " Investigato'*." — Made fast to a Floe. — Safe for the
Present. — Winter begun. — Winter Clothing. — Driven
with the Ice towards Barrow's Strait. — Ardut us Toils. —
The "Investigator" reaches her most advanced Position
— Beset at last. — Dangerous Agitation in the Ice. — Pre-
parations for Shipwreck. — Sweeping with the Pack against
the CliiFs. — Imminent Peril. — Safe once more — and
stationary ...-,. 108

CHAP. XL

Severe Pi-efjsure on the Ice. — Dangerous Nips. — Farewell
to the San. — Housing the Vessel. — Good Health and
Spirits of the Men. — Five Hundred Pounds of INIeat
found to be Putrid. — Winter Rambles on the Ice. — Perils
arising in some of these. — An Excursion to view the
North-west Passage. — Hard Labour and Insufficient Food.
— Sufic 'ing from Thirst. — The Passage seen. — Captain
^I'Clure lost for a Night. — Keturn of the Party to the
Ship. — Success of Measures taken for the Health of the
Crew - - • - - "119

Xll

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XI L

New-Year's Day 1851. — See rriii- (• of Wales and Barrow's
Straits. — Relative Positions of the different Expeditions. —
The increasing Cold relieved by the daily Augmentation

of Solar Light Deer and Ptarmigan seen in the Depth

of Winter. — The Theory of Animal IMigration in Arctic
Regions subverted. — The Raven leaves the Siiip. — Return
of the Sun. — Rambles on the Ice. — Revival of Health and
Spirits. — Winter Sporting. — Preparations for Sledge-
Parties in Search of Franklin's Expedition. — Depots es-
tablished to secure the Safety of the Travellers. — Departure
of the various Parties. — Hardships endured by Sledge -
Crews in High Latitudes in Spring Journeys. — The Zeal
and Courage of the Seamen. — Their Labours compared
with those of the American Voyageurs. — The Position of
the '* Investigator " in I80O. — IMurder of Liev.t. Barnard by

North-west Indians

Page 151

CHAP. XIIL

Signs of Summer increase. — Shooting 1\ I'ties are sent out. —
Narrow Escape of Whitefield. — Lieut Cresswell returns,
having ascertained Banks Land to be an Island. — Curious
Appetite of a Bear Lieut. Ilaswell returns, with Intelli-
gence of Esquimaux being at hand. — Visit "he E.s(|ui-
niaux. — The Party under Mr. Wynniatt return. — eJune, in
Prince of Wales Strait. — A Glance at the other Expedi-
tions wint.iiiig in the Arctic Seas, under Austin, Penny,
Ross, and De ITavon. — A Midsummer Scene in Prince of
"Wales Strait. — The Polar SummerV Night. —The Floe
breaks up. — "Investigator" again free. — Compasses refuse
to traverse. — The Ship beset, and drifting to the North-
east along the Eastcn Shore. — Wood-Currents. — Tides.

— No Passage found Captain M'Chu-e decides to try

aujther Course, by going round Banks Land. - 175

I A

CONTENTS.

Xill

CHAP. XIV.

The " Investigator " bears up, and goes round the South End

of Banks Land Rapid Progress up the Western Coast. —

The Lane of Water diminishes. — Perilous Passage between
the North-west Coast, and ponderous Packed Ice. — Ex-
traordinary Accidents, and wonderful Preservation. —
North-west Extreme of Banks Land. — Discovery of Ancient
Forests. — Ai'ctic Lakes. — Fresh-Water Fish. — The " In-
vestigator " drifts into the Pack in an Autumnal Gale. — Es-
capes and Struggles along Shore. — September Night Scene
off Banks Land. — 23rd September, 1851, run ashore during
the Night in the Bay of Mercy. — Ship Afloat. — Fail to get
into the "''ack of Barrow's Strait. — Winter Quarters, 1851-52.

— Reduction of Allowance of Food. — Land found to abound
in Game. — Want of good Hunters. — Acute Instinct of the
Reindeer. — Arctic Hare, Wolf, and Fox. — Continued good
Health of the Crew. — Cleverness of the Arctic Raven. —

Violence of Winter Snow Storms. — Christmas Day The

Arrival of II-M.S. " Enterprise " in Prince of Wales Strait.

— She fails in rour ling Banks Land, and winters at the
Esquimaux Settlement in Walker Bay - Page 201

CHAP. XV.

The New Year, 1852. — Satisfactory State of the Crew.—
Deer obtaincu directly the Light admitted of their being
seen. — Sergean ■• Woon, of the Royal Marines, saves the Life of
a Shipmate. — l^een Sportsmen. — Wolves. — Boatswain's Ad-
venture with them. — Spring. — Captain M'Clure visits
Winter Harbour, Melville Island Finds neither Provi-
sions nor Vessel i o help him. — His Return. — Finds large

Quantities of Venison had been procured Scurvy makes its

Appearance Increased Number of Sick. — Unfavourable

AVuather in July. —Venison expended. — Wild Sorrel found

in great Quantities for a short Period. — 10th August

Water seen in Barrow's Strait — Measures taken in case of
being able to Escape. — Relapse in the Weather. — Gloomy

XIV

CONTENTS.

Prospect An early Winter coiiimcnccs. — Measures taken

to save Ship and Crew, in tlie Event of a similar Season in
1853. — Cheerful Conduet of the Crew. — Short Rations —
Mode of Living. — Banian Days and Festivals. — Christmas
and Conclusion of Year 18o2 - • Page 227

CHAP. XVI.

The " Enterprise." — 111 Success of her Travelling Parties. — Late
Season. — Passage through Dolphin and Union Strait. —
Winter of 18o2-o3 passed in Cambridge Bay. — Esquimaux
numerous. — Traces of the IMissing Expedition found. —
Game and Fish abound. — Unfortunate Circumstance of no
Searching Party having visited King "William's Land. — The
Bay of Mercy. — Reaction on Board the " Investigator" after
Christmas F'esti i ties. — Excessive Cold. — Want of Fuel and
consequent Dampness. — Venison plentiful. — Large Sick List.
— March, '53. — The Retreating Parties named, and their
Routes appointed. — Captain M'Clure's Reason for sending
away the Weakly l\ren. — Vv'olves, their Voracity and
Cunning. — Anxiety of the Sledge-Partios as to (Jhances of
safe Retreat. — Retrospective Glance at Measures taken in
England to rescue the " Investigator." — INIr. Cresswell's
Letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, and fortunate
Result. — Captains Kellett and M'Clintock ordered to Melville
Island. — They reach it in September 1852. — Accidental
Discovery of Captain M'Clure's Despatches on the
Parry Rock. — Help at Hand for the " Investigator." —
April '53 in Mercy Bay. — The first Death. — Captain
M'Clure addresses his Men to remove their Despomlency. —
The Dark and Bright Sid? of tlie Cloud. — The unexpected
Arrival of Lieut. Pirn from the " Resolute." — The ' In-
vestigators' rescued. — Excitement and Happiness of the

Crew

251

CHAP. XVII.

Captain M'Clure proceeds to Melville Island to see Captain
Kellett. — M'Clure's Views.— His Letter. —-Captain Kellett

CONTENTS.

111

unly gives Leave for hcaltliy Volunteers to remain in
" Investigator." — Medical Survey unsatisCactory. — Aban-
donment of H. M. S. " Investigator." — Depot of Provisions
formed at Mercy Bay. — Arrival on Board II. M. S. " Resolute"
and " Intrepid." — Searching Parties under Captain M'Clin-
tock, Lieutenants Mecham, Hamilton, 8ic. unsuccessful. —
Captain KcUett decides upon ftxUing back upon Bcechey
Island. — Unfavourable Season. — Squadron blown out of
Winter (Quarters. — Arrested at Byam Martin Channel.
— Large Supply of fresh Meat procured. — " R(>solute "
and "Intrepid" caught in the Pack. — Winter in the
Pack. — Tile "Phoenix" arrives at Beeehcy Island, and
takes home Lieut. Cresswell. — 18o3. — The 'Investiga-
tors' pass a Fourth Winter with Impunity, and then
leave the "Resolute" for Beechey Island. — Captain Sir
E. Belcher's Plans to abandon the Squadron. — Orders
the " Resolute " and " Intrepid " to be abandoned. — News of
Collinson, in 18.')2, having pushed on into the Ice. — " Assist-
ance" and " Pioneer" ordered to be deserted. — "Phoenix"
and "Talbot" arrive witli Provisions and fresh Crews. —
All return Home. — 'Investigators' rewarded in 1855

Page 27fi

CHAP. XVIII.

Gloomy Prospect in the Autumn of 18o4. — Revival of Despond-
ing Tales. — Sudden Arrival of Intelligence from Dr. Rae.
— A T'arty from Franklin's Ship heard of — Dr. Rae's Report,

— Relics and Proofs of both " Erebus " and " Terror "
being in Existence. — The Russian War prevents a Naval

Expedition being sent to Barrow's Strait The Admiralty

direct the Hudson Bav Company to send Mr. Anderson. — Mr.
Anderson proceeds m 1855 to the Mouth of the Great Fish
River. — Verifies the Fact of a Party from the lost Expedi-
tion having been there. — No Light thrown upon their Fate,

— Neither Bodies, Graves, Clothing nor Arms discovered —
Remarks upon the Relics discovered — Probable Course adopted

XVI

CONTENTS.

by the ' Forlorn Hope.' — Hopes exist of the Mystery still
being cleared up. — Distance the Party couUl have travelled. —
Position of the lost Expedition. — Kow lost. — Reason why
Fury Beach was not visited by them. — Creditable to England
that the Search has never been stayed. — The Admiralty
reward Dr. Rae for giving us Information of Franklin's
Position. — General Revival of Interest in the Question

Pago 307

APPENDIX.

Narrative of Commander ^laguire, wintering at Point Bar-
row - - - - - - -351

, 1

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Position of H.M. S. "Investigator" on

the 20th of September, 1851
Map illustrative of the Narrative -

Smoking Cliff'

> to face Title page.

Discovery of Princess Royal Island

Distant View of Melville Island from
Baring Land - - . .

„ page 1

„ 100

„ 130

,, 256

I
m

jbi

XVll

A List of the Officers and Crew of 11. M.S. " Investigator,^^
tvho performed tliv North-ivest Passage.

Name.

Bar-
351

R. J. Le M. M'Clure
Win. II. Ilaswcll
Samuol G. CVesswell

i H. II. Sainsbury

Robert Wynuiatt
i
Stephen Court

Alex. Armstrong, M.D
Henry Piers - -
I Joseph C. Paine - -
j George J. Ford - -
j George Kennedy

[ Richard A. Ross

i John Davics - -

John Kerr

Henry BlufT
Samuel Mackenzie
Charles Steel - -
David Harris
Edward Fawcett -
James Evans - -
George Gibba
James Williams -
Peter Tliompson -
Samuel Relie

Thomas Morgan

Itank nr Hating.

Ilrniarks,

Commander. |

Lieutenant. 1

do. '

[Died on board II.M.S.

" Resolute "oir Cape

Mate i

Cockburn, Barrow

Straits, 14th Nov.

1853.

do.

: Second Master. f 19th April 185.3, rated

1 Acting Master.

burgeon.
Assistant Surgeon.
Clcrl' in charge.
Carp Miter.
Acting Boatswain.

(Quarter-master.
A.B.

Gunners' Mate.

Boatswain's Mate.

A.B.

A.B.
Boatswain's Mate.
Caulker,

A.B.

Captain of the Hold.
Captain of the Fore top.!

A.B.

24th Dec, 1850, disrated

A.B.
15th April, 1853, rated
quarter-master.
'Died 13th April, 1853,
at Bay of Mercy,
Bank's Land, on
board H. M. S. " In-
vestigator."

Died on board II.]\LS.
" North Star," at
Becchcy Island, 22nd
]\Iav, 1854.

XVlll

liiht of the Ollicors and Crew of II.M.S. ■' investigator " — contmiifd.

Name.

John Eaincs

William Batten
Charles Anderson
Isaac Stubl)erfiekl •
Frederick Taylor
Ilenry Gauen - ■

George Brown - -

Cornolius Ilulott
William Whitefield ■
ISIichacl Flynn - •
Mark Bradbury
James Nelson - ■
William Carroll
Georjfo OUey - ■
John Calder
John Ramsay
Ilenry Stone
Henry Sugden - -
Ilenry May - -

Joseph Faccy - -
James M'Donald
George L. Milner

John Wilcox - - -

Robert Tiffeny - ■

John Boyle - - •

Thomas Toy - - •
Samuel Bonnsall

Ellis Griffiths - ■

Mark Griffiths - •

John Keefe - - ■
Thos. S. Carmichacl-

John Woon - - ■

J. B. Faniuharson •

George Parfitt - •

Ellas Bow - • •

■ tank or Itnting.

L.B.

A.B.
A.B.

Shit)'s Cook.

A.B.
Carpenter's Mate.

A.B.

Captain's Coxswain.
Carpenter's Crew
Quarter- master.

A.B.

A.B.
Captain of Forecastle.

A.B.
Blacksmith.
Sub. Officers' Steward,
(Quarter- master.
Sailmaker.

A.B.
Gun-room Steward.
I'ay-master and Pay-
master's Steward.
Uaptain of Main-top.

A.B.

AB.
Sergeant of Marines.
C(ir|)oral „
IVivatt! „

Private „

Kcmiirkt.

fDied nth April, 1853,!

I Bay of Mercy,]

<^ Banks Land, on'

I board II.M.S. " In- 1

vestigator.

r24th Deo. 1850, rated
[_ (luarter-master.

Died Oth April, 185.%
Bay of Mercy ; the
(irst death. Lieut.
Pirn arrived next day.

XIX

IM of the Officers and Crew of H.M.S. " Investigator " ~ continued.

Name.

Janioj Rijigs - - ■

Thomart Huncroft
Thomas King - •
Jiimus Saunders

Johan A. Mierchiiij:;

■

Rank or

Rating.

Private

Private
Private
Private

M
)>
1>

Kemarks.

iEs(iiiiinaux
.._J5H!H:

Inter-

riSth April 1853, rated
\ corporal

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TUB

DISCOVERY

or TUB

NOfiTII-WEST PASSAGE.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

The successful realisation of the project so long
cherished in Great Britain, of the discovery of a
way through the Arctic Ocean to the Indies — the
final solution of a problem sought through many
an arduous struggle during the course of three
hundred years — is what it is our present duty to
chronicle ; and we may be permitted, in the first
place, briefly to remind the reader of the reasons
that made such a voyage desirable.

On looking at the surface of the globe, it will be
seen at a glance that the Asiatic peninsula of

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(

2 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

f"1

»?'

Hindostan, China, and Japan — the Ophir of the
Old World — are placed, geographically speaking,
with respect to Western Europe, in the most distant
and inaccessible position.

Turn to an ancient atlas, and think of the
"ant res vast and deserts idle" that lay between
India and Europe, and we can better appreciate
the forays of the great Macedonian, — the diffi-
culties he encountered, and the genius which, in
mastering them, raised him to the rank of a demi-
god among his countrymen. Yet Alexander left no
footprints east of the Indus.

The legions of Imperial Rome failed to carry
their conquering eagles to a region which they
must have been fully aware contributed largely to
the enormous wealth of Jerusalem, Judea, and
Egypt. Even Roman ambition was checked by
the difficulties of the rouia.

The Mahometan, more fortunate in his central
position, served for ages to act as the medium
of transit for the spices and products of the East
to Western Europe, whither the Crusader ctiiried
back a knowledge of and taste for luxuries pre-
viously unknown, — a knowledge wlhch created
new wants, and excited the mercantile and nautical
skill of nations dwelling upon the shores of the

f
^

INTRODUCTION. 6

Mediterranean. Venice and Genoa rose to great-
ness upon their lucrative trade with the East ;
and the fact soon came home to the common sense
of their neighbours, and awakened the desire to
supplant them, or share in their profits.

In the middle of the thirteenth century, Marco
Polo brought back to Western Europe such
glowing accounts of the East as verified all the
traditionary tales of Cipango and Cathay. Enter-
prise and cupidity were aroused. The Portuguese
slowly but successfully proceeded along that
African shore which, as they knew, touched the
East upon the Mediterranean Sea, and Avhich they
might therefore infer would eventually lead them
to the prize, if they followed it in an opposite
direction.

Columbus, with more genius, ascribed to the
Indies a vast extent of eastern longitude ; and
then deduced, from certain traditionary accounts
of a land lying west of Iceland (whither he had
traded), that by sailing in that direction from the
Isle of Fayal he would secure to the prince that
should employ him possession of the Indies.
Columbus sailed eventually under Spanish auspices,
and discovered a land which he naturally imagined
was the long-Avished-for Eastern continent.

1 '

,/■■■: ■»-■■ <■

B 2

: (

n !

1 1

4 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

England, not less than Spain and Portugal, was
excited to maritime adventure by the wonderful
discovery of the new continent, then supposed to
be the eastern seaboard of the long sought Indies.
These Indies in the meantime were actually reached
by the Portuguese, under Vasco de Gama, by way
of that Cape of Torments flatteringly named by
John II. Cabo da Boa Esperdza.

Before a century had passed, however, both
Spaniards and Englishmen found that a wide
ocean spread between their western discovery and
Cathay ; and though the Spaniard could reach it by
rounding the 'continent of America at the Straits
of Magellan, yet he forbade all others the right to
risk the adventure, and treated as pirates all of
our countrymen who dared approach his conquests.
The Portuguese in like manner monopolised the
route round the African continent, and both
added to the dangers that awaited the English
navigator in his efforts to share the booty of the
East.

John Cabot, who in the service of Henry VII.
had secured for Britain a title to American dis-
covery, left a son, Sebastian, whom Edward YI.
wisely patronised. With this man seems first
to have originated the idea of reaching the coveted

■f

INTRODUCTION. 5

land by taking a north about route, and thus
avoiding the dangers of the great sea voyage by
either cape.

Our seamen, accustomed to the hardships and
cold of northern latitudes, feared the Frigid as
little or less than the Torrid Zone ; and only forty
years* after Nunez dc Balboa waded into the
sea at Panama, and striking it with his sword,
claimed the broad Pacific as the property of Spain,
the first English arctic expedition sailed to achieve
a north-east passage to Cathay.

Three ships left Greenwich, under Sir Hugh
Willoughby, on May 10, 1553, and were rewarded
by discovering Nova Zembla and the White Sea ;
but the subsequent melancholy fate of the admiral
and his crew, v/ho were frozen or starved to death
in Lapland, checked the national enthusiasm ; and
although two more attempts were made in the
same direction, they were equally unsuccessful.
The Dutch, like ourselves, anxious to share in the
wealth of the Indies, so jealously watched by
Spaniards and Portuguese, tried to reach them by
a north-east route: Barentz likewise perished in
gallant and unavailing attempts to carry out his

* Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovered and took possession of
the Pacific Ocean in 1513.

n.'i

1 1

','

i^i

6 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

country's wislins ; f*nd after him England made
two slight efforts in the same direction under
Hudson and Cherie, and then turned her attention
in the opposite one. Prior to the time of Barentz's
North-eastern Expedition, the first north-west
voyage had already been attempted from Great
Britain.

Martin Frobisher, a seaman of Queen Elizabeth's
time, was the first to call attention to the possi-
bility of reaching the East, Cipango, and Cathay,
by passing north of America. For fifteen years
he patiently urged his ideas upon the consideration
of his countrymen, and at last, in 1576, in the
reign of Elizabeth, he sailed to commence that
work which the seamen of England only completed
in 1851, or two hundred and seventy-four years
afterwards, in the reign of Queen Victoria.

It is not our purpose to follow Frobisher, Davis,
Hudson, and Baffin, through their adventures anv.^
discoveries. Our charts of the present day, on
which the localities they discovered bear their
respective names, sufficiently attest the amount of
the additions they made to our geographical
knowledge; but when the last-named great navi-
gator, Baffin, returned in 1616 from the most suc-
cessful of his voyages, the North-west Passage was.

INTRODUCTION.

as Martin Frobisher said, " a thing yet undone,
wherebye a notable mind might be made famous
and fortunate."

Years elapsed — men's minds took another turn
— times changed — the maritime supremacy of
Britain gradually developed itself. If Spain could
boast of her Magellan, England had had her
Drake.

The tide of fortune now turned slowly in favour
of our hardy race of seamen. Along the seaboard
of Spanish America, whether in the Atlantic or
Pacific Oceans, the English seamen sloAvly but
steadily established their pre-eminence ; and within
a brief period, from the date of the first Indian
cargo* being exposed in Leadenhall Market (which
cargo was a prize), a footing was obtained in India,
and the foundation of our Eastern Empire firmly
established.

From 1632, when Captains Fox and James dis-
covered the localities by the names of which their
memories have there been preserved, a century
elapsed before the attempt to discover a north-

^>'\

* On the loth of September, 1592, the first cargo of Indian
produce was exposed in Leadenhall. It was captured by
George Clifford, Eai. of Cumberland in the Portuguese carrack
♦* Madre de Dios," off the Azores.

tl. i

b DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

west passage to India was resumed. Even then,
although a reward of 20,000/. was offered, the
attempts of Scroggs, Dobbs, and Middleton, in
1740-41, yielded no better fruit than many of our
modern ones ; they produced a vast deal of writing,
exaggerated accounts of difficulties, and no results
of any value.

Captain Cook's success in the South Seas, and,
indeed, wherever he went, led the nation to hope
that he might be the man fated to secure to his
country the honour of a discovery which was so
much desired for commerciLl as well as geogra-
phical purposes. He failed, however, in entering
the ice, and well was it for himself and his crew
that he did so ; the fate of Sir Hugh Willoughby
would assuredly have befallen them, unprepared as
his ships were for such a voyage, and the rigours
of such a climate.

About the same time two '^f the servants of the
Hudson's Bay Company reached the mouths of the
Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, and sighted an
arctic sea lying north of the American continent ;
but the eighteenth century closed and left us still
far from the accomplishment of an enterprise com-
menced more than two hundred years before.
Small results were there to be seen on the chart

INTRODUCTION.

1^-

for such long and patient toil, suffering, and
devotion to their duty as the majority of the men
engaged in this service had exhibited.

On the side of the Pacific, by Behring's Strait,
the termination of our knowledge of the American
continent was at Icy Cape ; and on the side of the
Atlantic, at Hudson's Bay. Between these two
points, eighty degrees of longitude apart, the
Arctic Sea had only been seen at two others,
about half-way between the extremes ; and almost
inunediately after the ratification of the General
Peace of Europe in 1815, the idea of carrying into
effect a design, upon which so much zeal and
wealth had already been expended, was revived
with great earnestness. It is evident, in the me-
moirs of Haines Barrington and Sir John Barrow,
that at the outset they cherished the most ardent
hopes of securing to their country a discovery that
would be both useful and glorious.

But a Russian expedition under Kotzebue, which
had been equipped at the expense of Count
Romanzoff, threatened to rob us of the prize.
England's pride was aroused, and the " Quarterly
Review" of January, 1818, expresses a fear of such
a disappointment in the following words : — "It
would be somewhat mortifying," says the writer

!!!

10 DISCOVKHY OF TlIK NOIITII-WKST I'ASSAOE.

(the Ittte Sir John IJarrovv, F.R.S.), "if a naval
power but of yesterday should coniplcto a dis-
covery in the nineteenth century, wliicli was so
happily commenced by Englislimen in the six-
teenth, and another Vespusio run away with the
honours due to a Columbus." *

In 1816, a more than usual concurrence of
favourable winds, currents, and weather had dis-
engaged and carried down from the polar regions
north of the Atlantic, a vast body of ice. Icebergs
and floes were found floating in great quantities as
far south as the 40th parallel of latitude. The
very climate of both Northern Europe and America
were aflccted by the absorption of heat they occa-
sioned ; and, as an instance of it, Indian corn would
not ripen in 1816, in either Pennsylvania or Massa-
chusets, a circumstance previously unknown.

Mr. Barrington, as well as Sir John Barrow,
bore well in mind tht "xt, that could a navi^-ablc
route be found north about, the commerce of
England with the East, more than that of any
other nation, would be benefited ; and the higher
the latitude in which we could pass into the Pacific,
the more the distance would be shortened : " For
instance," says the latter, "the distance from
♦ " Quarterly Keview," January, 1818 : Art. viii., page 219.

INTRODUCTION.

Shctliind to Behring's Strait, in the 72nc1 parallel,
is just half as long again as on a meridian passing
through the pole, or as 1572 leagues to 1048."

The people of En^^land entered into these views,
and into all the theories and conjectures of Sir
John Barrow. Some of these conjectures arc quite
startling to one who, like the writer, is able to sit
down and peruse them, knowing on what slender
premises they were grounded, and seeing what has
actually been verified since his death.

In October, 1817, Sir John Barrow published a
small diagram to illustrate an article of his upon
the existence of a north-west passage, which is
now before us; and although he was only then in
possession of the information which we have said
England possessed at the end of the eighteenth
century, yet, guided by a clear judgment and a
thorough knowledge of the subject, he filled up
the deficient coast in so correct a line that the
charts of to-day, upon the same small scale, vary
but little from his.

The search for a north-west passage was now
actively resumed, and voyage after voyage fol-
lowed rapidly, — Parry and Franklin executing,
and Barrow cheering them on.

Captain James Burney, who, as a lieutenant of

f ■

DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAGE.

i..ii

Hfl

Captain Cook, carried some authority with his
opinion, opposed the idea of any communication
between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and
actually connected the American and Asiatic con-
tinents.

The first man chosen to follow on the footsteps
of Baffin attempted to close every avenue or outlet
to the north-west from the sea that he had dis-
covered. Yet Sir John Barrow was not daunted.

" I have every reason to believe Old Greenland
an island, or an archipelago of islands," he said,
" and no inclination to deny that some of them
may stretch far enough to the westward to form
those several Sounds of which Baffin so briefly and
vaguely speaks." Shortly after the above lines
were written, Parry verified them by really sailing
west through an archipelago of islands half way to
Behring's Strait!

Sir John Barrow, the great promoter of arctic
research, while sharing the honours of every
fresh discovery, was certainly not desirous of
avoiding the responsibility attached to sending
men upon a service of so much risk and danger,
and was ready to adduce good reasons for doing
so. Until the repeated failures of Parry and
Franklin convinced him of the impossibility of

INTRODUCTION.

using a north-west passage for commercial pur-
poses, Sir John Barrow had evidently fondly-
hoped to secure to his country the advantages of
a shorter route to India : but even then, jealous
of her maritime glory, and influenced by a sincere
love of science and a desire for the extension of
knowledge, he judged rightlj?^ that nowhere could
the skill and energy of the British Navy be more
honourably directed than to geographical discovery
in the Frozen Zone.

It had, indeed, entailed much hardship and suf-
fering; but be it remembered that as yet, when
Sir John Franklin sailed, no fatal catastrophe had
overtaken any one of the many ships that had been
employed on that service in modern days.

That Sir John Barrow appreciated fully the
difficulties and dangers of arctic service, his
writings attest ; and a mere selfish desire to
see knowledge extended, at any sacrifice of hu-
manity, was assuredly not his failing. He did not
live to see the realisation of the confident predic-
tions of his sagacious mind ; yet he had seen a
vast deal added to our geographical knowledge of
the earth's surface, — additions of no small moment
in every branch of natural history, as well as in
physical science; and the wide world saw and

tl'^

14 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

i ■'

knew that the race of seamen who had secured to
Britain the supremacy of the sea were not dete-
riorating in time of peace.

It was no narrow or selfishly ambitious feeling
that dictated the following words during the time
that one expedition was absent in search of the
long-sought passage. " They may not succted,"
he says, " in that purpose ; but they can scarcely
fail in being the means of extending the sphere of
human knowledge, and if they bring back an ac-
cession of this, they cannot be said to have been
sent in vain, for ' knowledge is power, ' and we
may safely commit to the stream of time the bene-
ficial results of its irresistible influence."

Franklin and his hundred and forty followers
were the forlorn hope of the North-west Passage.
By the sacrifice of their lives, they have secured
to us, their countrymen, an honour that perhaps
might otherwise never have been won ; for it
was in seeking for them that Captain M'CIure and
his gallant officers and crew succeeded, for the first
time in the annals of the world, in passing from the
Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. In the eloquent
words of Lord Stanley and Sir Edward Parry, when
addressing Captain Cresswell, who first brought the
intelligence to England in 1853, " it was a tri-

INTRODUCTION.

I
1

umph that would not be valued the less highly
because it was not stained by bloodshed — a triumph
which was not embittered by any single painful or
melancholy reminiscence — a triumph not over man,
but over nature — a triumph which inflicts no injury
and which humiliates no eneiry — a triumph not for
this age alone, but for posterity — not for England
only, but for mankind."

When such is the testimony borne to the glory
won by those who have achieved this passage, Sir
John Barrow needs no apologist for having been the
main promoter of arctic research. The laurel is
twined with the cypress-wreath of those who have
laid down their lives in this service; and their friends
and relatives may proudly wipe away their tears.

The North-west Passage would never have been
discovered, but for the devotion of Franklin, his
officers, and men ; they each volunteered for that
duty, and they fell in the performance of it. The
party from the " Erebus " and " Terror " which pe-
rished, it appears, at the mouth of the Great Fish
River, must have gone down some channel from the
neighbourhood of Capes Walker or Bunny in Bar-
row's Strait, and thus have fallen in adding the
great link which connected the known coasts of the
Parry Archipelago with that of the American

1 i\

i«~im iiiMiimiiimmiiaMBrMiMiiii

liliJ

16 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTH-WEST PASSAGE.

continent. They did not, like the Investigators,
achieve the passage by actually passing fro.m ocean
to ocean ; but it is perfectly possible that at the very
moment when Captain M'Clure stood on the northern
coast of Banks Land, and assured himself of a water
communication between the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans, some lonely survivors of Franklin's expe-
dition may have been watching from King William's
Land, that known highway to Behring's Strait,
which Dease and Simpson had traversed many
years before — a pathway upon whose entrance they
yielded up their gallant spirits. Captain M'Clure
and his followers can well afibrd to surrender
cheerfully to the illustrious dead that share of the
honour reaped which is their due ; and the friends
who mourn the loss of those who perished in gal-
lantly endeavouring to perform what the " Investi-
gator" so happily efifected, may still point to the
chart of the Polar Regions, and say " Si monumen-
tum requiris circumspice I"

M\U

CHAP. II.

Return of tUo Arctic Squadron of 1S48, and immediate Re-
equipment of the "Enterprise" and "Investigator." —
wAppointment of Captain M'Clure. — Prepara<,ions for speedy
Departure. — The two Vessels pass the Nore. — Heavy Gales
in the Channel. — Put into Plymouth. — Engagement of an
Interpreter. — Final Departure from England. — Appearance
of Arctic Ships. — "Investigator" reaches the South
Atlantic.

The Arctic Discovery Squadron, under Capt. Sir
James Ross, had hardly returned from its perilous
operations of 1848 and 1849, when it was at once
determined by Government to re-equip the vessels,
in order that they might resume the search after
Sir John Franklin's missing ships by the way
of Behring's Strait.

The " Enterprise " and " Investigator," it will be
remembered, had failed in their attempt to get to
the westward of Leopold Island in 1849, and only
escaped from that inhospitable spot, to be beset in
the drifting pack ice of Barrow's Strait, and swept
witii it out of Lancaster Sound into Baffin's Bay,

I I

■u

/T"

18 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH- WEST TA ^AGE.

r t

7i ^

i '

!1ii i

so that they could but just secure their retreat to
England before the Arctic Sea« i^ecame generally
sealed for that season.

Tempest-tossed, nnd ice-worn though they were,
yet a little dockyard work soon put the good ships
into proper condition for once more resuming their
contest with floe and iceberg. Captain Richard
Collinson, C.B., was appointed as senior officer and
leader of the expedition, to the " Enterprise," and
Commander Robert Le Mesurier M'Clure to the
" Investigator." The former officer enjoyed a high
naval reputatioii, and in China his abilities as a
surveyor had done the State good service; the
latter, the destined discoverer of the North-west
Passage, had served through a long and severe
probation in every grade, until, after a struggle of
twenty-six years, he was appointed to the command
of the " Investigator," as a reward for the good
service he had rendered as First Lieutenant to Sir
James Ross, in his voyage of 1848-49.

There was no lack of volunteers for arctic ser-
vice amongst officers and men in the winter of
1849-50. The most sanguine feelings concerning
the cause they were about to engage in, animated
the whole nation, and told with excellent effect in
the speed}^ equipment of both ships, and the comple-

\E.

THE " investigator" SAILS FUOM THE THAMES. 19

jtreat to
enerally

ey were,
od ships
ng their
Richard
&cer and
ise," and
3 to the
2d a high
ties as a
ice ; the
)rth-west
severe
'uggle of
pmmand
[he good
t to Sir

;tic ser-
linter of

icerning
Inimated

jfFect in

[comple-

tion of their crews ; and altliough the pendants had
been hoisted as late as the 19th of December 1849,
yet on the 10th of January following the " Enter-
prise" and " Investigator" were enabled to put to
sea from the river Thames with their full complement
of men. They were, however, much hampered upon
both upper and lower decks, with provisions and
stores, a common case with arctic ships, and heavy
gales in the Channel having caused both vessels to
strain much, it became advisable to put into Ply-
mouth to be caulked — a measure which gave them
an opportunity for entering several more good
seamen from that well-known nursery of men-of-
war's men.

No grass was allowed to grow under their feet,
however, at that place, for the vast distance be-
tween England and Behring's Strait had to be
traversed by way of Cape Horn, in deep-ladened
bluff-bowed ships ; — winter gales awaited them in
the Cliannel, and equinoctial ones off Cape Horn.
All knew there was a weary six months' voyage
before they could reach the ice, and that the loss jf
a month by accident or neglect might cause the
highway they sought from Behring's Straits to
Melvihe Island to be closed against them.

At lust nearly all was ready, and what was not,

, f^mmmffff.wmm

ii' 'n

20 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

was ordered to be sent to the Sandwich Islands, vi^
Panama. Amongst the useful additions shipped
before sailing must not be forgotten the German
Mr. Mierching, who was engaged as an Interpreter.
The proposal had been suddenly made to him one
day when he was enjoying his ease in a quiet village
in Saxony after returning from a long sojourn in
Labrador as a Moravian missionary. He accepted,
and was despatched forth Avith as fast as rail could
take him to London. The Admiralty sent him a
few hours afterwards by express to Plymouth, and
he arrived only just in time to be tumbled into the
"Investigator" before her departure.

A few hours afterwards the Arctic Squadron
weighed, and on the 20th of January, 1850, the
" Enterprise" and " Investigator" sailed thence with
a fair and fresh wind. It will now be my duty to
follow the latter vessel and her gallant company in
their long and adventurous voyage ; and though a
minute detail of the every-day operations of the
" Investigator " might be far from interesting, I
must endeavour to picture to the general and non-
professional reader the appearance of the little
vessel, whose narae will be remembered as long as
England holds dear the character of her adventurous
arctic navigators. , , .

AITEARANCE OF THE " INVESTIGATOR." 21

enturous

If the reader should ever h- . noticed, after a
westerly wind in the British Channel, a water-
washed looking vessel of barely 400 tons register
coming up the Thames, he will have an idea of the
size and original build of the vessel in question.
It is very possible that he may have seen this very
ship, for the " Investigator" was bought from
Messrs. Green, of Blackwall. The " fast sailing
copper-bottomed A 1, &c." was then doubled with
wood in every direction ; her bow and stern, ac-
cording to the then infallible rule, was made to
resemble the two ends of a caisoon, by having wood
and iron bolted one over the other, until in some
places twenty-nine inches of solid timber might
have been found, or even more. Everything in the
shape of outward ornament was of course carefully
eschewed, and a solemn coating of black paint, but
little relieved by a wliite riband and small figure-
head, added yet more to the appearance of strength
and weight of the little, but I am afraid I cannot
say pretty^ vessel.

Aloft, in her powerful rigging and large blocks,
were seen signs of a departure from the perfect
neatness of a Queen's ship — for aj)pearancc had to
be sacrificed to efficiency — and her deeply im-
mersed hull, her decks, covered with casks securely

ilf i! ir

22 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

!|!

I I'

!i m

iii.

lashed, and the many strange articles, such as
sledges, ice-triangles, ice-saws, and crow's nest, all
told their own tale, and were well in keeping with
her character and destination. Tlie crew of this
good ship was, as the sequel will show, not un-
worthy of her; throughout Capt. ^M'Clure's journal
I meet constant expressions of admiration for the
men under his command ; indeed, so early as the
24th of January, he says, when speaking of the
accidental loss of his topmast : — " Vexatious as
it certainly was, still it was attended Avith one
advantage, as it gave me an insight into the dispo-
sition of my crew, and a more orderly set of men
have seldom been collected."

Thus early was that mutual confidence sown
which afterwards yielded such good fruit.

Battling with foul winds' and heavy seas, occa-
sionally losing sight of her consort, it was not until
the 20th of February that the " Investigator " got
the N.E. trade wind of the Atlantic. Whilst
passing from one tropic to the other, care was taken
during the fine weather of that region to make good
such defects as had shown themselves in the vessel,
and were within the power of her artificers to re-
medy ; and all due precautions were employed to
insure the health and comfort of officers and men.

CHAP. III.

Slow Sailing of the Arctic Ships. — Reftch Terra del Fuego. —
II.M.S.V. "Gorgon" in Possession Bay. — Reach Port
Famine. — Shipwrecked American Schooner. — American
Go-a-hcaaism. — Sublime Scenery. — "Investigator" meets
the "Enterprise." — American River Steamer in the Pacific.
— Heavy Gale Captain M'Clure's Care of the Men.

ice sown

It was not until the 18th March, nearly two month.s
after leaving England, that the " Investigator "
crossed the Southern Tropic in the Atlantic Ocean,
although a heavy press of canvass had constantly
been carried, and the two vessels had not been even
in company to detain one another. Nearly a month
afterwards they had only sighted Capo Virgins,
that headland of the South American continent
which marks the eastern entrance of the Strait of
Magellan. This rate of progress gives the best idea of
the speed of the Arctic Discovery Ships, and enables
us better to appreciate the feelings of anxiety with
which Capt. M'Clure, his officers, and crew, must
have watched the precious hours as they flitted by,

•mtm

II III

24 DISOOVKUY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

as well as to give thein due credit for the persever-
ance and ability with which they did so much with
such inferior means.

On the 15th of April, land again gladdened their
sight, and, inhospitable as it was, it was welcome
after eighty-five days of sea work ; beating along
that coast where so many points bear English
names that sound strangely there — names that tell
how England's good and gallant seamen have toiled
and hoped, and suffered in the great cause of
human advancement, from Anson and Drake, proud
Admirals, — to poor Allen Gardner, who perished in
a noble effort to carry civilisation to the wretched
Fuegians. On i'oint Dungeness were seen largo
troops of Guanachoes, a species of the lama ; but a
lee shore gave Capt. M'Clure enough to do to keep
his ship in safety, until upon the turn of tide he
was enabled to push westward against the contrary
wind which prevails in this strait. Next day the
"Investigator" reached Possession Bay, and found
H.M.S. V. " Gorgon" there, ready to assist in towing
her when necessary into the Pacific Ocean ; and ac-
cordingly by her aid and the zealous exertions of
her Commander, the " Investigator," on the 17th
April, arrived at Port Famine.

At this wretched Chilian penal settlement, Captain

fE.

CREW OF AN AMEUICAN SHIP AT TORT FAMINE. 25

jrsever-
cli with

3d their
welcome

D O

English
:hat tell
TQ toiled
ausc of
e, proud
ished in
Tctched
m large
; but a
to keep
tide he
ontrary
day the
found
towing
and ac-
tions of
le 17th

!)aptain

^I'Clure learnt that the " Enterprise" had already
passed, and wliat was still more to be regretted,
taken with her all the bullocks, so that the prospect
of fresh beef for the "Investigator's" crew was no
nearer than the Sandwich Islands, to reach which
the wide Pacific Ocean had to be traversed as the
Atlantic had already been. The most interesting
objects to be seen at Port Famine were the wreck
and cast-away crew oi" an American schooner, onco
bound to California. The stoical indifference to
the reverse of fortune with which it had pleased
Providence to visit the two Yankee owners — for
they were there, — struck our arctic explorers
much ; and the unshaken firmness with Avhich they
determined not to be beaten was illustrative of the
best phase of their national character.

Their tale was a strange, but not an unusual one.
In the heio^ht of the Californian fever then ra^in"-,
one of the owners had been a vendor of hardware,
the other the proprietor of a dry provision store in
New York. Tiie latter, walking one day on the
quay, saw the schooner of which we are now speak-
ing advertised for sale ; and being struck with the
number of persons daily embarking for California,
the thought suddenly entered his head thot in that
El Dorado he might make a fortune far more

\ \ t

20 DISCOVERY OF THE NOllTII-WEST PASSAGE.

rapidly than even in the smart town of New York.
At this moment his eye chanced to light upon the
vendor of hardware, likewise apparently in a
brown study ; and addressing him, the dry-goodsman
asked, " what he thought of a Californian ven-
ture ?" "Just what I was thinking of," was the
reply; and with true American go-aheadism, they
at once decided on selling off, and embarking their
nil, four thousand dollars each, in the schooner.
The thing was done; and ten weeks afterwards
they were cast away upon the south ex^jeme of
America, and utterly ruined !

Yet they were not dispirited, and they wanted
no sympathy : " No ! " said the dry-provision mer-
chant, when it was suggested that he had better
return to New York and adhere to his old line of
business, " No ! I guess I '11 never go back to
New York ; I '11 get somehow to California, and
right myself yet ! "

The "Gorgon" took some of the men on board
imtil they could be put into their own country-
men's vessels.

Leaving Port Famine, the " Investigator" pro-
ceeded on her way, passing the wild and, in many
places, sublime scenery which skirts the shores of
this wonderful and intricate inland sea navigation,

** ENTERPRISE " IN FORTESCUE BAY.

— the lofty mountains, which Captain M'Clure truly
describes as preserting at once the characteristics
of the equatorial and polar regions, their sum-
mits being covered with glaciers, whilst their bases
are clothed with dense and humid forests, whose
rank luxuriance of vegetation resembles that of the
thickest East Indian jungle.

After rounding Cape Frowards, they found the
'* Enterprise" at anchor in Fortescue Bay, and had
a good opportunity of comparing their relative
courses since parting company. By the charts,
the two discovery ships had seldom been sixty
miles apart, and they had crossed the Equator
within thirty-five miles of each other, though with-
out meeting. Such are the not unusual accidents
of a sea voyage ; and at any rate neither Captain
Collinson nor his colleague could accuse themselves
of being the cause of delay to the other. Whilst
at this anchorage, detained by strong and foul
winds, an American river steamer, bound to Cali-
fornia, passed by. She had many passengers, and
took our voyagers' mail to Valparaiso, it being the
intention of her captain, a reckless sort of indi-
vidual, to take the inshore channels which lead
from Cape Horn to Chiloe, before he trusted his
fi'ail-built vessel to the mercy of the wide Pacific.

t,i

'rr

ill

1
I

ill

1 '^'i

28 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE."

That steamer appeared to have made a mar-
vellously quick passage, so much so as to induce
some of the "Investigator's" officers to ask the
skipper if he were certain of the dates of departure
and arrival. The reply, if not pleasing to ears
polite, contained in it a great truth : " Well,
officer," said Jonathan, " I ain't sure, for I huve
lived so long amongst liars that I don't know when
I am not speaking the truth ! "

On the 19th of April the weather moderated
sufficiently for the *' Gorgon" to take the " Enter-
prise" and "Investigator" in tow, and they
started at an early hour against a breeze which
otherwise would have still kept sailing ships idle.
Fuegians, in frail canoes, chased them in hopes
of barter, but were unable to communicate, and
next day the vessels passed Cape Pillar, the western
boundary of the strait.

Once in the broad Pacific, the swell of a
western sea caused the hawsers to carry away so
often as to prevent the towing of more than one
vessel at a time. The "Enterprise" was first
taken, and a good offing given her, and then the
" Investigator" was helped on in her turn. As
night came on, however, the gale freshened from
the north-west, and the " Enterprise " and

HEAVY GALE IN THE PACIFIC.

"Investigator" parted company, never again to
rejoin.

During the night of the 20th, the " Gorgon"
was obliged to cut away the towing-hawser of the
" Investigator," and after lying by her until day-
light, Captain Paynter, of the former, bore up to
look for the "Enterprise."

A heavy gale now came on, and no canvass could
be shown to carry the " Investigator" to the west-
ward, away from the iron-bound shores of Pata-
gonia, distant at the time not more than thirty
or forty miles. The increasing gale and sea after-
wards drove them far away to the south-west,
and it was not until the 30th of April that it
abated, and enabled the tempest-tossed ship to
resume her course for the next rendezvous, Hono-
lulu, in the Sandwich Islands.

Even at this early period of the voyage, every
precaution was taken by Captain M'Clure to pre-
vent the seeds of scurvy being sown amongst his
men. He increased the amount of vegetables and
fresh preserved meat, issued them as a ration every
alternate day, and, as soon as the weather per-
mitted it, the officers and crew were constantly
employed in their watches restoring, examining,
and ascertaining the quality of the provisions, upon

1 ,

n <

k'ff

[ y I

I' li

30 DISCOVERY OF THE NOIITH-WEST PASSAGE.

which Captain M'Clure's experience told him the
result of his voyage would so much depend. No
one knew better than he that in the far north man
is a machine not to be replaced ; that without the
zealous labour and the skill and energy of the crew,
the best officers are worthless. To work a willing
seaman to death, or into scurvy, and then turn
round and lay the blame on the nature of the
arctic service, was not the system of the man who
was about to achieve the North-west Passage ;
and in adopting the course he did, he took the best
method of showing his men that, so far as circum-
stances would admit, he would always study their
health and comfort. The crew on their side, like
true seamen, repaid him with unbounded con-
fidence and hearty exertions.

ii'V

CHAP. IV.

'SI

Voyage continued to Honolulu. — Leak in the Bread- Room. —
Loneliness of this Ocean. — Good Feeling between Officers
and Men. — Arrival at Honolulu. — Replenishing and De-
parture.— Great Anxiety of OflScers and Men to reach the
Ice. — Passing the Aleutian Islands. — Dense Fogs. — The
Arctic Circle crossed. — Meet the "Plover" Depot Ship. —
Unfavourable Report of the State of the Ice. — Captain
M'Clure's Plan of Operations. — Preparations for meeting
the Ice.— H.MS. "Herald" met with — Captain Kellett's
Discovery.

The whole of the month of May, 1850, was
passed by the " Investigator " in making the best
of her way towards Honolulu; and the only incident
worthy of notice was the loss of a topmast, and the
discovery of the destruction of a large quantity of
bread, owing to a leak in the bread-room, which
could not be got at : nearly a thousand pounds of
biscuit were found to be so mouldy that it had to be
thrown away; but Capt. M'Clure consoled himself
with the certainty of being able to replenish at
the first port he reached.

On June 2nd they attained the limit of the S.E.

m :

ij . «

i^ i !<'

32 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

trade wind, in lat. 17'' 44' S., long. 105" 54' \V.
During the fortnight that the " Investigator " was
steering diagonally across that space which inter-
venes between the Southern Tropic and the Equator
of the Pacific Ocean, the monotony of their lives
pressed heavily upon both crew and officers. Five
weary months of salt water is enough to try the
patience of any men; and Capt.M'Clure's journal here
laments the loneliness of the vast region of water
which rolls from America to the Polynesian Isles,
a fine and fair wind, clear sky, and smooth sea,
hardly compensating for the absence of every living
thing except themselves: not even a bird or a
fish broke the dreariness of the ocean solitude.
Every day served, however, to unite more strongly
the bond of mutual good feeling between the com-
mander and his crew. Much heavy work connected
with the re-stowage and examination of the pro-
visions fell, of course, upon the latter; but they
did it with such cheerfulness and good-will as to
draw forth the remark in Capt. M'Clure's hand-
writing:— " I have much confidence in them ; with
such a spirit what may not be expected, even if
difiiculties should arise ? " This good opinion of
his men was fully borne out in the sequel.

The Equator was crossed on the 15th June, and

AUniVAL AT HONOLUL^T.

the S.E. trade k. lly favoured them into 7° north
latitude. On Lhe 23rd of June the N.E. trade
wind reached them, and aided by it they made on
the 24th the longest run the " Investigator " had
as yet performed in twenty-four hours j namely, one
hundred and eighty-six miles.

On June 29th, the snow-capped peak of Mona-
Kea, on the Island of Owhyhee, showed itself, and
announced that at last they were nearing a port,
after a sea voyage of 15,000 miles.

Running through the western islands of the
Sandwich group, they anchored, gladly enough, on
the 1st July, outside the reefs of Honolulu Harbour,
the wind being foul for entering its narrow mouth.

Thrre was no time to be lost, however, and all
necessary supplies were speedily purchased, Capt.
M'Clure being much aided in his labour by Capt.
Aldham of H. M. brig " Swift," then in the port.
The very next day, all the stores were ready for
shipment, and the "Investigator" was prepared for
the prosecution of her voyage with the utmost
despatch. The crew of the " Swift," with true sailors'
generosity, undertook this duty in the place of the
men of the " Investigator," who were at once allowed
all the leave that could be afforded them to wander
at libertj' about the beautiful island of Oahu.

• it

I I

I n

34 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

The "Enterprise," Capt. Collinson, had already, it
appeared, called at this port, and had replenished,
and gone on, in prosecution of his instructions.
The anxiety of Capt. M'Clure to overtake his chief,
and rejoin him in time for entering the Polar Sea
in 1850, can be better conceived than described.
Abundant supplies of fruit and vegetables were
purchased, although the hi^'^h prices occasioned by
so large a demand, as well as the arrival of the
annual fleets of American whalers, formed a con-
siderable obstacle to the private purchases of officers
and men. By a remarkable fatality, too, their hopes
of obtaining a good supply of fresh beef were again
destined to be disappointed, for the natives, in
attempting to land the bullocks from a coaster, had
drowned all but one of them.

The Consul-General, Miller, as well as some of
the merchants, extended due hospitality to Capt.
M'Clure, and although he had occasion to remark
that Yankee influence was all powerful in these
Islands, — the American stepping-stones to the
Empire of the East, as they have been appropriately
called, — yet neither he, nor the Investigators
generally, had any cause to complain of want of
courtesy towards themselves, or of sympathy for
the noble mission on which they were employed.

" INVKSTTOATOR " WELL PROVISIONED.

The 4th July, 1850, saw the " Investigator " in
every respect ready for the Polar voyage, which was
her appointed task. Iwery available space was again
filled with provisions, and in addition to the solitary
bullock, a dozen sheep, and vegetables sufficient to
last forty days, were embarked. Her weak or sickly
men had been invalided, and the^r places supplied
by volunteers, and all hands were much re-
freshed and re-invigorated by even the short stay
they had made in so pleasant a spot. On leaving
Honolulu, the same evening, Capt. M'Clure remarks
that the health and cheerfulness of all was most
gratifying, and that no vessel could have entered
the ice under more favourable circumstances after
so long and trying a sea voyage.

The ice, however, was still full forty degrees of
latitude distant, the "Enterprise " far ahead, and the
season would be closing in, in about sixty days'
time. Well, therefore, might Capt. M'Clure feel
anxious when he looked at his deeply-laden vessel,
and pondered on the quickest mode of reachinfjj
Behring's Straits. The old established course from
the Sandwich Islands to the Strait, was by hauling
out to the N.W. across the N.E. trade, so as to strike
the Asiatic coast in or about the latitude of Petro-
pouloffskoi, and then taking advantage of the

! :

'i;

fi K

!i-1

; :''l

36 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

westerly winds to run along that coast, and thus
avoid the; dangurous channels through the Aleutian
Islands, which are still imperfectly known, and
subject to dense fogs and strong tides. This, how-
ever, is a long route, generally occupying sixty
days, and Capt. M'Clure had heard of another and
more direct one, but at the same time the risk of
his vessel being driven down upon the dangerous
and inhospitable coast north of Vancouver's
Island and Princess Charlotte's Island, was duly
pointed out. Fortunately, he afterwards met at
Honolulu with an intelligent merchant sailor, who
urged him by all means to steer a direct course to
the northward, and not to fear north-west gales
at that season of the year. This advice, together
with the emergency of the case, induced him to
decide upon making direct for the Aleutian Islands,
and trusting to the "sweet little cherub that sits
up aloft" for the winds he might require.

At midnight a course was shaped accordingly,
and M'Clure went to his bed to dream of catching;
the " Ent^'T-prise," for great was the fear among both
officers and men lest Capt. CoUinson, instead of wait-
ing for his consort, should take the " Plover " on into
the ice, and leave the " Investigator " to occupy her

RAPID PROGRESS OF THE "INVESTIGATOR." .'i7

place, a rumour to that effect liaviiig been wliispcred
about at Honolulu.

No other bad effects had resulted from the liberty
given to the " Investigator's " men at Honolulu,
after their long imprisonment on board, than that
six of them were laid up for a few days, in conse-
quence of having, sailor-like, taken a great deal too
much equestrian exercise — one or two having actu-
ally cut their feet with the stirrup-irons through
riding hard without any shoes. • •

Favoured by strong and fair winds, the ship made
rapid progress to the northward, although dense
fogs gave the captain and master much anxiety,
lest they should be carried east or west of that
channel through the Aleutian Isles, for which they
were endeavouring to steer.

On the sixteenth day after leaving Oahu,
while expecting to sight the land, the mist lifted
sulHciently to show a bluff point, with a detached
rock lying oft^ it. This satisfied them that the island
they had wished to sight was the one now at hand,
and, as the " Investigator " was swept rapidly
along in a tide race with a fair wind, they had only
time to observe, on the bow, the western extreme
of the Island of Tchunam. It was but a momen-

ij8

i^l

nil

38 DISCOVEllY OF THE NOUTII-WEST rASSAGE.

tiiry glimpse, however, that they were blessed with
of either, and this was all they saw of the Aleutian
Chain ; but when certain of being clear of, and
north of them, the *• Investigator " steered for Gore
Island.

Some idea may be formed of the denseness of tho
fogs which prevail in this region, and add so mate-
rially to its dangers, from the circumstance of some
of the sea birds, such as the Little Auk {Alca alle)
striking against the rigging in their flight, and
falling on board, so as to be captured.

But fog or no fog, the ship was still pushed on
with the utinost press of sail that any regard to
safety would permit. A sea but little known, how-
ever, was before the "Investigator," — a sea inter-
spersed with islands whose position was so far
from certain that, in some cases, as in those of
St. Paul and St. George, they were not placed in the
Chart. Many an anxious hour was passed on board
the ship, their greatest fear being lest, by ground-
ing the vessel and detention, they should be too
late for entering the ice in the season of 1850.

On July 26th, the stud-sails were for the first
time taken in since leaving Oahu, and next day
they made King's Island, and had a narrow escape
of being swept on shore by a rapid and unexpected

" INVESTIGATOR " IN PERIL.

current. Happily, a good bearing, by compass, of
the land was obtained before they were again enve-
loped in fog, so that they were able to shape a
course between the two Diomede Islands ; but still
running the gauntlet, as they were doing, was
fraught with peril, and nothing but the urgency cT
the case induced Capt. M'Clurc to persist, although
it might be that in such a sea, and amongst so
many tides and currents, a straight course on end
was the safer one.

The words of her commander convey the best
idea of the ship's position and his feelings as they
approached the Channel : — " The Channel is a good
one doubtless in clear weather; but in a fog
which never gave an horizon more than four
hundred yards distant, with a very strong and un-
known current, with a fresh fair wind and deep
water, it was an exceedingly anxious time for me,
more especially when an unusual ripple was per-
ceived, resembling the tidal race of Alderney or
I'ortland. The noise was so great that you could
not hear what was said without great vocal exer-
tion ; the sea was breaking into the channels, and
the deep sea lead showed that the ship was sweeping
over twenty-two fathoms' water only." The look-out
man even reported breakers ahead, and not small

40 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

■^

was the general delight when, by the deepening of
the soundings and the cessation of the tide ripple,
the voyag'^rs guessed themselves to have been swept
into Kotzebue Sound, though disagreeably close
past one of the islands at its entrance.

On July 29th, 1850, the Arctic Circle was crossed,
and the Admiralty clothing supplied by the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty for the use of
seamen in those regions was now issued to the
crew. Arctic sights now rapidly accumulated to
interest the many novices in the " Investigator,"
and to awaken in the mind of her commander re-
collections of his former trying and unsuccessful
voyage on the opposite side of America into that
same frozen sea. • .

The first to greet them was the " Plover " depot-
ship, then commanded by Commander Moore, who,
with two boats, was making inquiries amongst the
natives of Wainwright Inlet, concerning some of
the thousand and one Esquimaux fictions that then
enlivened the monotony of Kotzebue Sound. The
eager query of how long since the *' Enterprise "
had gone to the northward ? was answered by the
" Plover " informing them that she had not been
fallen in with at all ; this the officers of the " Inves-
tigator " presumed might be accounted for, from the

UNSATISFACTORY ACCOUNT OF THE ICE.

dense fogs which had lately prevailed having pre-
vented her being seen. The " Enterprise " had left
Honolulu as early as the 30th June ; she was the
faster sailing ship, and there was no reason to sup-
pose she had not been equally favoured in winds.

The news of the state of the ice in Behring's
Straits was most unsatisfactory, especially to those
who did not know that its movements are often so
sudden as to render a report of more than twenty-
four hours old of no value. The " Plover " had seen
the polar ice so densely packed from Wainwright
Inlet upon the American coast to lat. 71° 30' N.,
and long. 1G4° 28' W., as apparently to defy all
efforts to push a vessel to the north-east.

In recording this information, Capt. M'Clurc
adds in his journal this remarkable sentence, so
well verified by the result, and showing how deci-
dedly he had made up his mind to the course to be
pursued. " This," says he, " was not what I anti-
cipated from the continuance of south-east winds,
but the season is not far advanced, and much may
yet be accomplished ere ice are frozen iip.^^

The Investigators were generally struck with
the healthy, and, in most cases, robust appearance
of the " Plover's " crew ; indeed, this was not to be
wondered at, considering they had wintered evoy

42 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

year they spent in the Arctic Zone, in a place like
Kotzebue Sound, where the natives are able to live
upon the resources of the country, and where mo-
notony, darkness, and hunger do not weigh upon
them in any extraordinary degree.

Before bearing up for Cape Lisburne (the next
rendezvous that Capt. Collinson had appointed), and
where the " Herald," Capt. Kellett, was known to
be cruising, all the letter-bags of the "Investi-
gator " were sent on board the " Plover ; " and at
the same time that admirable despatch from Capt.
M'Clure to the Admiralty, in which he clearly
stated what his intentions were, should he be left
to act upon them. How to the very letter he car-
ried them out, aided by his gallant officers and
men, will be seen in the sequel.

Copy of a Letter from Commander M''Clure to the
Secretary of the Admiralty.

" Iler Majesty's Discovery Ship 'Investigator,' at Sea,
" (Lat, 51° 2G' N. ; Long. 172° 35' W.),
" 20 July, 1850.

"Sir,

" As I have received instructions from Captain
Collinson, C.B., clear and unembarrassing (a copy
of which I enclose), to proceed to Cape Lisburne,

COPY OF CAPTAIN M'CLURE's LETTER.

ill the hope of meeting him in that vicinity, as he
anticipates being detained a day or two by the
' Plover ' in Kotzebue Sound, it is unnecessary to
add that every exertion shall be made to reach
that rendezvous, but I can scarce venture to hope
that, even under very favourable circumstances,
I shall be so fortunate as to accomplish it ere the
' Enterprise ' will have rounded that Cape, as,
from her superior sailing, she hitherto having
beaten uw, by eight days to Cape Virgins, and
from Magellan Straits to Oahu by six. It is,
therefore, under the probable case that this vessel
may form a detached part of the expedition, that
I feel it my duty to state, for the information of
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the
course which, under such a contingency, I shall
endeavour to pursue, and I have to request that
you will lay the same before their Lordships.

"1st. After passing Cape Lisbiirne, it is my in-
tention to keep in the open ivater, ivhich, from the
different reports that I have read, appears, about this
season of the year, to make between the American
coast and the main pack, as far to the eastward as
the IBOth meridian, unless a favourable openimj
should earlier appear in the ice, which would lead
ine to infer that I miylit push more directly for Banks

44 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

J '

Land^ vhich I think is of the utmost importance to
thoroughly ea;amine.

" In the event of luus far succeeding, and the sea-
son continuing iavourable for further operations,
it would be my anxious desire to get to the north-
ward of Melville Island, and resume our search
along its shores, and the islands adjacent, as long
as the navigation can be carried on, and then se-
cure for the winter in the most eligible position
which offers.

" 2nd. In the ensuing spring, as soon as it is prac-
ticable for travelling parties to start, I should de-
spatch as many as the state of the crew will admit
of, in different directions, each being provided with
40 days' provisions, with directions to examine
minutely all bays, inlets, and islands towards the
N.E., ascending occasionally some of the highest
points of land, so as to be enabled to obtain ex-
tended views, being particularly cautious, in their
advance, to observe any indication of a break-up
in the ice, so that their return to the ship may be
effected without hazard, even before the expendi-
ture of their provisions would otherwise render it
necessary.

" 3rd. Supposing the parties to have returned
(without obtaining any clue of the absent ships),

COPY OF CAPTAIN m'CLURE'S LETTER.

and the vessel liberated about the 1st of August,
my object would then be to push ou towards Wel-
lington Inlet (assuming that that channel commu-
nicates with the Polar Sea), and search both its
shores, unless, in so doing, some indication should
be met with to shov/ that parties from any of Cap-
tain Austin's vessels had previously done so, when
I should return and endeavour to penetrate in the
direction of Jones' Sound, carefully examining
every place that was practicable. Sir, should our
efforts to reach this point be successful, and in the
route no traces be discernible of the long-missing
expedition, I should not then be enabled longer to
divest myself of the feeling, painful as it must be
to arrive at such a conclusion, that all liuman aid
would then be perfectly unavailing, and therefore,
under such a conviction, I ^vou'u think it my duty,
if possible, to return to England, or, at all events,
endeavour to reach some port that would ensure
that object upon the following year,

" 4th. In the event of this being our last com-
munication, I would request you to assure their
Lordships that no apprehension whatever need be
entertained of our safety until the autumn of 1854,
as we have on board three years of all species of
provisions, commencing from the 1st September

I- A

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46 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

proximo, which, without much deprivation, may
be made to extend a period of four years, as, more-
over, whatever is killed by the hunting parties I
intend to issue in lieu of the usual rations, which
will still further protract our resources.

" It gives me great pleasure to say that the good
effects of the fruit and vegetables (a large quantity
of which we took on board at Oahn) are very
perceptible, in the increased vigour of the men,
who at this moment are in as excellent condition
as it is possible to desire, and evince a spirit of con-
fidence and a cheerfulness of disposition which are
beyond all appreciation.

" 5th. Should difficulties apparently insurmount-
able encompass our progress^ so as to render it a
matter of doubt whether the vessel could be extricated^
I should deem it expedient^ in that case, not to hazard
the lives of those entrusted to my charge after the
winter of 1852, but, in the ensuing spring, quit the
vessel with sledges and boats, and make the best of our
way to either Fondas Bay, Leopold Harbour, the Mac-
kenzie, or for the ivhalcrs, according to circumstances.

" Finally. In this letter I have endeavoured to
give an outline of what I wish to accomplish (and
what, under moderately favourable seasons, appears
to me attainable), the carrying out of which, how-

COPY OF CAPTAIN M'CLURE's LETTEH.

ever, not resting upon human exertions, it is im-
possible even to surmise if any or what portion may
be successful. But my object in addressing you is
to place their Lordships in possession of my inten-
tions up to the latest period, so, as far as possible,
to relieve their minds from any unnecessary anxiety
as to our fate ; and having done this — a duty which
is incumbent on me, from the deep sympathy ex-
pressed by their Lordships, and participated in by all
classes of our countrymen, in the interesting object
of this expedition, — I have only to add that, with the
ample resources which a beneficent Government and
a generous country have placed at our disposal (not
anything that can add to our comfort being want-
ing), we enter upon this distinguished service with
a firm determination to carry out, as far as in our
feeble strength we are permitted, their benevolent
intentions.

"I have, &c.

" (Signed) Robert M'Clure, Commander:"

ill

iiow-

Not a letter written that day contained any ex-
pression but that of a hopeful issue to their enter-
prise, and if anxiety was expressed, it was only that
of being delayed, or being too late. The calm and

48 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

resolute spirit of their leader is marked in the para-
graph penned this same night. " I consider," he
writes, " that we have said adieu to the world for
the next two years. May that arm which has con-
ducted us so far in safety still continue its protec-
t' upon a service where all else is weakness

On ^ V 31st, the vessel was prepared for falling
in with the ice ; the crow's-nest was sent up to the
masthead, ready for the look-out men to take their
station in ; whale-lines and ice-anchors were placed
at hand ready for heaving, or tracking the ship
through loose ice ; and ice-chisels, saws, ladders,
and all the many articles of equipment peculiar to
arctic service were placed on deck.

The current had swept the "Investigator" thirty
miles north of her reckoning, and Cape Lisburnc
was far astern when H.M.S. " Herald," Captain
Kellett, hove in sight.

This vessel, it will be remembered, was annually
ordered from her surveying service in Central
America, to communicate with, and replenish the pro-
visions of the "Plover " depot-ship. The " Herald"
usually arrived in June, and left Behring's Straits
in September. Her object in cruising about the
Strait was mainly the hope of falling in with the

CAPTAIN KELLETT'S DESPATCHES.

squadron of Sir John Franklin, should either of his
ships have accomplished the passage from the At-
lantic to the Pacific Ocean; but the " Herald" like-
wise did good service in correcting the charts of this
neighbourhood, and in adding materially to our
geographical knowledge. The most important dis-
covery, however, that Captain Henry Kellett had
made, and one which, in connection with the nature
of the ice met with by the " Investigate, v. itward
of Banks Land, is deeply interesting i th . curi-
ous about the yet unknown regions v . l^h lie around
our pole, was the sighting of an ext»-nsive land
north and north-west of Behrin^ c^trait. In
Captain Kellett's despatches to England, bearing
date 1849, the discovery is graphically described.

" At 3 A.M. the 17th of August, the temperature
of the sea suddenly fell from 40" to 36° ; the wind
became light, and excessively cold. Shortened sail,
supposing that I was very near the ice ; frequent
snow showers.

" At 5 A.M. wind shifted suddenly from the N.W.
in a sharp squall with heavy snow. Shortly after
8, when one of these snow storms cleared off, the
packed ice was seen from the masthead from S.S. W.
to N.N.W., five miles distant. The v/eather was
so bad that I bore up for the rendezvous. The

1 '■■':

->',]

. ;,

50 DISCOVERT OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

weather, however, as suddenly cleared up, and I
hauled my wind for the north-western extreme of
the ice that had been seen. At 9 40 the exciting
report of * Land-ho ! ' was made from the masthead ;
they were both soon afterwards crowded.

" In running a course along the pack towards
our first discovery, a small group of islands was re-
ported on our port beam, a considerable distance
within the outer margin of the ice.

" The pack here was not so close as I found it
before. Lanes of water could be seen reaching
almost up to the group, but too narrow to enter
unless the ship had been sufficiently fortified to
force a hole for herself.

*' These small islands at intervals were very dis-
tinct, and were not considered at the time very
distant.

" Still more distant than this group (from the
deck) a very extensive and high land was reported,
which I had been watching for some time, and
anxiously awaited a report from some one else.
There was a fine clear atmosphere (such a one as
can only be seen in this climate), except in the di-
rection of this extended land, where the clouds
rolled in numerous immense masses, occasionally
leaving the very lofty peaks uncapped, where could

CAPT-ATN KELLETT'8 DESPATCHES.

be distinctly seen columns, pillurs, and very broken
peaks, characteristic of the higher headlands in
this sea — East Cape and Cape Lisburne, for example.

" Wu.i the exception of the N.E. and S.E. ex-
tremes, none of the lower land could be seen, un-
less, indeed, what I took at first for a small group
of islands within the pack edge was a point of this
great land.

*' This island or point was distant 25 miles from
the ship's track, higher parts of the land seen, not
less, I consider, than 60 miles. When we hove to
off the first land seen, the northern extreme of the
great land showed out to the eastward for a moment,
and so clear as to cause some who had doubts be-
fore to cry out, ' There, Sir, is the land quite plain.'

*' From the time land was reported until we hove
to under it, we ran 25 miles directly for it. At
first we could not see that the pack joined it, but
as we approached the island we found the pack to
rest on the island, and to extend from it as far as
the eye could reach, to the E.S.E. •

" The weather, which had been fine all day, now
changed suddenly to dense clouds and snow showers,
blowing fresh from the south, with so much sea
that I did not anchor as I intended.

" I left the ship with two boats ; the senior lieu-

Hii

52 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

! ' i

tenant, Mr. Mnguirc, Mr. Sccmann, naturalist, and
Mr. CoUinson, mate, in one ; Mr. Goodridgc, sur-
geon, Mr. Pakenham, midshipman, and myself in
the other, almost despairing of being able to reach
the island.

*' The ship kept off and on outside the thickest
pnrt of the loose ice, through which the boats were
obliged to be very careful in picking their way, on
the S.E. side, where I thought 1 might have as-
cended. We reached the island, and found running
on it a very heavy sea ; the first lieutenant, how-
ever, landed, having backed his boat in until he
could get foothold ^without swimming), and then
jumped overboard. I followed his example ; the
otliers were anxious to do the same, but the sea
was so high tiaat I could not permit them.

" We hoisted the jack and took possession of the
island with the usual ceremonies, in the name of
Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria.

" The extent we had to walk over was not more
than thirty feet. From this space, and a short dis-
tance that we scrambled up, we collected eight
species of plants ; specimens of the rock were also
brought away.

" With the time we could spare and our mate-
rials, the island was perfectly inaccessible to us.

CAITAIN KELLF/rT*a DESPATCHES.

This was a great disappointment to us, as from its
summit, which is elevated above the sea 1,400 feet,
much could have been seen, and alldoubi set -^sidc,
more particularly as I knew tha moment I got on
board I should be obliged to carry sail to get off
the pack, and out of the bight of it we were irr ;
neither could I expect that at this late period of the
season the weatuer would improve.

" The island on which I landed is four miles and
a half in extent east and west, and about two and
a half north and south, in the shape of a triangle,
the western end being its apex. It is almost inac-
cessible on all sides, and a solid mass of granite.
Innumerable black and white divers (common to
this sea) here found a safe place to deposit their
eggs and bring up their young ; not a walrus or
seal was seen on its shore, or on the ice in its vici-
nity. We observed here none of the small land
birds that were so numerous about us before making
the land.

" It becomes a nervous thing to report a disco-
very of land in these regions without actually laiid-
'ng on it, after the unfortunate mistake to the south-
ward ; but as far as a man can be certain, who has
ISO pair of eyes to assist him, and all agreeing, I
am certain we have discovered an extensive laud.

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54 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

I think, also, it is more than probable that these
peaks we saw are a continuation of the range of
mountains seen by the natives off Cape Jakan (coast
of Asia), mentioned by Baron Wrangell in his Polar
Voyages. I returned to the ship at 7 p.m., and
very reluctantly made all the sail we could carry
from this interesting neighbourhood, to the south-
east, the wind at the time allowing me to lie just
clear of the pack." *

This land some geographers suppose to extend
in continuous or broken masses to the east and
northward, and to form a portion of the vast archi-
pelago of islands lying north of Barrow's Straits,
and directly that Captain Kellett's discovery was
reported in England, it gave rise to a strong hope
that Captain CoUinson's expedition would be able
to leach it, and foil w along the southern coast
towards Melville Island, as Sir Edward Parry had
succeeded in doing from the opposite direction,
thirty years before.

* An American report of a later date denies the existence of
tliis land, of whose existence Captain Kellett says he feels pretty
certain ; but until some one actually sails over the spot, we
have as much reason to believe those who saw land as those
who did not.

: I

CHAP. V.

The "Investigator" gives up the Hope of meeting the "Enter-
prise," and departs alone. — The first Ice. — Immense Herd

of Walruses Mothers and Babies. — Value of the Walrus

to the Esquimaux. — A Blind Lead. — Cape Barrow doubled.
— Proceeding in a North-easterly Direction. — Great Excite-
ment. — Three Esquimaux met with. — Their Astonishment
at Sight of the Vessel.

The most extensive body of "open water" in 1850
lay in the direction of Point Barrow, the turning
point of America, and which the Investigators
were impatient to reach. The " Enterprise " had
not yet been seen, but the fogs had been dense, and
the weather unfavourable for meeting her, so that all
conspired to make the impatient men and officers
conjecture that she was still far ahead, and waiting
for them. Captain Kellett, the senior officer, was
not so sanguine as to the " Enterprise " having
made an equally quick passage, yet he felt the re-
sponsibility he should incur, should she have
passed, by detaining her consort. Captain IVPCIure,
too, pointed out how valuable every hour was to

£ 4

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56 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

him, and to the important service he was upon ; for
he well knew the value of the arctic maxim, that
a day lost often entails a whole season of fruitless
labour. At last Captain Kellett consented that the
" Investigator " should part company ; but he first
of all supplied Captain M'Clure's wants, by giving
him three volunteers, and furnishing him with such
arusles as his own stores would admit of. The
reader will sympathise with the generous feelings
of those who, like the captain and officers of the
" Herald," were thus for the last time, perhaps, in
this world, shaking by the hand men bound upon a
service as hazardous as it was glorious, and they will
understand how trying a moment it must have been
for one circumstanced as Captain Kellett was, to
say to such a body as the Investigators — *' Go
on ! " when he knew full well that from where they
then stood there lay before them for full 900 miles,
upon the one hand a shoal and dangerous coast,
upon the other a heavy and hopeless sea of ice.

The " Investigator " had not long borne up on
her solitary course under a heavy press of sail,
when the signal was made, — " Had you better not
wait forty-eight hours ? "

The reply was characteristic : " hnportant duty.
Cannot upon my own respondbility '^ In a few

FIRST ICE HERDS OP WALRUSES.

hours the "Investigator" was alone, the wind
changing to the N.E. quarter.

On the 2nd August in the morning the first ice
was seen extending across ahead, the latitude at
the time being about 72° north. On getting close
to it immense herds of walruses were seen basking
upon the loose masses : huge bulls, with splendid
tusks, which would have delighted the eye of
a Gordon Gumming ; females, with their numerous
cubs playing about, formed a sight novel and
interesting even to the old Greenland ice-master.
A gun was at first loaded with grape and canister
for the purpose of shooting some of them; but
the order was countermanded by Captain M'Clure,
from the kindly feelings awakened by the affection
evinced between the mothers and babes cf this
brute community. Some of these creatures were
conjectured to weigh as much as thirty-five hun-
dredweight, and the ice when relieved of their
weight rose about two feet.

These ferocious-looking creatures are found in
great numbers in Behring's Strait, and have been
so since the earliest dates. All our early voyagers
speak of them: and the well-known sketch in
Cook's Voyages of the conflict between his men
and the walruses has been seen by most jxiople.

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58 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

It is only fair to observe, however, that this repre-
sentation does some injustice to a brute whose
charactoi- is naturally inoffensive ; although, when
assailed in the water, it is not deficient in courage.
If in company with the female or its young, the
self-devotion it evinces excels that of most animals.
Both male and female have tusks ; but these are so
situated as to be of but little use when the creature
is out of the water, unless for aiding them in
scaling the steep and rugged sides of ice-hum-
mocks. The females are sometimes seiin with two
cubs at a time, but more generally with only one.
They suckle their young, and from tm different
sizes and periods at which they have been seen
doing so, voyagers are led to believe that for
twelve or eighteen months the young one is depen-
dent upon the mother for nouru hment. Thoy feed
upon the &abmariii'* plants of the arctic regions;
and as far as may U- judged from the teeth, they
do not appear to eat fish or seal, although it is
sometimes asserted that they do so. Thei^ thick
skins, plentiful blubber, wholesome flesh, and ivory
tusks, render the walrus a valuable prize to the
Esquimaux. Wherever they are found, and in
Behring's Strait especially, a considerable traffic is
carried on by them with the Siberian traders, in the

A BLIND LEAD. — CAPE BARROW DOUBLED. 59

exchange of ivory for Russian knives and kettles.
Whilst we have been making this digression about
walruses, the " Investigator " has been running
on nearly due north, in the 166th meridian, or at
least as much so as the ice would let her ; the cur-
rent aiding her the while, to the extent of sixteen
miles in twenty-four hours. On August 4th, Cap-
tain M'Clure discovered that he was running and
working up a ^^blindlead "or cul-de-sac; out of which
it was advisable to make his way, by retracing his
steps. This was done as rapidly as possible, and
they arrived on the 5th August, off Wainwright
Inlet, and again sighted the " Plover " for a short
time. Keeping now very close to the American coasts
or as much so as the ice would admit, the vessel mi; le
rapid progress towards Point Barrow. At midnight,
at the distance of about ten miles from the land,
and in seventy-three fathoms water, they rounded
the north-west extreme of the American continent,
and began their progress towards the stward, and
towards home I What joy was in tha sound, and in
the thought of having at any rate achieved one diffi-
culty that had never before been mastered by a ship.
On the morning of the 6th August 1 850, the officers
and f vew of the " Investigator " felt free from all
anxiety upon the score of being able to enter the

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60 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Arctic Ocean from Behring's Strait and turn their
backs upon the Pacific. That was now an accom-
plished fact, and a good month of the best naviga-
ble season was still before them. Their next
aspiration was tc- reach Melville Island; but as
far as the eye could reach in that direction, a waste
of ice was before them, and such ice as few if any
navigators, even in the Arctic Zone, had ever seen
before ; and the fact of a two-knot-per-hour cur-
rent setting southward off Point Barrow, told
Captain M'Clure pretty plainly whither the pack
would drift him, if he got entangled or beset In it.
To reach the land-water, or the space between the
American coast and the line of heavy ice, which
from its great d jught of water was checked by
the shallow nature of the sea, at distances varying
from a few yards to sometimes a mile in width,
and, cnce in that land- water, to struggle to the
eastward for that open sea off the Mackenzie river
which Sir John Richardson speaks of from Esqui-
maux report, was the course he now decided upon.
The wind came round to the E.S.E., with rain
and mist; and against these obstacles the good ship
r^truggled. On the one hand, lay a low and dan-
gei JUS coast, devoid of any shelter or haven, on the
other a barrier of packed ice formed of great fioc

SANGUINE HOPES.

pieces and hummocks ; the intervening space also
being much covered with stray masses, so dense
and heavy in their nature as to cause the vessel to
tremble in every timber whenever she unavoidably
struck any of them. Now they were sailing in a
dense fog, the hand-lead and look-out man their
only security against shipwreck ; and anon in a
gleam of sunshine and calm, towing with all their
boats ahead. The excitement was great for all,
but all anxitity for the future was merged in joy at
the present. The men entered fully into the en-
thusiasm of the officers, and loud songs and cheers
rang through the solitudes of that lonely sea, as
each fresh difficulty was mastered, and another
mile of easting attained.

On August 8th, when close to Point Pitt, about 120
miles east of Point Barrow, the master, Mr. Court,
was sent on shore to place a notice of the " Investi-
gator" having passed, and to erect a cairn. On
landing, the boat was met by three Esquimaux,
who, although at first extremely timid, gained
confidence when the polite and pleasing operation
of rubbing noses had been properly gone through
in token of friendship.

Through Mr. Mierching, the Moravian mis-
sionary, who accompanied the " Investigator " in

i!^

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62 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

the character of interpreter, a communication was
readily established with the Esquimaux. These
three men were, it appears, a portion of a petty
tribe residing in this neighbourhood. The " Inves-
tigator" had been first seen by them on the
previous night, and as they had never seen any-
thing like her before, she had caused no small
sensation in the community, and a general meeting
had taken place in consequence. The most astonish-
ing thing of all was, how those "three great trees"
(the masts) came to be moving about, and many
diflferent opinions were offered. They could give
no name to this new wonder but that of " Omiack,"
the same they give to their large canoes. These three
men had been deputed to watch and follow this
wonderful Omiack, and they were the men Mr.
Court had fallen in with. In reply to the queries
made to them, they held out the gratifying promise
of a channel of water being found continuously to
the east, and that at this season it would vary from
three to five miles, the distance the pack then lay
off Point Pitt. The ice, they said, never went
farther off than at the present time, and at one
season there was no water at all along the coast.
They could give no idea of when the water ceased
to exist, or when the winter season may be said to
commence in this region.

APPEARANCE OF ESQUIMAUX.

CoiiimuTiication being established with the tribe
generally, some one or two of the men owned to
having seen a ship before to the south (the "Plover,"
no doubt), in Kotzebue Sound. They spoke also
of trading with other natives, who gave them
Russian articles in exchange for their furs — and
promised, if Captain M'Clure would return, to have
some skins and ivory ready for him. The tribe
generally were a stalwart set, but the men hideously
disfigured by the labrets in the lower lip, most of
them having two apertures on either side of the
mouth, half an inch wide, into which those dis-
gusting ornaments were thrust. The women might
have been good looking, according to the standard
of thorough-bred Mongolian beauty ; they were
slightly tattooed about the chin, but it was barely
perceptible, any more, it must be added, than the
natural ' colour of their faces, from their want of
acquaintance with fresh water. General obesity
prevailed in this arctic family, and they seemed to
be in possession of stores of meat, as they offered
to supply it for barter if the ship would wait.
Thieving, performed in a most artless manner, though
not altogether without skill, appeared their principal
accomplishment. Whilst Captain M'Clure was giving
out some tobacco as a present, he felt a hand in his

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64 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

trousers' pocket, and on looking down found a
native actually, while receiving with one hand, pick-
ing his pocket with the other. Yet when detected,
the fellow laughed so good-humouredly, and all
his compatriots seemed to enjoy the joke so amaz-
ingly, that even the aggrieved parties joined in the
merriment. In Esquimaux society, this tendency
to pocket-picking was evidently considered an
amiable weakness. Captain M'Clure told these
people that he was looking for a lost brother, and
they promised, if they should ever find any white
men in distress, to be very kind to them, and "give
them deer's flesh." From some of this tribe the fact
was gleaned of their having observed Lieutenant
PuUen, when, in 1849, he sailed along the coast to
the Mackenzie river; and Captain M'Clure also satis-
fied himself that the " Erebus," or " Terror," had
never reached this neighbourhood.
■ A letter was left with these Esquimaux to be
given to any Europeans they might meet with,
and they promised faithfully to deliver it, in con-
sideration of the numerous presents they received ;
but little faith can be placed in such savages, for
it was not until May, 1852, when that energetic
officer. Captain Maguire, succeeded in opening a
communication with them by means of his boats.

CAPTAIN M'CLURE'S LETTER.

that he accidentally observed a small canvass bag,
directed, " To the Chief Trader of the Russian
Settlements, America," and eventually discovered
a remnant '^^ the original document. It only
reached England in 1853, after Lieut. CresswcU,
who had been sent home by way of Bal in's Bay
with despatches, had reported the " Investigator's"
safety.

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Corporation

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

CHAP. VI.

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The Narrative of Captain Maguire. — The Esquimaux Report. —
The Coast of America in this Region. — The Pack Ice and
Floes. — Reach Jones' Island. — Visited by Twenty-four
Natives. — Recognition of the Chief. — Simple Cunning of
the Savages. — A Fair Malefactor. — Gallantry of the In-
vestigators.— Hazardous and DiflScult Navigation. — The
Delta of the Mackenzie. — The Ship agro>ind — Serious
Loss of Provisions.

While the good ship is working slowly along
the coast, I may take the opportunity of showing
how ably her trail was discovered by Capt. Maguire
in 1852-3, and by what a faint clue he ascertained
the fact of both "Investigator" and "Enterprise"
having in successive years been seen by these same
savages.

It will be remembered that Captain Maguire, in
the " Plover" dep&t-ship, succeeded in reaching a
more advanced wintering place than Captain Moore
had ever been able to attain, and in so doing he
arrived at the haunts of the natives seen by Captain
M'Clure.

NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN MACtUIRE.

Captain Maguire's admirable narrative, which I
have given in the Appendix, is one of the most in-
teresting that has been written upon a winter in the
ice ; it describes his arrival amongst the Esquimaux,
and his preparations for winter; their thievish
propensities ; his difficulties and noble forbearance.
" One day," to use his own words, " returning
across the bay to the ship, we were accompanied
by a young man and a boy, who talked a great deal
more than we could understand ; but the former, in
explaining to us the sort of tobacco that had been
given him on board a ship, twisted his fingers to-
gether so as to describe American twi&c or negro-head.
This led us to believe that the vessel where he had
obtained it might have been the 'Investigator'
or ' Enterprise'* when they were leaving the ice

this last season The two men willingly

accompanied us on board, and I was glad to avail
myself of Lieutenant Vernon's knowledge of the
language to sift the story more thoroughly. He
allowed them most patiently to describe all they

* Ships generally carry tobacco in the leaf for the use of
their crews ; but in 1850 manufactured tobacco was adopted
in Arctic discovery ships, to economise stowage ; and Caven-
dish, or flat compressed slabs ; or fiegro-head, or twisted sticks,
were supplied by the Admiralty to Captains CoUinson and
Austin's expedition.

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68 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

had seen, in their own way, and eventually ascer-
tained that the ship they had been on board of had
diagonal* decks, and had Ln. ice-chock f larger than
the * Plover's.' The illuminators in the deck they
remarked were square; these are the points that
seem to have caught their attention, and these were
sufficient to show that they had been on board one
or other of the ships ; but when the captain was
described as wearing spectacles, Captain CoUinson
was at once identified !

" It is worthy of notice," remarks Capt. Maguire,
*' that a particular kind of tobacco, with which we
knew the 'Enterprise' and the 'Investigator' to
have been provided, led to a voluntary description
from the Esquimaux of their having boarded a
ship, thus affording more information in a few
minutes than all our inquiries of the chiefs and
others in several months had done ;" and had not
the expedition of Captain Kellett, by great good
fortune, been sent to Melville Island in 1852, against
the opinion of many, we should, for our information

* The planking of ships' decks is generally in lines parallel
to their keels ; but in Arctic ships the doubling is placed dia-
gonally across the original deck, to give a greater degree of
strength in the event of being nipped by the ice.

t A strengthening piece of wood, which goes round the ship
outside.

APPEARANCE OF TUE AMERICAN COAST.

concerning the "Investigator," have been mainly
indebted to the keenness and skill of Capt. Maguire,
and the observation of a savage upon the pecu-
liarity of her tobacco. By this means we attained
the certainty of her having passed Point Pitt.

To rcturii to the voyage of the " Investigator."
The 9th of August was passed in working against
an adverse wind, through very narrow and intricate
lanes of water, the ship seldom more than five
minutes upon one tack, and so close to the land as
to allow the natives to be constantly visiting it,
and to ensure a close and careful search for any
signs of Franklin's crews having passed.

The coast of America in this neighbourhood is
described as one vast plain ; the soil as a dark blue
clay, without a stone or elevation to break its
strange monotony. From the beach the eye
ranges over an immense green flat, variegated
with moss, grass, and flowers, and broken here
and there by fine sheets of fresh water. Lai*ge
herds of reindeer were seen by the "Investigator,"
and the whole landscape was strangely novel to
our navigators, and totally unexpected in the near
neighbourhood of a sea of eternal ice. The bottom
of the sea partook of the level nature of the land,

70 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

and the soundings were wonderfully regular, en-
abling the "Investigator" to work along in spite
of flying mists, by alternately standing into three
fathoms water and off to six or seven, where they
generally found the edge of the heavier ice brought
up and aground ; its enormous thickness may be
best estimated by considering that to be aground
in seven fathoms water the floes must have ranged
from thirty-jive to forty feet in depth, and th's, of
course, being the outer edge of the pack, was
lighter than the rest. In vain, over this vast wild
scene of ice, did the aching eyes of the " Investi-
gator's" crew look for one glimmer of a water sky.
The natives, whenever they were questioned by
Mr. Mierching, told the same tale. They knew of
no lands north of them, for it was not possible
in their seal-skin kyacks to go far. Sometimes
they had been up lanes of water, which formed in
the ice, to the North, but never had they been able to
advance more than a day and a half's journey (or
thirty miles), and this only under the most favour-
able circumstances. They then came to ice which
forbade all further progress. There were, besides,
no seals to be seen, and these form, of course, their
only inducement for such perilous voyages. This

" investigator" contends with the ice.

great ice, which the ''Investigator" had afterwards
to battle with, appalled even a race whose lives
were spent in its neighbourhood.

As they approached the vicinity of the Colville
River, its influence became plainly perceptible, in
rendering the water brackish and muddy.

Water-fowl, such as the common and King Eider
duck, were very numerous, especially in Harrison
Bay. ^

The current hitherto, since rounding Point Bar-
row, was found to be at the rate of eighteen miles a
day in an east by north direction, and it, as well as
the smoothness of the narrow lane of water, enabled
the " Investigator" to work to windward between
thirty and forty miles a day,— a rapid progress for
her. Every precaution that the invention or inge-
nuity of individuals could devise was adopted to
ensure, that the fact of the ship having advanced
so far, should be made known to those who n light
hereafter communicate with the natives in the
neighbourhood. The name of the ship was
stamped upon the knives, and cut with a dia-
mond upon the looking-glasses that were given
away ; and Captain M'Clure, by way of preventing
the people from obliterating the name from the
knife-blades by sharpening or polishing them, told

Win

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72 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

them that the letters there engraved would be a
charm to make the hunter fortunate so long as
they remained, — one of Dr. Paley's justifiable fibs,
that in such a case everyone will allow to have
been pardonable.

The temperature of the air and sea water was,
on the 11th of August, and had been for some
days, strikingly equable. The former ranged about
34°-|-Fah. in the shade, and the latter 33°-f Fah. ;
this may be regarded as the height of summer in
Harrison Bay, out of which they had just worked.
They reached Jones' Island in lat. 70° 33' N.,
and long. ISO'' 16' W. of Greenwich; and, as they
approached it, the officer of the watch reported a
spar erected as if for a signal, and considerable
anxiety was felt until Mr. Court went to examine
it, and reported it to be merely a piece of drift-
wood forced into that position by the pressure
of the ice. The beaches here were found strewed
with drift-wood, and one spar was observed which
was as large as the ''Investigator's" main-mast.
The centre of Jones' Island was one great swamp,
the breeding-place of large flocks of wild-fowl.

On this forenoon they were visited by two baidars,
containing twenty-four natives ; and it is curious
that from the chief having in his possession an old

" investigator" visited by two baidars. 73

musket with the date, " 1840, Barnet," marked on
the lock, we are able to trace the fact that this man
and his people hunt over the ground from Point
Barrow, thus far to the eastward : for it was this
very man with whom Capt. Maguire had such
difficulty, as he mentions in his iiarrative (given in
the Appendix), and there is little doubt that it was
he who headed the attack on Lieut. PuUen in 1849.
However, he was civil enough now, and both ho
and his compatriots made a most favourable im-
pression on Capt. M'Clure. " The size of the
vessel," he says, " and particularly that of the large
handkerchiefs, the sails, excited their admiration ;
the whale-boats, as coming more within the ^rasp
of their conception, were much admired ; and they
expressed curiosity to know where trees fit to make
such boats out of, grew, believing, as they did, that
they were in one piece, and merely hollowed out."
They readily parted with whatever fish and wild-
fowl they had, in barter for tobacco, and ofix3red, if
Capt. M'Clure would stay, to bring abundance of
venison, which they had in store upon the main.
The currency of this region is tobacco, and Capt.
M'Clure became his own Master of the Mint, by
cutting the sticks into pieces about three inches
long, and paying with them as he thought just. An

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74 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAGE.

ttinusing instance was noticed on this occasion of
the cunning of these savages. One of them having
observed that every fish was paid for by one piece
of tobacco, with a view of increasing his profits
cut his fish into pieces, and with barefaced assurance
proposed that he should be paid the same amount
of tobacco for each portion that he had been paid
for the whole. The joke afforded great amusement
amongst the crew of the " Investigator," and the
fellow himself seemed to enter into the fun when
he found his ruse unsuccessful. Another party of
natives, in the course of the same day, succeeded
in obtaining an interview from the " Investigator,"
by hanging out the rather original ensign of a pair
of seal-skin trousers from the top of a pole. After
exchanging the usual signs of peace, by holding up
hands on either side, and by a general chorus of
Timouh ! or Peace, the more affectionate salutation
of rubbing noses was gone through, and cheerfully
too, for these Esquimaux, wonderful to state, hap-
pened to be, this time, pleasantly clean. Through
the aid of Mr. Mierching, the natives informed the
Investigators that they had never before seen a
European, and they promised to take care of any
who should ever come that way. The people barter
their furs with the natives westward of them for

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A11TICLE8 FANCIED BY AN ESQUIMAUX LADY. 75

Russian products ; but, remote as the} arc, few
articles ever reach thera, for even a knife was an
object of the greatest possible delight and wonder.
Their summer residence and hunting-grounds were
on the sterile islands lying off the coast; their
winter lodges were a short distance inland upon the
main. The tendency to theft was the prevailing
vice among them, as usual with all savages who for
the first time see such incalculable wealth, in the
shape of wood and iron, thrown almost into their
possession ; and the s^me may be said of all the
tribes the" Investigator" fell in with along this coast.
Even after receiving the most lavish supply of
presents, and when apparently unable to express
all their delight and gratitude, the temptation of
any loose article was too great for their honesty.
Nothing ever was " too hot or too heavy " for them.
On the 12th, for instance, whilst every kindness
was being shown to a party of men and women, one
of the ladies contrived to secrete under her ample
proportions a couple of iron winch-handles and a
small ice-anchor : she settled over them like a hen
over a nest of eggs, but the ends of one of the
handles peeped out, and a lynx-eyed corporal of
Marines detected what would, in those regions,
have been a serious loss. The fair delinquent, when

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7G DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

taxed with the ofFcnco, and upbraided in that rougli
but energetic hinguagc which seamen believe must
be understood from pole to pole, pointed at her
husband, and evinced a wish that he should share
in the responsibility. Of course galU ntry was at
a high pitch amongst a crew who had left all
womankind behind them so many months since, and
might shortly again do so for a length of time
painful to contemplate ; but it is amusing, in reading
over the journals of the officers, on the same page
with the above anecdote, to find such a passage as
the following: — " These children of nature, inhabi-
tants of one of her most desolate regions, appeared
free from vice ! and evinced the liveliest marks of
gratitude for the trifling presents we made them ! "
How much such amiable forbearance, even in the
passing of judgment upon these creatures, tells us
of the tender-heartedness of this body of resolute
men ! They found a pleasure even in communi-
cating with the veriest savages on earth as a re-
lief to the monotony of the voyage, and probably
the anticipation of success already threw its sun-
shine over everything they saw.

These interviews with the natives formed now
the only breaks to the daily routine, beyond the
general satisfaction felt, when, every day at noon.

kiAZARDOUS AND DIFFICULT NAVIGATION.

on,

the master reported so many more miles achieved
to the eastward.

On August 14th, the " Investigator" had reached
long. 148*' 17' W., and became much hampered
amongst the low, and, for a ship in thick weather,
dangerous islands which line the coast in this
neighbourhood. They had now passed the Keturn
Reef of Sir John Franklin, the spot from whence he
bore up, in 1826, after his unsuccessful attempt to
reach Behring'a Straits from the Mackenzie River ;
and they might be said to be ncaring the delta of
that great stream.

The navigation, always most anxious work for
the responsible officers, now became, if possible, still
more so. Hazardous shoals were in some places
hidden by floes which had run over them ; in others,
the soundings altered so abruptly as to deceive the
most careful. Sudden and dense fogs, with change-
able and sometimes rapid currents, all tended to
give the commander and master every cause to be
watchful. The shoals lining this American Tendra
are of the same character, Capt. M'Clure assures
us, as those at the mouths of many large rivers in
various parts of the world, and which are especially
remarked by Wrangel as lying off the mouths of
the great Asiatic streams that debouch into the

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78 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Arctic Sea. They are composed purely of drift-
wood and the alluvial deposits of neighbouring
rivers, A mass of the former takes the ground, or
becomes fixed by some accident, in three or four
fathoms water ; the current soon feels the impedi-
ment, and begins to deposit, in and around the
nucleus, matter that forms a shoal ; the shoal grows
rapidly, more drift-wood grounds, more sediment
is deposited, and even within the lifetime of a man,
as one Esquimaux assured Mr. Mierching, an
island rises from the bottom of the sea.

After one or two narrow escapes on the 14th
of August, the " Investigator " found herself quite
beset with these shoals ; and at last, in trying to
escape through a narrow three-fathom channel, she
unfortunately took the ground ; a press of can-
vass was at first carried, in the hope of dragging
her through it, but that proved to be hopeless ; a
kedge-anchor was next laid out, but it, as well as
a stream one and chain, failed to heave the vessel
afloat. No time was now ^o be lost ; the boats
were got out, all the deck-load of provisions em-
bark d in them, some tons of fresh water were started
from tho tanks in her hold, the anchors lowered
into cutters, and then, on a fresh attempt, the
^* Investigator " was got afloat, after being aground

SERIOUS LOSS OF PROVISIONS.

for five hours. Unfortunately, the ship being obliged
to carry canvass to get into deep water, one of the
boats laden with provisions capsized whilst in tow,
and eleven casks of salt-meat were lost — a real
calamity to men under their circumstances.

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CHAP. VII.

;'-"}

A Thunder-storm — Slow Progress. — Signs of the near
Approach of Winter. — Going ahead again.— The Ship runs
into a Trap in the Main Pack. — Works out again. —
Commander Pullen and a Boat's Crew pass without being
seen. — Land at Point Warren. — Hostile Reception. —
Reconciliation.

The loth of August was a lost day ; and, entangled
by shoals and ice, the vessel had to anchor off
Yarborough Inlet, to avoid again getting ashore.
In the evening came a westerly ■• dnd, and with it
a hope of release from the dispersing of the ice,
which shut up all the navigable chgnneLj; but it
was attended by a phenomenon rarely ' witnessed
by an Arctic navigator — namely, a thunder-storm.
" The west wind," writes Captain M'Clure,
" was ushered in with rain, and :thvnder and
lightning. The two latter I never before witnessed
in such a latitude (70" N.). The thermometer
rose to 45''-f Fahrenheit, and the air was quite
sultry, with dark heavy clouds rising overhead,
resemblinff those seen in a thunder-storm in our

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SLOW PROGRESS.

o^vIl country. The packed ice to-day/* he con-
tinues, " as far as the eye can reach, appears solid
and heavy, without a drop of water discernible.
The refraction has been considerable, giving to the
edge of the pack the appearance of a continuous line
of chalk cliffs, from forty to fifty feet in height.
From the light shady tint which in different parts
of the pack is distinctly visible, I should be inclined
to think that there may be many of the same kind
of islands as those we have met with, extending
to the northward, and impeding the progress of
the ice, thereby keeping this sea eternally frozen."

Scarcely any progress could be made on the 16th
or 17th, though the men worked hftrd and inces-
santly,— now towing, now warping, and, when
any wind served, pressing ""he old craft to her work
until the bells in the ship rang again with the con-
cussion of her bows against the floating masses
of ice.

An attempt to catch fish with the seine upon
one of the shoals, by a party of volunteers, proved
abortive, nothing but drift-wood repaying them
for their industry; and on the night of the 17th
the surface of the sea was seen, for the first time
this season, to have a coating of ice formed over it.
The fact was observed and remarked upon by all :

:* 'i

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82 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

it told of the near approach of winter, with all its
disagreeables, and caused some, who had limited
their aspirations for this year to the Mackenzie
River, to question if they should even reach 30 far.

On the 18th, the "Investigator" made some
progress, and passed Flaxman's Island. She was
now fairly about to cross the large angle formed
by the mouth of the Mackenzie River ; and, affected
no doubt by its influence, the main packed ice was
found more slack and more remote from the coast.

Tempted by what seemed a sea of water, the
" Investigator" ran off, steering a N.E. course for
Banks Land; a slight pitching motion, the first
they had felt for some time, leading to the hope
of large water. The rapid deepening of the sea,
too, during the first watch, from nine to thirty-two
fathoms, likewise strengthened their hopes; and
darkness and a thick fog hid the reality from their
eyes.

August the 19th came, with a fresh westerly
breeze, snow squalls, and mist; and in happy
ignorance they rattled on, sighting every now and
then what looked like the pack edge, or tumbling
into bights of ice, where there was no way out but
by returning for a while upon their footsteps.
At noon they sounded in 195 fathoms without
bottom; and shortly afterwards the disagreeable

((

INVESTIGATOR IN A TRAP.

1 t

fact of the " Investigator " having run into a trap
in the main pack pressed itself on the mind of the
captain. Ice, of stupendous thickness, and in
extensive floes, some seven or eight miles in extent,
were seen on either hand; the surface of it not
flat, such as we see it in Bafiin's Strait and the
adjacent seas, but rugged with the accumulated
snow, frost, and thaws of centuries. Ninety miles
had they run into a blind lead in this dangerous
ice ; and if the wind should shift and the ice close,
the position of the ship would be critical indeed.
Captain M'Clure now hauled to the southward,
working against the wind, which freshened and
forced him at one time to carry double-reefed
topsails. ! '

Next day a distant view of the Buckland Moun-
tains was obtained, and the ship had eventually to
retrace her steps seventy miles to the southward,
before she was safe from the jaws of the pack, —
an escape which all were truly grateful for, there
being no two opinions in the ship as to what would
have been their fate had the ice closed upon them.

On the 21st August, che sea was sufl^ciently clear
within the pack to allow the "Investigator" to
steer a course outside the Pelly Islands, which lie

off" the mouth of the Mackenzie liiver, and fifty

84 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

miles distant from the mainland. At 10 a.m. the
ship passed distinctly athwart the stream of the
Mackenzie, overrunning the sea water. The tem-
perature of the water rose from 28°+ to 3l>°+
Fahrenheit. The colour of it was as muddy as the
Thames at Woolwich, and the taste only slightly
brackish. The depth of water being but four
fathoms warned Captain M'Clure that he must not
attempt to approach the mainland any closer,
anxious as he was to do so.

Little did Captain M'Clure or his gallant com-
panions imagine that on that 22nd August the
boat's crew of Commander PuUen was only a few
miles off, on their return homeward from a visit to
Cape Bathurst; but such are the unavoidable
accidents of Arctic service. The two following
extracts from Captain M'Clure and Lieut. PuUen's
journals will, by a reference to the chart, show
how near they were to each other.

M'Clure on the 22nd, p.m., and going eastward,
observes Richard's Island bearing S.E. by E. J E.
toN.N.E.JE.

• On the 23rd August, in the morning, Lieut.
Pullen was steering for Richard's Island, and in
the course of the day he coasted along its northern
shore, on his way to the Mackenzie River. Can a

'I M

LIEUT. PULLEN PASSES UNSEEN.

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2 ^*

more convincing proof be given of the difficulty of
meeting in Polar seas? For, be it remembered,
both officers knew of the importance attached to
communication between parties employed upon
such service; and therefore certainly did their
best to pass nothing unseen. Perhaps, however,
it was as well for the future fame of the British
navy, that Captain M'Clure did not meet Lieut.
Pullen ; as the latter's unfavourable report of what
an ice-encumbered sea he had seen from Cape
Bathurst might have induced Captain M'Clure to
adopt some other course instead of the one he did.

After passing the Pelly Islands, whales were
again seen for the fir.'t time since they left Point
Barrow — the ice-master, however, said they were
small, and not worth much to fishermen, either in
bone or oil.

On the 24th August, observing some native huts
near Point Warren on the eastern shore of the Mac-
kenzie, the ship hauled in for them, and Captain
M'Clure landed with the hope of inducing some of
the natives to carry to the Hudson Bay Company's
posts, intelligence of his having passed ; for the
voyagers were now fairly within the limits of a
region whereon, it was to be expected, the civilising
influence of that wealthy company of monopolisers

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86 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

might be perceptible. Hitherto, they had been
coasting along Russian America ; but now British
America had been entered upon.

But the reception of the Investigators by their
Esquimaux fellow-subjects of Queen Victoria de-
noted anything but confidence in white men. Two
of them yelled and shouted, waving a knife in de-
claration of war, and threatening even with bow
and arrow. Every method which had hitherto
been considered of avail in propitiating the good-
will of Esquimaux, was made in vain, until at last
Mr. Mierching, attired as one of themselves, suc-
ceeded in assuring them of the good intentions of
their visitors, and that they neither contemplated
robbing nor murdering them, — a pleasant contin-
gency which they evidently considered likely to arise
on a visit from " Kabloonas, " or white men. Confi-
dence had only just been established, when suddenly
a couple of muskets were espied in the hands of the
boat's crew, and thereupon all the fury of the new
acquaintances burst out afresh ; nothing appeased
them until the muskets were sent back to the boats.
It appeared that, when the vessel was first seen in
the morning, all the natives had decamped with
their baidars and household gods, leaving only
the chief and his son, who hud bravely refused

NATIVES UOSTILE. — RECONCILIATION.

to fly, and remained to defend a sick youth and
the encampment. This invalid soon made his ap-
pearance with his mother; and Dr. Armstrong
kindly sought to give the poor creature such aid as
was in his power ; but it was too late, his foot was
evidently in an a^Vanced state of mortification, and
death must have soon come to put him out of his
misery.

Through the interpreter they learnt that this
tribe was at war with its neighbours, and had no
communication with the Indians of the Mackenzie
River. Their barter or trade was carried on, after
the sea froze over, by crossing to the western shore,
and meeting the natives seen by the Investigators
on her road hither. The chief recognised the name
of one of the petty chiefs Mr. Mierching had met,
and said, with some degree of pride, "Ah, he was a
great chief! He should," he added, "see Attauwoo
very soon," and ho had a quantity of blubber and
whalebone to barter with the western people, for
his people had killed three whales in the present
season. When asked why they did not trade
with the white men up the big river, the reply
was, they had given the Indians a water which
had killed a great many of them and made others
foolish, and they did not want to have any of it !

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88 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTU-WEST PASSAGE.

• i

'111' .1

From this tribe Captain M'Clure heard of two
boats having been to Cape Warren from the west-
ward, and having returned again ; and he was for
some time rather puzzled at a story they told him,
of a white man having been killed and buried in
this neighbourhood. To the inquiry of when it
had taken place, all that could be learnt was, that
" it might have been last year, or perhaps when
the narrator was a child " ! an Esquimaux mode of
dealing with dates not a little perplexing.* .

Although the natives offered to show where this
body was interred, it was not until next day that
circumstances admitted of an examination being
.'lade in the locality pointed out ; and then it was
without any success, although the ruined remains
of a couple of drift-wood huts, so well described
by Sir John Richardson in his journey through
Prince Rupert's Land, were there to excite
curiosity and afford grounds for conjecture.

* There is every reason to believe that this story referred to
the death and burial of a man near this place, in one of Sir John
Richardson's early journeys from the Mackenzie to the Copper-
mine River. Captain M'Clure, not having been supplied with
the needful books on Arctic Discovery, was not aware of this
circumstance.

I 1

uoh

CHAP. VIII.

Approach to Cape Bathurst. — Whale-fishing of tho Natives.

— Celebration of their Victories over tho Leviathan-
Esquimaux Charmers. — The Joys of Cape Bathurst.—
The Land of the White Bear. — An Esquimaux Swindler.

— Mode of settling Quarrels. — Judicious Missionaries de-
sirable for these People. — Admirable Qualifications of Mr.
Mierching.

The 26th and 27th of August, 1850, were spent in
making the best of their way from Cape Warren to
Port Dalhousie, the vessel being kept as near to
the land as the soundings would admit of, which
was not nearer than two miles. Captain M'Clure
would have sent a boat to render the search more
perfect; but the incessant mists and variable
weather made it hardly prudent to detach any of
the men, with the possibility of their being misled.
The extent of open water off the land seemed to
increase as they approached Cape Bathurst; but
the floes that were found floating about in it were
of great magnitude, and gave much trouble oc-
casionally in keeping the ship clear of them. The
nights were closing perceptibly ; and from per-

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00 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTII-WEST PASSAGE.

pctual day they had now tliree hours of perfect
darkness, during which time guns and rockets
were occasionally fired, in case any of Frankhn's
expedition, or the " Enterprise," might be near.
i\i'riving off the western entrance of Liverpool
Bay, Captain M'Clure was very anxious to run
into it, in order that he might form an idea of its
fitness for winter quarters ; the probable necessity
for which, with due forethought, he felt it right to
keep in mind. For as yet, along the whole extent
of the American coast that he had traversed since
leaving Behring's Strait, not a harbour had been
found. The shallow and intricate navigation of
the mouth of the Mackenzie River forbade his
thinking of bearing up for it at any time ; and
he saw full well that to winter off such a coast,
with the possibility of the whole weight of the
northern ice setting down on it during November
and December gales, would be certain destruction.
Liverpool Bay, however, was as shoal as the rest ;
and the " Investigator" pushed on, trusting to Pro-
vidence to find a safe spot when the winter came.
Indeed, some already talked of not wintering at
all ; and the more sanguine pointed out that they
were close upon the longitude of Melville Island, a
place reached by Parry from the opposite direc-

Ari'ROACII TO CAPE HATIIUUST.

tion. Crossing Liverpool I5ay, and seeing several
whales, some large, but the majority small, they
reached Cape IJathurst on the 31st of August.
The depth of water near the land allowed a nearer
approacli by the ship ; and it is generally described
as exhibiting, along the coast, blue clay cliffs about
thirty feet perpendicular, having on their surface a
good depth of rich black mould resembling bog-
earth. A fine plain rolled away into the interior,
rich in hypoborean plants, and abounding in rein-
deer, whilst, apart from whales, there were seen at
several places positive proofs of fish having been
plentiful as well as wild-fowl. At and about
Cape Bathurst, Captain M'Clure made a final
effort to communicate his position to the Hudson
Bay posts, through the Esquimaux, who are there
particularly numerous.

Aided by IVIr. Mierching as interpreter, and by
the favourable impression which Sir John Richard-
son's visit to them in 1848 had made, the intercourse
with this tribe, numbering three hundred souls,
was extremely interesting. Even a few women
who first met the Investigators showed no signs of
mistrust, but cordially welcomed them, and volun-
teered to show the way to their companions. Cap-
tain M'Clure describes them as an extremely

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92 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE.

\ \

fine-looking body of men and women ; many of
the latter indeed were, according to his account,
exceedingly pretty. Hcal+hy, well fed, and well
clothed, they seemed to lack nothing ; and their
intelligence, courage, and good-natured confidence
in the men and officers won everybody's good-will.

The chief promised to convey the letter to a
tribe that communicated with our posts on the
" Big River ; " they themselves bartering with an
intervening race, probably Louchoux Indians.

As far as could be gleaned, they would pro-
ceed south for the latter purpose in about three
weeks' time, leaving only a few men and most of
the women to winter at Cape Bathurst. Whaling
was at present their object ; and their mode of
killing those leviathans was primitive enough.

An Oomaiak, or women's boat, is manned by ladies,
having as harpooner a chosen man of the tribe ;
and a shoal of small fry, in the form of Kyacks, or
single-men canoes, are in attendance. The har-
pooner singles out a fish, and drives into its flesh
this weapon, to which an inflated seal-skin is
attached by means of a walrus-hide thong. The
wounded fish is then incessantly harassed by the
men in the kyacks with weapons of a similar de-
scription, a number of which, when attached to the

ESQUIMAUX ORDER OF MERIT.

whale, baffle its efforts to escape, and wear out its
strength, mtil, in the course of a day, the whale
dies from sheer exhaustion and loss of blood.

The harpooner, after a successful day's sport, is
a very great personage, and invariably decorated
with the Esquimaux order of the Blue Ribbon ;
that is, he has a blue line drawn across his face
over the bridge of his nose. This is the highest
honour known U the heroes of Cape Bathurst ; but
to it is attached also the happy privilege of the
decorated individual being allowed to take unto
himself a second wife. Great orgies occur upon
such occasions ; and, if all tales be true, it is to be
feared that morality is at rather a low ebb in these
latitudes, and that Byron's theory concerning cold
climates and chastity is not always supported by
fact. These " children of nature " stole, of course,
when the chance offered, like their brethren farther
west; and the thieves were generally of the fair
sex : it appeared to be a sort of tax which they
levied upon the amused, and, in some cases,
admiring seamen. When they came to pay a visit
to the ship, they were soon quite at their ease,
and having carried up their light canoes and depo-
sited them on deck, they ranged about full of
astonishment and curiosity ; the pictures and look-

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94 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

ing-glasses in the officers' cabins being especial
objects of admiration. They then had a dance Avith
the crew, and invited them ashore ; and charming
young ladies, with brightest of eyes and white=^>t of
teeth, assured their admirers that all the night
of the 31st of August they had been expected.
Venison had been roasted, whale stewed, and other
racy and tempting delicacies prepared. We have
been assured that some of the men, in the solitudes
of Banks Land, often looked back to this oasis of
Cape Bathurst with a sigh, and would have ex-
changed, for the certainty of existence there, the
uncertain prospect of a return to Europe. Cape
Bathurst was to the " Investigator," in her long
voyage, what Otaheite was in the olden day to our
early circumnavigators. The skill in delineating
the outlines of the coast, or chart-drawing, which
has been so often mentioned by navigators as ex-
isting amongst the Esquimaux, was really found
here; but nothing could be learnt of what lay
to the North. They did not know whether it was
sea or not ; but they said, pointing to it with an
expression of anxiety, *' That is the Land of the
White Bear ! " They appeared to be much alarmed,
too, when the ship for a time stood off towards it.
The bears they described as coming from it were said

LAND OF THE WHITE BEAR.

to be very fierce and dangerous ; and one of the
women, with tears in her eyes, told how lately one of
those brutes had carried off her child when playing
on the beach at a short distance from her. Even
those whom superior weapons rendered fearless of
bears, could not but enter into the feelings of super-
stitious awe, with which the Esquimaux pointed at
that vast and mysterious sea of ice, which lay away
to the north-west ; a sea which ship could not
sail through, nor man traverse. " Rightly," says
Captain M'Clure, " did they call it the Land of the
White Bear." A constant traffic in the exchange
of garments went on between the seamen and officers
on the one side and the natives on the other ; but
one individual, more knowing than the rest, hit
upon an ingenious plan to obtain clothing without
giving a quid pro quo. He went to several indivi-
duals of the " Investigator's " company, commencing
with the commander, and pretended to be suffering
from excessive cold. His teeth chattered and his
whole frame shook so, that compassion was imme-
diately aroused, and a Guernsey frock given him;
then he felt better, but, watching an opportunity,
the rogue would slip it off, stow it away in
his kyack, and then return to pigeori a fresh hand.
At last, however, an old quarter-master, who had

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96 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE,

been watching him with some degree of amusement,
flew into a passion at the fellow trying the
same trick on with him, called him " a Jew^^ and
threatened to knock his head off, accompanying his
threat with a demonstration from a large horny
jfist, which the Esquimaux understood better than
the profuse volley of adjectives that roll ad out
at the same time over the quarter-master's quid.

With regard to the story told of a white man
beiag buried at Cape AYarren, they merely said
they knew nothing of it, or of the natives residing
there; indeed, they were at variance with them.
They appeared to have no idea of any religious
ceremonies, and knew of no Supreme Being. They
were generally happy, and agreed well together in
their tribe ; and when any quarrel did occur, they
only packed up their goods and quitted the com-
munity, settling somewhere else on the coast.

If a mortal grudge should arise, a thing of
rare occurrence, the aggrieved party, concealing
his passion, waited quietly for an opportunity of
revenge; and, when it offered, he killed his enemy.
No retaliation took place at the time ; but some
one of the murderer's family eventually atoned
for the deed, the actual perpetrator, however, often
escaping. Such was the principal information

JUDICIOUS MISSIONARIES NEEDED.

gleaned from these people. A despatch was left
with them, which has not yet come to hand ; but
they promised to be kind to any strangers, "white
men," who might come amongst them ; a promise
that they appeared likely to keep from interested,
if not from better motives.

No apology need be given for relating what
little is known of these interesting arctic fisher-
men— cut off from civilisation by a dreary wilder-
ness but seldom traversed — ^hemmed in by a brutal
and blood-thirsty race which not all the romantic
fiction of a Fennimore Cooper can redeem from
the curse of all Christian men, and wandering
along the farthest shores of a territory farmed to a
company of furriers (the Hudson's Bay Company)
whose dividends depend upon the race of beasts
being multiplied rather than that of men. We
shall probably not hear much more of these poor
creatures now that, for a while at least, there is a
lull in arctic exploration; and we cannot take
leave of them without echoing a wish continually
expressed throughout Captain M'Clure's Journal: —
" Would that some practically Christian body, such
as the Moravian Mission, could send a few of their
brethren amongst the tribes of Esquimaux who
wander along the Polar Sea, to carry to them the

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98 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

arts and advantages of civilised life, and trust to
God, in his own good time, showing them the way
of eternal life." Such men as Mr. Mierching
would in a few years perfectly revolutirmise" this
docile and intelligent race. He was, as I have said,
a native of Saxony, and had for many years been
a missionary in Labrador. Nothing came amiss
to this valuable person ; he could make a pair of
shoes, or crochet an antimacassar, build a house of
mud or wood, — or sing a song and play the guitar.
He was strong in frame, and cheerful and contented
under all circumstances, perhaps partly because he
had always been accustomed to a life of trial.
Such a man as this is worth a hundred of the
pretenders to piety who have fallen, like locusts, on
the loaves and fishes of many of the races of un-
civilised man, under the plea of " plucking brands
from the burning ! "

\ I

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CHAP. IX.

Cape Bathurst left. — Fires observed on Shore — prove to be
Volcanoes. — Cape Parry reached. — New Land discovered.
— Possession taken in the Queen's Name. — The "Inves-
tigator" proceeds on a North-easterly Course. — Barrow's
Strait only Sixty Miles further. — Captain M'Clure's
Journal.

September has come. The "Investigator" is push-
ing ahead, the winds are light as they ever have
been since leaving Behring's Strait, except for a
few hours when she was entangled in the pack off
the Mackenzie River.

From the 1st to the 5th the vessel was round-
ing the bay formed by Capes Bathurst and Parry ;
whales were very numerous, no less than fifteen
being seen at one time, although none of a large
size. The water was deep, eighty-four fathoms
(mud) being obtained, only four miles off shore,
when at the mouth of the Horton River. On the
4th large fires were seen on shore, and at first
supposed to be lighted by the natives to attract
attention. As, however, Mr. Mierching questioned
such extravagance in fuel being committed by

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100 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Esquimaux, on the next day (Sept. 5th), when it
happened to be cahn with rain. Lieutenant Gurney
Cress well, Doctor Armstrong, and some others were
sent to examine the spot.

The fires proved to be volcanic, and issued, in
smoke strongly impregnated with sulphur, from
fifteen diffi'rent cone-like apertures resembling
lirae-kilns. Dr. Armstrong collected a considerable
quantity of specimens of earths and minerals, in
which the place was rich. The general appearance
of the land was flat, though rising in places to an
elevation of 300 ft. to 500 ft., and intersected with
ravines, exhibiting blue clay. The volcanoes were
about fifty feet above water, and situated on an old
land-slip, not unlike the undercliiF of the Isle of
Wight ; some pools of water near these volcanic
cones were strongly impregnated with copperas ;
and altogether the testimony of our voyagers
would lead us to suppose that the subterranean
fires at this spot have a different origin to those
found existing here and there, in about the 56th
parallel of north latitude, on the western side of the
Rocky Mountains, where such fires are generally
imputed to the substratum of coal having caught
fire by spontaneous combustion. • .

On September 6th, 1850, Cape Parry was

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sf W».t)OVltJW OF TW. '^-- 'vVi^rpT T»AK:UOK.

' \-'t. Sill ), uhtn it
'< atciuint tJni'iioy

''^* -■' to b* '"JKfk;* i

liio firos proved to be >oiii.* . r .'*4>uMi, in
f?moke stroffgly ifnpwffnated ^vitl) :m: ^< f frfun
fifteen difFci'GJit rone- like ^'.pcrtntv'g reseniMing
lime-kilnfj. Dr. Annstroup; coUccto'l u coTiaiderabU?
quantity of speciraens of earths and inirerals, m
wlilch the |)l;u'C was ricli. Th«.' gerniral nppc;aninrc'
of the land wi«ft IhA. ♦)j> \ f. tlau^^'w -.wsur-^** to ■•in

ttlxjul f»'\y fett rd>ove water, find situated on aii old
land-sUp. n>'t nnjikf the und^^rcliff ..f (he Islo of
Wight ; iiotnc pools of wutor near those vf^>Ican:f,
cones were strongly impregnated with copperas ;
and altogether flie te»tlnn-';v of oar '■ ""^ers
wo'i*'' '•^<i4 Its io #rt,»i»-|*o*t- >'ji^* 'fe »i«"^4crftyiean

' '?«t origin to rhose
fo« -J -■»'4?i*»g i*;^ ntf^ :h i«\ ni about the 5Gth
pftralki r,.. ^i-.'*^)* ktitude, on the western fiidt) of the

. i. . ■\f(;mj>j^.>,3i|^ wlvjro such Ih-'.M .irt-. ^jijiic rally
to the «• I «.^i4 i**viiig caught

lire ly ons «,

On Si-fn (Hi», i^ .H^ jii^^^ji,^ l^arry was

'a; I

III.

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li!

CAPE I'AURY REACHED,

101

reached, while a fresh breeze waa blowing, but
with gloomy overcast weather, and the pack ex-
tending cast and west in a close and heavy body,
about three miles oflf shore. About noon, the sky
lifted a little to the northward, and showed
high bold land, lying off to north-east, the ex-
tremes of its bearing N. by E. and E. N. E. true. It
was a first discovery ; for hitherto the chart had
been a blank in that quarter. This was satisfactory
in more ways than one, for it was upon the bearing
of Melville Island, and Captain M'Clure knew full
well the advantage, and the prospect of reaching it,
that was now held out, if the land which he saw
was an extensive one.

Land-water had already brought him nearly
half-way to Baffin's Bay; next season, if not
in this, land-water would enable him to achieve
the rest !

A freshening north-east breeze and clear weather,
with more open water, enabled the gallant " Inves-
tigator " to stretch off from the American continent
this night ; and the water became more free from
ice as they reached under the weather and newly-
discovered land ; and next day, 7th Sept., at 9.30
A.M. Captain M'Clure landed to take possession of
this addition to the realms of his Royal Mistress. A

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102 DISCOVEBf OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

■ If *■ -v

■m

churlish anonymous writer has blamed him for this ;
but I think few men would have hesitated to do
the same under similar circumstances. The devo-
tion and enterprise, which had brought that
company of sixty British seamen so far, was
alloyed by no excitement of vanity ; there were
none but themselves in these wild solitudes to re-
echo their cheers ; and the loyalty with which they
hailed their first addition to Queen Victoria's broad
realms, was as sincere as that which had buoyed
them up in past difficulties, and cheered and invi-
gorated them for future trials. It was not for them
to weigh the value of what they had discovered,
it was enough that they had done their duty ; and
an honest conviction of that fact gladdened officer
and man that day as they stood at the cape which
marked the half-way of their journey. They
might not be the men fated to tell their own tale,
and to reap the reward of their toils ; but come
what might, they trusted that if at some future
day their country should learn how honestly they
had devoted their lives to her glory, she would
not fail to do honour to their memory. Such were
the high and ennobling thoughts which filled the
hearts of the humblest of that little band: well
might their leader feel proud of them, and they of

NEW LAND DISCOVERED.

103

him ; and both may well despise any attempt to
rob them of this honest fame, or sneer at their just
enthusiasm. They christened the I^and " Baring
Island," after the then first Lord of the Admiralty,
Sir Francis Baring, under the supposition, after-
wards found erroneous, that it was not connected
with Banks Land. The headland they were stand-
ing upon is a remarkably striking one, full 1000
feet high, and of a castellated appearance ; this
was appropriately named after Lord Nelson, who,
as a dead hero, has not been sufficiently remem-
bered by modern naval discoverers.

Having a southern aspect, the vegetation, for
this latitude, was somewhat abundant, and the
arctic flora was seen in perfection. Eecent traces
of reindeer and hares were a satisfactory sight to
the Investigators ; and some wild geese were
soaring over head. The ice which was beginning
to make in the pools and on the land had sent the
ducks to milder regions southward ; but that they
came here in large numbers in the summer months
was very evident.

Better than all, too — for who was then going
to contemplate wintering there ? — from a consi-
derable elevation, which as they guessed, embraced
forty miles of horizon to the north-cast, the

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104 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

sea was more open and free from ice. Oh! for
a fair wind ! was the exclamation that burst from
all lips.

The vessel was now worked along to the north-
east, against a moderate east wind, with weather
alternately foggy and fine.

The coast of Baring Land as they advanced,
showed out point after point ; the outline generally
picturesque, and sloping to the sea. Limestone
prevailed in its structure, but as yet covered with a
considerable amount of verdure.

Throughout the 8th September, the " Investi-
gator " advanced as rapidly as her speed on a wind
would admit of, the soundings varying steadily from
nine fathoms to seventy-six fathoms, the bottom a
dark mud, and in places yellow clay. The marked
continuance of the land began now to lead them to
suppose that its connection with Banks Land was
possible ; and when next day, the 9th, after a shift
of wind had enabled the " Investigator " to run
awhile upon her course to the north-east, and land
showed out on the starboard bow, great anxiety
was felt by some, lest they should be running into
some deep ford or inlet without an egress into
Barrow's Strait.

Should this be the case, they would have to

n IS

WITHIN SIXTY MILES OF BARROW'S STRAIT. 105

retrace their steps : but the season for navigation
was now to be told in hours, and there was no time
for hesitation and doubt ; so the land on the star-
board bow was at once declared to be another
island, and named Prince Albert's Land. Their
course lay between them, a~id was shaped ac-
cordingly. The distance between the two lands
was conjectured to be thirty miles ; and at an equal
number of miles from each the " Investigator " held
on her way, in spite of fogs and snow squalls. A
few gulls and seals were seen, and some ducks flying
south, — an unerring signal of the advent of an
arctic winter.

" The soundings in midchannel were about 37
fathoms mud," says Captain M'Clure ; " and on the
evening of the 9th no snow was yet to be seen
lying on the adjacent land. On September 10th
in a fog, the ship fell in with two islands ; and it
was afterwards seen that the strait they were
going up contracted here to only fourteen miles,
and some ice was seen hanging about the western
shore.

"Sept. 9th, 1850. — Albert Land, on the starboard
hand, exhibited, in its interior, ranges of mountains
covered with snow ; but the lower grounds were as
yet free : here and there peaks of a volcanic character

106 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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and outline were seen, but none that appeared active,
and the rocks were mostly limestone, as on the
western shore." Among the islands gulls still
lingered, giving a hope of winter having delayed its
arrival ; and that arrival was now what the voyagers
most fearod. They felt as if they would give all
they held dear in life for another week of summer.
The dangers of the navigation, cold, hunger, and
hardship, — all were forgotten. " Only give us time,"
they said, " and we must make the North-west Pas-
sage." At noon the observations placed the " In-
vestigator " only sixty miles from Barrow's Strait.
" I cannot," writes Captain M'Clure in his private
journal, " describe my anxious feelings. Can it be
possible that this water communicates with Bar-
row's Strait, and shall prove to be the long-sought
North-west Passage ? Can it be that so humble
a creature as I am will be permitted to perform
what has baffled the talented and wise for hundreds
of years ! But all praise be ascribed unto Him who
hath conducted us so far in safety. His ways are
not our ways, or the means that he uses to accom-
plish his ends within our comprehension. The
wisdom of the world is foolishness with Him."

Captain M'Clure, I am sure, need be under no
apprehension that his feelings, and those of his

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CAPTAIN m'CLURE's JOURNAL.

107

gallant supporters, will not be appreciated without
any attempt of mine to detail them. One such
paragraph as that above quoted is enough to show
how well in that hour of joy, as well as in future
ones of anxiety and distress, they both placed their
trust where there could be no disappointment.
An eloquer' tribute to this truly chivalrous de-
pendence upon God and a good cause, has been
furnished by a continental writer.* He says,
after quoting such a paragraph as the above " le
sentiment intime de la Bible si commun aux
Anglais, les suit partout ; il les accompagne dans
toutes les (^preuves, les soutient dans tons les
dangers. Quand le Calife Omar br{ila la biblio-
theque d'Alexandrie, il dit, * si les livres ne contien-
nent que le Goran ils sont inutiles, s'ils contiennent
autre chose, ils sont de trop sur la terre.' Ainsi
les Anglais avec leur Bible, ce livre unique leur
suffit : il contient tout. Et quand on les suit dans
ces courses h^roiques qu'ils font dans les regions in-
explorees, on ne pent s'empecher d'ouvrir avec eux
le livre des livres. Ces intrdpides pionniers, ces
pr($curseur3 de la civilisation qui ouvrent h. I'hu-
manit^ de nouvelles voies, nous apparaissent
comme des Moises qui vont a la conquete de la
terre promise."

* M. Lemoine, in I' Independence Beige.

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108 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

CHAP. X.

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Signs of a rapidly approaching Winter. — Critical Position of
the "Investigator." — Made fast to a Floe. — Safe for the
Present. — Winter begun. — Winter Clothing. — Driven
with the Ice towards Barrow's Strait. — Arduous Toils.—
The " Investigator " reaches her most advanced Position.
— Beset at Last. — Dangerous Agitation in the Ice.— Pre-
parations for Shipwreck. — Sweeping with the Pack against
the Cliffs. — Imminent Peril. — Safe once more. — And
stationary.

The 11th September 1850 came in upon the "Inves-
tigator," and brought with it the first undoubted
signs of winter. The ice, acted upon by a fresh
north-west gale had rolled down the strait and beset
her, its motion being at times appallingly rapid.
The thermometer fell to 21°, or eleven degrees
below freezing point ; and long dark nights added
to the difficulties of navigating in such inclement
weather. Harbour or winter quarters fit to secure
the ship in, there were none in sight ; and if there
had been it would have been out of the question as
yet to retreat upon one whilst Barrow's Strait was
so near at hand.

On the very same day. Captain Austin's expe-
dition, which it will be remembered left England

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CRITICAL POSITION OF THE " INVESTIGATOB." 109

shortly after Captain M'Clure's did, to reach Mel-
ville Island from Baffin's Bay, was overtaken by
similar signs of winter off Griffith's Island, the
position of the two parties (each ignorant of the
other's whereabouts) being about 400 miles in an
E.N.E. and W.S.W. direction; and, strangely
enough, as showing ho.v much the seasons in the
Frigid Zone agree year after year, it was exactly
two years anterior, upon that v^ry day (as Captain
M'Clure remarks in his Journal), that the expedi-
tion of Sir James Ross was frozen in permanently
in Leopold Harbour.

The " Investigator's " position was now most cri-
tical ; for the westerly gales had caught her upon the
eastern and lee shore of Prince of Wales Strait,
and pressed her, together with the ice with which
she was surrounded, down upon that coast. Her
only safeguard from destruction, for some time, was
in holding on, with strong hawsers and stream
chain, to ice-anchors fixed in a heavy floe which,
from drawing more water than the ship, served,
when it grounded, as a natural dock or break- water
for her.

Along the westward side of the strait, the gale
caused n, fine lane of water to be seen, — a tantalising
sight for the imprisoned officers and men ! it served,

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110 DISCC^RY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

however, to feed anticipation, and to prevent their
leader from thinking of winter quarters.

On the 12th September his Journal is to the fol-
lowing effect : — " The temperature of the water has
fallen to 28" Fahr. (freezing point of sea water).
The breeze has freshened to a gale, bringing with
it snow, and sending down large masses of ice upon
us. The pressure is considerable, listing the vessel
several degrees. Fortunately a large floe, which was
fast approaching the vessel, has had its progress
arrested by one extreme of it taking the ground
and the other end locking with a grounded floe
upon our weather beam. It is thus completely
checked, and forms a safe barrier against all fur-
ther pressure. As the rudder was likely to become
damaged, it was unhung and suspended over the
stern. We can now do nothing, being regularly
beset, but await any favourable change of the ice,
which we anxiously look for, knowing that the
navigable season for this year has almost reached
its utmost limit, and that a few hours of clear
water will in all probability solve the long-sought
problem as to the practicability of a North-west
Passage."

The 13th and 14th September brought no change
for the better ; the ice, acted upon by winds, tides.

CRITICAL POSITION OF THE " INVKSTIGATOB," Ul

and curr^nnts, kept in constant m* on outside of the
*' Investigator " and gave rise to illusory prospects
of open water and fair leads. By dint of great
labour and watching for favourable opportunities,
the ship was gradually warped, and hauled about
twelve hundred yards farther off shore and to
windward.

The temperature of the air fell to 10°+ of Fahr.,
or 22° below freezing point ; the surface of the sea,
where free from pack or broken ice, congealed
and froze rapidly ; the land became hidden under
a general covering of snow ; the stern reign of
an arctic winter had begun.

Winter raiment was now generuUy adopted ; and
more than one anxious wish was expressed for
some sheltered cove to heave in sight, wherein the
risk of being drifted with the pack of Prince of
Wales Strait might be avoided.

The likelihood of such an occurrence forced
itself disagreeabl}'' upon the minds of all, who
looked in the direction of the Princess Royal
group, and saw those dark cliffs ripping up the
ice which rolled down upon them. If, upon the
other hand, enchained as the ship was in the pack,
she should touch the ground before the adjacent
moving body of ice did, it would roll over them,

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112 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

entailing certain destruction of the ship, and at
such a season certainly a great loss of life.

The appearance of a few of the hardier gulls of
those regions cheered the men a little; and the
captain remarks that the appearance of these birds
was a good omen, which he believed to indicate
water somewhere near him ; and yet he does not
deny that every day now lost by the ship being
beset added to his intense anxiety. Should he
winter in the pack, and even escape shipwreck,
he could not tell where he might be drifted to in
the coming winter.

On September the 15th, the wind veered a little
more to the southward, setting up the strait, and
the ice began to drive towards Barrow's Strait,
opening a little at the same time. All hands were
set to work, of course, to reach the largest spaces of
water in sight ; and this labour was pursued even
during the night, the men in the dark leaping and
carrying the hawsers from piece to piece of ice,
trusting to its white glimmer to see their road and
secure a footing. It was satisfactory to find them-
selves drifting along in a churning sea of ice,
amid darkness and snow storm, so that it was to
the north-east; but the sudden variations of the
soundings which the men in the chains called out.

MOST ADVANCED POSITION REACHED.

113

sometimes as little as five fathoms water only, and
then off again to twenty, reminded them of how
ptirilous was the course they were pursuing.

On the 16th September, they still made slow
progress towards Barrow's Strait, and on the 1 7th
September, 1850, reached their most advanced
position in lat. 73° 10' N., and long. 117° 10' W.
about thirty miles from the waters of that series
of straits which, under the names of Melville,
Barrow, and Lancaster, communicate with Baffin's
Bay. At this tantalising distance, the ship ceased
to drift, and the ice appeared to have reached a
point beyond which some unknown cause would
not allow it to proceed. The heavy pack of
Melville Strait lying across the head of the
channel, was supposed to be the reason of the
ice of Prince of Wales Strait ceasing to move
on to the north-east ; and the impassable nature
of the pack in the same direction, in the following
year, confirmed this hypothesis. On that day (the
19th Sept. 1850), Captain M'Clure tells us, he
debated in his mind whether to abandon all hope
of reaching Barrow's Strait that year, and retrace
his steps southward in search of a wintering place,
or to hold on, so far as he might, and run the
risk of wintering in the pack. " I decided," he says,

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114 DISCOVERY OF THE NOKTH-WEST PASSAGE.

" upon the latter of these two courses ; " and the
consideration which influenced him in this difficult
choice was, " that to relinquish the ground obtained
through so much labour and anxiety, for the
remote chance of finding safe winter quarters,
would be injudicious, thoroughly impressed as I
was with the absolute importance of retaining
every mile, to insure any favourable results while
navigating these seas." Besides this, it was
desirable to hold as advanced a position as possible,
in order that the spring sledge-parties which he
contemplated despatching in 1851, should be at
once set to work upon new and unsearched coast
lines. To winter voluntarily in the pack was
now as confidently decided upon as if arctic
authorities had never said that such an attempt
would result in certain destruction ; and that same
reliance upon an over-ruling Providence, which
had carried them successfully so far, cheered them
in the anxieties which their novel experiment gave
rise to. The smallest pools of water now became
rapidly covered with new-formed ice ; the eider duck,
the hardiest and strongest-winged of the feathered
tribe which visits the Polar Seas, were last seen
on the 23rd September ; and the temperature of the
air fast verged towards the zero of Fahrenheit.

)

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DANGEROUS AGITATION IN THE ICE.

115

A.lthough the ice had fortncd round the ship, and
the pack was re-cemented to a certain degree, still
it was far from qiiiescent. Sometimes a pressure
would take place upon opposite sides of the body,
which was still detached from Ihe coast of Banks
Land as well as the opposite shore, the sheets of
young ice would crack across, and one part over-
run the other with a sharp chirping noise, which
reverberated through the frosty air ; at another time
some huge field of ice, which from its great depth
was much niore acted upon by the tides or
currents than its neighbours, would rush with
fearful velocity through the lighter ice, turning
up everything that came in its way, and giving
rise to fears lest such a moving field should touch
and sink the ship. At another time the whole
body of the pack, acted upon by north-east winds,
would sweep gradually southward and towards the
shoals and cliffs of Princess Royal Island : indeed
at one time the " Investigator " drifted twenty-
four miles south in three days. They had for-
tunately laid hold of a large piece of ice which
grounded upon the shoals westward of Princess
Royal Island ; and there the ship held on under
its lee, for security, as the rest of the ice swept by
her. Some idea of the strain upon the ship, as

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116 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

U t

well as the desperate position she was in, may be
gleaned by the fact, that at one time she was
in five fathoms water, and trusting for safety
to every available hawser in the vessel, amounting
in the aggregate to a thirty-one inch hemp cable
and a stream-chain in addition, yet she was every
minute expecting to part, as the pressure took her
broad bow, or surged against her trembling sides.

-A iiticipating the worst that could occur, Cap-
tain M'Clure ordered a large quantity of provisions
and fuel to be placed upon deck, the officers
and men to be carefully told off to their boats,
and every one to have his appointed place and
duty in the event of a final catastrophe ; tents
and warm clothing were also prepared, and every
precaution taken to save life, even if it were
beyond human power to save the ship. On the
27th September, the temperature being then at zero,
and the ice, as they fancied, stationary, after the
" Investigator " had drified ten miles south of the
Princess Koyal Island, preparations were com-
menced for housing the vessel over, and otherwise
securing her crew from the intense cold and incle-
mency of a winter which was well nigh upon them.
The officers had just time to congratulate them-
selves upon the escape from past dangers, and to

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PREPARATIONS FOR SHIPWRECK.

117

express thankfulness at having only lost thirty
miles of latitude by the drifting of the pack, when
a change of wind set it all again in motion. The
28 th was spent in breathless anxiety, as, help-
less in their icy trammels, they swept northward
again towards the cliffs of Princess lloyal Island.
These cliffs rose perpendicularly from the sea at
the part against which the ship appeared to be
setting, and as the crew eyed them for a hope of
safety, if the good craft should be crushed against
their face, they could see no ledge upon which even
a goat could have established a footing; and an
elevation of 400 feet precluded a chance of scaling
them : to launch the boats over the moving pack
was their sole chance, and that a poor one, rolling
and upheaving as it was under the influence of
wind, tide, and pressure.

It is in such an emergency that discipline, and a
certainty that each would perform unflinchingly
his duty, as well as the innate good qualities of
our noble seamen, are best exhibited. Dastards
would in such circumstances have deserted their
ship ; but the Investigators were made of different
stuff; they knew too tliat One who is " strong to
save " was watching over them, and they eyed the
bleak cliffs, which in a few minutes might be

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118 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

frowning over their graves, with the calm courage
of resohite men. A finer picture than such a scene
presented can hardly be imagined, and it was one
repeatedly exliibited during this wonderful voyage ;
but it would bean almost hopeless attempt to convey
to the reader — by mere description — an adequate
idea either of the scenery so replete with the grim
terrors of the polar regions or of the moral grandeur
of self-devotion in the officers and men. "It looks
a bad job this time!" inquiringly remarked one of
the sailors as he assisted another old sea-dog in
coiling down neatly a frozen hawser. " Yes 1 " was
the rejoinder, as the other shaded his eyes from the
driving snow, and cast a glance at the dark cliff
looming through the storm, " the old craft will
double up like an old basket when she gets along-
side of them rocks ! "

The " Investigator's" hour was not yet come,
however ; and when within 500 yards of the rocks,
the ice coach-wheeled her along them, and finally
swept her past the islands upon the eastern side.

No water was in sight from the mast-head ; yet
onwards they drifted slowly, and on September
SOtli became again stationary in lat. 72° 50' N.,
and long. 117° 55' W., very nearly as far north
as they had sailed a fortnight before.

1!'

119

CHAP. XI.

Severe Pressure on the Ice. — Dangerous Nips. — Farewell
to the Sun. — Housing the Vessel. — Good Health and
Spirits of the Men.— Five Hundred Pounds of Meat
found to be Putrid. — Winter Rambles on the Ice. — Perils
arising in some of these. — An Excursion to view the
North-west Passage. — Hard Labour and Insufficient Food.
— Suffering from Thirst. — The Passage seen. — Captain
M'Clure lost for a Night. — Return of the Party to the
Ship. — Success of Measures taken for the Health of the
Crew.

.V;'

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On the first week in October a change of the
moon occasioned spring- tides, which of course led
to considerable motion in the ice ; but that motion
manifested itself in the shape of severe pressure and
nipSf there being no water of sufficient space to
allow the pack to drift either north or south. On
the occasion of one of these nips, the " Investigator "
was thrown much over to the starboard side, and
lifted two feet out of water by the ice pressing
under her keel ; every timber in the vessel cracked
and groaned, and the bells began to ring as she
surged and trembled under the shock. There
needed no boatswain's pipe to bring all hands upon

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120 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

deck; and there, in an October night, with the
temperature thirty-six degrees below freezing
point, each man stood at his station, expecting a
final catastrophe to the ship, and that they should
themselves be left upon the surface of the frozen
strait, to fare as best they might. Magnificent
auroras lit up the heavens more than once about
this time, and generally appeared most brilliant in
its southern region. The pale sun swept, it is
true, across the sky, in a daily-diminishing arch ;
but his rays had ceased to give warmth, and the
tiniest crystals of snow withstood his power.
Light, however, he still gave for a while ; and all
looked upon him as a friend for whose speedy
return they should soon have to pray, that they
might be released from the nine long months of
solitary imprisonment now to begin.

The housing was spread over the vessel, and the
curtains nailed down to tlie gunwale upon the
northern side, to shield the men from the cutting
blasts of that quarter ; but to the southward every
precaution was taken to enjoy the sun's light as
long as possible. The fact of life and light being
almost synonymous terms was deeply impressed
upon the mind of Captain M'Clure; and to his
constant remembrance of it we must in a great

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MEAT FOUND TO BE TUTKID.

I <

121

measure impute the extraordinary exemption of his
crew from scurvy.

They, as well as the officers, appeared now to be
in the best health and spirits ; and there were only
two out of the body upon the doctor's sick list on
the 6th October.

Every evening after work Avas over, the after
part of the lower deck was converted into a
temporary stage^ on which the " clever dogs" of
ihe crew performed, danced, sang, or recited, for
for the amusement of those who were less accom-
plished ; and the roars of laughter and light-
hearted jokes, passing among them, bore good
evidence that neither nips, frostbites nor hair-
breadth escapes, preyed upon the spirits of any
of the audience.

On examining some canisters of preserved meat,
Captain M'Clure found, much to his chagrin, that
no less than 500 lbs. was so putrid as to necessitate
its being thrown overboard, a loss mainly occasioned
by fractures made in the tins when packing them
in England. Greatly did Captain M'Clure lament
this additional diminution of his resources; for it
will be remembered a boat-load of meat had al-
ready been lost when the ship was a ground off
Point Manning. He consoled himself, however,

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122 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAGB.

with the hope that a certain surplus, which the
contractor had promised to put on board to cover
such contingencies, would replace this unfortunate
deficit.

Amongst the preparations made for the worst
that could befall the ship, there is one which will
strike every one as evincing carefulness and skill,
and at the same time it will show how critical the
position of the vessel must have been. This was
the blasting with gunpowder, and the employment
of manual labour, to remove all the hummocks and
inequalities upon the surface of the ice upon one
side of the vessel, in order that a smooth surface
might be ready to receive her, as there was a
probability of her being thrown upon the ice.
Nothing can better bring home to our minds their
position, or the cool way in which it was met, than
the above fact ; and to realise it. Captain M'Clure
need hardly add, in his Journal, that he despairs
of being able to convey to us even a remote idea of
the harassing anxiety he underwent whilst his
vessel was settling herself in her icy cradle. " The
crashing, creaking, and straining is beyond de-
scription," he adds ; " and the officer of the watch,
wlien speaking to me, is obliged to put his mouth
close to my ear, on account of the deafening noise."

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RAMBLES ON THE ICE.

123

From the 10th • October the ice in and about
the ship became quiet, although the pack was still
in some places detached from the shore, and moved
slijifhtlv north and south with the tide. The work
of housing over being completed, parties of men
and officers began to stroll out for the purpose of
acquiring some information of the neighbourliood,
and going through the form of taking possession of
their new discovery ; a ceremony which, though of
no great importance when the acquisition was so
entirely valueless, served at least to break the
dreary monotony of such an existence as theirs
now was.

The incidents which arose upon such rambles
afforded something to talk about, too; and on some
occasions unforeseen dangers added to the excite-
ment of the journeys. One instance will serve
to show how unpleasantly these parties of pleasure
sometimes ended.

On a calm fine morning, with the temperature
just forty degrees below freezing point, Captain
M'Clure, Lieut. Cresswell, Dr. Armstrong, and Mr.
Mierching, with some seamen, started to visit the
eastern side of the strait, and take possession of the
land. The road at first lay over the broken and
rugged pack ; but they afterwards reached a belt of

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124 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

smooth ice of the present season's formation, and it
carried them to a piled-up barrier of broken floe,
formed where the new impinged against the heavy
old ice which hned the coast.

The tide happened at the moment to have
brought the two edges together with much violence ;
and the lighter ice (some feet in thickness, however)
was turning up and rolling over, layer upon layer.
Follow my leader was the idea of all the party ; and
away they rushed over the pile formed by the bat-
tling floes, cheering as they reached the land, and
regardless of the fact that at turn of tide those
very floes might part and cut off their retreat.

Every one put his best leg foremost to reach
some highland seen in the interior, and from the
summit of which, as they anticipated, there would
be a possibility of seeing into Barrow's Strait, and
thus connecting their Avork wuth that of Sir Edward
Parry in 1819; there Avas but little time, therefore,
to think of how they were to return. The seamen
were left on the first high ridge of land, to con-
struct a cairn upon a spot duly christened after
the illustrious consort of Her Most Gracious
Majesty ; and the ofiicers, after another two hour's
hard struggle through deep snow and over a diffi-
cult country, reached what was long afterwards re-
membered as Mount Adventure.

PERILOUS EXCURSION.

125

Although some 1400 feet above the level of the
sea, the trending away of the coast they were upon
prevented their toilsome journey being rewarded
by a view of the termination of Prince of Wales
Strait upon the eastern side ; but on the west there
rose in the distance a headland which appeared
like the termination of Banks or Baring Land,
leaving a blank space between it and the east side
of the strait, which confirmed Captain M'Clurc in
his belief of a channel through, and mi:dc his com-
panions exclaim that they saw into Barrow's Strait.
This point, however, the captain wisely decided upon
placing shortly beyond all doubt or cavil, by tra-
velling to it with a sledge party. Although traces
were seen on the snow of bears, deer, foxes, and
lemmings, they did not fall in with a single living
creature ; and the view they obtained of Albert Land
was not such as to afford much promise of game,
for vegetation, the great test of the presence of
animal life in the far north, was exceedingly scanty,
and little gladdened the eyes of our travellers be-
yond small patches of dwarf willow and moss.

" We had returned to the shore," says Captain
M'Clure, " and were following our track back to the
ship, anticipating the pleasure of a good dinner
after a twenty miles' walk, when, upon coming to

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126 DISCOVERY OF THE NOIITU-WEST PASSAGE.

where the junction of the land (or fixed ice) and
sea floes took place, we beheld a separation of fifty
yards of clear black water ! Our feelings are
easier to be imagined than described! — nearly
five miles from the vessel, a polar night closing in ;
and the only provision amongst the whole party
was a solitary tin of preserved meat which had
boen issued to the men for their dinner, but had
now become so solidly frozen as to defy both their
knives and teeth."

Just before dark a point a few miles to the
southward was observed, which gave some promise
of being connected with the sea floe by a block or
barrier of ice. Towards it the fatigued party strug-
gled, over very rugged and slippery ice. Every
now and then one of their party would experience
a severe fall into some deep cleft, or over some
huge hummock; and then, thoroughly jaded, they
would sit down and feel inclined to drop off into
a sleep from which they would never have awakened
in this world. Captain M'Clure, however, was
aware of this dagger ; and his voice aroused them
to exertion. After firing muskets for some time to
attract attention, they were rejoiced to see rockets
and guns discharged from the ship. It told them
that those on board were taking measures for their

PERILOUS POSITION.

127

rescue; and meantime they continued to indicate
their relative position to the ship by firing
at intervals so long as the ammunition lasted,
after which they could only hope for the best.
About half-past eight a light was seen evidently
approaching upon the sea ice. A shout of de-
light, responded to as heartily, rang through the
black stillness of a polar night. Then came the
anxious hope that the people from the ship had
brought a boat with them; for w'^^^hout it aid was
out of the question.

Even in such a moment the sailors' light-hcart-
edness did not desert them ; for when one of the
party exclaimed that "the ship had fired another
rocket!" "Ah!" another observed, "I wish they
would fire a Halkett's boat* at us!" a wish in
which assuredly all cordially joined.

The relieving party at length approached within
hail, upon the opposite side of the lane of water ;
and, worn-out as Capt. M'Clure's party was, all lis-
tened with indescribable anxiety for the answer
when, to the momentous question put by the leader,

* Halkett's boats are the ingenious invention of Lieut.
Peter Halkett, of the Royal Navy. They are made of indian-
rubber, and, being inflated with air, are very portable and highly
useful upon arctic service.

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128 DISCOVERY OF THE NOIITII-WEST PASSAGE.

" Have you a boat with you ? " there was a pause
in which the writer has been assured one could
have heard a pulse beat, and then came across the
darkness — " No ! we did not know you wanted
one." Capt. M*Clure sent them back immediately
to the ship for the Halkett's boat, and meantime,
aided by his officers, he exerted himself to keep
the men from falling asleep. Happily the party,
on its way to the " Investigator," was met by
another conveying boats, and the two returned
with all speed to the water, which had now become
covered with bay-ice nearly an inch thick.

JMr. Court, however, the master of the " Inves-
tigator," was just the man to meet such difficulties
as now lay in the way of relieving his shipmates ;
and in spite of bay ice, and current, and moving
ice, by midnight all the party were safely ferried
across, and on their way to their ship. " I can-
not," says Captain M'Clure in his Journal, " speak
too highly of these excellent little boats, or of the
ingenuity of the inventor, as without them my largo
party would have had to endure the rigours of an
arctic night, without clothing, tents, or provisions,
and the consequences of this might have been very
serious."

By four in the morning the travellers had par-

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EXCURSION TO VIEW THE PASSAGE.

129

taken of a substantial meal, and retired to their
beds heartily tired after eighteen hours' exertion,
and grateful for so fortunate a termination to their
adventure.

From the TOth to the 21st of October, prepara-
tions were made to despatch a sledge-party to
the northward to reach Barrow's Strait, and as-
sure themselves of the fact of their having dis-
covered a North-west Passage. Even had they been
ready to start at once, it would have been necessary
to give time for the ice to form sufficiently to
insure the ship from being blown away with the
drifting pack whilst the party was absent, — an ac-
cident which, experience has shown to arctic navi-
gators, might occur up to a late date in October.
A remarkable rise of temperature to 21° plus of
Fahrenheit, from 2° minus^ with the wind blowing
fresh from north-east, would seem to indicate that
the winter, of the region in which the "Investi-
gator " was frozen in, is modified by the warm air
from the open water of Barrow's Strait, as well as
that of southerly winds from the American con-
tinent ; but this sudden change was far from
pleasant to the crew, for they had all put on their
winter clothing, and had begun to close up the
ship, ready to resist the rigour of the cold, so that

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130 DISCOVEnY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

a momentary rise of this nature only created dis-
comfort, and was of too transitory a nature to be
beneficial. Ind-^ d the men voted warm weather
in the middle of October a nuisance ; and the old
hands, with a knowing shake of the head and co-
pious expectorations of " 'baccy juice," warned the
novices against " being fools enough to pull their
clothes off on account of such a bit of sunshine,
for perha^js in an hour's time Zero would be about
again." Zero^ it must be observed, was invariably
referred to as a veritable foe having an actual
existence, and was to be combated as they would
do the Arch-Enemy. About this time a landing was
made on the islands named after Her Roj^al High-
ness the Princess Royal; but they offered nothing
remarkable beyond the remains of some ancient
Esquimaux graves and fox-traps. Traces of ani-
mals were, as usual, numerous, and excited as
much interest in the minds of the navigators as
human footsteps did in that of Robinson Crusoe
in his lonely island ; for already, with those who
could appreciate the possible contingencies of
arctic exploration, it became an important desi-
deratum that game of some sort should be found,
to eke out the resources of the ship, and keep the
crew free from the ravages of scurvy. The pre-

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EXCURSION TO VIEW THE PASSAGE.

131

served meats furnished to the ship by Messrs.
Gamble were constantly found decayed to an
alarming extent; and between the 12fch and 18th of
October no less than four hundred and twenty-jour
pounds of it were thrown overboard as uniit for
food, — much to the regret of Captain M'Clure, who
thus early began to see how cr.refully he should
be obliged to husband his resources, in order to
carr}'' his crew through their enterprise successfully
and in good health.

As yet, however, no reduction in the allowance
took place ; for the leader of that gallant ship's
company knew that, when the time came to render
a straitened allowance actually necessary^ his officers
and men would cheerfully and manfully submit to
the privation.

October the 21st, 1850, came ii. with a tempe-
rature ranging a little below zero, light winds, and
an overcast sky. The ice of the strait appeared
to have remained stationary during the last
spring-tides, and the usual polar accompaniment
of strong gales ; Captain M'Clure therefore deter-
mined to start for Barrow's Strait with a sledge
manned with six men, and commanded by ]Mr.
Court, his active and indefatigable master, and to
leave the ship to the charge of Lieut. Ilaswell,

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132 DISCOVERr OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGF.

a fatigue party of men, under Mr. Wynniatt (mate)
and Dr. Armstrong, assisting the sledge for a time.
Nothing can be more delightful than the terms of
warm praise in which Captain M'Clure speaks of all
the officers, when upon the eve of parting from
them for a service not unattended with some peril.
Hearty were the cheers, and Well fare ye!'s on
either side, as the little sledge-party bade good-bye
to ship and companions, and plodded on in their
lonely way, to bring back one day to their ship-
mates the most interesting intelligence ever told to
the hundreds who have devoted health, strength,
and energy to the problem of a North-west Passage.
The headlong zeal of the excited crew upon the
sledge soon received a lesson in patience from the
rugged and broken pack, by the repeated capsizing
of the sledge, and its eventual fracture beyond all
temporary repair. There was nothing then for it,
but to send back Mr. Court to the ship for another
sledge, whilst the rest pitched the tent, and slept
their first night under canvas upon the frozen ocean.
* The "Investigator" had left England but little
prepared for extensive sledge-work, and with few
if any im'provements upon the system of sledge-tra-
velling originally laid down by Sir James C. Ross.
The consequence was, that in all her sledge-parties

:!
.1

HARD LABOUR, INSUFFICIENT FOOD. 133

there was, if possible, a greater amount of hardship
and privation than in those of the expeditions under
Captains Austin, Kellett, or Belcher, who each im-
proved upon their predecessors' experience. A
less amount of work was done by those who had
less comfort. We find that, at the close of the
first day's journey, the truly frugal meal of
Captain M'Clure and his men was a pint of
tepid water apiece, into which a little oatmeal was
thrown ; after which they retired to their sleeping-
bags, to rest as best they might with a temperature
of 6° minus. On October 22nd, the new sledge
having joined them and been loaded, the party pro-
ceeded to the northward, working over alterna 3
patches of rough and smooth ice until the night
came on, and it became too dark to see their way.
The tent was then pitched, and supper prepared;
but such a supper ! one pint of melted snow and
a piece of frozen pemmican ! Hunger, however,
sweetened even this meal; and, tired and cold, they
got into their frozen blankets and fell asleep, as
if safe on board their snug and comfortable ship,
whilst an October snow rolled over their frail
canvass tenement. Next morning before daybreak,
the cook of the day was roused, and his culinary
powers were called into play under the trying cir-

a 3

134 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

cumstances of a temperature of 32'' below freez-
ing point. Some water was warmed sufficiently
for a preparation of chocolate to be dissolved in
it ; and a pint of this tepid beverage being given
to each min, together with a biscuit and a half
api< > Lu i party again manned the drag-ropes of
the si (l.!;v ; .d proceeded to the northward.

After some .'Ticulty in crossing ridges of broken
ice — the hedge-roivs of an arctic landscape, — they
reached vast fields of smooth ice of the present
season's formation ; and here an obstacle of a fresh
nature awaited them. The autumnal snow had
accumulated heavily upon the surface of these
young ice-fields, and, weighing them down, caused
the sea-water to flow through sufficiently to render
the under part of the snow almost as tenacious
as clay. The fatigue of hauling two hundred
pounds apiece through such a route was excessive ;
but the gallant crew strained every nerve, and
the distended veins and large drops of perspiration
(freezing on the faces of the men) told how well
they were working. Unfortunately no water could
be had to appease their thirst — they might as
Avell have been labouring on the great Sahara;
for every handful of snow which they thrust into
their parched mouths augmented rather than

SUFFERING FROM THIRST.

135

assuaged their sufferings, as it contained more
or less of the salts of the sea- water which, as I
have before said, rendered the surface of the floe
wet and tenacious. About noon, one of the best
men of the party became perfectly exhausted, and
two others were frostbitten. Captain M'Clure then
stopped to give them the noonday meal of cold
water and frozen pemmican ; but the la^'^'ir they
did not taste of, for thirst had quite ».:ve ome
hunger, and when they had drunk a.\ 'ha^ the
allowance of fuel for the day would ir'^Wj they
again trudged on until dark, wher as on the
previous evening, the tent was pitchtu, and their
rough meal and rougher bed prepared. That
done, pipes were lit, and whilst some of the men
repaired their torn mocassins and seal-skin boots
by candle-light, the Captain read them a tale
out of " Chambers's Miscellany," until at last his
tired companions fell off one by one into the land of
dreams. '* October 24th," says Captain M'Clure^
" was not so cutting a day, the thermometer having
risen to 5°+ Fahr. ; I walked ahead whilst the
sledge was packing, ascended a point of land
a hundred feet above the level of the sea, and ob-
served distinctly that the eastern shore of Prince
of Wales Strait trended now far away to the east-

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136 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

ward, whilst that of the western coast (which wc
were upon) preserved its northerly direction. The
point whereon I stood appeared to be the most
contiguous to the opposite shore, and the breadth
across about fifteen miles ; beyond me, the shores
of the strait evidently began to separate. This
encouraged me in the hope that we were on the
point of reaching Barrow's Strait ; and seeing a
hill at what appeared a distance of 12 miles due
north of my position, I returned to the sledge,
and pointed it out to the crew as a cape from
whence we should see that long-wished-for sea."

Every man now dragged with a will, in the hope
of reaching that night the end of his journey ; but
after seven hours' toilsome labour, the tantalising
cape still retained its original position, and they
seemed not a mile nearer to it. Captain M'Clure
then saw that he had been much deceived in its
apparent distance, owing to the clearness of the
atmosphere, and that thirty miles was a nearer
estimate than twelve, of the probable length of
their march. After a night's rest and another
hard day's work, they were still two miles off the
cape, when night closed in and obliged them to
halt and encamp. Though disappointed in not
sighting Barrow's Strait on the 25th, they were

OCEANTC ICE.

137

all much cheered by the multiplying proofs around
them of its close proximity. Away t(> the north-
east they already saw that wonderful oceanic ice
which Sir Jildward Parry so well described in his
memorable voyage to Melville Island, in 1819, —
ice which they had left behind them directly they
entered Prince of Wales Strait, and which they now
again found at its northern extremity. Great
hills and dales of blue crystalline sea-ice rolled on
before them in the direction of Melville Island ;
and it required more than ordinary sanguineness of
disposition to suppose they ever should navigate
the " old Investigator " through such a sea ; yet,
to have heard the party talk, the feat would have
appeared certain of accomplishment, — all things
seemed possible to men who had already mastered
so much. By an observed meridian altitude of
the star Capella, the latitude was now ascertained
to be 73° 25' N., this being the first and only
observation they had been able to obtain since
quitting their ship.

The morning of the 26th of October, 1850, was
fine and cloudless ; it was with no ordiiiary feelings
of joy and gratitude that Captain M'Clure and his
party started before sunrise to obtain from the
adjacent hill a view of that sea which connected

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138 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

their discoveries with those of Sir Edward Parr3\
Ascending a liill GOO feet above the sea-level, they
patiently awaited the incieaae of light to reveal
the long-souglit-for North-west Passage from the
Atlantic to the Pacific oceans.

As the sun rose, the panorama slowly unveiled
itself. First the ?'iad called after H. R. H. Prince
Albert showed out on an easterly bearing; and
from a point since named after the late Sir Robert
Peel, it evidently turned away to the east, and
formed the northern entrance of the channel upon
that side.

The coast of Banks Lend terminated about
twelve miles farther on than where the party stood ;
and thence it turned away to the north-west,
forming the northern coast of that land, the loom
of which had been so correctly reported and so
well placed by Sir Edward Parry's expedition
thirty-odd years before. Away to the north, and
across the entrance of Prince of Wales Strait,
lay the frozen waters of Barrow's or, as it is now
called, Melville Strait ; and, raised as they were
at an altitude of 600 feet above its level, the eye-
sight embraced a distance which precluded the
possibility of any land lying in that direction
between them and Melville Island.

THE PASSAGE SEEN.

139

The North-west Passage was discovered! All
doubt as to the water-communication between the
two great oceans was removed ; and it now alo .c
remained for Captain M'Clure, his officers and men,
to perfect the work by traversing the few thousand
miles of known ground between them and their
homes.

The feelings of vJaptain M'Clnrc and his com-
panions may be easily understood when we re-
member what they had gone through to earn this
success, and how the hand of the All-powerful
had borne them through no ordinary dangers in
their gallant efforts ; but no arrogant self-estima-
tion formed part of ttie crowd of tumultuous feel-
ings which made their hearts beat so high, and
never from the lips of man burst a more fervent
Thank God! than now from those of that little
company.

• And we feel that they had reason to be proud
as well as grateful, when we call to mind the time,
the money, the men which England had previously
lavished, without success, on the discovery of this
grc t geographical problem.

Franklin and his heroic followers had, indeed,
not been found ; but, in seeking them, the great
secret they had sought to solve had been unraveDtd,

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140 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

and Captain M'Clure felt that, even should he be
so unfortunate as never to discover the missing
expedition, he nevertheless should not return to
his country with empty hands.

The position of Mount Observation, from which
the important discovery had been made, was as-
certained to be in latitude (observed) 73° 30' 39''
N., longitude 114° 39' W.,and by lunar 114° 14' W.
The travellers encamped that night on Cape Lord
John Eussell, and cheered lustily as they reached
the shores of Barrow's Strait. A mimic bonfire,
of a broken sledge and dwarf willow, was lighted
by the seamen in celebration of the event ; and
an extra glass of grog, given them by theii' leader,
added to their happiness.

The question of a Nortl^-west Passage being
now placed beyond all doubt, the rapid fall of
temperature warned Captain M'Clure that he
should return to his ship without delay, and ter-
minate the trials the whole party were exposed
to every night. Their fur robes were frozen into
a solid mass, Avhich could only be thawed by the
men lying upon them for some hours ; the blanket-
bags were so stiff from the sam . cause as to stand
erect ; and their clothes, caps, whiskers, and beards
were frozen together, and r^.^uired to be thawed

I:!'

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RETURN OP THE SLEDGE-PARTY.

141

inside the tent after they had retired to rest ; and
when the clothes were taken off, they had to be
placed under the body that they might not freeze
again: and the hardships and discomforts to be
endured in consequence of the lateness of the
season, although no novelty to the arctic traveller,
would appear almost fabulous to others, if minutely
described. From Point Lord John Russell, the coast
of Banks Land was seen to trend away to the west-
ward, and increase in boldness of outline and
altitude. Much vegetation, for this latitude, was
observed, and numerous traces of animals, such as
the deer, hare, and ptarmigan, as well as of their
destroyers the fox and the wolf; but not one of
the animals themselves was seen. A large cairn
was constructed, a due record of the visit of the
party placed therein, and then, in the teeth of a
S.E. gale, they commenced their return to the
" Investigator."

The return journey might have ended seriously
for the leader of the party. On the 30th October,
at 2 P.M., having seen the Princess Royal Isles, and
knowing the position of the " Investigator " from
them. Captain M'Clure left his sledge, with the
intention of pushing for the ship, and having a
warm meal ready for his men on their arrival.

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142 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

When still six miles from the ship the night
overtook him ; and with it came a dense mist ac-
companied with snow-drift, wliich rolled down the
strait, and obscured every object. Unable to see
his roi d, but endeavouring to preserve a course by
the wind, M'Clure continued to hasten on, until
repeated and heavy falls amongst the broken ice
warned him to desist or incur the additional
peril of broken limbs. " I now," he says, " climbed
on a mass of squeezcd-up ice, in the hope of seeing
my party, should they pass near, or of attracting
the attention of iomc one on board the vessel by
firing my fowling-piece. Unfortunately, I had no
other amnnmition than wlmt it was loaded with ;
for I had fancied, when I left the sledge, that the
two charges in the gun would be all I should be
likely to require. After waiting for an hour
patiently, I was rejoiced to see through the mist the
glare of a blue light, evidently burnt in the direction
in which I had left the sledge. I immediately fired
to denote my position ; but my fire was evidently
unobserved, and, both barrels being discharged, I
was unable to repeat the signal. My only hope
now rested upon the ship ansv/ering ; but nothing
was to be seen, and although I once more saw, at a
greater distance, the glare of another blue light

CArxAiN m'clure lost for a night. H3

from the sledge, there seemed no prohability of my
having any other shelter for the night than that
the floe afforded. Two hours elapsed: I endea-
voured to see the face of my pocket-compass by
the light of a solitary lucifer match, which hap-
pened to be in my pocket ; but in this hope I was
cruelly disappointed, for it fizzed and went out,
leaving me in total darkness. It was now half-
past-cight ; there were eleven hours of night before
me, a temperature 15° below zero, bears prowling
about, and I with an unloaded gun in my hands.
The sledge-party miglit, however, reach the ship,
and finding I had not arrived, search would be
made and help be sent ; so I walked to and fro
upon my hummock until I suppose it must have
been eleven o'clock, when that hope fled likewise.
Descending from the top of the slab of ice upon
which 1 had clambered, I found under its lee a
famous bed of soft dry snow, and, thoroughly tired
out, I threw myself upon it and slept for perhaps
three hours, when upon opening my eyes I fancied
I saw the flash of a rocket. Jumping upon my feet,
I found that the mist had cleared off*, and that the
stars and aurora-boreaiis were shining in all the
splendour of an arctic night. Altliough unable to
see the islands or the ship, I wandered about the

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144 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

ice in different directions until daylight, when, to
my great mo.^tification, I found I had passed the
ship fully the distance of four miles." Retracing
his steps. Captain M'Clure reached the " Investiga-
tor" on the 3 1st October very tired, but otherwise
none the worse for his rough and dangerous expo-
sure to a winter's night in 73° north latitude. A
few hours afterwards the sledge arrived under
Mr. Court; and great was the joy on board, and
hearty the congratulations at their safe return,
and the glorious news they brought.

Nothing, I fancy, can better bring home to the
comprehension of the uninitiated in arctic sledge-
travelling, the severity of the labour undergone by
officers and men employed upon duty of that
nature, than the following extracl from Captain
M'Clure's private journal — and similar ones
might be found in tho: o vf many other officers: —
" The weigiio broughi; lack to the ship upon the
sledge (after an absence of nine days) was 793
pounds, being an increase, upon what we started
with, of upwards of 100 pounds. This was occa-
sioned by the accumulation of ice upon the furs,
tent, blankets, and sledge, in consequence of the
vapour throAvn off by our bodies and cooking-appa-
ratus condensing and freezing upon every article

ARRIVAL AT THE SHIP.

145

which it came in contact with ; and, strange as it
may seem, the whole consumption of food during
nine days amongst eight men, independently of cho-
colate and spirits, amounted but to eighteen pounds
of pemmican, thirty-one pounds of biscuit, and two
pounds of oatmeal, — a trifling consumption almost
incredible, and only to be accounted for by the
crew being every night too exhausted, after their
day's exertion, to care for anything else but water:
but this article was not to be obtained without
thawing it, and the allowance of fuel would only
admit of each man receiving daily five gills to
drink, namely, half a pint at breakfast, a gill at
dinner, and half a pint in the evening."

On this, however, they had worked cheerfully,
and accomplished an average of twenty miles per
diem, — a feat which it is but right to say only the
discovery of a North-west Passage could have car-
ried the men through; for although Lieut (now
Commander) Mecham has in later years ^r ex-
celled Captain M'Cluro's journey with respect to
distance accomplished, it was only by arefuUy
feeding up and nursing the strength o'' his men,
that he at this moment enjoys the honour of having
won the palm of distance from such men as
Captains Richards and M'Chntock,

During the

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146 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

absence of their captain, the officers of the *' Inves-
tigator " had been far from idle. Upon the adja-
cent shores of Prince of Wales Strait they succeeded
m killing a fine herd of musk-oxen, consisting of
three bulls, a cow, and a calf, and yielding a supply
of 1296 pounds of solid meat. The moral effect of
the fact that such a quantity of fresh food could
be found near a place where they were frozen
up until it pleased Providence to release them, was
very beneficial upon the minds of all, and added
materially to the feeling of general confidence Avith
which thoy prepared to meet the coming winter.

The vcntilating-tubcs to the lower deck were now
fitted, to force out by a current of pure but cold
air the heated and deleterious vapours generated
between-decks by a number of men living in so
confined a space. The last winter housings were
sprend, and a winter school-room established, to
which thirty pupils immediately repaired to learn
to read and write ; and by the 1 1th November the
" Investigator " was ready to bid the bright sun
gocd bye.

Ti'? day was cloudless, the temperature down to
2G'^min:.'Sf and one uniform sheet of snow and ice
>f>T. ad < n every side, overland and sea. Winter had
St her seal upon that silent strait ; and but for the

•^^••■•-^;,

MEASURES FOR THE COMFORT OF THE MEN. 147

rocky buttresses of Princess Royal Island frowning
over the floe, or the dark cleft of a ravine upon
Banks Land, it would not have been easy to detect
the line of demarcation between earth and water.
Towards noon, the bright edge of the upper limb
of the sun rolled slowly along the southern horizon,
and bade them adieu for eleven long weeks; the
long night of a polar winter had commenced. Be-
tween the 2nd of November and the 2nd of De-
cember, the new floes were found to have increased
in thickness ten inches and a half, the last measure-
ment making them 2 ft. 64 in. Little if any snow
could be found on them, for a reason before men-
tioned, namely, that directly any weight of snow
collected upon the weak ice it would cause the sea-
water to flow through, and in so low a temperature
the sludge so formed would rapidly become a part
of the solid floe. In this manner the ice that
covers that arctic sea accumulates perhaps more
rapidly by the action upon its surface than that of
the congelation of the water beneath.

During the first fortnight in December the tem-
perature of the external air ranged from 23° — to
37'' — Fahr., whilst betwcen-decks from 40°+ to
50° 4- was about the average.

It had been Ciiptain M'Clure's great anxiety (u

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148 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

insure warmth on the lower deck, without the ac-
cumulation of wet arising from the natural con-
densation of the heated internal atmosphere against
the cold surface of the sides and deck ; and he fully
succeeded (as had been done in Captain Austin's
expedition) in securing this desirable end, by fit-
ting ventilators and clearing the deck of men for
the major part of the day, so that a free current of
air circulated throughout the vessel. By these
means he secured the health of his men to a degree
previously unprecedented upon arctic service ; and
they duly appreciated the forethought and care
thus bestowed upon them. In the following sea-
son they resumed their duties as if still fresh from
England, and thus enabled Captain M'Clure to
achieve a more perilous voyage than that already
accomplished.

The minute details of the daily events of an arctic
winter have been so often described that it is un-
necessary to recount them. In this intance they
consist only of an endless repetition of decreasing
warmth and daylight, broken sometimes by the
more than usual brilliancy of an aurora borealis, or
a great frequency of shooting stars. The arctic fox,
as usual, came to visit the new intruders upon his
domains, but only to be trapped and have his snow-

i i ■

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS,

149

white fur packed up to ornament the neck of some
fair lady at home. The arctic raven, the hardiest of
the feathered tribes, and the only one that appears
willingly to brave a polar winter, was seen in tlie
depth of the season to flit through the cold and sun-
less atmosphere like an evil spirit, his sullen croak
alone breaking the silence of that death-like scene.
No one shot any of these ravens ; and they seemed
to know they were secure.

Christmas came at lengdi, with all its hallowed
recollections; and it^ was kept on board the "In-
vestigator," as it ever is in every part of the
Christian world, in cheerfulness and in good fellow-
ship. The captain's table groaned under good
cheer. There was beef from the Sandwich Is-
lands, which had been kept in a frozen state for
six months; there was veal (of musk ox) from the
shores of Prince of Wales Strait ; there was mince-
meat from Old England, splendid preserves from the
Green Isle, and many a dainty dish from Scotland.
Each one talked of home ; the hours were calculated
when, allowing for the difference of time, those most
dear to the talkers would be going to church, to
dinner, to ball, or to bed, and an honest manly hope
was expressed that, one of those days, they might
yet be there to sec and share in happiness, iu their

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150 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

estimate of which distance, of course, " lent enchant-
ment to the view." Thus closed the year 1850: the
" Investigator " that day had only one man ill ; and
he was one who had concealed the fact of his being
in delicate health when joining the ship at Wool-
wich. "Every credit," says Captain M'Clure, "is
due to the medical officers, Drs. Armstrong and
Henry Piers, " for their unremitting attention
to the health of the men ; " and nothing could be
more satisfactory than the state of the vessel, her
crew, and her resources on that day," — the last
of the year 1850.

Ill'

151

CHAP. xii.

Nuw Year's Day 1851. — Relative Positions of the dilFcrent
Expeditiona. — The increasing Cold relieved by the daily
Augmentation of Solar Light. — Deer and Ptarmigan seen
in the Depth of Winter. — The Tlieory of Animal JMlgration
in Arctic Regions subverted. — Tiie Raven leaves tlio Ship. —
Return of the Sun. — Rambles on the Ice. — Revival of llealtli
and Spirits. — Winter Sporting. — Preparations for Sledge-
Parties iu Search of Franklin's Expedition. — Depots es-
tablished to secure the Safety of the Travellers. — Departure
of the various Parties. — Hardships endured by Sledge-
Crews in High Latitudes in Spring Journeys. — The Zeal
and Courage of the Seamen. — Their Labours eompai'ed
with those of the American Voyageurs. — Tlie Position of
the "Investigator" in I80O — Murder of Lieut. Barnard by
North-west Indians.

!
i

New Year's day, in the year of grace 1851, was a

remarkable day in the arctic regions. On the

side of Baffin's Bay, the naval expedition consisting

of Her Majesty's ships *' Resolute," "Assistance,"

" Pioneer," and " Intrepid," manned by 180 officers

and men, had pushed into the ice until caught by

the winter under Griffith's Island. Not many miles

from them, in a small buy in North Devon, two

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152 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

handy little brigs under Captain W. Penny, a
noble specimen of the merchant sailor, lay securely
housed in, manned by fifty sailors chosen from
the hardy whaling-crews of Aberdeen and Peter-
head. Close to these last vessels another English
craft was wintering, under the command of the ve-
teran Admiral Sir John Ross. Three score and
ten years had not quenched in him that strange
love for hardship and adventure which seems
the only assignable motive that can induce men to
continue to follow the hazardous career of an
arctic navigator. But on the occasion of which I
am writing, a nobler and higher purpose, it is to
be hoped, than the mere love of adventure, carried
that aged officer as well as others to the frozen
regions. Whilst, on the eastern side of the un-
known waste which lay between Banks Land
and Griffith's Island, we have these seven vessels
securely wintering, and preparing, with no small
zeal, to push out their sledges directly the day-
light and temperature would admit of it, on the
western side the " Investigator " alone, far from all
communication with either savage or civilised man,
was flying her pendant with as much pride and
confidence as if the solitude into which she
had boldly pushed was the spot, of all others, her

\ : '^.m

POSITIONS OF THE DIFFERENT EXPEDITIONS. 153

gallant crew would wish to pass their New Year's
day in.

And they had cause, too, for contentment, and
reason to be grateful to God ; for their ship
was secure, the ice was stationary, and though
all was dark, and cold, fand cheerless without
board, within there was warmth, food, good fel-
lowship, and perfect health. Far different was the
fate of another expedition, which had left home on
the same mission.

An American party under Lieut. Commander
De Haven had, with two schooners, pushed up to
Griffith's Island at the same time that the English
ships did so, in 1850 ; but, being unprepared for
wintering, the American vessels tried to escape the
frozen grip of an arctic winter. Under sail, they
box'e up for Baffin's bay ; but the rapidly-forming
ice seized upon their ships, and, cradled in it, the
" Reserve " and " Advance " drifted whither it
listed. Death threatening them in every shape,
their vessels groaning under pressure at one time,
and then tossed up by broken ice in the fury of
a midwinter gale, strange indeed would it have
been if scurvy had not made its appearance
amongst them, and well might the English seamen
congratulate themselves on tljc immunity they en-

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154 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.:

joyed from the horrible winter sufferings of their
American coadjutors, and the still more hapless po-
sition of the crews of the " Er^^bus " and " Terror" ;
for they (poor fellows!) Avere, as we believe,
still alive on that New Year's day. Alas ! who
shall tell how that sad advent of their last new
year was past by those gallant men !

It is necessary to the clear comprehension of the
voyage of the " Investigator," that the reader should
bear in mind the relative positions of other ships in
the various stages of her long voyage, and also that
Dr. Rae was wintering on the shores of the Great
Bear Lake in North America, ready to start, with
boat and sledge, northward immediately that the
weather should allow him. The " Investigator's '*
New Year's day was a happy one ; many a delicacy
long and carefully hoarded was produced at the
table, at which all the officers and their captain
met ; and not the least remarkable of these
dainties was a quarter of mutton which had been
procured at the Sandwich Islands in the previous
July, a pretty good proof of the preservative
qualities of frost. On this day there was but one
man on the sick list, and all now felt that the most
trying portion of the winter would soon be past ;
for with every returning day the sun was again ap-

RF/JURNING LIGHT.

155

preaching their horizon, and, slowly though it was,
still the light was augmenting daily. Light was
what they, as well as all others who have wintered
in the North, most sighed for. The cold, however
intense, is robbed of half its terrors, if there is
light to enable the arctic navigator to see around
him, so that he may take his walk or, gun in hand,
seek for game.

The darkest period of an arctic winter is from
about the 10th of December to about the 6th of
January, whereas the lowest temperatures usually
occur in February, when there is considerable twi-
light, and, in those latitudes of which we are
writing, some hours of sunlight. This merciful dis-
pensation of Providence is one amongst the many
which will strike the least-observant visitor to those
regions.

From the 9 th January, 1851, to the 16th, was
the coldest period registered on board the " Inves-
tigator;" but there was tolerable light then from
9*30 A.M. to 2*30 P.M., so much, indeed, that at
noon on the 16th the oidy star whose light was
not quenched by the twilight was the bright star
Arcturus. The spirits of the men rose, in spite of
the thermometer showing 40° to 50° below zero
of Fahrenheit ! What cared they for (quicksilver

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156 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH- WEST PASSAGE.

being solid, any more than for the solidity of the
surface of the sea over which they strode ? No,
their health and spirits were good, they could sec
that the sun was coming back ; and did it not pro-
mise them all they wanted ? — summer thaws, open
water, fresh adventures, the discovery of the
" Erebus " and " Terror " ; and then huzza for
England !

Early one dark and icy morning in January,
a man named John Eames was walking out upon
the floe, and saw pass close to him a small herd
of rein-deer trotting quietly towards Princess
Royal Islands. Had the ghost of his grandfather
suddenly appeared to him upon the floe, John
Eames could not have been more astonished ; for
he, like everyone else, confidently believed in every
living creature having gone to more favoured
climes to the southward, until the summer should
return. The news quickly spread ; appetites
sharpened ; and sportsmen issued forth to slay
venison. But there was no venison to be slain ;
the deer were nowhere to be found, although the
discovery of a ptarmigan gave rise to much as-
tonishment as to how birds could exist in such a
temperature, with the land covered deeply in snow,
and, where it happened to be exposed, the soil

THEORY OF ANIMAL-MIGRATION SUBVERTED. 157

SO hard as to destroy iron tools in attempting to
loosen it.

These discoveries, however, raised a doubt of
the correctness of the theory of animal-emigration
in the arctic regions, as laid down by that eminent
naturalist and traveller Sir John Richardson, as
well as of the opinion in its favour expressed by
the late Admiral Sir Edward Parry ; and Captain
M'Clure in his Journal says, " it is pretty evident
that during the whole winter animals may be
found in these straits, and that the want of suffi-
cient light alone prevents our larder being stored
with fresh food." Subsequent observation has
completely overthrown the idea that the reindeer,
rausk-ox, or other animals inhabiting the archi-
pelago of islands north of America, migrate south-
ward to avoid an arctic winter. Throughout
Banks Land, Melville Island, Bathurst and Corn-
wallis Land — in short, wherever Brititih seamen
have wintered of late years — there have been found
indubitable proofs of the reindeer, bear, rausk-
ox, marmot, wolf, hare, and ptarmigan — in short,
all the Fauna of those climes — wintering in the
latitudes in which they are found during the
summer.
. January closed in with strong gales of wind

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158 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH- WEST TASSAOE.

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from the westward ; and on one occasion, the wind
veering to S.W. and blowing very hard, the hot
air forced up from more genial regions raised the
temperature from 35°— to 15°— of Fahr., — a
change which, however pleasing, could not be
enjoyed, as the snow-drift was too heavy for a
soul to venture outside the friendly shelter of the
woollen housings. An incident characteristic of
life in the far north happened at this time. A
raven, which had haunted the ship during the
past period of cold and darkness, left it — and
his departure was quite an event, something for
the men to remark and talk upon ; — and his so-
ciety was more miffed than the loss of a more
pleasing pet would have been elsewhere.

" The absent bird was a loss," says the gallant
Captain of the " Investigator," " which we all felt ;
it had been the only creature that appeared as
isolated as ourselves, and a mutual confidence
had been established between us. The raven
used to visit the ship unmolested except by the
dog, — who appeared to know the bird as well as
we did, was always on the look-out for its visit,
and went out to meet it occasionally. The dog
would run at Ralpho ; but he would hop over his
head, and resume his occupation at the dirt-heap.

RE-APPEARANCE OF TIIP: SUN.

159

keeping an eye, however, all the while upon the
dog, and uttering a harsh croak occasionally, as if
enjoying the i\in of tantalising him."

On February the 3rd the glorious sun rose again,
after having been absent since the 11th November.
Eight3'-four days of twilight and darkness ! Few
but the dweller in those high latitudes can under-
stand the joy with which the return of that bright
luminary was hailed ; and the congratulations ex-
changed, at having been spared to rejoice again
in the blessed sunlight, were mingled with heart-
felt aspirations for the future.

Officers and men were every day extending their
walks. Many a party was made up to Princess
Royal Island, each being sanguine on starting of
bringing back a well-filled game-bag; but gene-
rally the evening saw the sportsmen return un-
successful and tired, with no other consolation
than that of having seen at a distance some soli-
tary wolf, which — upon the principle of " wliere
there are bees there must be honey" — they
strongly maintained proved venison to be in the
neighbourhood, and this venison might be theirs.
Winter sporting in a temperature of 60° beloAV
freezing point, when all the country is buried in
snow and the sportsman stands out in strong relief

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160 DISCOVERY OF TOE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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upon the snowy landscape, is seldom remunerative
to the larder; but it has the merit of giving
occupation to minds pressed down by the canker
of monotony ; and one could smile and enjoy the
marvellous tales, brought back by the men, of
the number of miles they had walked, the quantity
of game seen, or the size of reindeer footprints
upon the snow, as well as the excellent reasons
given why neither flesh nor fowl filled their game-
bags.

That it should not become warm directly the
sun rose, was vexatious to those not gifted with
patience ; and many a one sighed at seeing the
thermometer on February 21st registering 44°— in
the shade, whilst in the sun the rays playing upon
the bulb of the instrument only raised it to 28° — , or
60 degrees below freezing point ! Outdoor sports
now commenced ; and to see the heavy falls the
men experienced in their thick winter clothing and
cloth snow-boots, whilst playing rounders upon
the ice, an observer might have wondered how
they escaped fractured bones and broken heads.
Appetites that had failed now began to return,
pale and yellow faces again to recover their ruddy
and sunburnt colours; and long discussions al-
ready arose as to how Jack would spend his money

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ESTABLISHMENT OF A DEpAt.

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when he nrrived in Enghmd ; an anxiety which
often in every clime weighs upon his mind when
nothing else will.

Arrangements connected with the travelling
operations of the coming spring were now entered
upon ; and although the present thickness of the
ice in Prince of Wales Strait gave no promise of
an early disruption, still Captain M'Clure deter-
mined, before the sledges left the ship, to establish
such a depot, and place such means on the islands,
as should render the sledg -parties independent of
the ship, in the event of the ice breaking up and
sweeping the " Investigator " north or south before
their return. Early in March, therefore, a whale-
boat was carried on sledges, with much labour and
difficulty, to the Princess Royal Island, and a
depot established of three months' victualling for
the entire crew; so that should the ship even be
destroyed in the coming summer, a portion if not
all of the people might escape to the Mackenzie
River or Barrow's Strait, at which latter place
some of Captain Austin's expedition would be met
with. With this depot of provisions a record
was placed, stating by whom and why it was
established, and beseeching any parties from other
ships that might visit it, to consider the provisions

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162 DISCOVEUY OF TIIR NORTH-WEST I'ASSAGE.

as sacrod, and only to be touched upon the most
urgent xiecessity.

These precautionary measures taken, the atten-
tion of leader, officers, and men was turned to the
equipment of the sledges for their journeys over
the ice in search of Franklin, as well as to the
expediency of communicating the " Investigator's "
position to any ships that might be in their neigh-
bourhood.

Early in March the temperature in the sun rose
to 10 "-fj ^^^ heavy breezes, with much snow,
indicated the breaking up of the winter season ;
and as the action of the tides had already occa-
sioned numerous cracks in the ice, Captain M'Clure
landed another boat upon the eastern shore of the
Straits, to secure still further the safety of his
travellers.

April brought rapid increase of sun, light, and
heat. Embankments of snow were removed, day-
light admitted below, and the walks of the officers
became more extended. Game was sometimes
seen, and ptarmigans occasionally shot ; but there
was too much work to be done connected with re-
stowing and examining the state of the provisions
in the vessel, and equipping the sledge-parties,
to allow of any systematic plan of procuring fresh
food being pursued.

nKPARTURE OF THE VARIOUS rARTIES. 1()3

On the 17th of the month the tem[icrature, which
Imd risen steadily, stood at 38° -f in the sun, and
the floe around the sliip became studded with
pools of water, formed rather, however, by the tide
forcing itself up the cracks and weak points in the
packed ice than by any action of the sun upon its
surface. An early summer naturally was antici-
pated ; and profiting by the experience gained at
Port Leopold in 1848, Captain M'Clure deter-
mined to get his parties away at once, instead of
waiting, as Sir James Ross had done, until
May 15th. The sledges were therefore laden;
and although with provisions for six weeks and
their equipments, every sledge weighed eleven
hundredweight, and there were only six men to
drag each, they moved, on trial, at a rate which
gave good promise of successful journeys.

Each of the three sledges was to take a separate
course : one, commanded by Lieut. Haswell, was di-
rected to proceed to the S. E., following the coast
of Prince Albert's Land, towards the land seen
north of Dolphin and Un''^n Strait, and named
by its discoverer WoUaston Land ; another sledge,
under Lieut. S. Gurney Cresswell, was to follow
the coast of Baring or Banks Land, to the N. W. ;
whilst the remaining party with Mr. Wynniatt

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164 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

(mat'^) was charged with the duty of examining
the coast of Albert Land to the N. E. towards
Cape Walker. < r

On April 18th, 1851, the sledges of the " Investi-
gator" left the ship * with the hearty good wishes of
all on board ; and like their brother seamen of the
expedition then wintering under Griffith's Island,
they held on their toilsome course in spite of cold,
hardship, and every difficulty, cheered by the then
still strong hope of finding Franklin's lost expedition.
To follow each party in its arduous and monoto-
nous labours, would be but an uninteresting repe-
tition of an oft-told tale ; but yet the general reader
should be reminded how nobly those gallant sea-
men toiled who were despatched from the " Investi-
gator,'* or from other ships, to search on foot for our
missing comrades. Sailors by profession, and con-
sequently unaccustomed to long marches or to drag-
ging heavy weights, — the major portion of their
lives probably having been spent under a broiling
sun on the coast of Africa, or ir the East or West
Indies, — we yet see these men readily enter the
Arctic regions, and push into the sea beyond the

* The sledges of Captain Austin's expedition, then winter-
ing at Griffith's Island, left, it will be remembered, three days
earlier, namely, on April 15th, 1851.

f.!\

. HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY SLEDGE CREWS. 165

boundaries of our knowledge of the earth's geo-
graphy, and even of the limits of the wanderings
of the hardy Esquimaux.

Imprisoned as they had been for a long and dark
winter ; left to their own resources entirely for
health, food, and amusement ; rationed upon the
coarse and endless repetition of salt beef and salt
pork, varied with occasional preserved meat to
check the slow but certain march of scurvy, they
were now sent to travel upon snow and ice, each
with 200 pounds to drag, which could not be left
behind, for it comprised food, fuel, raiment, sledge,
and tent. If they should feel cold, they must be
patient ; for until they return to the ship there will
be no fire to warm them. Should their parched
tongues cleave to their mouths, they must swallow
snow to allay their thirst ; for water there is none.
Should their health fail, pity is d11 that their
comrades can give them ; for the sledge must move
on its daily march. If hungry, they must console
themselves by looking forward to being better fed
when the travelling is over ; for the rations are ne-
cessarily, in sledge journeys, weighed off to an
ounce ; in short, from the time they leave the ship
until their return to it, the service is ever one of

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166 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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suffering and privation which calls for the utmost
endurance and most zeilous energy.

Severely did the spring of 1851 see the good qua-
lities of the British seaman tested, not only among
the parties from the " Investigator " but also among
those of Captain Austin and Captain Penny ; and in
every case the result was the same. No man flinched
from his work ; some of the gallant fellows really
died at the drag-rope ; others by frost-bites became
cripples for life ; but not a murmur arose in any
party: as ihe weak fell out from the sledge appointed
to the longest and most severe journey, there were
always more than enough of volunteers to take their
places. It has been the fashion of late to decry the
labours of these men-of-war's men in the search for
Franklin, and to point out how far th 3y fell short,
in endurance of fatigue and length of j'surney, of
the deeds of the Hudson Bay voyageurs ; bi t the
comparison, if impartially made, would really re-
sult in proving Jack by far the better man.

The voyageur is inured to long foot journeys, and
to carrying or dragging heavy weights ; sailors are
not ; — yet they had to walk whilst the voyageurs
of Richardson, Pullen, or ICae's expeditions were
sitting in canoes. If the distances of the respective
sledge journeys are compared, the sailor still carries

ENGLISH SEAMEN AND AMERICAN VOYAGEURS. 167

off the palm. The voyageur, too, has never tra-
velled upon the petty rations of our men; if
he has occasionally been starved, he has had a
surfeit of game soon afterwards.

There is not a part of North America over which
the voyageur has worked, where either drift-wood
or game are not found : when his day's toil has been
over, the voyageur has found a fire to warm him,
fresh food to invigorate him. Not so the sailor,
with one or two rare exceptions. When winter
comes, th^ voyageur retires to some snug house
near a lake where fish are plentiful, or to a
sheltered spot where deer abound ; how different
the arctic seaman's winter abode ! and the voyageur
has never seen the sun set except for a day or two
at most.

Those who wish to praise the Hudson Bay
Company's trappers and travellers, — and none
can deny their merits, — should do so without rob-
bing our poor sailors o/ their humble guerdon.
Their reward, poor fellows, has been but small ; and
living, as they do, by the sweat of their brows,
shattered health to them brings starvation.
Humble, unpolished, and uneducated they may
be ; but they have laboured hard, and deserve well
of their country and profession. Had all their

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168 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTII-WEST PASSAGE.

leaders been as honest, as single-hearted, as up-
right in purpose, and as stanch as the common
sailor, the wretched tale brought home in 1854 by
Dr. Rae would not have had to be told.*

* The Editor does not know of any sledge journey which
can more vividly depict the sufferings which some sledge
parties of sailors went through, than the one, of which the fol-
lowing is a brief extract, from the daily journal of the officer in
command, the present Captain George H. Richards, an officer
second to none in the indomitable energy and skill he has dis-
played in the successful execution of every duty entrusted him
in Arctic service.

« On the 22nd Feb. 1854," says Captain Richards, "the tem-
perature having ranged between 35° and 45° minus for the
last four days, I started with two sledges, by Captain Belcher's
orders, for Beechey Island, fifty miles distant. After eight
miles dragging, the men were so very tired, cold, and miserable,
that they hardly had patience to wait for their frozen meat being
thawed ; and that eaten, they threw themselves down in their
blanket bags, half frozen as they were, to sleep. Next day (the
23rd) the thermometer registered 40° below zero, or 72° below
freezing point ! " The poor fellows dragged on as well as they
could ; but the Captain's hands were too cold, and his ideas too
much engaged in attending to their safety, to write any journal
beyond the hasty but graphic expressions in his note-book, —
" It's distressingly cold ! " " the pork as brittle as resin ! " " the
rum frozen ! " So fatigued were many of the men, and so debi-
litated from constant suffering, that their stomachs reje'^ted
what food they attempted to swallow. On the 24th, the temper-
ature had fallen to 74° below freezing point. It seemed as if
human endurance could go no furti v ; yet they tugged on, for
anything was better than rctuniiiig to the wretchedness

CAPTAIN RICHARDS'S JOURNEY.

169

. Whilst the sledge parties of Captain M'Clure's shi p
as well as those of Captain Austin's and Penny's ex-
peditions ( lee Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal)

they had left on board their ship. Their noon-day meal,
called lunch, could not be partaiien of; for the rum and the
bacon were solid, and they were too cold to wait whilst either
thawed. Passing by where the gallant Frenchman Bellot
had fallen a sacrifice in attempting to carry out the impera-
tive orders of Sir Edward Belcher (vide Blue Books), the worn-
out and exhausted crews encamped at last otF Cape Grinnell.

Another night of sleeplessness passed, for the cold was too
intense for the most tired to sleep.

On the 25th Feb. the jaded crews made their way across
Griffin Bay, tlie temperature still so low, and their sufferings so
intense, that they could neither eat nor sleep, — a glass of grog
and a bit of biscuit being all their food. On the next day
the temperature was still 73" below freezing point (41°— of
Fahr.) ; exhaustion was apparent with all the party, and Captain
Richards had, as he says, " serious misgivings as to whether
he should be able to proceed." On making the attempt, frost-
bites became frequent and threatening ; but a fresh gale
from the north fortunately blew their sledges on, and in
the evening tliey camped near Point Innes. On the following
day Captain Richards and Mr. Herbert pushed on to the " North
Star," at Beechey Island, for aid ; and once arrived there, both
he and his men fervently thanked their God for his protection
through no ordinary suffering. It required a week's rest to
restore his men to health and strength ; and perhaps the most
painful part of this tale of su.itiring is, that it all arose from
an idea upon Captain Belcher's part that he was gifted
with prophetic powers as to a high range of temperature
after the 22nd February, — a pui*c luiUucination, as the result
proved.

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170 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

are plodding along on their arduous search, I must,
to connect the thread of our narrative, remind the
reader that we left H.M.S. " Enterprise," Captain
Collinson, consort of the " Investigator," in the Pa-
cific Ocean. She reached the latitude of Icy Cape as
late as the 22nd of September, 1850, having made
a long and circuitous passage from the Sandwich
Islands. The pack ice was there met; and with
winter evidently closing in, the prospect of round-
ing Cape Barrow that year was at an end. In
obedience, therefore, to the strict injunction con-
tained in his orders not to winter in the pack.
Captain Collinson bore up for a warmer climate, so
as to have his crew and ship ready to resume their
labours in the season of 1851.

All Captain Collinson knew of the position
of Captain M'Clure, was the report of the "Plover,"
Captain Moore, who on August 5th, 1850, had seen
the "Investigator," undera press of canvas, steering
northward off Wainwright Inlet. Unfortunately
one of the many rumours, easily to be traced to the
" Investigator's " communication with the natives of
the north coast, which reached the " Plover " in
her idle winter quarters, induced Captain Collinson
to allow an enterprising young officer, Lieut. Bar-
nard, to be landed in the Russian North-west Ameri-

■■U

MURDER OF LIEUT. BARNARD.

171

can settlements, in order to inquire into their truth ;
and in carrying out this service he was brutally
murdered by savages in a surprise of one of the
Russian posts, called Darabin redoubt, not far from
Norton Sound. The circumstances under which it
occurred are related in the following letter of his
companion, Mr. Adams, assistant surgeon.

"Garishka, Russian Fishing Station, Norton Sound,
N.W. Coast of America, 3rd March, 1851.

" Sir,

" The information I have been able to obtain
here, appears to be more probable than that which
1 gained at Michaelowski. It is to the following
effect : —

" Soon after Lieuteniint Barnard's arrival at
Darabin, a Russian and two natives were sent
to the Koiikuk river to trade fox skins, and they
took a letter from Mr. Barnard to be forwarded
to the Englishmen on the Ekko. These three men
were murdered by the Indians.

" On the morning of the 16th of February the
governor of the redoubt (Maxemoff or Darabin),
who was sleeping in the same room with Mr.
Barnard and Boskey, hearing a noise outside, went
to the door ; and immediately on opening it he
was killed by a spear.

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172 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

,1!

iU'

" The Indians then rushed into the room ; Mr.
Barnard seized his gun, one barrel of which hap-
pened to be loaded with a cartridge, and wounded a
man in the arm; he then struck with the butt,
until the stock broke ; he \vas severely wounded
in the abdomen by a spear, but I cannot learn that
he received any wounds from arrows.

" Boskey was badly wounded in the abdomen by
two arrows, in the hands by a spear being drawn
through them in attempting to wrest it from an
Indian, and in the arms by a knife. I can learn
nothing of the other Indians except that they
killed one native.

" The inhabitants of the two villages, Tolliikok
and Koltargar, were at Oomalartof at the time of
the attack, and all were killed, — men, women, and
children, — to the number of about fifty. The six
who escaped were sleeping in the bath-house at
the redoubt.

" I cannot ascertain the number of the attacking
party, only that there were ' plenty ' of them.
Each man carried a shield of thick wood, which
was musket-proof; and after the first attack they
appear to have planted them in a line so as to form
a wall, from behind which they fired ut the sur-
viving inhabitants. - '

MURDER OF LIEUT. DARNARD.

173

" There appears to have been no motive for the
attack, and so unexpected was it that they were
sleeping with their doors unfastened. *

" I have seen some of the spears here ; they are
large, and appear to be of European manufacture ;
they are inlaid with brass and copper.

" I have added to che enclosed tracing all the
information I have been able to obtain relative
to the situation and names of villages and rivers.

" On the 5th of January last Mr. Barnard sent a
native of this village to the * Plover ' with de-
spatches ; he has not been heard of since, and the
natives are all so much frightened that I cannot
get another to go. I therefore leave these papers
with the Russian in charge of this station, to be
forwarded if possible.

" We leave this to-morrow.

" I have &c.,

" Edward Adams,

" Assistant Surgeon, R. N.

|:ir

" Commander T. E. L. Moore,
H. M. S. ' Plover,' Grantley Harbour."

The sad catastrophe is briefly told, in the
handwriting of poor Barnard, in the annexed note

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174 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

to Doctor Adams. It speaks volumes for the nerve
of the gallant officer, and is strongly characteristic
of the man.

" Dear Adams,

" I am dreadfully wounded in the abdomen ;
my entrails are hanging out. I do not suppose
I shall live long enough to see you. The Cu-ii-
chuk Indians made the attack whilst we were
in our beds. Boskey is badly wounded, and
Darabin dead.

" I think my wound would have been trifling
had I had medical advice. I am in great pain ;
nearly all the natives of the village are murdered.
Set out for this with all haste.

" John Barnard."

The Russian letter on which this was written
bore the date of 5th February, Darabin Redoubt ;
Russian time being twelve days later than ours.
The -writing betrayed the agony of the gallant
writer, and parts were nearly illegible.

!•

175

CHAP. XIII.

Signs of Summer Increase. — Shooting Parties are sent out

Narrow I^scapc of Whiteficld. — Lieut. Cresswell returns,
having ascertained Banks Land to be an Island. — Curious
Appetite of a Bear — Lieut. Haswell returns, with Intelli-
gence of Esquimaux being at hand. — Visit the Esqui-
maux.— The Party under Mr. Wynniatt return. — June in
Prince of Wales Strait. — A Glance at the other Expedi-
tions wintering in Arctic Seas, under Austin, Penny,
Ross, and De Haven. — A Midsummer Scene in Prince of

Wales Strait.— The Polar Summer's Nig' t The Floe

breaks up. — "Investigator" again free. — Compasses refuse
to traverse. — The Ship beset, and drifting to the North-
east along the Eastern Shore. — Wood-Currents. — Tides.
— No Passage found. — Captain M'Clure decides to try
another Course, by going round Banks Land.

Between the 22nd of April and 5th of May
the signs of approaching summer increased ra-
pidly with those who were left on board the
" Investigator." Every indication of thaw, heat,
and vitality was keenly watched and minutely
noted ; indeed these observations, and fluctuating
hopes and fears for their brother shipmates absent
in the sledge parties, formed the constant round
of the existence of those whose good fortune it

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176 DISCOVERY OF TFIK NOUTH-WEST TASSAGK.

' ',

was not to share in thu labours and occupations
of sledge journeys. One day a small lemming was
caught, and its fur having changed slightly, from
pure white to a faint brown, was a prognostication
little likely to disappoint them of the snows being
about to melt away from the surface of the
smothered land ; — it was the olive-leaf in the
mouth of the dove. On another occasion, the
quarter-master, whilst clearing the ice off the
surface of a hole in the floe, which was always
kept clear in case of fire occurring, was charn.ed
to see a seal pop his head above water, and stare
wonderingly, with his big lustrous eyes, at the blunt
Yorkshiren"\n who was intruding upon his do-
minions.

Some there are who might have spared the poor
seal ; but the " Man of Hull " hardened his heart,
for he thought of the savoury fry it would yield,
and straightway poor Poussie* was transfixed with
a lance, and his skin, oil, and flesh were soon
afterwards contributing their respective quota
to the health and comfort of our navigators.

Then came a magnificent polar bear ; a real
giant, ten feet long, with footprints twelve

A term borrowed by our whalers from the Greenlandera.

SIGNS OF SUMMEn INCREASE.

177

real
lelve

lers.

iticlics in diameter, bore down to survey the
" Investigator." She was of course fired at,
but fortunately escaped with life and skin.
The fox and ptarmigan were seen together on
Princess Royal Island and Albert Land, the
feathers of the latter lying about in profusion,
and denoting that they pay dearly for frequenting
such distinguished society.

The vessel was now caulked and painted,
hatchways opened to dry long-accumulated damp
between-decks ; the holds were restowed, after
provisions and stores had been surveyed ; and
lastly a close examination of the crew was
made by the surgeon, Dr. Armstrong, and its
result was most satisfactory. All were in most
perfect health, not a trace of scurvy was de-
tected among the men then on board ; " an in-
stance of sanitary well being," as Captain M'Clure
justly observes, " unparalleled in the annals
of polar voyages." May brought in a tem-
perature ranging from 6° -f to 30° -j- of Fahren-
heit, the wind vaiying from S.W. to N.W., with
occasional falls of snow. On the 6th of May Mr.
Wynniatt's sledge-party returned to the ship : tiiat
officer had broken his chronometer, and wanted
to be supplied with another ; but there was not

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178 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

a spare pocket-instrument on board, and Captain
M'Clure, pained beyond measure at the loss of
time already incurred by the return of this party
from a position nine days' journey in advance
of the ship, despatched Mr. Wynniatt again upon
his original route during the course of the day.
Mr. Wynniatt reported that throughout his jour-
ney traces of musk-oxen and deer had been very
plentiful and fresh ; and as the latter animal had
also been seen upon the land abreast of the ship,
two shooting parties were established to endea-
vour to secure an addition to the resources of the
commissariat.

On May 7th a sad accident nearly occurred to a
young carpenter named Whitefield, one of a shoot-
ing party on the western shore. A large flock of
hares had been seen trooping up a ravine just as a
heavy snow-storm set in, the rest of the sportsmen
retired to their tent for safety, but Whitefield
was tempted to go on. On being missed by the
others, the men of the shooting party started two
at a time to look for him, each relief running:
much risk of losing its way and being smothered
in drift; yet nothing could be seen of the lost man.
Fairly at their wits' end, the party, which was in
charge of a petty officer, retreated to their tent

NARROW ESCAPE OF A MAN.

179

again, and began to fear the worst, when one of
them suddenly e.:daimed that he heard " the foot-
steps of a bear !" All heard the sound for a minute,
and then it ceased. The drift was so dense they
could see nothing ; and to their shouts of " W hite-
field ! " no answer came. Shortly afterwards, during
a lull in the gale, some one happened to look out of
the tent; and there, not a yard from the tent, knelt
poor Whitefield, stiff and rigid as a corpse, his
head thrown back, his eyes fixed, his mouth open
and filled with snow ; his gun was slung over his
shoulder, but bis body was fast being buried in a
snow-wreath. They pulled him into the tent, re-
stored animation, and then sent for aid to the ship.
When the man eventually recovered enough to tell
his tale, it was strange indeed. He said that, whilst
struggling with the snow-storm and endeavouring
to find his way home, he felt a chill, and then a
fit came on, which appeared to have deprived him
of his senses to some extent, for he had seen
people looking for him — some of them had even
passed within a hundred yards of him — yet he
could neither call them nor discharge his gun for a
sisrnal, and meantime the snow had covered him.
After a while he regained some strength, and for-
tunately discovered a track leading to the tent, and

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180 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

11 ^ll'l

had actually almost reached it — indeed they were
his footsteps that the people had heard —when
again the fit came on, and he sank down a yard
from the tent door, in the attitude of supplication,
in which he was found in the snow. He was fast
boooining rigid, and freezing to death, when, by the
mercy of Providence, his shipmates saw him.
Among the startling narratives of arctic history,
there are few more providential escapes.

The quantity of game, in the shape of hares
and ptarmigan, seen in every direction by the
different shooting parties, and recorded in Captain
M'Clure's diary for May, was very wonderful in so
high a latitude ; but the sailors and marines, with
one or two exceptions, were but poor sportsmen,
the sum total of their contribution to the general
stock being in four weeks but 156 ptarmigan and
seven hares. Yet one valley vi&Ited by them was
" literally alive with liares and ptarmigan," and
large troops of the former were seen by all parties.
Keener appetites, however, in following years
made keener sportsmen, as we shall hereafter see.

May 20th. — The last of the winter's snow had
disappeared from the western side of the strait,
and from that rejoicing in a south-eastern aspect ;
but the opposite shore, which geologically speak-

BANKS LAND AN ISLAND.

181

ing was of the same formation, still wore a
winter livery, owing to its facing the north-
western part of tlie heavens ; the advantage, here
so apparent, of wintering upon a coast or in a
harbour which looks to the southward, is a point
which should be held well in mind by the polar
navigator, if circumstances ever allow him to
choose his winter quarters. At 8 a. m. on this day
Lieut. Gurney Cresswell's party returned to the
ship, after an absence of thirty-two days from the
" Investigator." Lieut. Cresswell had searched
170 miles of the coast of Banks Land, from the
ship, in a north and north-west direction. For the
first fortnight the weather had been most severe,
— constant north-west gales, dead in tlieir teeth,
sweeping through Barrow's Strait. Frost-bites had
been frequent, but only two men became seriously
attacked ; and they, poor fellows, being affected in
the feet in both cases, mortification of the ex-
tremities threatened, and Lieut. Cresswell had
been obliged to listen to the dictates of humanity,
and retreat upon the ship just as the weather was
improving and the trend of the coast of Banks
Land to the south convinced him it was an island.
By this judicious step, however, the men's lives
were saved, one only losing a portion of his feet;

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182 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

i I

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i f

but a day or two longer on the sledge would have
been fatal to both.

The lieutenant found the north coast of Banks
Land, west of Cape Russell, a precipitous cliff of
limestone, varying from 1000 feet to 1500 feet in
height ; a;, ainst the base, ice of an amazing
thickness had been forced up, by a great north-
west pressure, in lofty ridges. Outside this ridge
the sledge had made its way for seventy miles,
when the land became low at what appeared the
western extreme of Barrow's Strait. Looking in
that direction from a considerable elevation, nothing
like land could be seen, the eye roamed over a vast
sea of ice ; it was again that " Land of the White
Bear " spoken of by the natives of Cape Bathurst.
On May 21st an extraordinary event occurred,
which was not until afterwards explained. About
10.30 A.M. a large bear was passing the ship,
when Captain M'Clure killed it on the spot with a
rifle-shot. On examining the stomach, great was
the astonishment of all present at the medley it
contained.

There were raisins, that had not long been
swallowed; a few small pieces of tobacco-le'di -^
bits of pork fat cut into cubes, which the
ship's cook declared must have been used for

CONTENTS OF A BEAr's STOMACH.

183

maKing mock-turtle soup, an article often found
on board a ship in a preserved form ; and,
lastly, fragments of sticking-plaster, which, from
the forms into which they had been cut, must
evidently have passed through the hands of a
surgeon. Captain M'Clure, ignorant at the time
of the position of the other ships that had been
despatched from England, surmised that there
could only have been two ways in which thesv^
traces of civilisation in che bear's stomach could be
accounted for ; either by the bear having come over
some floe of ice visited by the " Investigator" last
autumn, or that the " Enterprise " was wintering
close at hand. Now we know that the " Enterprise"
was then in China, and it is hardly probable, beai ing
in mind the rapid crushing and churning of the
ice, as described by Captain M'Clure, in the month
of November 1850, that any of it should have es-
caped being rolled over more than once. The field
for conjecture would therefore have been a wide
one, had he, like ourselves at the present hour,
known of the relative positions of Austin, Penny,
and Rae's expeditions, as well as of the quarter
from which proofs were brought in 1854 that
Franklin's people had reached to. In such a case the

most probable supposition would have been, that

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184 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

1% 'S

from one or either of ihem Bruin had made his
very extraordinary collection of curiosities. So im-
pressed, indeed, was M'Clure with the idea that the
" Enterprise " must be in the neighbourhood, that
he despatched Lieut. Cress well along the south-
east shore of Banks Land, with a sledge provisioned
until June 10th, to seek her.

After that officer had left the " Investigator,"
the bear's secret was revealed, for some sportsmen
in search of game picked up a preserved-meat tin,
around which there were many footprints of a
bear ; and upon examining its contents, they found
therein articles corresponding with those discovered
in the stomach of the animal shot on the 21st
instant.

On May 24th, Her Most Gracious Majesty's birth-
day, the " Investigator " fired a royal salute where
perhaps no salute will ever again be fired, and most
certainly none was ever fired before. The thermo-
meter, exposed to the sun, rose to-day to 73°-}- ;
in the shade it fell to 26° +• The first gull was
observed on the 27th inst., r sure sign of cracks
in the floe having already begun to show them-
selves. An early season it certainly was ; and offi-
cers and men longed for the open water that was
to lead them, as they hoped, to Lancaster Sound.

On May 29th the first-lieutenant's party was seen

-i; !;1

LIEUTENANT IIASWELL'S RETURN.

185

approaching, and it reached the ship safely soon
afterwards. Lieut. Haswell had been absent forty-
seven days, and during that time he had searched
a great extent of coast towards the south-east. He
reached the extreme point of his journey on the
14th May, when his position was on the north
shore of a deep indentation in Wollaston Land ;
his latitude and longitude being about 70° 45' N.,
114° W. By a remarkable coincidence, Dr. Rae,
from his winter quarters in America, reached on
the 24th of May, (exactly ten days later) a point
on the opposite side of the same inlet, the " ex-
tremes " of the two travellers being thus only forty
miles apart. On his homeward journey, Lieut.
Haswell fell in with native Esquimaux, en-
camped upon the ice, at a place since named
Berkeley Point, forming the southern head of the
strait. Unable to converse with them but by
signs, he pushed on for the ship; and directly
Captain M'Clure heard of natives being so close, he
made arrangements for going to communicate with
them by the aid of Mr. Mierching, the Moravian
interpreter, for until that moment no one had the
least idea that they were wintering so near fellow-
creatures.

It is true that every part of the coast about the

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18G DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST I'ASS/GE.

f I

neighbourhood of Princess Royal Island abounded
in Esquimaux ruins ; but they were moss-grown
and very ancient, and none of the natives of
North America met by the Investigator's in
tlie previous year spoke of having the least know-
ledge of land in the direction of Prince of Wales
Strait.

On the 30th, Captain M'Clure and Mr. Mier-
ching started, and on the 2nd June reached the
Esquimaux encampment, consisting of five tents
with as many men, five women, and a due propor-
tion of children.

Three of the men were absent hunting ; the re-
maining two received the visitors, answering to the
first salute of Mierching with a cry of, " Oh ! we
are very much afraid ! we are very much afraid ! "
as they probably were ; but assurances of the
good intentions of the Englishmen soon dissipated
their fears. One of the hunters came in shortly
afterwards. lie is described as a fine, active broad-
shouldered savage, with bow and quiver slung at
his back, a large copper-bladed hunting knife in his
hand, well clothed in seal skins, and his finely pro-
portioned limbs neatly encased in beautifully-made
mocassins and overalls. In fact, his appearance,
combined with his confiding, frank, and friendly

VISIT TO THE ESQUIMAUX.

187

manner, impressed all the party, and marked him
as a favourable specimen of the hardy race which
wanders over those frigid regions. Game, they
said, such as the musk-ox and deer were very
plentiful, but extremely wild. They assured
Captain M'Clure of the continuity of the land he
was now upon with that of WoUaston and Vic-
toria, which faces the American shore in Dolphin
and Union Strait. Esquimaux increased, they
said, as you went to the south-east ; and of all that
portion of the coast visited by them they drew a
very correct chart, handling pencil and paper as if
they were accustomed to hydrography. Mr. Mier-
ching understood them, and they him, perfectly, the
dialect spoken by the tribe being the same as
that of the Labrador coast. Tliey seemed very
simple and honest ; and when presented with any-
thing, they appeared incapable of supposing that
anyone would give them an article without expect-
ing an equivalent. A piece of red cloth having
been tied by the Captain round the neck of a girl,
she ran to the interpreter to know what was to be
given in return for it; and when assured that it
was a free gift, she gracefully acknowledged it by
a smile, and wished to know " what kind of animal
it grew upon. "

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188 DISCOVEIIY OF THE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

'MV

These Esquimaux said that, until they had seen
Lieut. HaswcH's party, they had never cast eyes
upon a white man, — proving pretty distinctly that
the lost expedition never reached so far. Copper
of the purest description seemed to be plentiful
with them, for all their implements were of
that metal ; their arrows were tipped with it, and
some of the sailors saw a quantity of it in a rough
state in one of the tents. Bidding goodb-ye to
these really interesting creatures, and promising
them untold wealth in the shape of buttons and
arms, Captain M'Clure returned to hi i ship more
than ever convinced that if the Honourable Company
under whose uncontrolled authority the northern
portion of British America has passed as a " vested
right," Avould, when seeking for furs and profits,
take a somewhat more enlarged view of their po-
sition, and study a little the Christian ruler's duty
towards such of their fellow-creatur<cJ as it has
pleased God to place them in authority over, it
would be better for them on that day of reckoning
when the support of the great ones of this earth
shall have as little weight as large dividends, or
stock at a premium.

The sympathy awakened in the mind of Captain
M'Clure for the lonely, expiring race of Esquimaux

RETURN OF WYNNIATl S PARTY.

189

was naturally increased by the isolated position of
his ship and crew at this period.*

June 4th. — The ship Avas now surrounded by
water, yet the ice of the strait was still seven feet
in thickness. The 7th of the month brought back
the sledge-party under Mr. Wynniatt ; his tuvninf-
point was on the 2Gth May, at which time he was
only fifty to sixty miles from the farthest point
reached by a party under Lieut. Osborn from
Griffith's Island. In both cases the land where each
party turned back was strikingly similar, low, with
off-lying shoals, and closely beset with stupendous
ice. Since then, in the winter of 1853-54, two of
Her Majesty's ships, the " Resolute " and " Intre-
pid," were caught in the pack, and wintered due
north of this intervening fifty miles of ground; and
although the wind blew fresh from the north and.
north-west, they did not drift through any channel
in a southern direction ; the natural inference there-
fore is, that the land from Cape Walker in Peel
Sound to the Prince of Wales Strait is continuous.
The drift chart of the " Pvesolute " and " Intrepid "
is strong evidence, at any rate, in favour of such
a theory.

* Captain Collinson, with his ship the " Enterprise," wintered
in the same year, 1851-52, amongst these people ; and all their
intercourse was most friendly.

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190 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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.Tunc is passing slowly, for the water docs not
make half fast enou^^h for men tired of ei^jht
months' imprisonment ; but the ice has diminished
2 ft. 10 in. in thickness in thirty days, and the
water-pools upon the surface are extending to-
wards one another, and borins: holes through the
floe beneath in all directions. The glistening hum-
mocks are turning to a faded-yellow colour, and
silently toppling to decay ; the ducks, and geese,
and swans fly cackling by, wondering perhaps
whether the " Investigator " is an island on which
it might be prudent to deposit their eggs, so as to
secure them from the sly Renard who is eyeing
them with a watering mouth, whilst the long-silent
ravines burst out with a view halloo! and send
glacier, snow, water, land, and stone, flying far
over the floe which fringes either shore. But
Avhilst we wait for the myt.*^erious but certain
motion of the ice-fields in the sirait, which will re-
lease our travellers, let us cast a glance at the points
reached during the past spring by the many
parties pushing out from Griffith's Island and
from Captain Penny's wintering-place in Barrow's
Strait. Thanks to the close attention paid to the
details of sledging by Lieut. M'Clintock* whilst

* The present Captain Leopold F. M'Ciintock, R.N.

JUNE IN PRINCE OF VALES STRAIT.

191

serving under Sir. James Ross, in 1848, and to the
vast improvement his ingenuity enabled him to
effect in it, the sledgc-partlcs from Captain Aus-
tin's squadron were the most perfectly appointed
that ever perhaps left on arctic service. The
editor, who has since served in a squadron where
an attempt was made to claim originality upon the
head of equipment, feels it but justice to say, that
every part of the sledge scheme carried out by Sir
Edward Belcher's expedition in 1853 was grounded
entirely upon Lieut. M'Clintock's original ideas.
Here and there, though his suggestions were made
use of, something was done to give an appearance
of originality, but it was an appearance only ; to
Lieut. M'Clintock belonged the merit where there
was any. Aided by this splendid equipment, which
only required that more of the officers should have
been as skilled as M'Clintock in turning them to
advantage to have yielded still better results, the
sledges from the "Resolute," "Assistance," "Pio-
neer," and "Intrepid" did an immense amount of
work. The leading one, which carried off the palm
in distance and value of service performed, was led
by Lieut. M'Clintock in person to Melville Island ;
and about the same time when Lieut. Cresswell was
standing on the north extrem e of Banks Land,

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192 DISCOVERY OF THE NOHTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Lieut. M'Clintock was on the southern promontory
of Melville Island, some fifty or sixty miles from
him.

On the south shore of Barrow's Strait, Captain
Ommanney, of the "Assistance," was leading a
party westward. At Peel Sound, he detached
Lieut. Browne with two sledges, to examine that
channel downwards, while from the American
coast Dr. Rae afterwards came up it in a boat,
and thpy approached each other, until their ex-
tremes were only 180 miles apart.

It is too late to regret it now; but had the
whole strength of that division of sledges been
turned upon Peel's Strait, we should then have
reached King William's Land, and saved Frank-
lin's crew. Alas! there was then a furor for
Melville Island and for Banks Land ; and all
Captain Ommanney and his adviser, the writer of
these pages, got for their forethought in heed-
ing Peel's Strait at all, was a cnubbing for not
beating Lieut. M'Clintock. Captain Ommanney,
anxious to pass nothing, went down another
opening, fearing it might be a strait ; and Lieut.
Sherard Csborn pushed on with another sledge,
as far as his provisions would allow him, turning
back, as I have said, when about forty or fifty miles

«-i.--^ii.|-f :i-'fflEA

ming

GLANCE AT THE OTHER EXPEDITIONS.

193

from the point reached by Captain M'Clure's
party. -^

Another sledge-party, under Lieut. Aldrich,
searched far up to the northward by way of Byam
Martin Channel, whilst Penny with boat and
sledge opened up and examined Wellington
Channel. Not a fresh vestige did these parties
discover of Franklin's whereabouts, beyond the
fact of his first winter quarters having been in
Beechey Island ; — and so little did the leaders of
the expeditions from Baffin's Bay seem to think
they were to work in combination with those who,
as they knew, were pushing towards a central point
from the Pacific Ocean, that they took the earliest
advantage of open water to return to England, and
strived to enlighten the world with whjit they sup-
posed Franklin must have done after he left winter
quarters at Beechey Island. Strange to say too,
those whose position entitled their opinion to most
weight, gave Franklin credit for everything but
doing what he was sent to do, and did do — dis-
cover a North-west Passage ! — a fact which Dr.
Rae's discoveries in 1854 incontestably prove.

Before returning to the " Investigator," a glance
must be cast in the direction of B(;hring's Strait.
There we see the " Enterprise," Captain R. Col-

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194 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

;l 'fl

■m ■■*!

linson, C. B., pushing into the ice. On the 29th
July, she rounded Point Barrow with some diffi-
culty, and then, following the American shore on
the footsteps of the " Investigator," we will leave
her struggling with and mastering successfully
the many dangers of that shoal coast and pon-
derous ice.

It is July in Prince of Wales Strait, the
summer season of latitude 70° north : the " In-
vestigator " has bent sails, hoisted up her boats,
and keen eyes from the mast-head watch the
daily increase of water, which is detaching the
floe from either shore. The russet tints of the
land on both shores have replaced the tiresome
white of winter ; the ravines are again silent, the
debdcle has passed, and the waters only run now
in modest trickling streams. Here and there
along the edge of some deep cleft in the land, the
white streak of a pigmy glacier shows where the
summer heats cannot penetrate ; but on the
sunny slopes, or in sheltered valleys, the modest
Flora of the North spreads her short-lived store
— lichens and moss — in rich profusion of species
and colour. The lovely golden hue of the anemone
and poppy, the purple blossomed saxifrage, and
white flowerets of the London -pride, appear inter-

MIDSUMMER SCENE.

195

laced with the rich green of the ground-willow, and
rose-tinted leaves of sorrel, all relieve the wanderer's
eye, and carry him back with softened feelings to
some nook in his own dear land, where the flowers,
and trees, and herbs, though far surpassing in love-
liness those before him, are yet not half so much
appreciated.

The plover, phalarope, and bunting, here rear
their young untroubled by man : around the
margin of the petty lakes formed by melting snow
upon the terraces, wild-fowl of many sorts — the
king and common eider, the pintail duck, and
the Brent goose — form their simple nests, in spite
of the prowling fox and piratical boatswain-bird
{Stercorarius parasitica)^ the former in quest of the
parent, and the latter of her eggn. And then
ai ng the face of some beetling cliff, which fronting
to the south gives good promise of having water
early at its base, clouds of shrieking gulls, kitti-
wakes, and burgomasters, hold a nojsy parliament.
Ihere was no night to overshadow this scene : the
sun rose high during the day along the southern
half of the heavens, and sloped without setting
towards the north until midnight. There was no
darkness now, as during winter there had been no

light. Yet it must not be supposed that in the

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196 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

IP!

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Arctic regions there is not a perceptible division of
the day into that portion of it intended for labour
and that for rest. Between the hours of eight in
the evening and four in the morning, in spite
of the sun sweeping through the heavens, there is
a perceptible change; the light is more subdued,
the tints of land and sea less strong, shadows less
marked, the birds go as naturally to roost as if it was
dark, and Nature is evidently reposing. Nothing
can be more lovely than this Polar night, which is
not night, or, as it has been beautifully described,
" the long mild twiliglit, which, like a silver clasp,
unites to-day with yesterday, when morning and
evening sit together, hand in hand, beneath the star-
less sky of midnight." They who have once looked
at such a landscape can never forget it, and though
perhaps the penalties attached to a visit to these
scenes may serve to check enthusiasm upon
the subject of their attractions, yet those least
susceptible to the impressions of the wonderful
and beautiful, must, when standing among the
marvels of those distant regions, have felt empha-
tically the truth of those eloquent sentences in
our Bible in which the Creation is described, and
every phase of it declared to be good and perfect.
There was great joy on board the " Investiga-

THE FLOE BREAKS UP.

197

tor " from the lOtli to the 14th of July. The floe
had commenced moving and breaking up : a lane
of water was seen extending on the former day
along the western shore, to the northward. The
ice in which the ship was still imprisoned on the
eastern side drifted about a couple of miles, and
then suddenly broke up, leaving her again free
after being fixed to one spot for nearly ten
months. The dangers of the navigation now re-
commenced ; the ice was still very plentiful, and
the clear water in very small patches ; and as the
pack drifted to and fro, all the helpless ship could
do was to fasten to the strongest masses, and
trust to their strength for safety from other fields
of ice. The set of the currents or tides had long
been an anxious question with Captain M'Clure :
the tide-pole in thirty fathoms water was not a sure
guide ; but, so far as its help and twelve months*
observation would allow him to form an idea,
the flood-tide came from the south up the Strait,
the rise and fall being about three feet at spring-
tides, and little, if anything, at the neaps. The
prevailing current, judging from drift-wood and
other symptoms, was north-cast along the eastern
coast into Barrow's Strait, and on the opposite, or
Banks Island shore, if anything, the current set

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198 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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soutK- westerly. Tempted by the appearance of
some clear water upon the western co9"t of
the Strait, the "Investigator" on the 17th July
cast off, and attempted to roach it. She was,
however, caught by the pack-ice, and in a dense
fog drifted with the crushing floes so close to
Pi'incess Royal Island as to hear the screams of
the sea-fowl on the cliff; and, as had occurred
in the previous autumn, she only escaped de-
struction by what seemed a miracle. After many
a hair-breadth escape from shoals and nips in the
ice. Captain M'Clure decided upon returning again
to the eastern ooast, and following it, God willing,
into Barrow's Strait. On the 24.th the first part
of his object was accomplished, by crossing the
Strait and reaching a spot named Cape Armstrong.
Here such a quantity of drift-wood was seen upon
the beach that a cutter was sent to embark a
load. It was all American pine, some of it so
fresh, that the carpenter was of opinion that it
could not have been drifted from its native forest
— either upon the banks of the Mackenzie or
Copper-mine River — more than two years since.

A serious and alarming difficulty now added to
the anxieties of our navigators. The compasses,
without any apparent cause, became exceedingly

COMPASSES REFUSE TO TRAVERSE.

199

sluggish, and varied to such an extent in the dense
fogs then prevailing, that it became impossible to
tell which way they were going. The standard
compass one day showed the ship's head to be N.
whilst the starboard one pointed S. W. by W. J W.,
and the port compass remained obstinately at
S. by W. Every care was taken to ascertain and
remove the cause of this eccentricity in the needles,
but it still remained. The " Investigator" now be-
came again beset in the ice, and with slight inter-
mission continued so until the 15th of August,
during which time she drifted about two miles per
diem to the north-east with it, and eventually
reached 73° 43' 43" N. latitude, and longitude
115° 32' 30" W., in which position she remained
at the tantalising distance of twenty-jive miles from
the loaters of Barrow's Strait ! Further than that,
no effort could advance the ship, and there were
occasional sets of the ice to the south-west, with
N. E. winds, which threatened to send them back
from whence they came. The young ice at nights
had already begun to form, the sun set again, and
Captain M'Clure xnew that his days of navigation
were every day diminishing. If he could push
into the pack of Barrow's Strait, with a prospect
of drifting with it to the eastward for Lancaster

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200 DISCOVERY 0^ THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Sound, he was prepared to do so ; but it would be
folly meiely to get entangled in it at the t;ntrance
of Prince of Wales Strait, and be swept back
again to winter, in 1851-52, in the same place he
had occupied last year. Impressed with this
feeling, it was with no small anxiety, when on the
16th of August, about noon, the fog lifted, that he
proceeded to take a careful survey of the state of
the ice ahead, before he decided upon launching
into it, or adopting some other course by which
to carry his ship through the north-west passage
in safety ; and to ^^ciioct upon one line at any rate
the search for his missing brother officers. He
says, " I observed the ice closely packed, extend-
ing across from one side cf the Strait to the other : "
it formed an unbroken line without a prospect of
successful passage through it for a sailing ship,
and then he immediately determined, with that
decision which formed the secret of his wonderful
success, to bear up, go round the south end of
Banks Land, and endeavour, by rounding it to the
westward, to reach Melville Island from that
direction.

tii

201

CHAP. XIV.

The " Investigator" bears up, and goes round the South End
of Banks Land. — Rapid Progress up the Western Coast. —
The Lane of Water diminishes. — Perilous Passage between
the North-west Coast and ponderous Packed Ice. — Extraor-
dinary Accidents and wonderful Preservation. — North-west
Extreme of Banks Land.— Discovery of ancient Forests. —
Arctic Lakes. — Fresh- Water Fish. — The "Investigator"
drifts into the Pack in an Autumnal Gale. — Escapes and
Struggles along-shore. — September Night Scene off Banks
Land. — 23rd September, 1851, run Ashore during the
Night in the Bay of Mercy. — Ship Afloat. — Fail to get
into the Pack of Barrow's Strait. — Winter Quarters, 1851-
52. — Reduction of Allowance of Food. — Land found to
abound in Game. — Want of good Hunters. — Acute Instinct
of the Reindeer. — Arctic Hare, Wolf, and Fox. — Con-
tinued good Health of the Crew. — Cleverness of the Arctic
Raven. — Violence of Winter Snow-Storms. — Christmas-
Day.— The Arrival of II. M. S. " Enterprise " in Prince of
Wales Strait. — She fails in rounding Banks Land, — and
Winters at the Esquimaux Settlement in Walker Bay.

The helm of the " Investigator " was " put up : "
the good ship that had so gallantly striven to escape
by the northern outlet of the Strait, by which the
existence of a north-west passage had been
discovered, wore round upon her keel, set all sail,

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202 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

V \* '

and sped rapidly to the south-west, passing
Princess Royal Island for the last time. The
officers and crew were astonished to find that not
a particle of ice was to be met ; floes, hummocks,
huge piles of ice that had fringed the coast, all
had disappeared ! After a run of 100 miles in
clear water, the 17th August found them passing
the majestic cliffs of Nelson Head, the southern
extreme of Banks Land, the land preserving the
same bold features for 25 miles to the westward,
where it terminated at Cape Hamilton : here they
encountered a heavy swell from the S. E. with a
fine breeze, which made the " Investigator " throw
up her heels, much to the delight of those who
were on board. Gradually turning to the north-
west, and then north. Banks Land was found
again to resume in some measure the same undu-
lating features and long sloping beach that cha-
racterised its eastern coast. Considerable quantities
of drift-wood lay on the beaches north of Cape
Hamilton ; much vegetation was seen, and nu-
merous flocks of wild swans and geese were
feeding along the shore. On the 18th of August
the *' Investigator " had run the extraordinary
distance, in such a latitude, of 300 miles, without
being once checked by ice. The pack on this day

»< (i

EEMARKABLE CHANGE.

203

was seen hanging in a heavy body in the south-
west, leaving, however, a lane of six miles of clear
water between it and the shore. In the afternoon
Cape Kellett was rounded, with some little diffi-
culty, the ship passing, with sufficient water to
float her, between the edge of grounded ice and the
coast. The land was now so low that the hand
lead-line became for a while their best guide, the
soundings happily were regular, and, aided by it
and a fair wind, they advanced apace to the north-
ward: throughout the 19th the ship sometimes
ran as much as seven knots per hour, the width of
the lane of water in which they were sailing vary-
ing from three to five miles. Noon that day
found them in '^2^'' 55' north latitude, and 123" 52'
30" west longitude, and already did Captain
M'Clure count upon extending his voyage to the
north of Melville Island, and then striking for
some Strait or Sound leading into Baffin's Bay !

That night, however, a sudden and remarkable
change took place. They had just crossed Burnet
Bay, within Norway and Kobilliard Island, when
the coast suddenly became as abrupt and pre-
cipitous as a wall ; the water was very deep,
sixty fathoms by the lead-line within 400 yards of
the face of the cliflfs, and fifteen fathoms water

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204 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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when actually touching them. The lane of water
liad diminished to 200 yards in width where
broadest ; and even that space was much hampered
by loose pieces of ice aground or adrift. In some
places the channel was so narrow that the quarter
boats had to be topped up to prevent them touch-
ing the cliffs upon the one hand, or the lofty ice
upon the other; and so perfectly were they running
the gauntlet, that on many occasions the ship
could not " round-to," for want of space. Their
position was full of peril, yet they could but push
on, for retreat was now as dangerous as progress.
The pack was of the same fearful description as
that they had fallen in with in the offing of the
Mackenzie River, during the previous autumn ;
it drew forty and fifty feet water, and rose in
rolling hills upon the surface, some of them 100
feet from base to summit. Any attempt to force
the frail ahip against such ice was of course mere
folly: all they could do was to watch for every
opening, trust in the goodness and mercy of God,
and push ahead in the execution of their duty.
If the ice at such a time had set in with its vast
force against the sheer cliff, nothing, they all felt,
could have saved them; and nothing in the long
talc of Arctic research is finer than the cool and

WONDERFUL PRESERVATION.

205

resolute way in which all, from the captain to the
youngest seaman of tlils gallant batid, fought inch
by inch to make their way round this frightful
coast.

Enough has been said to give a correct idea
of the peril incurred at this stage of the voyage,
without entering into minute details of the hair-
breadth escapes hourly taking place ; but one
instance may be given as a sample of the rest.
After the 20th of August, the " Investigator " lay
helpl essly fixed off tho north-west of Banks Land ;
the wind had pressed in the ice, and for awhile
all hopes of farther progress were at an end. On
the 29th of August, however, a sudden move took
place, and a moving floe struck a huge mass to
which the ship had been secured ; and, to the horror
of those on board, such was the enormous power
exerted, that the mass slowly reared itself on its
edge, close to the ship's bows, until the upper part
was higher than the fore-yard, and every moment
appeared likely to be the " Investigator's " last ; for
the ice had but to topple over, to sink her and
her crew under its weight. At the critical moment
there was a shout of joy, for the mass, after
oscillating fearfully, broke up, rolled back in iti
original position, and they were saved ! Hardly,

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206 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

however, was this danger past than a fresh one
threatened, for the berg to which the ship was
secured was impelled forward by the whole weight
of the driving pack towards alow point of land, on
which with frightful pressure the great floes were
breaking up, and piling themselves tier upon tier.
The " Investigator " had no power of escape ; but
every hawser was put in requisition, and hands
stationed by them. An attempt to blow up a
grounded berg, upon which the ship was driving,
only partially succeeded ; the nip came on, the poor
ship groaned, and every plank and timber quivered
from stem to stern in this trial of strength between
her and the ice. " Our fate seemed sealed," says
Captain M'Clure, and he made up his mind to let
go all hawsers. The order was given, and with
it the wreck of the " Investigator " seemed certain :
all the leader hoped for was, to use his own words,
"that we might have the ship thrown up suf-
ficiently to serve as an asj^nm for the winter : "
if she should sink between the two contending
bergs, the destruction of every soul was inevi-
table.

But at the very moment when the order to " let
go all hawsers " was given, and even before it could
be obeyed, a merciful Providence caused the berg

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DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT FORESTS.

207

which most threatened to break up, and the
" Investigator " was once more saved ; though still
so tightly was she beset, that there was not room
to drop a lead-line down round the vessel, and the
copper upon her bottom was hanging in shreds, or
rolled up like brown paper.

They were now upon the north-west extreme
of Banks Land, and whilst detained in this dan-
gerous locality, officers and men rambled into the
interior, which they found far from so sterile
as the view of it from the sea had led them to ex-
pect. Traces of musk oxen and deer abounded,
and both were seen; but perhaps the most
extraordinary discovery of all was a great accu-
mulation of fossil trees, as well as fragments not
fossilised, lying over the whole extent of the land,
from an elevation of 300 feet above the sea to its
immediate level. Writing on the 27th of August,
Captain M'Clure, speaking of this wood, says, " I
walked to-day a short distance into the interior :
the snow that had fallen last night lay unthawed
upon the high grounds, rendering the prospect
most cheerless. The hills are very remarkable,
many of them peaked, and standing isolated from
each other by precipitous gorges : the summits of
these hills are about 300 feet high, and nothing

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208 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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can be more wildly picturesque than the gorges
which lie between them. From the summit of these
singularly formed hills to their base abundance of
wood is to be found^ and in many places layers of
trees are visiU^^ some protruding twelve or fourteen
feet^ and so firm that several people may jump on
them without their breaking: the largest trunk yet
found measured one foot seven inches in diameter.''^

Again, on September 5th, some miles from the
hills just alluded to, Captain M'Clure says : " /
entered a ravine some miles inland^ and found the
north side of it, for a depth of forty feet from the
surface, composed of one mass of wood similar to
what I had before seen. The whole depth of the
ravine was about 200 feet. The ground around
the wood or trees was formed of sand and shingle ;
some of the tvood was petrified, the remainder very
rotten, and worthless even for burning."

This remarkable phenomenon opens a vast field
for conjecture, and the imagination becomes be-
wildered in trying to realise that period of the
world's history when the absence of ice and a
milder climate allowed forest trees to grow in a
region where now the ground- willow and dwarf birch
have to struggle for existence. At a subsequent
period to that we are speaking of, Lieut. Mecham

' I

DISCOVERT OF AKCIENT FORESTS.

209

discovered a similar kind of fossil forest nearly 120
miles farther north.*

On the 1st September, winter appeared to have
overtaken the " Investigator " in her forlorn posi-
tion. From the highest land near them the
officers and men had in vain looked out over the
pack, for the hope of release which even a yard of
water would afford: all was ice over the surface
of that really frozen sea. Keen and strong already
came the north-west wind. What would it be in
the depth of winter? they asked each other with a
shudder. The wild-fowl had nearly all gone south ;
and the gallant little snow-buntings were muster-

,,. an.

• In the spring of 1853, one of the sledge-parties under
Lieut. Mechara, of H. M. S. " Resolute," was travelling across
the newly discovered island called after H.R.H. Prince Patrick.
When in 76° 15' N. latitude, and 121° 40' W, longitude, iic
says : —

"Tuesday, May 31st. — Discovered buried in the east bank of
the ravine, and protruding about eight feet, a tree of consider-
able size. During the afternoon, I found several others of a
similar kind: circumference of first and second tree seen,
three feet ; of another, two feet ten inches. From the perfect
state of the bark, and the position of the trees so far from
the sea, there can be but little doubt that they grew origi-
nally in this country. I sawed one through : it appeared very
close-grained, and was so immensely heavy that we could carry
but little of it away."

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210 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH- WEST PASSAGE.

ing to depart likewise. The prospect was not
cheering; yet none could complain, for they had
come a marvellous distance in the short navigable
season of the polar seas, and the distance yet to
be accomplished to reach those waters which had
been traversed by ships from the direction of
Baffin's Bay was small indeed compared with that
already passed. As his vessel was squeezed up
and cradled in ice about fifty yards off the
shore. Captain M'Clure expected to have to winter
thus ; and in order that he might be able to afford
his men rest hereafter, he commenced at once col-
lecting ballast from the beach, a circumstance
which gave that part of Banks Land the name of
Ballast Beach. It is in lat. 74° 25' N., long. 122° W.
The prospect in nowise improved between the
1st and the 10th of September. The temperature
had fallen to 16°+ Fahr., or 16° of frost; and the
aurora-borealis flickered its pale light at night
through the cold heavens ; everything spoke of
winter; yet the position of the ship was too inse-
cure a one to justify the Captain in making any of
the preparations for sheKering the men from its
rigour, such as clearing decks and spreading
housing, lest some fresh movement in the ice
should require the vessel to be again placed under

." ARCTIC LAKES AND FRESH- WATER FISH. 211

canvas *, — a wise precaution, which, as we shall
see, enabled him to reach secure winter quarters,
and saved his ship.

Amongst other remarkable proofs that the daily
excursions of men and officers brought to light, of
the land, barren as it was, possessing considerable
resources in the shape of animal life, the discovery
of lakes with fisli in them was not the least worthy
of note. Two of these lakes had attracted the at-
tent' n of the officers, from the extraordinary fact
that, although within 100 yards of each other and
possessing exactly the same aspect, yet one of them
was firmly frozen over, while the other had not a
particle of ice upon its surface. The only respect in
which they were found to differ in relative position
was, that the unfrozen lake was ten feet nearer the
level of the sea than the other, and its depth was
six fathoms, whilst that of the frozen lake was but
five, — a difference, however, which could hardly ac-

* In the winter of 1853-54, H. M. S. " Assistance" and
" Pioneer " were similarly caught by ice and westerly winds in
Wellington Channel ; but the absence of equal judgment and
foresight, on the part of Captain Sir E. Belcher, nearly caused
the total loss of the " Assistance," and by occasioning tlie
vessels to winter there, instead of taking advantage of the open
water that afterwards offered, caused the eventual desertion of
both vessels by that officer.

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212 DISCOVERY OF TOE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

!IM)

count for the fact, the water in both being remark-
ably pure, and the temperature by thermometer
differing only 1°. When Captain M'Clure visited
the lakes on the 6th instant, he found both frozen
over ; but the ice in the lower one was only half
the thickness of that in the upper ; and, to add to
the interest attached to this little freak of nature,
the lower lake was full of fish — salmon-trout,
varying from three inches to a foot in length —
whilst the upper one had not a living creature
in it. The exquisite transparency of the young
fresh-water ice enabled him to ascertain this fact
as easily as if he had been looking through a
crystal. '

Ancient traces of the Innuit or Esquimaux
were found here, showing that, even in this remote
corner, that extraordinary race of hunters pnd
fishers had not failed at one time to extend
their wanderings ; and not far from these ruins of
huts and caches^ some more hills were discovered
in which there existed a considerable stratum of
wood, " with trees," says Captain M'Clure, " of con-
siderable length and diameter projecting from the
sides of the hills, and that too, in a state of preserva-
tion which rendered them not unfit for firewood."

On the 10th September, the wind veered to

"investigator" drifts into a Ti^CK. 'IB

the southward, the tr perature rose, and at mid-
night the ice went off from the coast, without the
slightest warning, carrying the poor "Investi-
gator " with it, and handing her thus over to the
tender mercies of the much dreaded pad: in the
of&ng. Fortunately the ship was on its weather
edge, although so cradled in ice under her bottom
as to be helpless, and painful were the feelings
of all on board of her until their position was as-
certained at daylight; but amid the roar of the
gale and tossing of the floes which had caused
this sudden danger, the firm hand of the leader
wrote in his diary : —

" Thus we launch into this formidable frozen sea. Spes mea
in Deo.**

Daylight showed them to be drifting north-east,
one mile off shore, in 100 fathoms of water, at
the rate of about a mile an hour. So far it was
consolatory ; but the object was to free the ship,
and to secure her in some nook in the land or
land -ice, as soon as it threatened to close in
upon the shore, which it assuredly would do when
the southerly gale abated in the least. By dint of
enormous charges of powder, placed under and
amongst the ice which held the " Investigator,"
this object was at last effected, at a time when

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214 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

neither hawsers, saws, nor chisels were found of the
slightest avail. Launching once more into her
own element, the *' Investigator " struggled on
during the day, and, as night closed in, sought
shelter amongst the grounded ice. Another night
and a day of continued danger and anxiety fol-
lowed ; for the wind slackened, and the pack again
rolled along the coast, pivoting upon the grounded
pieces, and threatened, as it pulverized or threw
masses thirty or forty feet thick high up on the
beach, or a-top of one another, to occasion a like
catastrophe to their frail bark. Through the long
dark night, the sullen grinding of the moving
pack, and the loud report made by some huge mass
of ice which burst under the pressure, boomed
through the solitude, and as the starlight glim-
mered over the wild scene to seaward the men
could just detect the pack rearing and rolling
over, by the alternate reflected lights and shadows.
It was a time to try every nerve ; and fervently
all prayed for some providential circumstance to
place them in a haven of security for the winter.
That prayer was ai last answered ; for, having once
more freed the ship from the ice which surrounded
her, in order that a lane of water stretching east-
ward might be turned to advantage, the 19th of

.• ESCAPES AND STRUGGLES ALONQ-SIIOltE. 215

September saw the " Investigator " again pro-
gressing along the coast. Fifteen miles were ac-
complished, and at night the vessel was secured
as far as circumstances would admit of. Two
whales, the first seen for a very long time,
passed them on this day, and appeared to be going
westward. Next day, struggling with a succession
of difficulties which nothing but the unparallelcvl
gallantry and zeal of every soul in the ship enabled
them to surmount, the " Investigator " reached a
headland since called Cape Austin ; and here she
was secured again, near a place where the floes had
run up a steep slope of the land to the height of
seventy feet.

On the 22nd, this cape was rounded, and the
voyagers immediately found the appearance of the
ice less formidable, and all breathed afresh at the
feeling that they were now fairly in the waters of
Barrow's Strait 1 Whilst pushing slowly on, two
small bays were seen, but so choked up with old
ice as to render it impossible for shelter to be
found there. Some idea may be formed of the
narrow strip of water along which the " Investi-
gator " was seeking her way, from the fact that on
one occasion, as they approached a cape, the lower
studding-sail boom had to be " topped up " to allow

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216 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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the vessel to pass through a crack (for it was
nothing else) between the steep cliffs on the one
hand and the floes upon the other.

The 23rd of September, 1851, the last day of the
gallant ship's achievements, came in most promis-
ingly. Water was seen ahead long before day-
dawn, sail was set, and she battled on all day to the
eastward, making a little southing, as the land
trended that way. Hitherto Captain M'Clure had
avoided pushing on at night, since they had become
so dark and so long ; but for many cogent reasons
he was induced to-day to depart from this rule;
and, as the result proved, it was unfortunate in
one respect that he did so, for about half-past seven
o'clock in the evening the ship ran ashore on a
steep bank. The crew strained every nerve to get
the vessel off; and after cle.'iring tlie fore hold and
store-rooms, and laying out a stream-anchor and
cable, she floated off during the night.

On the next day they found themselves in a
large bay, affording good winter quarters, and
perceived that it was impossible to round its
north-eastern horn, so as to enter the pack and
drift with it through Barrow's Strait during the
coming winter. Under these circumstances, and
considering what they had gone through in

' If M

RUN ASHORE. — AFLOAT IN T'lE BAY OF MLRCY. 217

reaching the secure spot into which they had
steered during darkness, Captain M'Clure made
up his mind to winter where he was; and, in
token of his gratitude to a kind Providence,
the bay was appropriately called the Bay of
Mercy. It was no empty expression ; for every
heart in that ship was filled with emotion, and
many prayed that in after years, should they be
spared to reach their homes, the recollection of
the bounty and goodness of Him wh'' had upheld
them through such anxieties and dangers, might
never be effaced from their memories.
- Winter came on apace, but the Investigators
were ready for it now. With slight exceptions,
the arrangements were much the same as those
of 1850-51 ; and, to judge from appearances, it
seemed that all were quite as well able to scorn
its rigour as they had been on the first occasion.
As a precaution, however, to meet the possible
contingency of an escape from the polar regions
not being effected in the forthcoming year, the
painful but necessary measure was adopted of
reducing the allowance of food per diem, of the
ship's company. Captain M'Clure ordered that
officers and men should be placed upon two-thirds
of their ordinary rations: but, happily, at this

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218 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH- WEST TASSAOE.

time it was discovered that the land teemed with
deer and hares; and although the want of pro.
fessional hunters caused the loss of many a fine herd
of deer, yet when the winter set in, in addition
to small birds, nine deer and fifty-three hares
had been shot, their flesh adding to the resources
of the ship. The interior of the land, so far as
the walks of the sportsmen carried them, appeared
well fitted to support the hardy animals of that
latitude. Broad plains of dwarf willow, reindeer
moss, and the coarse grasses of the North were
seen ; and the herds of deer and troops of hares
which were daily reported seemed perfectly mar-
vellous to those who had hitherto believed th;it
little if any animal life existed so far north. The
above-mentioned animals, as well as the ptarmi-
gan, never, in fact, left the neighbourhood of Mercy
Bay even in the depth of winter ; and it was only
the cold and darkness which prevented their being
shot at that season. It would take a volume to
describe the novel and interesting habits of these
animals, as observed by those who sojourned in
Mercy Bay. Pressed by the requirements of such
a climate, the instincts of all animals seem more
acute than those of similar creatures placed in
more favoured climes. They were watchful and

LAND FOUND TO ABOUND IN GAME.

219

wary to a surprising degree; and as they were
protected by the open nature of tlic country,
the sportsmen could not always got even within
rifle distance of the deer, although they probably
had never seen a human being before, whilst,
strangely enough, these herds appeared to enter-
tain no fear of the half dozen wolves which always
lay round them, ready to cut off a straggler, or
pick up a giddy fawn.

The arctic reindeer at this season confjrenjate
in large promiscuous herds of bucks, does, and
fawns, probably for warmth and protection ; andj
strangely enough, the hares do so likewise. Some
troops of the latter were seen, numbering 150 at
least ; and the roads made by the march of their
numbers through the snow were beaten as hard
as ice. I am not aware that this herding of hares,
or the fact of the female bearing six or seven young
at a litter, has been before noticed.

Apart from the difficulty of stalking down the
deer, the presence of the wolves and foxes was
found to be a serious drawback ; for if a deer was
shot and left on the ground, by the time the
sportsman had obtained sufficient aid to transport
the meat on board, little beyond the head and
shin-bones would be left undevoured, and tho

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220 DISCOVERY OF -THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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'-it
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robber wolves, too, taking care to keep out of
gun-shot, would howl most dismally, as if mocking
the disappointment o^ the hunter.

As cold and darkness increased,^ and the absence
of the sun rendered it unsafe for the crew to leave
the vicinity of the ship, the wolves, pressed by
cold and hunger, used to haunt her to a disagree-
able extent ; and the sad prolonged howl of these
gaunt creati'^'es in the long nights added, if
possible, to the dismal character of the scene.
The Investigators vowed vengeance on these
creatures, which, as they declared, not only be-
haved in a most unsportsman-like, not to say dis-
honest manner, but strove to disturb their rest
besides. A great deal of snow fell this autumn, —
a certain indication of much moisture in the at-
mosphere, arising from evaporation from the sea,
and also that a considerable amount of water had
existed amongst the pack this season, and perhaps
might do S0 still, though useless for all navigable
purposes. In November the temperature fell to
40°— during the month, the lowest, perhaps,
ever regif»tered at so early a season, and augured
a fearful state of things at a later date. The
crew were, however, generally in capital health,
and actuated by the same fine spirit which had

had

CUNNINa OF THE ARCTIC RAVEN.

221

carried them through so many difficulties, and
endeared them so much to their captain and
officers. Two ravens now established themselves
as friends of the family in Mercy Bay, living
mainly by what little scraps the men might have
to throw away after meal-times. The ship's dog,
however, looked upon these as his especial per-
quisites, and exhibited considerable energy in
maintaining his rights against the ravens, who
nevertheless outwitted him in a way which amused
everyone. Observing that he appeared quite
willing to make a mouthful of their own sable
persons, they used to throw themselves inten-
tionally in his way just as the mess-tins were
being cleaned out on the dirt-heap outside the
ship. The dog would immediately run at them,
and they would just fly a few yards; the dog
then made another run, and again they would
appear to escape him but by an inch, and so on,
until they had tempted and provoked him to the
shore, a considerable distance off. Then the
ravens would make a direct fliglit for the ship,
and had generally done good execution before
the mortiiied-looking dog detected the imposition
that had been practised upon him, and rushed
back again.
. December came in with those tremendous snow

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222 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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storms which are perhaps the most frightful
visitations of polar regions. All the Investigator*^
could do was to remain shut up in the ship, and
wonder what the animals of Banks Land did in a
snow-drift which almost tore the housing from its
many fastenings. A solid moving body of snow
rolled along higher than the topmast heads, and
when it met the impediment of the ship, formed a
wreath to windward, and became piled rapidly up
over her, until the weight of accumulated snow
broke down the floe in which the ship was frozen ;
the inclination of the ship first one way, then
another, and the report made by the cracking of
the ice under her bottom, startling those un-
accustomed to such accidents. An odd atmospheric
condition, which has elsewhere been experienced,
was observed by Captain M'Clure in one of the
storms which occurred on the 5th of December.
The barometer rose to 30*81 higher than it had
before been since leaving England ; and the aneroid,
graduated to 31 '50, stood so high that it could not
be registered for four days. In a similar storm
early the following year, the barometer rose above
31 inches.

The second Chri.3tmas-day was passed in the ice,
in a manner to call forth the Captain's highest
encomiums on his nol)lc sliip's company, who

SECOND CHRISTMAS IN THE ICE.

223

behaved, he says, in the most exemplary and

satisfactory manner. " After divine service, all went

for a short walk until the dinner-hour ; from then

until bedtime, dancing, skylarking, and singing

were kept up on the lower deck with unflagging

spirit, good humour, cheerfulness, and propriety ;

not a man was inebriated, although, with other

additions to the daily fare, amongst which was a

pound of the most delicious venison to each person,

an extra allowance of grog was issued. Would

that the happiness of our little community upon

the lower deck of the * Investigator ' could have

been witnessed by those anxious for our welfare at

home! they would scarcely imagine, otherwise,

that the crew of a vessel two years upon her own

resources in these ice-bound regions, could create

such a scene of enjoyment amidst so many gloomy

influences." And, as if to countersign this opinion

of their chief, several of the petty ofEicers assured

him afterwards that, during many years' service

in Her Majesty's navy, they had never passed a

happier Cliristmas, or one in which there had been

a feeling of more perfect unanimity and good-will,

— a feeling shared by every seaman and marine in

the ship's company.

The ofiicers dined with Captain M'Clure, off a

224 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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splendid haunch of a Banks Land reindeer
weighing about twenty pounds, with at least two
inches of fat on it ; and it wa^ pronounced to be
most deliciously-flavoured meat. In short, the
year 1851 went out with .^very pleasing prospect ;
and in spite of the reduced allowance of food upon
which all had then been for three months, no one
was repining or discontented.

On Christmas-day of the previous winter, it will
be remembered that the many ships, which left
England and America in 1850 to rescue Franklin's
Expedition, were wintering in different parts of the
arctic regions ; but out of all these the " Investi-
gator " and the " Enterprise " now alone remained.
At page 194. we left that ship, after having rounded
the difficult turning-point of Cape Barrow, pro-
gressing eastward along the American shore. As in
the " Investigator's " case. Captain Collinson found
the water to make along-shore in a lane whose
breadth depended upon the position of the different
rivers discharging themselves into the Polar Sea ;
and m their vicinity destroying the packed ice, or
forcing it off to seaward by the strength of their
currents.

The " Enterprise," when off Cape Parry (the
promontory which divides the waters of the Copper-

5ea;
or
eir

;the
ipcr-

" enterprise" in prince of wales strait. 225

mine from those of the Mackenzie River), saw to
the northward the southern extremity of lanks
Land — the Nelson Head of M'Clure. Steering
across for it, Captain CoUinson, when under that
coast, by a strange combination of circumstances,
steered up Prince of Wales Strait, and there on
Princess Royal Island discovered the " Investiga-
tor's " dep6t, and a cairn containing information
up to the 15th June 1851. i'assing on after this
discovery, the " Enterprise " on the 30th August
reached the north end of the strait, but only to be
foiled, as the " Investigator " was, in any attempt
to pass beyond it. Captain Collinson then decided
upon taking a course exactly similar to the one
pursued by his more fortunate predecessor, and,
bearing away, rounded Nelson Head with the
intention of struggling along that wesa;rn route
by which M'Clure had a fortnight earlier success-
fully carried his ship. On September 3rd, the
Captain little thinking of the "Investigator'*
having preceded him in his intended course, was
astonished to find on Cape Kellett a record placed
there en August the 18th. The ice was now too
close in for the " Enterprise " to push on ; and no
harbour fit for winter quarters ofi^ering itself as
high as latitude 72° 54' north, Captain Collinson

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226 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTII-WEST PASSAGE.

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bore up, and eventually wintered his ship on the
eastern side of the entrance of Prince of Wales
Strait, close to the spot where Esquimaux had been
found by Lieutenant Haswell, as we have elsewhere
related, during his sledge-journey in the spring.
From Walker Bay, as their winter quarters was
named, CoUinson, after passing his first winter in
safety, despatched in the coming spring his sledge-
parties ; but, unfortunately for them, the labours of
Captain M*Clure*s parties, and Dr. Rae's exertions,
prevented any new ground being reached by any
of them, neither did they discover the winter
quarters of the " Investigator," although, as will
hereafter be related, a party which reached Mel-
ville Island must at one time have crossed the
track of Captain M'Clure's sledge when he likewise
made a trip to Winter Harbour. Having thus
connected the stories of the two ships, and shown
the relative positions of the only vessels of the
searching expedition left at that time in the polar
seas, we must return again to the Bay of Mercy.

227

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CHAP. XV.

The New Year, 1852 Satisfactory State of the Crew —

Deer obtained directly the Light admitted of their being
seen. — Sergeant Woon, of the Royal Marines, saves the Life
of a Shipmate. — Keen Sportsmen. — Wolves. — Boatswain's
Adventure with them. — Spring. — Captain M'Clure visits
Winter Harbour, Melville Island. — Finds neither Provi-
sions nor "Vessel to help him. — His Return. — Finds large
Quantities of Venison had been procured. — Scurvy makes its
Appearance. — Increased Number of sick. — Unfavourable

, Weather in July. — Venison expended. — Wild Sorrel found
in great Quantities for a short Period. — 10th August. —
Water seen in Barrow's Strait. — Measures taken in case of
being able to Escape. — Relapse in the Weather. — Gloomy
Prospect.— iVn early Winter commences. — Measures taken
to save Ship and Crew, in the Event of another similar Season
in 1853. — Cheerful Conduct of the Crew. — Short Rations. —
Mode of Living. — Banian Days and Festivals. — Christmas
and Conclusion of Year 1852.

:. I

The year 1862 came in with a keen and steady cold
of from seventy to eighty degrees below the freez-
ing point of water, — a temperature which severely
tests the vital energies of man. The weather was
still what would be called fine ; that is, the wind
was light, and a considerable aurora relieved the
darkness in a slight degree. The Investigators met

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228 DISCOVERY OF TUE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

the cold as it should be met, with cheerfulness,
energetic exercise, and regularity of habits ; and
consequently New Year's day found but four
trifling cases upon the doctor's sick list, — a satis-
factory sanitary state, which continued throughout
the spri ^ T' ^.ctl^' the daylight began to increase
and the c .h ' .9 able to extend their walks, they
fell in witii reinc " in great numbers. Some of
the poor creatures, attracted by curiosity, or
pressed by the wolves eternally dogging at their
heels, occasionally approached the ship as if for
protection, but only, of course, to be fired at.
Before the close of January several were shot, and
their flesh secured ; and, according to the diary of
an officer, "the hills in the vicinity of the ship
were abounding at that time with deer."
- Every encouragement was now given to men
and officers who were prepared to undergo the
fatigue of sporting for the public weal. One
person especially distinguished himself not only as
a sportsman, but in the execution of any service
requiring unflagging energy and marked intelli-
gence ; and this was the non-commissioned officer
of royal marines, Sergeant Woon. He did good
service everywhere ; but no better instance of the
metal such as he are made of can be given than
one which occurred on th^ 4th of January.

'^:

SERGEANT WOON SAVES A SHIPMATE'S LIFE. 229

* A coloured man serving in the ship, whilst out
sporting, wounded a deer, and, after following it
awhile, discovered he had lost his way, just as a fog
came on. The temperature was very low, the man
was tired ; and the peril of his position caused him
to lose his presence of mind and to wander about.
By great good fortune Sergeant Woon, who was
likewise out in quest of game, saw him and joined
him ; but the sergeant found the poor creature s >e'
side himself with excitement and horror, that* ''^er^
endeavour to soothe him, by promising to ta- > h m
safely on board the ship, failed. Fits came on, wii jb,
when they passed off, left the man quite pr rf".;,ed
in strength. By entreaty and remonstrance, the
sergeant induced him at last to walk a little; but at
2 V. M., when the short day of that period was fast
closing in, the unfortunate man's energies entirely
failed, and he sank upon the ground, bleeding at
mouth and nose, and writhing in convulsions.
The sergeant saw now that all hope of the man
saving himself was at an end; and to leave him
where he was, many miles from the ship, was to
leave him to certain death : he would have been
devoured by the wolves even before the process of
freezing to death would have released him from his
misery. There was no alternative but to drag him

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230 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. '

to the ship, — no easy matter, when the sergeant
dared not part with his gun, and the man was one
of the heaviest of a fine ship's company. Sergeant
"Woon, then, with heroic resolution set to his task.
Slinging both muskets over his shoulder, he took
the man's arms round his own neck, and commenced
dragging his half-dead shipmate towards the " In-
vestigator." The labour was, as may be supposed,
excessive ; and the onl)^ relief the sergeant had was,
whenever he had dragged the body up one side of
a hill, or when he came to a ravine, to lay him
down, and roll him to the bottom ; rather severe
treatment for an invalid, but it had the merit of
arousing the man somewhat from his lethargy.
By eleven o'clock at night the gallant marine had
, thus conveyed his burden to within a mile of the
ship ; but ten hours of such toil, amid darkness,
cold, and snow, now began to tell upon him likewise.
He found he could drag his burden no longer ; and
as a last resource he implored the unfortunate
man to make an effort, and tried to cheer him by
pointing to the rockets which the Captain of the
" Investigator " caused to be thrown up as a
guide to the missing men. Seeing, however, that
all his entreaties were replied to only by a request
"to be left alone to die," the sergeant laid him in

KEEN SrOniSMEN.

231

a bed of deep snow, and started off for assistance
from the ship. This was already on its way; and
Woon met and conducted two out of three parties
to where the man lay, and just in time to save him.
He was found with his arms raised, and rigid in
that position, his eyes open, and his mouth so
firmly frozen as to require much force to open it
for the purpose of pouring restoratives down hi»
throat, whilst his hands, feet, and face were much
frost-bitten. His life was, however, saved ; and for
that the courage and devotion (displayed by the
sergeant deserved all the credit.
• On February the 5th the sun was seen above
the horizon to the southward, by those whose
anxiety to welcome back its cheerful face induced
to climb the adjacent hills; and in the course
of a day or two it gladdened the Bay of Mercy.
The sportsmen now became nic^. successful, and
seldom a day passed without a deer or hare being
shot ; and keen must the hunger of those sports*
men have been, for more than one of them,
when after a long and weary walk he shot a deer
or hare, refreshed himself by drinking ihe hot
blood, or eating a mouthful or two of the raw
meat. They found no ill consequences ensue
from the unpleasant food. Now and then a few

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232 DISCOVERY' OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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days* holiclay had to be given to the garae to
prevent it being too much scared, — a prudent
measure which always appeared to bring the
creatures back to their old feeding ground. The
wolves, encouraged, no doubt, by the feeding they
got from the wounded animals, which, although
strong enough to escape the sportsmen, fell even-
tually to their share, became exceedingly bold ;
and five of them attempted to cut out the
Esquimaux dog that had long been the pet of
the ** Investigator." One of these brutes was a
perfect giant, standing nearly four feet high at the
shoulder, and leaving a footmark as big as a rein-
deer's. Many a scheme was tried to shoot these
wary creatures ; but all failed, this season, while
some of the encounters with them were disagree-
ably close and the risk somewhat great. Per-
haps one of the strangest was that of Mr. Kennedy
(boatswain), who, whilst out shooting early in
April, broke at a shot two out of four legs of a
fine buck. Evening coming on, and knowing the
animal could not go far, he returned to the ship,
and next morning early started to secure his
game. Arriving at the place, he was disgusted to
find five large wolves and several foxes in posses-
sion of the deer j but, determined to have bis share

/boatswain's adventure with wolves. 233

of the spoil, the boatswain advanced, shouting and
calling them by every strong term he could
muster, yet afraid to fire his single-barrelled gun
at one, for fear of the rest doing as much to him
as they had done to the buck, especially as they
appeared inclined to show fight, and made no sign
of retreat until he was within four yards of them.
Even then only four of them moved off, and sat
down a pistol-shot off, howling most dismally.
" Pipes " picked up a leg of the deer, which had
been dismembered, and then grasped one end of
the half-picked carcase, whilst a large female wolf
tugged against him at the other! The position
was, to say the least of it, a disagreeable one ; and
if the music of the four wolves had brought others
of their fraternity to the rescue, the consequences
of a struggle between hungry wolves and a no less
hungry sailor might have been serious. Fortu-
nately Mr. Mierching, the interpreter, who was out
shooting likewise on an adjacent hill, had his at-
tention attracted by the howling of the brutes, and
came to the rescue. He described the scene as the
strange? t he ever saw, and so close were Mr.
Kennedy and the wolf in their struggle for the
meat, that he fancied the animal had actually
attacked the boatswdn. Seeing more bipeds ap-

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234 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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preaching, all the wolves now decamped, saving
their skins as usual, and leaving the poor boatswain
only twenty pounds weight of meat instead of the
120 pounds which his prize ought to have weighed.
The rapid rise of the temperature in April
decided Captain M'Clure upon preparing to start
for Melville Island with a sledge, in the hope of
finding some of Captain Austin's ships, or of ascer-
taining what depot of provisions had been placed
there by Captain Austin, so as to secure a retreat
should the " Investigator " not escape from her
present position. Everything being in readiness,
the sledge, with six men and the Captain, left
the "Investigator" on April 11th, 1852. The
journey was a trying one ; for a relapse in the
temperature took place just ifterwards, and
continued until the 25th. The pack, more-
over, offered a sadly rough road. Winter Har-
bour was reached at an '^arly hour on the 28th
of April; and sorely disappointed was Captain
M'Clure as well as his crew, at not finding either
vessel or provisions ; and the hope of one or the
other coming to them hereafter vanished when he
read the notice left by Lieut. M'Cl'ntock, dated
June fith, 1851. Captain M'Clure consoled himself
-with the consideration that he litT. at all events

M'CLURE visits winter IIARBOUn.

235

tfiscovered this fact before any accident had hap-
pened to his ship, for otherwise " I should," says
he, " most decidedly and with the fullest confidence
of meeting succour, have pushed for Winter
Harbour ; and if the * Enterprise ' gets into dif-
ficulties. Captain Collin son will, I am fully per-
suaded, do the same." Shortly after this visit
of Captain M'Clure to Winter Harbour, a party
from the " Enterprise," under Lieut. Parks, did
reach Melville Island also, and must have crossed
the trail of M'Clure, for Mr. Parks saw, one day,
at or near Point Hearne the marks of a sledge
and the footprints of men ; and that neither party
should know of the other being so close, is a strong
proof, to be added to the many extant, of the
difficulty of meeting one another in a climate like
that of these frozen regions.

Disappointed, but not desponding, the leader of
the party ourned his back upon the old winter
quarters of the gallant Parry, and prepared to lead
his men back to their lonely home ; — nay, so far
was he then from even contemplating a necessity
for leaving the " Investigator," that on his return
journey across the strait between Melville Island
and Banks Land, we find the following remark: — ^
" When going towards Melville Island, we were

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236 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

much delayed by stupendous polar icie. The whole
of this was avoided by crossing well to the east-
ward, where we n.et much of last year's ice per-
fectly level, and occasionally a huge flat floe of
older date, but still very good walking : this ap-
pearance of the strait is most propitious, giving
every hope of a passage through."

All still promised well on board the " Investi-
gator " ; and the sanitary condition of the crew was
reported to be most satisfactory on May 11th,
the day of the Captain's return. During his
absence, the stock of fresh provisions had wonder-
fully increased by tiie aid of the sportsmen. No
less than twenty head of deer were hanging up
round the ship, yielding a thousand pounds of meat;
and the abundance of food justified an increased
issue of rations, which were forthwith ordered to
be one pound and a half per man, of venison, on
six days in every fortnight : this, together with six
days in the fortnight of preserved meat, left only
two salt-meat days in every fourteen. One would
have supposed that on such fare, with a dry and
comfortable ship to live in, scurvy would be im-
possible; but, as the sequel will show, its advance
became soon most marked, and though the care
of the Captain and the skill of the medical man

APPEAEANCE OF SCURVY.

.\.

237

checked it considerably, gtill health was evidently
failing, and, although it may be accounted for in
many ways, one fact is incontestible, that on the
15th of May the sick list had augmented to the un-
precedented number of thirteen. May it not be
supposed, then, that the moral effect of finding no
help at hand told upon these poor fellows ? In
June we find six men in their beds; and on
July 1st Captain M'Clure says, " A more unfavour-
able report was made by the surgeon to-day, rela-
tive to the appearance of the crew at the monthly
inspection, than I had hitherto received: evident
symptoms of debility, with incipient scurvy, in six-
teen of the men."

The long absence of fresh vegetable diet might
have predisposed these men to this disease ; but,
considering the quantity of fresh animal food that
had so happily been procured for them throughout
the past winter and at that time also, it appears
quite as likely that the anxious feelings awakened
at finding neither provisions nor a vessel at
Melville Island, or indeed even a promise of any,
had quite as much, if not more, to do in develop-
ing the seeds of this disease, than either the nature
of their diet or the slight labour of preparing the
ship for sea, by ballasting and watering her.

'., 1

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238 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

• There was no doubt that all were anxious to
escape another winter ; they felt themselves alone,
and having come to save others, it would, unless
they reiched Baffin's Bay in 1852, be a question
v'hether they could save themselves. Each man
must hiive felt how questionable it was whether
his physical strength would, after going through
another winter, be sufficient to carry him to the
Hudson Bay settlements or to one of the Danish
posts in Greenland — a long distance, in either case,
from the Bay of Mercy, Banks Land.

But whatever effect these feelings may have
had upon their health, there is no question of th«
firmness with which all were prepared to lac i the
difficulties they might yet have before them.
They felt there was no hope but in then -elves;
but that captain, those officers, and those men
were equal to the emergeTicy.

May and Julj went by v/„thout bringing any
lively signs of summer ; birds, indeed, such as the
duck and gull, came, but left the place again, as if
from the want of fresh- water pools. The snow at
last melted off the exposed parts of the land;
and the ice began to thaw, forming large pools of
water all over its surface. July opened very un-
promibingly: a heavy northerly wind and snow-

VKNISON EXPENDED.

239

storm swept over Mercy Bay, bringing back a
painful recollection of the winter that they had
hoped was past ; and what was worse, on measur-
ing the floe, it was found to be still increasing in
thickness, whereas former experience had led them
to expect a diminution of about two feet. The
ground became so soft from the snow thawing,
and the labour of shooting so great, that the
sportsmen could no longer keep up the supply of
game ; and by the 7th of July all the stock of
venison was consumed. It is worthy of remark,
nevertheless, that the resources of Mercy Bay had
yielded the crew of the " Investigator " three
meals of fresh meat a week since October 1851.
Hardly had they time to regret the loss of this
health-sustaining diet, when the indefatigable Ser-
geant Woon came on board to report that he had
just shot two musk-oxen. They were soon con-
veyed to the ship, and yielded 647 pounds of good
meat. They were the first that had been kill in
Mercy Bay, and were hailed as a God-send. Tl ser-
geant in slaying them had Lad a narrow cscap*^ from
the rage of the larger of the two ; with his last, bullet
lie had only wounded it, and on its app oaohing
him, he had had to discharge his iron ramrod as a
missile into its body in order to save himself.

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DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

In the middle of the month the ice-mate reported
the floes outside to be in motion. All heard a
rumbling noise, as if the pack were driving along,
and the joy was great, until upon further examina-
tion ii was found that the debdcle from a ravine
was pouring its strong current over the floe. As
July drew to its close, the view over the sea from
the highest land near was unsatisfactory indeed:
ice. Ice on every side ! no water, and no water-sky !
For awhile, however, the ravages of scurvy were
mitigated by a quantity of wild sorrel being found ;
and all hands that could be spared, were daily em-
ployed collecting it,— the sick getting the largest
share, and the men's messes in turn being next
served. Either eaten raw a^ a salad, or cooked, it
was extremely palatable, and this was the first suc-
culent vegetable the crew had partaken of since
leaving the Sandwich Isles two years before.

Hopes rose high when, about the 16th August,
open water was seen in the straits, and the ice of
the bay Hself began to be loosened from the shore,
though it was held by other ice outside. A day or
vWG latur, however, the bay opened at the outer
(nd, ami the i oaprisoned navigators saw with delight
that ^ 'fioad kne of water extended along the
souther shore for ten miles to the eastward.

p Mr^^

; X

SHORT-LIVED HOPE OF ESC APE.

241

ght

Their hope of reaching it lay in a strong south
wind blowing the ice of the bay and the ship
out with it to seaward. As to sawing the whole
distance between her and the water, it was im-
possible ; before it could be done winter would be
on them. There being a chance of such a wind
and such release, the top-gallant yards were crossed,
sails bent, and the tide pole taken in. Its registry
during ten months gave as a result that the tide rose
two feet, and that the highest tide was four tides
after the full and change of moon. A beacon was
erected in lat. 71:° 6' 48" N., and long. 118° 15' W.
In a cylinder attached to a pole was placed a
record, telling what the Investigators had done,
and whither they expected to go, "in the hope,"
says the leader of the expedition, " that it may
meet the eye of some future explorer of these sterile
regions, and throw some light upon the fate of those
who perhaps may never reach beyond these limits."
The expectation of escape was, however, but short-
lived. After the 20th of August the temperature
fell, slowly but continually; and when the bay, or
that portion of it that bad been open, again froze
over, all felt that summer was past, and some un-
foreseen accident could alone save them from
wintering again in jMcrcy l>ay. Their summer,

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242 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

poor fellows, had been a most cheerless one ; the
sun, from the cloudy and misty state of the atmo-
sphere not having been, with few exceptions, seen
since May.

By August 24th, the lead of ivater had closed !
no water was visible in Barrow's Strait ; and the
Investigators were able to walk in all directions
over the bay across the young ice. The land
rapidly became covered with snow, the vegetation,
such as it was, withered ; sorrel could no longer
be found, warmer clothing became necessary, and
the winter of 1852-53 commenced. " It found us,"
says M'Clure, " ready to combat its rigours as cheer-
fully as on previous occasions. We were all thinner
than we used to be, for we had been twelve months
on two thirds of our allowance ; but we were still in
;^;Ood working condition." When the first week of
September had past, and the chance of an autumnal
gale blowing the ship into the pack was at an
end, the leader sat down to weigh the course to
be pursued to save his men and his ship.

If all remained in the vessel till next year
(1853), in the hope of her carrying them home,
and the water should not make, as had happened
in 1852, all would starve.

On the other hand, it was premature to think of

MEASURES TO SAVE THE SHIP AND CREW. 213

an
to

deserting the ship in the early part of the following
spring ; for she was sound and strong, and both
the Captain's sense of duty and his pride were en-
listed in saving to his country and profession the
ship that had been entrusted to his charge, and
so gallantly had done her work. He therefore
decided upon sending away, next spring, all but
thirty of the healthiest men, and with them re-
maining by the ship and running the risk of a
fourth winter. Assembling his gallant officers and
men, on the 8th of September, Captain M'Clure
announced to them the state of affairs, and informed
them that on April next thirty of them should
proceed homewards, divided into two parties, one
retreating by way of North America, up the Mac-
kenzie River, the other proceeding to Cape Spenser,
Beechey Island, where Captain Austin's notice,
found at Melville Island, led them to expect provi-
sions and a boat *, with which to reach Greenland
and the Danish settlements. The remaining thirty
hands, and the officers in charge of stores, were to
remain with the Captain, and endeavour to save the

: t

* To the best of the Editor's knowlcilge, this consisted of a
boat that was so heavy that no sledge-party could have
launched her ; the provisions were two casks of salt meat and a
bale of blankets.

n 2

244 niscovETiY ok tfir norttt-west passage.

ship next year; if not so fortunate, they were
to spend another winter, and then abandon her in
1854, retreating upon Lancaster Sound to sucli
lielp as the Admiralty would assuredly send, when
they knew from their shipmates of their necessity.
This arrangement was cheerfully received by
this excellent body of men ; and those who thought
they would be the first to go home, were soon
heard speculating, with praiseworthy generosity,
upon immediately volunteering to come out again
in the first ship to the rescue of their messmates,
and with lighthcarted jocularity promising to bring
out a good stock of tobacco pipes for tliem, — an
article which happened to be very scarce in Banks
Land, and which all the ingenuity of the seamen
could manufacture no substitute for. AVith such
men, and such a spirit, all the difficulties and
hardships before them vanished, and none repined
at what Providence had sent them.

Towards the close of September, the spirits in
the ship were surveyed, and a deficiency found
to exist, which obliged the issue of it to be
diminished to half a gill per diem. This Avas a
great loss to the men, and the more so that just
then no game could be procured, and they were on
a bare two-thirds of the rations ; a scale of victual-

SHORT RATIONS, AND HUNGER.

245

ling which, uiKivoidable as it had been for the past
twelve months, was slowly sapping everyone's
strength. Hunger began now to be felt ; and
although to his m( .. A['Clure pointed out that
their hardships fell far short of those endured by
many an honoured arctic expedition, still, when
sitting quietly in his cabin, the fact, already more
than once represented to him by the surgeon,
pressed itself painfully on his senses, that unless
aid came in the shape of game, the winter could
not be passed on the allowance of food the re-
sources of his ship admitted of, and that all hands
would have to abandon the gallant ship in the
spring ; " but ^nothing," says he, writing on the
IGth October, " but the most absolute necessity will
induce me to take such a step."

In October the deer and hares began to return
to their winter feeding- grounds in the valleys
round Mercy I3ay ; but seventeen men now on the
sick list, and all the duties of housing in the vessel,
throwing up enbankments of snow to shield her
sides from the bitter winter gales, and otherwise
preparing her for that season, left little time and
few men to spare for shooting-excursions. Tlic
wliole game list for the month showed a return

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246 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

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of only two deer and nine hares, a small quantity
amongst so many hungry mouths.

But when all the necessary work was done, and
the men had nothing else to do but take exercise
and keep themselves and the ship clean, the feeling
of hunger and weakness somewhat abated, and the
medical report in November showed no increase
of disease, except that those of a very nervous
temperament became easily excited and unrea-
sonable. November yielded but little game, for
darkness was fast increasing ; but the numbers of
deer were astonishing, and the wolves harassed
the poor creatures until, as in the past winter, they
almost fled to the ship for protection. The health
of the men appeared to improve somewhat, the
favourable change arising. Captain M'Clure thought,
from a more contented state of mind than when, in
the autumn, the first disappointment at finding no
hope of release oppressed all in a greater or less
degree : " hungry," he says, " we all are ; but, with
a little management, the two-thirds allowance, now
that we have nothing to do, keeps us from losing
health."

Great indeed was the ingenuity displayed in
making as much as possible of the food ; and much
therefore, it is to be fcared, was taken in forms

MODE OF LIVING.

247

in which quantity was looked to as the sole re-
commendation : for instance, the salt meat, instead
of being cooked, was just thrown into boiling
water to warm it and extract the salt, and then
eaten raw. On these painful details it is, however,
unnecessary to dilate ; and a pretty good idea of
the scanty fare all were on, may be conceived from
the following description of the mode in which the
gun-room officers lived.

Their stock was all finished, they were on ship's
allowance like the men, and like them adopted the
system of each in turn being cook or carver for
the mess. The carver's share consisted in getting
the last portion out of the eight into which the
food had to be divided, — a method which insured,
we need hardly say, the utmost impartiality on the
part of the carver, the other members helping
themselves to their shares before him. The ra-
tions for the day were given out every morning ;
and each ate it, at his own discretion or inclina-
tion, at either breakfast or dinner. They had, in
fact, but one meal per diem ; for the breakfast, if it
deserved the name, consisted of a cup of the
weakest cocoa, and a small portion of the small
allowance of bread ; the rest of the bread, and half
a pound of salt meat, containing a good proportion

B 4

248 DISCOVERY OF THE NOIITII-WKST PASSAGE.

of bone, with just enough vegetable to swear by,
constituted the other meal. There was a cup of
weak tea in the evening ; but few were able to aave
anything to eat with it.

There were two breaks to this series of banian
days during the close of the year : the one was on
the 26 th October, the anniversary of the discovery
of the North-west Passage ; the other, on Christmas
day. An extra issue of food and some wine were
given to commemorate two festivals which all felt
Avere the last that little community would spend
together ; and those alone who have been similarly
placed can appreciate the heartfelt kindness to-
wards each other which hallowed these occasions,
and made their humble cheer appear tenfold more
luxurious than it was. It was wonderful, too, to
see what care and economy of the stores brought
from home, as well as the skill of the sportsmen,
were able even in these circumstances to effect.
The old-fashioned English plum pudding was still to
be seen on Christmas-day, not a very rich one, may
be, but good appetite compensated for what it
lacked in that respect ; there was " Banks Land
venison," "Mercy Bay hare soup," "ptarmigan
pasties," and some musk-ox beef which had
in the rigging for two years and odd

hung

had
odd

THIRD CHRISTMAS AND CLOSE OF YEAR. 249

months. The good-will and determination of all
to be merry, in spite of adverse circumstances,
compensated also for whatever might be wanting.
The poets amongst the men composed songs, in
which their own hardships were made the subject
of many a- hearty laugh ; painters attempted rude
illustrations of past scenes of peril or adventure ;
the comic actors acted ; the sick half forgot their
maladies, and the whole company tossed care and
anxiety to the winds, and felt thankful for the past
and hopeful for the future. Had not both officers
and men reason to be proud of their comrades ? and
was not their chief, the captain of this gallant set
of men, justified in saying that nothing was im-
possible whilst such hearts and hands were ready
to carry out his plans for the safety of all and the
honour of his country ? Full indeed was Captain
M'Clure's heart of gratitude, and none knew better
than himself where it was due. His own words,
written on the close of the year 1852, best express
his feelings : —

" The new year is about to commence ; not one of
my original crew has fallen by disease or accident,
and all is more promising than I could have ever
hoped for. These and all other mercies are alone
due to that all-beneficent Providence, who has so

! (

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250 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTH-WEST PASSAGE.

wonderfully upheld us in our many trials and diffi-
culties ; relying, therefore, on Him, I cannot but
feel as the wife of Manoah did, and repeat her
exclamation : * If the Lord were pleased to kill us,
he would not have shewed us all these mercies.' '*

Ik I

liffi.

but
her
. us,

251

CHAP. XVI.

The "Enterprise." — 111 Success of her Travelling Parties. — Late
Season. — Passage through Dolphin and Union Strait. —
Winter of 1852-53 passed in Cambridge Bay — Esquimaux
numerous. — Traces of the Missing Expedition found,—
Game and Fish abound. — Unfortunate Circumstance of no
Searching Party having visited King William's Land. — The
Bay of Mercy. — Reaction on Board the "InvestigatDr " after

Christmas Festivities. — Excessive Cold Want of Fuel and

consequent Dampness. — Venison plentiful, — Large Sick List.
— March, '53. — The lletreating Parties named, and their
Routes appointed. — Captain M'Clure's Reason for sending
away the Weakly Men. — Wolves, their Voracity and
Cunning. — Anxiety of the Sledge-Parties as to Chances of
safe Retreat. — Retrospective Glance at Measures taken in
England to rescue the " Investigator." — Blr. Cresswell's
Letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, and fortunate
Result. — Captains Kellett and M'Clintock ordered to Melville
Island. — They reach it in September 1852. — Accidental
Discovery of Captain M'Clure's Despatches on the
Parry Rock. — Help at Hand for the " Investigator." —
April '53 in Mercy Bay. — The first Death. — Captain
M'Clure addresses his Men to remove their Despondency. —
The Dark and Bright Side of the Cloud. — The unexpected
Arrival of Lieut. Pirn from the " Resolute." — The In-
vestigators rescued. — Excitement and Happiness of the
Crew.

Having tlius brought the narrative to the close
of 1852, it is now necessary to cast a glance back

i ,i

252 DISCOVERY OF TIIE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

to tlic Spring of the same year, wlien we left the
" Investigator's " consort, under Captain Colliiison,
wintering at the southern end of Prince of Wales
Strait. All her spring travelling parties returned
unsuccessful from long and arduous journeys, in
which some of the men suffered considerably from
frost-bites and the other consequences of sledge-
work in those high latitudes.

The "Enterprise's" crew were somewhat refreshed
during the summer, by procuring a fair supply of
game, and a considerable quantity of fish from the
lakes on Prince Albert Land ; it was not, however,
until so late as September, that the " Enterprise "
appears to have been able to make ' ny progress
eastward from her wintering place, — a direction
Taptain Collinson decided upon attempting, with
a view to penetrating the unknown space lying
between him and Cape Walker in Barrow's Strait.
A channel which he entered proved eventually to
be a gulf ; and he then endeavoured to pass by way
of Dolphin and Union Strait, reaching, on the 26th
of the same month, Cambridge Bay in Wollaston
Land ; and there he passed the winter of 1852-53,
of which we are now writing. In those winter
quarters Esquimaux visited them; and one tribe
mustered 200 persons ; in their possession was

" ENTERrmSE " IN CAMBRIDGE BAY.

253

found a piece of iron, ■wliich many still believe
to have come from the missing ships, and they
had likewise a piece of a doorway or hatch-frame.
Knowing what wc now do of the point which
Franklin's people reached in King AVilliam's Land,
and where they perished, the connection of these
fragments with the " Erebus " and " Terror " ap-
pears to be quite easy; but Captain CoUinson,
being ignorant of those facts, could have but
little idea of how close his ship was to the shore
whereon Dr. liae's informants stated they first
saw a portion of Franklin's men ; and therefore
those fragments told him no more than other
traces had done which were previously brought
home by Captain Penny from Beechey Island, or
than did a portion of a stanchion belonging to a
ship's ice-plank, which Rae found at his farthest
eastern point in 1851.* The land around the
" Enterprise '* abounded in game, and the waters
in salmon, for 1100 of the latter were cured for
sea service. We shall here leave H. M. S. " Enter-
prise," premising that those on board of her ex-

t ■

* The " Enterprise " wintered on this occasion 120 miles from
King William's Land, where some forty of Franklin's men ^vere
first seen by the Esquimaux, and 200 miles from tiie Great
Fish River, the entrance of which, a boat belonging to tlie
lost expedition has since been found to have readied.

';| 1 =

254 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAGE.

perienced a very severe winter, and that in the
following spring her sledge- parties pushed on to the
north-east, passing Rae's farthest point of 1851 by a
few miles. But they, like him, although at one time
within forty-five miles of King William's Land, did
not visit it ; had they done so, there is no doubt
they would have fallen on traces of those they
sought, and very possibly have found the " Erebus "
and "Terror" locked up in some such ice-bound
harbour as that in which, as we have seen, the " In-
vestigator " was imprisoned. No fault, however, can
attach to either Collinson or Rae that they did not
do so ; but the sad chapter of unfortunate accidents,
by which the relief of Franklin's expedition has
been rendered unsuccessful, would be incomplete
did history fail to point these facts out; and it
serves to show, at any rate, that the unavoidable
fallibility of the reasoning and wisdom of men, rather
than, as some have argued, the folly of endeavour-
ing to relieve the lost expedition, alone occasioned
the efforts of England to prove in the end abortive.
AVhen the festivals of Christmas and New Year's
day had passed in the Bay of Mercy, there was
not much to make men light-hearted or merry,
although they were still determined to look as
much as possible on the bright side of things. He

! (1 ! "i.

EXCESSIVE COLD, WANT OF FUEL.

255

who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, watched
over them in their trial ; and it is remarkable, in
reading over a daily journal far too minute for the
general reader, to see, throughout this season, the
remarkable way in which His bounty supported
them. On the one hand we see the resources of
the ship gradually failing or being reduced to the
slenderest supply, — for instance in the important ar-
ticle of fuel ; — and as a consequence, the enervated
frames of the men had to stand even a more
severe trial than before from cold and ^^.amp, not
only in-board but also without doors, for the
temperature of that winter throughout the arctic
regions was unusually severe : from 60° to 65°
below zero of Fahr. was registered by the " In-
vestigator," as well as other ships elsewhere. Yet
this very cold, so intense that the very ship seemed
to suffer from it, and bolts, treenails, and fast-
enings were heard to crack under the influence of
frost and contraction, forced the deer to approach
the ship and the seashore so closely as to afford
venison weekly throughout this trying season, at the
rate of a pound and a half of meat twice in the seven
days to every man in the ship. January passed,
giving a mean temperature of 44°—, or 76° below
freezing point ; and this, be it remembered, was

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250 DISCOVEUY OF THE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

endured by men under-fed, scorbutic, and looking
forward to making no ordinary efforts to save
tlieir lives in a few short weekss' time.

In February, Captain ]\I'Clurc says, " the ex-
cessive cold has been much felt; tlic lower dock,
jiarticularly from about twenty feet before the main
hatchway to the gun-room bulkliead, has been very
damp and wet ; and we cannot afford more coal to
dry it up. The sick list has likewise considerably
increased, seldom being below fifteen; four or five
of the cases decided scurvy, the others mostly
diarrhoea and ague, caused, no doubt, by the
moisture betwcen-decks. Our providential supply
of fresh meat still continues ; four deer fell in the
first week, although the sportsmen, on account of
the weather, were only able to venture out during
two days, and that only for a few hours. Surely
this is our * manna! ' I am sure it is considered as
such by all on board : the deer appear completely
spell-bound to this particular locality ; for a single
mile south or north of our position not one is to be
seen, but abreast the ship they are met as we land,
and, bad shots as we are, the supply of venison has
been regularly 200 lbs. per week ! "

So much did the dampness of the lower deck
increase, that hanging stoves had to bo got up

M '

■y

25a

W:''^mW.-

imm^ VASSAGE.

V ■■■-■■■ '■

/. « i^ i ^«.jrbutic. j;iud looking'

..<, "'j ^^'f^^iiijirv elB'^'ft^ *o save

xt,sp.i,, .i->.. .H:i »*■ ^v A Aiiort weekr»* tir«^«-'.

€08&ive oijtl jr;>^ (j* -^r; amch ftii; the i >W(.t 4':H^k,
j;;\rt.icuj.i4,r}v f Voi >. nbont tv.".'»ntv foe?- befof.; '>» main
luitchway to liic ;ruii-roojn bulkhoad. has h.-.f* very
iHinp and M'ot ; pnd vrc cannot afl'ord laorc coal to
dry it tip. The sick li-<t has lik;jv:isc coii8i<.L-rab]y
increased, seldom b^iing below fii'fei'n ;, lour or five
of tho casci^ decided jir'jfvv- the oiljfvii ?iv>j«t'v

■>. ■ V *i ■» ■. ' . . f »: '

, 1^

first weckj ; tUlivvi ^ b the «[>ortsmen, i>Ti account of
the wefither, v/erc oidv ahlo to venture <r.[t duriujr
two dajM, and tliat only tor a ft-AV^ h:jurs. .Sundy
this ift »-)ur ' nmrma! ' I nvn ¥\ivo \:.. is conbidfvjtid, as
such by ali Oil board; the deer uppf%r '"v''-i:'?'»vJy

' -■ • ■ ■ ". oiu' i:^ to be

'. .»;* inr t (16 we land.

b:eu r«' . '■' ''' 4^- r>t-r week ! ''

So fiiuvti ii ' ^^i dii!npn<-:fS oC the lower deck
incrraRc, i?u4< < i^M<i*-- >^i^<vi'«. Isad t«> bo got up

.nave

i •

^^'1 us

i;iiui.

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REASON FOR SENDING AWAY WEAKLY MEN. 257

between the T^h and 14th of February; and every
precaution was taken to check the increase of
disease, which had already placed in the doctor's
hands one third of the crew of sixty men. These
steps were attended apparently with considerable
success ; for on March the 1st the medical report,
all things considered, was more favourable than
Captain M'Clure had expected.

On March 3rd, the travelling parties for England,
viA America and Barrow's Strait, were told off:
they consisted of thirty of the most weakly hands
divided into two parties of fifteen men each.

Lieut. Haswell was to take the one, via Griffith's
Island, to Cape Spencer, there embark in tiie boat
which Captain Austin said he had left, and in her
attempt to reach Greenland. The other "^arty,
under Lieut. Gurney Cresswell, was to retreat
upon the dep6t formed at Princess Royal Island in
1851, recruit theriselves, and taking tht boat to be
there found, push for the Coppermine River, as-
cend it to the Hudson Bay Territories, and thence
home. Captain M'Clure's reason for thus de-
spatching all his sickly and weakly hands was, that
he felt convinced that these men could not sur-
vive another winter after what they had gone
through in the past one; and thus he gave them

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258 DiscovEiiy of the north-west passage.

the only chance of saving their lives which it was
in his power to afford.

The next thing done was to put these travellers
upon full allowance of food, so as to enable them
to pick up strength as much as possible. On
March 28th the weather had sensibly improved,
and the change had beneficially affected all the
sickly men ; indeed, all but two of them were able
on that day to take a little exercise. On the 24th
the novel event of the first wolf being killed
occurred. The brute had gorged himself upon a
deer which had been shot, and fell a victim
consequently to his gourmandism. Strangely
enough, too, considering the length of time the
Investigators had been trying without success to
shoot these robbers, another wolf was killed by Mr.
Court (master) soon after in self-defence. That
officer, it seems, was out shooting, when two wolves
marked him down, and gradually closed upon Vim ;
one keeping in front, and the other behind. After
trying all sorts of methods of frightening them off,
such as shouting, waving his arms, and running
towards them, he found that one of the wolves had
closed in on him to within twenty yards. Taking a
careful aim, he fired and struck it in the throat,
but that did not turn it ; and having only a single-

^^ ^*^

ANXIETY 07 THE SLEDGE PARTIES.

259

Mm;

iroat,
ingle-

barrelled gun, it was as much as he could do, to
load again, and kill the savage beast when it had
crawled up to within three yards of his person.
As the travellers were to leave the ship upon
the 15th of April, the close of March saw all the
many preparations for a sledge journey well in
hand. The officers, though cognisant of the risk
and dangers which beset their lines of retreat,
wisely hid them from the knowledge of the men.
The healthy amongst the sledge crews were con-
sequently sanguine in their hopes of success ; but
many a poor fellow, whose black and swollen limbs
hardly served to carry him about the ship, knew
in his heart that, although the journey he was
about to take would be his only chance for life,
yet it was but a very slender one. Despond-
ency there was not, but there was a deep feeling
throughout the ship of their sad and forlorn
position, met, however, by a childlike confidence
on the part of the crew in the wisdom of their
leaders' arrangements, and a perfect faith in the
good Providence which had sustained them so
far.

Threatening, however, as the future looked for the
safety of these gallant men, a series of fortuitous
circumstances — providential ones would be the

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260 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

,,:'J

^i^ •>

more correct term — was now bringing about
their rescue.

' It will be remembered that, when Captains
Austin, Penny, and Sir John Ross returned to
England, considerable difference of opinion existed
as to the necessity for a farther search for Sir
John Franklin ; but his widow, who, through all
her sad trials and sore disappointments, never
wavered in her faith of his having accomplished
the service he was sent to execute, or hesitated
at any sacrifice to effect the rescue of her hus-
band and his companions, maintained this necessity
so strongly, and was backed by so many influential
arctic authorities, that the Admiralty, unable to
decide the question, ordered an Arctic Committee
to sit upon the question of the resumption of the
search for Franklin. That committee recommended
that it should be again resumed, and, satisfied that
Franklin was not at Melville Island, proposed that
all the strength of such an expedition as might be
sent should be employed up Wellington Channel,
and, never dreaming of the " Enterprise " or " In-
vestigator" having made such progress as they
had done, merely advised as follows, touching
support or aid to them : —

" With respect to the efforts now making to

RECOMMENDATION OF COMMITTEE.

261

afford relief to the missing ships in the direction
of Behring's Strait, we do not venture to offer
any suggestions, beyond a hope that, until further
accounts are received from Captain Collin son and
Commander M'Clure, the * Plover ' may be kept
fully provisioned " (in Behring's Strait).

Now, according to the nature of the evidence
before them — furnished mostly by the seniors in
late expeditions, who took a very gloomy and un-
promising view of the case — and considering also
the amount of probability that any such navigation
would be carried out as Captain M'Clure appeared
to contemplate, in his admirable official letter from
Behring's Strait, there can be no doubt that this
committee gave a correct opinion; huz it was
fortunate for England's naval history, and for
humanity, that a parent's solicitude for a so i,
absent in this expedition, was more clear-sighted,
and that by that, as well as by the zeal and energy
of Lady Franklin, a modification of that opinion
was effected.

Mr. Cresswell indeed, in a letter which his
kindness allows me to make public, pointed out,
with almost prophetic vision, the very position in
which the " Investigator's " crew was placed, and
also suggested the means by which their wants

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262 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

might be supplied, and their safety insured. The
letter ran as follows : —

"Sib,

« Lynn, Norfolk, 23rd March, 1852.

" In reference to the expedition now fitting out
for the Arctic Regions under Sir Edward Belcher,
I am induced earnestly to request the attention of
the Lords Ccmmissioners of the Admiralty to the
following appeal : —

" In the sailing orders given to the expedition to
Behring's Striiit, the sixteenth paragraph leaves to
Captain Colli:ason the course to be pursued after
leaving Point Barrow, referring him for assistance
and direction to Captain Kellett, Sir W. E. Parry,
and Captain Beechey.

" In the memoranda given by Sir Edward Parry
and Captain Beechey, we find that they both
consider the great object of the Behring's Strait
expedition to be to penetrate to Banks Land, or even
to Melville Island.

" The writers of nearly all the letters relating
to the position of Sir John Franklin consider
the most likely quarter in which to find him
to be the vicinity of Banks Land or Melville
Island.

*' Colonel Sabine, in a letter to Sir W. E. Parry,

'arry,

■).

MR. CRiiSSWELL's LETTER.

263

15th June, 1850, speaking of Sir John Franklin,
says, * His advance from Melville Island in the
season of 1847 may have been limited to a distance
of 50 or perhaps 100 miles at farthest,' and that
'in 1848 he may have endeavoured to retrace his
steps, but only with partial success. It is, I
apprehend, quite a conceivable case, that under
these circumstances, the crews, incapable of extri-
cating the ships from the ice, may have at length
been obliged to quit them and attempt a retreat,
not towards the continent, because too distant,
but to Melville Island, where certainly food
(seals), and probably fuel might be obtained, and
where they would naturally suppose that vessels
despatched from England for their relief woidd in
the first instance seek them.^

" Captain Austin's expedition was directed, in
accordance with the above authorities, to make
its principal efforts in the vicinity of Melville
Island.

*' The intelligence of the fitting out of Captain
Austin's expedition reached the Behring's Strait
expedition, at the Sandwich Islands, and would
unquestionably stimulate them in endeavouring at
almost any risk to communicate with Captain
Austin at Melville Island.

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264 DISCOVERY OF THE N0RTn-WE8T PASSAGE.

. . "It ia deairablc to realise as much as possible
■what would be the eflFect on the officers of the
Bchring's Strait expedition on being possessed of
the intelligence alluded to.

" There can be no reasonable doubt but that they
would anticipate Captain Austin's expedition, aided
as it was by steamers reaching Melville Island, as
Sir W. E. Parry had done so without steamers in
1819 ; and that Captain Austin would, as a matter
of course, leave a supply of provisions and fuel,
and possibly a boat, for any party that might
reach that point from Behring's Strait.

" Trusting to this, a party might be pushed forward
at imminent risk ; t/u,t how terrible would be their
despair on finding a barren notice of Lieutenant
M^Clintock*s visit in 1861, instead of the supply
anticipated!

" There is nothing unreasonable in the above
supposition, as Captain Kellett in his evidence,
page 170., says, ^Should Commander M^Clure be
successful in getting far to the eastward, I am con-
vinced, from a conversation I had with him, and in-
deed his own letter will show, that he will use every
endeavour to reach Melville Island with his paiiies,
if he fail with his ship. ^

" Again, Captain Kellett, in a letter to Captain

"V-

MR. CBESSWELL'S LETTER.

265

Collinson, 20th of May, 1850, says: * If you can
pass point Barrow and escape the shoal water, we
shall see you come home by the Atlantic'

" Now the ' Investigator ' passed Point Barrow
the 5th of August, 1850, and nothing has been
heard of her from that time ; we may therefore
conclude that she struggled to get to Melville
Island through the seasons of 1850 and 1851.
Certainly she did not return in 1851 through
Behring's Strait, or it must have been already
known. . .

" If she is far to the eastward, in all probability
Melville Island will be their only resource. Cap-
tain Collinson, in the * Enterprise,' passed Point
Barrow in 1851, and will in all probability push
to the eastward this summer, and may reach
Melville Island.

" Under these circumstances, ought not the
powerful arctic squadron now fitting out to have
Some reference to the support of Captain CollinsorCs
expedition^ as well as to following out Penny's dis-
coveries, and to the faint hope of finding Sir John
Franklin.

" I venture to suggest that one of the three
steamers should proceed to Melville Island, if the
navigation be open, as in 1819, leave provisions,

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266 DISCOVERY OF TUE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

fuel, and a boat at Winter Harbour: she could
then return to tlie ships at Beechey Island.

" If the navigation should not be found open, then
the steamer should make as far to the westward as
possible, and send provisions to Byam Martin
Island, or any favourable position that might be
practicable, sending forward a party to Melville
Island, to leave a record of their proceedings,
to direct where to find provisions, and also to
communicate the object of Sir Edward Belcher's
expedition.

" If the Admiralty thought proper, in case of the
steamer reaching Melville Island, she might winter
there, and in the spring send searching parties to
the westward. They might be so arranged as to
command a wide field of research, and possibly
cross Captain CoUinson or Commander M'Clure, as
they would start from a point more than 200 miles
west of Baillie Hamilton Island.

" I must apologise with trespassing upon you

with such a long letter, but the importance of the

object will, I trust, plead my excuse.

" &c. &c.

« To Augustus Stafford, Esq. M.P.
" Secretary, Admiralty."

-ij

you

the

SOUNDNESS OF MR. CRESSWELL'S VIEWS. 267

Hia Grace the Duke of Northumberland was
then the senior Lord of the Board of Admiralty.
He was struck with the soundness of Mr. Cress-
well's views ; and having sought the opinion of
some arctic authorities upon the subject, a para-
graph was inserted in the orders under which
Captain Belcher sailed * ; and his expedition, in
consequence, became divided, for the twofold
objects, of seeking Franklin, and affording aid to
Captains M'Clure and Collinson : two vessels going
up Wellington Channel, under Captains Belcher
and Osborn ; whilst the " Resolute " and " In-
trepid," parting from them at Becchey Island,

• Paragraphs 5. and 6. of Captain Sir E. Belcher's instruc-
tions were as follows : —

5. " Arrived ct this point {Beechey Island)^ two great objects
will engage your attention :

** First, the endeavouring^to pass up Wellington Channel with
one sailing vessel and one steamer ; secondly, the advance of
a similar force towards Melville Island.

6. " The object of the first of these expeditions will be, the
endeavour to recover those traces of Sir John Franklin which
ceased at Cape Bowden to the north of Beechey Island, and
to follow up such traces, if they should be found. The object
of the other expedition will be, to deposit, if possible,
at Winter Harbour, Melville Island, or failing that, at Byam
Martin Island, a supply of provisions, fuel, and clothing,
for any parties that might reach such positions from Captain
Collinson 's or Commander M'Clure's ships."

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268 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

were, under the command of Captains Kellett
and M'Clintock, to proceed to Melville Island ;
a duty which, so far as the last-named division
was concerned, was, as will be seen, faithfully
executed.

In accordance, therefore, with the recommenda-
tion of the arctic committee, and the instructions of
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the
expedition under Captains Sir E. Belcher and
Kellett, C. B., consisting of H. M. ships " Re-
solute," " Assistance," " Pioneer," and " Intre-
pid," left England in the spring of 1852 ; and
without entering into a detail of the circumstances
which brought about the eventual desertion of that
fine squadron — a tale which the editor intends at
a future day to relate in a sequel to his " Stray
Leaves from an Arctic Journal" — it will suffice
for our present purpose to say that on the 15th of
August, 1852, the " Resolute," Captain Kellett, and
the "Intrepid," Commander M'Clintock, having
on the previous day parted company from the
** Assistance" and the " Pioneer," proceeded towards
Melville Island, from the dep6t ship " North Star,"
Commander PuUen, stationed at Beechey Island.

Melville Island was reached on the 1st Sep-
tember, and on the 5th inst. the vessels of the

liii

REACH MELVILLE ISLAND.

269

western division made fast to the ice which yet
filled up Winter Harbour, the well known wintering
place of Sir Edward Parry in the year 1819. A
dep6t of provisions was immediately formed ; and
as no cairn or pole had been erected by Captain
M'C lure's party or that of Lieut. Parks from the
" Enterprise," when they visited the place in the
spring of the same year, the ships under Captain
Kellett actually retired again to a secure wintering
place under Dealy Island, some distance to the east-
ward, without being aware that Melville Island
had been visited by those they were in search
of, or that within 180 miles of them the "Inves-
tigator " was then lying in want of assistance !
Such are the difficulties and chances which prevent
one party finding another in those regions. Directly,
however, that Captain Kellett was securely frozen
in, he despatched autumnal parties of travellers to
lay out provisions for the use of parties he purposed
sending forth in the ensuing spring. One of these
parties, under Lieut. Mecham, left the ship on the
23rd September, reached Winter Harbour, struck
over-land for Liddon Gulf, deposited provisions on
its shore, and returned to Winter Harbour ; when,
happening to inspect more closely than usual the
famous mass of sandstone on which Parry had

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270 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

caused his ship's name to be engraved, Lieut.
Mecham could hardly credit his senses when he dis-

Remarkable Sandstone mass at the entrance of Winter Harbour, 10 Teet high, 22 T'et

long, 7 or 8 feet bread.

covered a document upon its summit, detailing the
accomplishment of the north- west passage, and the
position of H. M. S. " Investigator " in Banks Land 1
Great joy was there in Captain Kellett's squadron
at having discovered one at least of the ships they
sought; and many an anxious discussion took
place at Melville Island whether they could nex^
sprMig send off parties sufficiently early to reach
the Bay of Mercy before Captain M'Clure was
obliged to abandon Iiis ship ; and, on the other hand,
there were doubts whether he might not have been
able to push on during the past summer, and per-

:i;i

CAPTAIN m'CLURE'S ADDEESS. ^' 271

haps have again to be sought in some new direc-
tion. .

Lieut. Bedford Pirn, of the " Assistance," was,
with Dr. Domville, of the same ship, told off to start
with sledges from Melville Island to Banks Land :
and on March 10th, 1853, they left their shipmates,
amidst the prayers and cheers of all.

Meantime, April 1853 had come in on the " In-
vestigator " ; the sledges were ready, the slender
store of provisions was packed, those that were
going strove to be sanguine, those that were to re-
main behind had written to cheer up mothers,
wives, and sisters, who must have already begun to
mourn their long absence. On the 5th of the
month the first death since leaving England oc-
curred on board the " Investigator " : it was occa-
sioned by the thoughtlessness of the poor fellow
himself, who, by way of a joke, went into the
surgery and drank off the washings of several
medicine bottles. But the moral effect of a death at
such a time was distressing, and to re-inspirit the
men their iron-nerved captain took an early oppor-
tunity of calling the crew together, and making an
address to them in not ineloquent terms. In it
he called their attention to the difficulties already
mastered, to the honours won, to the grateful re-

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272 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

compense their good service was certain to obtain
for each, and to the merciful Providence which
had so upheld them hitherto ; and he begged them
always to remember that, in the gloomiest hour
of trial, relief might, and often did come, and
that the darkest cloud had ever a silvery side to it.
Cheerfully again did all assent to his opinions, and
the poor fellows talked and looked happier for
what had been said to them.

The 6th of April, 1853, came in. A fine deer was
hung up ready to be cut up for a hearty meal, that
all hands were to partake of before their separa-
tion, which was to take place in the following week ;
when an event occurred which rescued them from
further suffering and trials of fortitude. I give
Captain M'Cluie's journal almost verbatim, upon
this day. ^ , ;

" While walking near the ship, in conversa-
tion with the first lieutenant upon the subject of
digging a grave for the man who died yesterday,
and discussing how we could cut a grave in the
ground whilst it was so hardly frozen — a subject
naturally sad and depressing, — we perceived a figure
walking rapidly towards us from the rough ice
at the entrance of the bay. From his pace and
gestures we both naturally supposed at first that

if
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UNEXPECTED APPEARANCE OF LIEUT. PIM. 273

lie was some one of our party pursued by a bear,
but as we approached hira doubts arose as to who
it could be. He was certainly unlike any of our
men ; but recollecting that it was possible oome
one might be trying a new travelling dress, pre-
paratory to the departure of our sledges, and certain
that no one else was near, we continued to fidvance.
When within about two hundred yards of us, this
strange figure threw up his arms, and made gesticu-
lations resembling those used by Esquimaux, besides
shouting, at the top of his voice, words which,
from the wind and intense excitement of the
moment, sounded like a wild screech ; and this
brought us both fairly to a stand-still. The
stranger came quietly on, and we saw that his
face was as black as ebony, and really at the
moment we might be pardoned for wondering
whether he was a denizen of this or the other
world, and had he but given us a glimpse of a
tail or a cloven hoof, we should assuredly have
taken to our legs : as it was, we gallantly stood
our ground, end, had the skies fallen upon us,
we could hardly have been more astonished than
when the dark-faced stranger called out, —

" I'm Lieutenant Pim, late of the ' Herald,' and

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274 DISCOVERY OF THE NOllTII-WEST PASSAGE.

>. K

i '■!

now in the * Resolute' Captain Kellett is in her
at Dealy Island ! "

" To rush at and seize him by the hand was
the first impulse, for the heart was too full for
the tongue to speak. The announcement of relief
being close at hand, when none was supposed to
be even within the Arctic Circle, was too sudden,
unexpected, and joyous for our minds to com-
prehend it at once. The news flew with lightning
rapidity, the ship was all in commotion ; the
sick, forgetful of their maladies, leapt from their
hammocks ; the artificers dropped their tools,
and the lower deck was cleared of men ; for they
all rushed for the hatchway to be assured that
a stranger was actually amongst them, and that
his tale was true. Despondency fled the ship,
and Lieut. Pim received a welcome — pure, hearty,
and grateful — that he will assuredly remember
and cherish to the end of his days."

In a very short time the dog-sledge with two
men arrived, and long and eager were the con-
versations and questionings which ensued. The
Investigators felt perfectly bewildered with the
rescue which had reached them just in time to
save, in all probability, the lives of the thirty
persons who were about to attempt to reach

JOY OF THE INVliJSTIGATORS.

275

home with sledges and boats (as well as of that
forlorn hope who were to remain behind); and
when the fact had perfectly realised itself to all,
it may be imagined what their feelings were.
It would be supererogation on our part to attempt
to describe the fulness and gratitude of heart
with which that night each must have thanked
his God for all his mercies.

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276 DISCOVEUY OF THE NOllTII-WEST PASSAGE.

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CHAP. XVII.

Captain M'Clure proceeds to Melvillo Island to see Captain
Kellett. — M'Clure'a Views. — His Letter. — Captain Kellett
only gives Leave for healthy Volunteers to remain in
"Investigator." — Medical Survey unsatisfactory. — Aban-
donment of H. M. S. " Investigator." — Depot of Provisions
formed at Mercy Bay. — Arrival on Board H.IvI.S. " Resolute "
and " Intrepid." — Searching-Parties under Captain M'Clin-
tock, Lieutenants Mccham and Hamilton, unsuccessful. —
Captain Kellett decides upon failing back upon Beechey
Island. — Unfavourable Season. — Squadron blown out of
Winter Quarters. — Arrested at Byam Martin Channel.
— Large Supply of fresh Meat procured. — "Resolute"
and "Intrepid" caught in the Pack. — Winter in the
Pack — The "Phoenix" arrives at Beechey Island, and
takes home Lieut. Cresswell. — 1853. — The Investigators
pass a fourth Winter with impunity, and then leave
the "Resolute" for Beechey Island. — Captain Sir E.
Belcher's Plans to abandon the Squadron. — Orders the
"Resolute" and "Intrepid" to be abandoned. — News of
CoUinson, in 1852, having pushed on into the Ice. — " Assist-
ance " and " Pioneer " ordered to be deserted. — " Phoenix "
and " Talbot " arrive with Provisions and fresh Crews. —
All return Home. — Investigators rewarded in 1855.

Captain M'Clure decided now at once upon
going to see Captain Kellett, and making arrange-
ments with him for having all his sickly hands
sent to Dealy Island, and thence home, whilst he,

CAPTAIN M'CLIIRE's LETTER.

277

still adhering to his original plan, endeavoured to
carry home the " Investigator " by waiting in her
through another Arctic summer and winter, that of
1853-1854, before abandoning her, and retreat-
ing to Melville Island ; with this plan in view,
he penned the following letter, and remarkable as
the whole tone of it is, I should do Injustice to the
cool, unflinching nerve of the writer, did I not place
in italics that paragraph in which, with generous
heroism, he points out the inutility of risking more
lives should he and his ship again be missing.

To the Secretary of the Admiralty.

" Her Majesty's Discovery ship ' Investigator,'
" Bay of Mercy, Baring's Island
(now Banks Land),
" April 10th, 1853.
" Sir,

" In the event of our not getting to
England this year, I think it necessary to acquaint
you, for the information of the Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty, what our operations
will be in 1854, that their Lordships may be en-
abled to take such co-operative measures for our
relief as may appear expedient.

" Should the ice break up in this bay sufficiently
early to permit our getting through the straits this

T 3

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278 DISCOVERY OF THE NOllTII-WKST TASSAGK.

season, and finding the water open to the east-
ward of Leopold Island, it would be my object to
push forward, without stopping to take on board
any provisions from Port Leopold ; but, if con-
trarywise, the ice should be thick towards Lan-
caster Sound, I would, if possible, proceed to Port
Leopold, and complete a twelvemonth's provisions,
and then risk wintering in the pack, or getting
through, in preference to remaining at the above
port ; if, however, we are detained in this bay till
next year, it will then be requisite to leave towards
the end of April and make for Port Leopold, where
1 am aware that there is a good boat, a house, and
ample supplies ; and, when the navigable season
opens, procp^d to Pond's Bay, coasting along the
shore of Barrow's Straits ; arriving at Pond's Bay,
and if finding from the Esquimaux that no
whalers have as yet been there, I should there
await their appearance as long as my provisions
would admit, and then go down the west shore
of Baffin's Bay, keeping close along the land floe,
where whalers or their boats are almost certain of
being met with ; failing this, 1 should cross to
Discoe, with the hope of getting a passage in one
of the Danish vessels which come there annually,
and leave about the beginning of September ; or
being too late for them, either charter or purchase

CAPTAIN m'CLURE'S LETTEIl.

270

one of their coasting schooners, which I believe
trade amongst the settlements, if she was capable
of standing an Atlantic voyage ; could neither of
these be accomplished, we must of necessity re-
main until the following season at that settlement.

" Should any of Her Majesty's ships be sent for
our relief, and we have quitted Port Leopold, a
notice containing information of our route will be
left at the door of the house on Whaler's Point, or
on some conspicuous position ; zj, however^ on the
contrary^ no intimation should he found of our
having been there, it may at once he surmised that
some fatal catastrophe has happened^ either from
our being carried into the Polar Sea or smashed in
Barroid's Straits, and no survivors left. If such be
the casCf which hoivever I will not anticipate, it will
then be quite unnecessary to penetrate farther to the
zvestward for our relief as by the period that any
vessel could reach that port we must, from want of
provisions, all haiie perished ; in such a case, I ivoidd
sub?nit that the officer may be directed to return, and
by no means incur the danger of losing other lives
in quest of those loho loill then be no more.

" As, however it may occur (as was the case
with Sir John Ross) that the ice may not
break up in Regent's Inlet during the whole

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280 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

summer, it is as well to provide ngninst such a
contingency; if such should happen, it would
be necessary to winter at Port Lco[)old, unless
apprised of the locality of any ship that might
he sent for our relief, which I think might be
accomplished without any great difficulty, as,
although such vessel may not be enabled to get
far up the straits, yet as Admiralty Inlet would
be pretty certain of being clear of ice, she might
proceed thither, and in some secure bay freeze
in, and when the straits were firmly frozen, about
the middle of October, a small travelling party
could be despatched with the intelligence ; the
whole would then proceed to her, and although
rather late in the season, men working for their
lives are not likely to be discouraged by a little cold.
" Whatever may be the final termination of this
long, tedious, but I hope not unimportant ' nvage,
I beg. Sir, that you will assure their Lordships
that in every stage I have been guided entirely
by what I have considered to be my duty in pro-
secuting to the utmost the object for which the
expedition was fitted out ; and although we have
not succeeded in obtaining any information which
could afford the slightest clue to the fate of our
missing countrymen, I hope that the services

CAl'TAINS M*CLURK AND KKLLETT MKRT. 281

performed in the tracing of a very greut extent
of coast line, the discovery of much new hind
(a portion of which is inluibited by a simple and
primitive people not hitherto known), and, above
all, the accurate knowledge of that * Passage
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans,' which
for so many hundred years has balfled maritime
Europe, its very existence being almost considered
doubtful, will, I trust, be considered events suffi-
ciently interesting and important to elicit from
their Lordships a favourable consideration of our
services.

" I have the honour to be.

((

Sir,

" Your obedient and humble Servant,
(Signed) " Robeut M'Clure,
" Commander

According to his determination. Captain M'Clure
left the " Investigator " with a sledge-party, and
reached the " Resolute's " and " Intrepid's " winter-
quarters on the 19th April. We can appreciate
the meeting between himself and Captain Kellett,
for they had parted on that eventful day in Beh-
ring's Strait in 1850, when the latter gave Captain
M'Clure an opportunity of waiting for his con-

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282 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

sort, which, had he accepted, the North-west
Passage would not have been achieved, and the
search for Franklin would not have been com-
pleted upon even one line from ocean to ocean.
Captain Kellett at first concurred in M'Clure's
views of endeavouring to save the " Investigator" ;
but when Lieut. Cresswell of that ship arrived
on May 2nd with some of the most weakly hands,
and reported that two more deaths had already
occurred in the Bay of Mercy, Capt. Kellett, as
senior o^cer, felt that his responsibility would
be great if he allowed the zeal of Captain M'Clure
or his followers, in fulfilling the requirements of
professional honour, to jeopardise the lives of
those who had so gallantly done their dut3\* It

* The state of the men brought over by Lieut. Cresswell is
best described in the following evidence given by Dr. Doraville
before th ; Select Committee of the House of Commons, which
assembled, in July, 1855, to decide upon the reward due to
Captain M'Clure and his men.

Captain M'Clure arrived on the 19th of April at Her
Majesty's ship " Resolute," and he remained on board until
the 2nd of May, when another party from his ship arrived.
" Until this period Commander M'Clure had been detained by
Captain Kellett, the defective condition of his sledge's crew
^^v ho had doubtless been selected as the most efficient) being
Buch as to cause some apprehension for the capabilities of the
remainder to make a further sojourn in tliese regions ; and most
forcibly did the appearance of the above detachment justify the
measure. Some vague information of their enfeebled condition

m , I

being

RETURN OF DR. DOMVILLE TO " INVESTIGATOR." 283

was then arranged that Dr. Domvillc, of the
" Resolute," should return with Capt. M'Clure
to the " Investigator," hold a medical survey on
every person on board of her, order those home
who might not be considered fit to withstand
another winter, and then give the healthy the
option of remaining in her for a fourth season,
or not, as they might choose. On reaching the
" Investigator," Capt. M'Clure addressed his men.
relative to their volunteering to remain out, and
then gave twenty-four hours for the medical sur-
vey to take place, and for the sound men to make
up their minds whether they would stay with
him or go home. The survey, however, was
fatal to the hopes of the resolute leader; for on

had preceded them ; the stern reality now presented itself: one
officer, subject to periods of mental aberration; one man in n
state of dementia " (or imbecility), " his condition and appear-
ance rendered still more pitiable from severe frostbite of the
fingers ; two men carried on the sledges, the one with scurvy,
the other with urinary disease and phlegmonous inflammation
of the leg ; the remainder all more or less affected with
scorbutic disease and debility, as indicated to the spectator
in the tottering gait, attenuated form, and care-worn expression
of countenance, occasionally lighted up as the truth and 're-
collection of their altered condition flitted across the imaginn •
lion ; a change (as some expressed themselves) difficult to
realise. For several months past their thoughts had been preg-
nant with the uncertainty of the future, to which no definite
results could be assigned."

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2Sl DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

the following day, May 23rd, he writes in his
diary, "My surprise and mortification at finding
only four men who felt able to go through
another winter were great, but I must do all
my ofiicers the credit to say that they came
most nobly and spiritedly forward, tendering
their services, and expressing anxiety to remain
and abide the chances of another season." Ad-
miring as one may the iron will of M'Clure,
yet, pcihaps, on the whole it was best that cir-
cumstances did not allow him to remain ; for
the medical report was most serious, and as cir-
cumstances proved that the season of 1853 was
not a remarkably favourable one at Melville
Island, and the *' Investigator " could not have
escaped, we may rejoice that these gallant men
were put to no farther trials in Mercy Bay.

The report of the medical men was to the fol-
lowing effect. .

*' Report or Survey of Crew of * Investigator.'

" Her Majesty's Ship * Investigaioi,'
" Bay of Mercy, 23r(l May, 1853.

" Sir,

" In obedience to your orders conveyed to us
through Commander M'Clure directing a survey to

SURVEY OF THE CHEW.

285

be held on the officers and men remaining on board
this ship, with a view of ascertaining their general
state of health and efficiency for further service in
tho Polar Sea, we have the honour to inform
you that we have this day held a strict and careful
survey accordingly, and beg to state, as the resuit
thereof, that their present state of health is such
as renders them utterly unfit to undergo the rigour
of another winter in this cUmate, without enter-
taining the most serious apprehension for the con-
sequence.

" There exists in all of them at present, with one
or two exceptions, well marked evidence of scurvy
and debility in various stages of development, with
great loss of flesh and strength, as may be seen
from the ren^M'ks appended to the name of each in
the accompanying list, which calls for their
departure from these regions as early as possible
as a matter of urgent necessity, and the adoption
of prompt means to insure the same, that they
may be placed under the salutary influence of such
anti-scorbutic and other agents as are essential for
their recovery and ultimate safety.

" We are also of opinion that the reduced
allowance of provisions on which they have

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286 DISCOVKRY OF TIIK NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

i .

I V

been victualled for a period of nearly twenty
months is one which we consider, and the past
experience of others has likewise proved, to be
quite inadequate for maintaining the health of
the men exposed to the rigorous influence of this
climate. ,

" That it has rendered thera less able to generate
an amount of animal heat sufficient to resist the
intensity of the cold, while it has established a pre-
disposition to the attacks of that disease (scurv}')
the germs of which now so universally prevail
amongst them, with its usual distressing influence
on the mind, likewise rendering thera highly sus-
ceptible of other diseases, and unable to withstand
the privations to which they have been exposed,
and which are inseparable from Arctic service,
is sufficiently obvious, as their present condition
but too fully proves.

"It is likewise our opinion that, from their present
state and condition, the remedial resources of the
ship would be insufficient to establish such a state
of health and efficiency as to affbrd any guarantee
against the occurrence of those evils which could
not fail to result from the circumstance of remain-
ing in the ship, and exposed to the intense severity
of another (the fourth) Arctic winter, after the

DISAPPOINTMENT OF CAIT. M'CLURE.

287

effects of a sojourn so long as that which has fallen
to their lot to have experienced.

" We have, &c.
(Signed) " Alexander Armstrong,

" Surgeon, II. M. S. ' Investigator.'

(Signed) " W. T. Domville,

" Surgeon, H. i\I. S. * Resolute.'

" Henry Kellett, Captain, C. B.,
H.M.S. 'Eesolute.'"

Some days afterwards, even Captain M'CIure
seems to have resigned himself to his disappoint-
ment, and, bitter as it was to be obliged to quit his
ship, to look upon it as a duty. In every stage of
his perilous voyage, he had found that all things
v.'ere ordered for the best ; and he dreaded lest the
execution of what he and his officers considered
their duty as naval men, namely, that of saving
their ship, should be construed into a charge
of wantonly perilling his crew. It only remained,
therefore, for him to land his boats, stores, and pro-
visions, so as to form a depot for Captain Collinson,
or anyone else who, in after years, should need
su*^^- supplies, and then to secure his ship to prevent
her being blown to sea by future gales of wind.
As an instance of how carefully the provisions and

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288 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

stores had been husbanded during an absence
of three years from any store or dockyard, the depot
deserves a place in this narrative ; it consisted of
the f llowing articles : — -

Biscuit -

lOOOlbs.

Rum

26 galls

Brandy '

20 „

Salt beef

600 lbs.

Pork -

1600 „

Preserved meat -

3000 „

Flour -

6420 „

Suet

112 „

Sugar -

1000 „

Chocolate

435 „

Tea

126,,

Tobacco

484 „

Clothing for thirty men for

a year,

boat.

spars, rope.

powdei", shot.

and arms.

Their last duty, and that a painful one, was to
crec", a neat tablet over the graves of their three
shipmates who had died in the Bay of Mercy, and
that done, on the Srd June, 1853, the " Investiga-
tor's " crew hoisted the colours to the mast-head of
their dear gallant bark, and turned their backs upon
her as sorrowfully as they would h«' ve done on an
old well-tried friend in his extremity.

On June 17th, the squadron at Dealy Island
was reached by the Investigators, who found that
every preparation for their comfort had been made

*imi '

THE " RESOLUTE " AND " INTREPID."

289

on board the " Resolute " and " Intrepid." Each
ship housed a portion of the " Investigator's " crew
and officers ; and after a hearty meal and a long
exchange of news from home and startling anec-
dotes from Banks Land, the Investigators settled
into their new ships, and thought all their troubles
at an end.

. Little occurred to break the monotony of arctic
life at Bridport Inlet, Dealy Island, until Mr.
Roche, mate of the " Resolute," who had been
sent down early in the season to the " North
Star " with some men, to relieve the increased
demand upon the " Resolute's " provisions and
stores, returned quite unexpectedly with a dog-
sledge, having been to Beechey Island and back, a
distance of 600 miles, within the short space of
six weeks. . • •

The news and letters he brought, together
with the return of one travelling party after
another of Captain Kellett's sledge-expeditions,
served to while away the anxious time before the
water made in Barrow's Strait. ■

Captain M'Clintock, Lieutenants Mecham and
Hamilton, made extensive journeys, searching most
completely every foot oi land that lay to tlie
north or north-west of Melville Island, whilst

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290 DlSCOVfiKY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

m I !.

Ccptain Richards, by a remarkable journey from
Northumberland Sonnd in Wellington Channel to
Dealy Island, put Captain Kellett in perfect
possession of the position of the unlucky division
under Captain Sir Edward Belcher.

Meantime Lieut. Cresswell was sent from the
" Eesolute " to Beechey Island, and such despatches
given to him as would inform the Admiralty of
the safety of the " Investigator," should the " In-
trepid " or "Resolute" fail to escape from their
advanced position in the forthcoming autumn.

When Captain Kellett had before him the
results of the search made by his sledge-parties,
and saw that nothing farther could be done in
a north-west direction, he altered his mind about
sending the " Intrepid " alone with the " Inves-
tigator's " crew to Beechey Island, and decided
to start with both vessels for that rendezvous
as soon as the state of the ice would admit of
his doing so. '

August came in ; the ice was in motion outside,
but things did not look promising : the season was
a backward one at Melville Island, though very
forward in Wellington Channel. On the 18th of
August a strong gale commenced off the land ; the
ice acted upon by It broke up in all directions, a

BYAM MARTIN CHANNEL.

291

lane of water made astern, and that night the
" Resolute " and " Intrepid " were at sea, and the
Investigators, poor fellows, as they hoped, home-
ward bound !

Within twenty-four hours the ships were brought
up by the pack of Byam Martin Channel ; and for
many a day they lay under the extreme point of
Melville Island, watching for an opening to dash
across to Bathurst Land, for, once under its lee,
they knew the northerly gales would inevitably
make " land water^'' and enable them to accom-
plish another run for Beechey Island : thence to
England was a certainty.

Day after day passed ; the drifting pack in
Byam Martin Channel continued in a most un-
promising state, whilst winter was fast advancing
with snow, darkness, and newly-formed ice. Hap-
pily, this part of Melville Island, like every other
part of the southern shore of that favoured land,
was found to be abounding in game, especially
musk-oxen. Such a God-send, under the circum-
stances, was eagerly seized by Captain Kellett,
who naturally felt most anxious to save, and carry
in health and strength to England, the crew of
the " Investigator." Every available gun and
man was sent to secure fresh meat j and such was

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292 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

their success that about 10,000 lbs. weight of game
was eventually secured, — and beirg soon frozen it
was easily preserved for the coming winter. At
one time the meat was festooned round the rigging
of the " Resolute " and " Intrepid," until they re-
sembled butchers' stalls far more than British dis-
covery ships. At last, driven to risk anything rather
than remain where they were for another winter,
the vessels attempted to force a way through the
pack ; but on the 9th of September both the " In-
trepid " and " Resolute " became permanently
imbedded in the newly-formed ice, and a north-
west gale forcing down the pack upon them,
they became fairly beset and obliged to go whi-
ther it and Providence listed.

It was only another disappointment to the gal-
lant crew of the " Investigator." They met it with
resignation, and a feeling of thankfulness that they
were at any rate some 300 miles nearer home,
and that in the well-found ships they were now on
board of, every kindness and exertion would be
made to carry them safely through their fourth
winter. Indeed, no pains were spared b}^ the
officers and crew of the " Resolute " and " In-
trepid " to grant every comfort to their passengers,
and to distract their thoughts from those cor-

DRIFTING IN THE ICE.

293

roding anxieties which, perhaps, more than all
else predispose to scurvy.

For two months, however, the perils encountered
by the drifting ships were very great. Their
safety at last appeared to be occasioned by con-
stant pressure against the unyielding ships
having formed a body of heavy ice round them,
the strength of which set at defiance the rest
of the surrounding pack. At one time, with
northerly winds, they feared being set down to the
southward ; and if there had been a good outlet
for the ice between Lieut. Osborn's and Lieut.
Wynniatt's farthest points in 1851, it was within
the bounds of probability that next season, 1854,
would find the " Kesolute " and " Intrepid " in
some awkward position between Prince of Wales
and Prince Albert Land. This fear was put an
end to by finding that the pack only drifted lor
a short time to the southward, as if to fill up
tightly the great space called Melville Sound, and
then it and the beset ships drifted steadily away
to the eastward — recovering in some measure
the southing that had been made — until t le pack,
doubtless checked by the islands which lay across
its path towards Barrow's Strait — such as those
of Grifiiths, Lowther, Garrett, and others — became

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294 DISCOVKRY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAGE.

stationary ; and right pleased was Captain Kellctt
to find that after the 12th of November his good
ship was at rest, she having then reached a point
about due cast of Winter Harbour, Melville
Island, and in long. 101** W., — an admirable po-
sition for an early escape in the ensuing season.
My duty, however, being to relate the adventures
of the ere '7 of the "Investigator," it will merely
be necessary to say that another winter passed
over their heads without any great amount of
disease. One officer, a Mr. Sainsbury (mate),
died on November 14th; but he had been a very
long time ill, and life was evidently prolonged in
his case so long as he continued to hope to escape
another winter.

Only two or three of the Investigators escaped
this their last ordeal. Amongst them was Lieut.
Gurney Cresswell, who had been sent down to
Beechey Island with a sledge-party, in the spring,
from Dealy Island ; and the " Phoenix," Captain
Inglefield, having made a flying visit to that
spot, Lieut. Cresswell was taken to England in
that ship, and on October 7th, 1853, communicated
to the Admiralty the proud intelHgence of the
achievement of the North-west Passage, and the
safety of Captain M'Clure and his companions.

>' ll

SUITLY OF FltKSlI MEAT.

295

To thcj wonderful supply of inusk-ox beef
obtained at Melville Island, the health of the
Investigators vms, no doubt, in a great measure
due ; but for tliat providential resource, the
" Resolute " and " Intrepid " would have been
able to have afforded tlieni but a small supply of
fresh or preserved meats, owing to mal-arrange
ment in the first provisioning of the expedition
and the " Assistance " and " Pioneer " had more
over carried off the lion's share, when they re
plenished from the " North Star" in August, 1852

As early as April 14th, 1854, Captain M'Clurc
and his crew Avere able to quit the " Resolute "
and " Intrepid," and proceed with sledges on foot
to Beechey Island, — a pretty good proof that their
health had not deteriorated since quitting the Bay
of Mercy twelve months previously. One seaman
alone was too feeble to walk down ; he was suffering
from scurvy of the worst form, and soon after
succumbed to it, although taken to the " North
Star " on a dog-sledge. The " North Star " and
the dep6t at Beechey Island may now be consi-
dered as the spring resting-place of our friends
the Investigators ; but, to connect one part of this
narrative with the other, we must give a slight
sketch of the movements of Captain Kellett's

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296 DISCOVERY or the north-west passage.

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division, as well as of that in Wellington Channel
under Captain Belcher.

In the summer of 1853, before the "Resolute"
and " Intrepid " left Melville Island, Captain
Belcher started for Beechey Island from a spot called
Northumberland Sound, at the northern entrance
of Wellington Channel. The return sledge-parties
of Captains Richards and Osborn had told Captain
Belcher of the rescu'; of the " Investigator," and
the accomplishment of the North-west Passage.

It was evident if Captain Kellett got this news
home first, and direct from himself, great would
be the praise that would fall to his share. The
object apparently now became to intercept the
" Resolute " or " Intrepid," if they touched at
Beechey Island, and make their reports pass
through the hands of a senior officer, which Cap-
tain Sir E. Belcher happened tc be. No time was,
therefore, to be lost in opening a communication
with Beechey Island ; and so important was this
deemed, that the search was abandoned, and one
sledge -party was left to secure their retreat as best
they could after their long and trying journey.
Cape Majendie was reached at an early day ; and
there a boat, with Commander Pullen in her,
from the " North Star," joined the " Assistance "
and " Pioneer." - •

WATER IN WELLINGTON CHANNEL.

297

From Commander Pullen information was
gleaned, that the season in Barrow's Strait did not
appear a forward one, and that he had found most
water making on the west side of Wellington
Channel j indeed the large boat he had come up in
was a pretty good proof that water and not ice
had been mainly met with by him. Giving him
orders that would prevent the " Intrepid " passing
Beechey Island, and indeed secure a monopoly of
intelligence for the Admiralty to himself*, Captain
Belcher sent Commander Pullen back again as
quickly as possible, and, finding affairs did not
press, commenced surveying that great curve of
Wellington Channel wherein the Bays of Baring
and Prince Alfred exist, and across which curve
a solid floe was still firmly frozen. Almost any
time between the 9th and 18th of August, the
"Pioneer" could have towed the " Assistance" from
Dundas Island direct to Cape De Haven; and
indeed we know now, from a trip made by Captain
Inglefield in a boat to that cape from Beechey
Island, that water to that place would have then
been found by the "Pioneer" and "Assistance."

J a

* Captain Inglefield, however, in the " Phoenix," arrived at
Beechey Island, and cnnved home Lieut. Cresswell with the
despatches of Captain M'Cluro.

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298 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

The log-books of the "Pioneer" and " North Star,"
and Inglefield's narrative, collectively attest this
interesting fact.

Ignorance, however, of the first rules of naviga-
tion in arctic seas was eventually to bring about
the loss of this fine squadron ; and after needless
risks, and egregious mistakes, the "Pioneer" and
her charge found themselves beset for a second
winter at the southern horn of Baring Bay.

People in England, even those most inclined to
magnify the horrors of arctic service, had begun
to doubt that it was quite as wretched and dan-
gerous as had been supposed, and to hold labours
in polar ice rather cheap ; a thorough downright
catastrophe was necessary to revive their dormant
sympathies ; the ice would not wreck us, though
God knows every opportunity that ignorance or
folly would give it of doing so was afforded ; and
the year 1854 saw such a catastrophe actually
accomplished, the total desertion of a squadron
flying the British pendant in the Polar Seas.

Totally ignorant of such an arrangement being
the intention of the senior officer, the resources
of the " Resolute " and " Intrepid " had been so
carefully and judiciously husbanded, that with
a reduced crciW in each ship, they were still ready

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KELLETT AND M'CLINTOCK's WISE MEASURES. 299

to meet the chsnce of not escaping in 1854 ; and
this was the more creditable to Captains Kellet
and M'Cliutock, as they had had to victual the
additional men and officers from the " Investi-
gator," and had left an ample dep6t of provi-
sions and clothing in Melville Island for the use
of Collinson, should fate lead him there.

Ever alive to the necessity of not ceasing to
search so long as he was in a position to do so,
Captain Kellett despatched in the early spring
Lieut. Mecham, supported by a party under Mr.
Krabb4 (master), to revisit the Bay of Mercy in
Banks Land, and to place on Princess Royal
Island, in Prince of Wales Strait, information of the
safety of the crew of the "Investigator," — a bold
and happy act of foresight, as the result proved.
Besides this, it was the intention of Captain Kellett
to have sent parties later in the spring to connect
Lieuts. Osborn and Wynniatt's extreme points of
search, and furthermore to have examined down
Peel Sound; the central position in which the
" Resolute " and " Intrepid " then were, admitting
of such measures being executed with the greatest
facility.

But in the meantime Captain Richards — who, as
we have elsewhere said, was despatched in weather

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300 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

SO severe as to endanger the lives of all his party —
reached Captain Kellett with a " confidential "
letter from Sir Edward Belcher, — a strange term to
apply to a document which involved the needless
abandonment of four fine ships. That " confiden-
tial " letter is, of course, now a public document,
and a highly curious one too. It contains, amongst
a long string of erroneous predictions and verbose
ambiguities, this paragraph, which is here copied
verbatim: — , ; .

" Should Captain Collin son fortunately reach
you, you will pursue the same course, and not under
aru/ consideration risk the detention of another
season. These are the views of the Government* ;
and having so far explained myself, I will not
hamper you with farther instructions than, meet
me at Beechey Island, with the crews of all ves-
sels, before the 26th August." ' .-^
• Captain Kellett, astonished and pained at the
contemplation of such a proceeding, determined
not to adopt nny such course upon a confidential
letter, and immediately despatched Captain M'Clin-
tock to Sir Edward Belcher, to point out the
perfect feasibility o:*^ saving his ships: to assure

* Government (!) and Crown (!) were terms used by that
oflScer to give weight to his own intentions.

SIR EDWARD BELCHER'S TACTICS.

301

him of the provisions and stores, as well as the
health of a sufficient number of officers and
men being such as would enable him to meet the
possible contingency of another winter rather than
abandon Her Majesty's ships, when they lay in the
very best position for an escape directly the ice
broke up in Barrow's Strait, and finally, to use
Captain Kellett's own expression, to point out to
Sir E. Belcher that the parties concerned in desert-
ing the ships m. Jer such circumstances " would
deserve to have their jackets taken off their backs."
But the remonstrances of Captain Kellett were
unavailing. Captain Belcher, finding confidential
letters would not do, sent Captain M'Clintock back
with an order tor the abandonment of the "Resolute"
and "Intrepid"; and the crew of the "Investi-
gator," who had lived through such trials and hard
ships for four winters, stared to see all hands gra-
dually retreating upon Beechey Island, ready to
return to England as soon as it should be possible,
leaving Franklin's expedition as well as Collinson's
ship to their fate. Lieut. Mecham and Mr. Krabbe's
parties returned during the summer to Beechey
Island, having performed perfect marvels in the
distance traversed in the course of their jour-
neys; and Lieut. Mecham on June 12th brought

s- ;

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302 ^i&COVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

from the "Investigator's" dep6t of provisions on
Princess Royal Island deeply interesting informa-
tion touching the movements of H. M. S. "Enter-
prise," under Captain CoUinson. This was the first
news anyone had had of the "Enterprise" since
she passed Behring's Strait in 1851 ; and as in
that information, dated August 27th, 1852, Captain
CoUinson distinctly said, "it is my intention to
pursue the channel separating Wollaston from
Prince Albert Land, the entrance to which is in
lat. 70° 30' N.," all naturally supposed that, as
such a decision upon his part showed an undoubted
intention to go eastward, some volunteers, at any
rate, would be left behind to help him, in case the
"Enterprise," like the "Investigator," should be
imprisoned in some ice-bound harbour south-west
of Cape Walker. But no, Sir Edward Belcher got
rid of all difficulty as to Captain Collinson's safety
by the following train of reasoning, as fallacious as
the language is confused. He says : —

" However anxious I may be for* a similar
result* with regard to Captain CoUinson and
party, stiU I am thankful that the records place
him in a region free from the perils of arctic

* He refers to the safety of the " Investigator's " officers and
men, • ■ ? . 4

"assistance" and "pioneer" deserted. 303

ice *, in which Captain M'Clure cc. iders no ship
could endure. He had at the latest account two
modes of escape : one, by the road he came ; the
other, on which I place but little reliance on ac-
count of its difficulties, by the land journey to
some of the Hudson Bay posts, unless, indeed,
he met Dr. Rae, in which case competent guides
would materially alter the face of his difficulties."
A crooked state of mind, revealed in crooked
language.

Leaving, therefore, Captain CoUinson to get out
as best he might, the next step was to give a
colour to the eflforts made to stand by and save
the " Assistance " and " Pioneer," which on August
6th broke out of winter quarters, and advanced
slowly down channel as the water and pressure
from the north began slowly to break up the
belt of ice which extended across Wellington
Channel.

The ice in Barrow's Strait broke up at the same
time ; and by the 22nd August the floe of Wel-
lington Channel had broken up and dissolved
to a distance of fifteen miles northward from
Barrow's Strait. A belt of perhaps twenty miles

* The perils undergone by the " Investigator " in the same
latitude, will best convey an idea of the truth of this assertion.

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304 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

m\]

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only remained between the ships and the waters
communicating with the Atlantic Ocean, and that
belt of ice much cracked, and evidently wor^^-
ing with every tide ; yet it was determined to
quit them, and on the 2nth August 1854 the
last of that ill-fated expedition was deserted,
and all the officers and men of H.M.SS. "As-
sistance," " Resolute," " Pioneer," " Intrepid," and
" Investigator " had just got on board the " North
Star " and made sail, when the " Phoenix," Cap-
tain Inglefield, and " Talbot," store-ship. Captain
Jenkins, hove in sight round Cape Riley.

A division of the men and officers then took
place, to relieve the crowded decks of the " North
Star," the "Phoenix" and "Talbot" each taking
a portion. That, and some other small arrange-
ments completed, no time was lost in beating
a retreat, and on September 6th all reached Disco,
on the coast of Greenland, in safety, and eventually
returned to England on September 28th, 1854.

The gallant Investigators found all England's
sympathies and feelings enlisted in the war with
Russia : and although the members of a naval
court-martial, which went through the established
form of inquiring into the loss of H.M.S. "In-
vestigator," most honourably acquitted Captain

INVESTIGATORS REWARDED.

305

M'Clure, his officers, and men from any blame on
her account, and added the highest encomiums upon
the gallantry and zeal exhibited by all, yet, in a
public point of view, the ship's company generally
felt that few honours were awarded to them
in comparison with the sufferings they had so
nobly borne. The Admiralty, to evince their
approval, dated back Captain M'Clure's commis-
sion, as well as that of his first lieutenant and
some other officers, to the day on which the North-
west Passage was discovered. Her Gracious Ma-
jesty shortly afterwards conferred the honour of
knighthood upon Captain M'Clure ; and assuredly
it never was more worthily bestowed.

In the following session of parliament, a select
committee of the House of Commons met, to take
into consideration the reward due to those who
had discovered and achieved the North-west
Passage; but in the interim between the ar-
rival of Captain Sir Robert M'Ciure in England
and the meeting of parliament, news had arrived
of Dr. Rae having obtained such certain informa-
tion of a party from Franklin's missing squadron
having passed the intervening unknown space
which lay between Barrow's Strait and the coast
of North America, that the duty of the committee

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806 DISCOVERY OF TUB NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

became a somewhat responsible one, in so far as
awarding the priority of discovery to Franklin or
M'Clure, until the papers of the former came to
hand.

Lady Franklin in a most able and touching let-
ter, called the earnest attention of the honourable
committee to the impossibility of arriving at any
certain decision in the absence of all evidence as to
Franklin's claim to the priority ; and they therefore
qualified the award by stating, very justly, that
Captain Sir Robert M'Clure, in H.M.S. " Investi-
gator," had discovered a North-west Passage, and
successfully carried his followers from the Pacific
to the Atlantic Ocean by that route, exhibiting
himself an example of unflinching perseverance,
courage, and zeal, which his olficers and men nobly
followed, and, to use the words of the honourable
committee, " that they performed deeds of heroism
which, though not accompanied by the excitement
and the glory of the battle-field, yet rival, in
bravery and devotion to duty, the highest and
most successful achievements of war ! " Accord-
ingly a reward of 10,000/. sterling was granted
to H.M.S. " Investigator," as a token of national
approbation.

% i '

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f '

GE.

far as
klin or
arae to

ing let-
ourable

at any
ce as to
lerefore
ly, that
Investi-
ige, and

Pacific
hibiting

erance,
n nobly
ourable
leroism
itement
ival, in
est and
Accord-
granted
national

307

% ' f

CHAP. XVIII.

Gloomy Prospect in tho Autumn of 1854. — Revival of Despond-
ing Tales — Sudden Arrival of Intelligence from Dr. Rae.
— A Party from Franklin's Ship heard of. — Dr. Rae's Report.

. — Relics and Proofs of both " Erebus " and " Terror " being

. in Existence. — Tho Russian War prevents a Naval Expedition
being sent to Barrow's Strait — The Admiralty direct the
Hudson Bay Company tc iend Mr. Anderson. — Mr. Ander-

; son proceeds in 1855 to the mouth of the Great Fish River.

- — Verifies the Fact of a Party from the lost Expedition hav-
ing been there. — No Light thrown upon their Fate. —

' Neither Bodies, Graves, Clothing, nor Arms discovered. — Re-
marks upon the Relics discovered. — Probable course adopted
by the * Forlorn Hope.' — Hopes exist of the Mystery still
being cleared up. — Distance the Party could have travelled.
— Position of the lost Expedition : how lost. — Reason why

: Fury Beach was not visited by them. — Creditable to England

' that the Search has never been stayed. — The Admiralty
Reward Dr. Rae for giving us Information of Franklin's
Position. — General Revival of Interest in the Question.

Nothing could have been more crushing to the
hopeful feelings of even the most sanguine or
earnest in the search for Franklin, than the sad
intelligence which was brought home in October
1854. The labours of the officers and crews of
H.M.S. " Assistance," " Resolute," " Intrepid," and

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308 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

m ! !i

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" Pioneer," auring three years, had not thrown one
ray of light on the sad mystery; and as if to
preclude all possibility of any farther steps being
taken, all the vessels available for the search had
been abandoned, deserted to the mercy of the ice
and winds of 74° north latitude. The solemn
silence with which the venerable president, of the
courts martial which sat to try Captain Belcher,
returned him his sword with a bare acquittal, best
conveyed the painful feelings which wrung the
hearts of all professional men upon that occasion ;
and all felt that there was no hope of the mystery
of Franklin's fate being cleared up in our time,
except by some unexpected miracle. But just at
that very time, when those who had ever taken a
gloomy view of the subject smiled at the realisa-
tion of their unfavourable prognostications, and
congratulated themselves on having exactly foretold
what happened to the *' Erebus " and " Terror,"
either hoisting them up on the top of floes off
Newfoundland or squeezing them to destruction in
Lancaster Sound, a letter reached England from
Dr. Rae, announcing that he had at last struck
upon the clue, and that a portion of Franklin's
expedition had reached, and perished at or near,
the mouth of the Grer,t Fish River !

INTELLIGENCE FROM DR. RAE.

809

Is it presumption to say that the opportune
discovery of such a fact at such a moment was a
marked instance of Divine interposition? That it
should have come from such a quarter is all the
more interesting because Dr. Rae, whilst on the
journey in which lie became possessed of this
important information, was, he tells us, pur^^ly
employed upon geographical research; and prior to
starting he announced that fact, coupling it with
the remark that he was going where Franklin was
not likely to be met with.

His tale is briefly this. He had been sent by the
Hudson's Bay Company in 1853 to complete the
survey of the long isthmus of land which con'
nects North Somerset with the American continent,
under the name of Boothia. He had to connect
Captain Sir James Clarke Ross's magnetic pole, or
the coast-line about it, with his own discoveries
near the Castor and Pollux river.

Repeating his old plan of proceedings in 1846-^7,
Dr. Rae wintered at the lakes on the isthmus
which divides Regent's Inlet from Repulse Bay,
and early in the spring of 1854 started with his
sledge-party to accomplish his task. Ascending
Committee Bay as far as Simpson Peninsula, he
then struck westward, taking advantage of a series

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310 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

of lakes and frozen streams to relieve the labour of
sledging across the land which intervened between
him and the western waters. V^'iilst making his
way in that direction, Dr. Rae met, on the ^Oth
April, an Esquimaux, who, upon being asked if he
had ever seen any ships or white men, replied no,
but that a party of white men had died of starva-
tion a long distance to the west of where he then
was, and beyond a large i * ver !

Now distance and time are two things that an
Esquimaux has great difficulty in conveying his
idea of to a European ; and Dr. Rae assures us that,
although he afterwards had reason to believe that
the Great Fish River, then only seventy or eighty
miles distant, was the stream referred to, still at
the time he could only learn that the spot spoken
of was beyond a distant river. Unable to glean
more particulars, further than here and there
coming across convincing proofs of the natives being
in possession of articles from Franklin's ships. Dr.
Rue then made an effort northward, as if to combine
an execution of his instructions with the purpose (as
he assured the writer) of proceeding in the direction
the retreating party must have taken when coming
down ujjon the American shore. Circumstances
prevented his journey being a successful one.

DE. RAe's report.

Ill

^!l'

Dr. Rae returned to the mouth of the Castor and
Pollux river, and again retraced his steps overland
to Repulse Bay, picking up relics and information,
■which he condensed into the following Report to
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and
with it made the best of his way to England : —

" On the morning of the 20th (April) we were
met by a very intelligent Esquimaux, driving a
dog-sledge laden with musk-ox beef. This man at
once consented to accompany us two days' journey,
and in a few minutes had deposited his load on the
snow, and was ready to join us. Having explained
to him my object, he said that the road by which
he had come was the best for us ; and having
lightened the sledges, we travelled with more
facility. We were now joined by another of
the natives, who had been absent seal-hunting
yesterday, but, being anxious to see us, had visited
our snow-house early this morning, and then fol-
lowed up our track. This man was very com-
municative* and on putting to him the usual
questions ay to his having seen ' white men '
before, or any ships or boats, he replied in the
negative, but said that a party of ' Kabloonans '
had died of starvation a long distance to the west
of where we then were, and boyond a large river.

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312 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.

He stated that he did not know the exact place,
that he never had been there, and that he could
not accompany us so far. The substance of the
information then and subsequently obtained from
various sources was to the following effect : —

" In the spring, four winters since, (185G,) while
some Esquimaux families were killing seals near
the north shore of a large island, named in Arrow-
smith's chares King William Land, about forty
white men were seen travelling in company south-
ward over the ice, and dragging a boat and sledges
with them. They were passing along the west
shore of the above-named island. None of the
party could speak the Esquimaux language so well
as to be understood ; but by signs the natives were
led to believe that the ship or ships had been
crushed by ice, and that they were now going to
where they expected to find deer to shoot. From
the appearance of the men, all of whom, with the
exception of an officer, were hauling on the drag-
ropes of the sledge, and looked thin, they were then
supposed to be getting short of provisions; and
they purchased a small seal, or piece of seal, from
the natives. The officer was described as being a
tall, stout, middle-aged meii. When their day's
journey terminated; they pitched tents to rest in.

DR. BAE'S report.

313

" At a later date the same season, but previous
to the disruption of the ice, the corpses of some
thirty persons, and some graves, were discovered
on the continent, and l&ve dead bodies on an island
near it, about a long day's journey to the N.W. of
the mouth of a large stream, which can be no other
than Back's Great Fish River, (named by the Es-
quimaux Oot-koo-hi-ca-lik,) as its description and
that of the low shore in the neighbourhood of
Point Ogle and Montreal Island agree exactly with
that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies were
in a tent, or tents; others were under the boat,
which had been turn^^.d over to form a shelter, and
some lay scattered about in different directions.
Of those seen on the island, it was supposed that
one was that of an officer, (chief,) as he had a
telescope strapped over his shoulders, and a double-
barrelled gun lay underneath him.

"From the mutilated state of many of the
bodies, and the contents of the kettles, it is
evident that our wretched countrymen had been
driven to the dread alternative of cannibalism as
u means of sustaining life. A few of the unfor-
tunate men must have survived until the arrival
of the wild fowl, (say until the end of May,) as
shots were heard and fresh bones and feathers of

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314 DISCOVERY OF THE NOr.TII-",VEST TASSAGE.

geese were noticed near the scene of the sad
event.

" There appears to have been an abundant store
of ammunition, as the gunpowder was emptied by
the natives in a heap on the ground out of the kegs
or cases containing it, and a quantity of shot and
ball was found below high-water mark, having
probably been left on the ice close to the beach
before the spring commenced. There must have
been a number of telescopes, guns, (several of
them double-barrelled,) watches, compasses, &c.,
all of which seem to have been broken up, as I saw
pieces of these different articles with the natives,
and I purchpsed as many as possible, together
with some silver spoons and forks, an Order of
Merit in the form of a star, and a small silver
plate engraved ' Sir John Franklin, K. C. B.'

" Enclosed is a list of the principal articles
bought, with a note of the initials, and a rough pen-
and-ink sketch of the crests on the forks and spoons.
The articles themselves I shall have the honour of
handing over to you on my arrival in London.

" None of the Esquimaux with whom I had
communication saw the ' white ' men, either when
living or after death ; nor had they ever been at
the place where the corpses were found, but had

i(*i.

■■" '11.

RELICS OF THE " EREBUS " AND "TERROR." 315

their information from those who had been there
and who had seen the party when travelling on
the ice.

" From what I could learn, there is no reason to
suspect that any violence had been offered to the
sufferers by the natives.

" List of articles purchased from the Equimaux,
said to have been obtained at the place w^ere the
bodies of the persons were found, viz : —

" One silver table fork — crest, an animal's head,
with wings extended above; 3 silver table forks
— crest, a bird with wings extended; 1 silver
tablespoon — crest, with initials 'F.R.M.C (Cap-
tain Crozier, Terror) ; 1 silver spoon and one fork
— crest, bird with laurel branch in mouth, motto,
* Spero meliora ; ' 1 silver table spoon, 1 tea spoon,
and one dessert fork — crest, a fish's head looking
upwards, with laurel branches on each side ; 1
silver table fork — initials, ' H.D.S.G.' (Harry D.
S. Goodsir, Assistant- Surgeon, Erebus) ; 1 silver
table fork— initials, 'A. M'D.' (Alexander M'Do-
nald, Assistant-Surgeon, Terror) ; 1 silver table
fork — iriu'als, ' G.A.M.' (Gillies A. Macbean, Se-
cond-Master, Terror) ; 1 silver table fork —
initials, 'J.T.'; 1 silver dessert spoon — initials.

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316 DISCOVERS OF THE N0RTH-WES1' PASSAGE.

'J.S.P.' ^John S. Peddie, Surgeoii, Erebus); 1
round silver plate, engraved, 'Sir John Franklin,
K.C.B.' ; a star or order, with motto, * Nee aspera
terrent, G. K. III., MDCCCXV.'

" Also a number of other articles with no marks
by which they could be recognised, but which will
be handed over, with those above-named, to the
Secretary of the Hudson Bay Company.

"John Rae, C. F.
« Repulse Bay, July, 1854."

It matters little what portion of the Esquimaux
tale is correct, or what fabulous ; of one great fact
Dr. Rae has assured us, namely that a party from
the " Erebus " and " Terror " did reach the coast on
or about the Great Fish River. It is fair to
infer that the party comprised officers and men
from both vessels, because the few articles re-
covered from the natives, bear the names of
" Erebus " as well as " Terror." For instance we
have Franklin's star of the Guelphic order, and
some of Crezier's plate.

It was very natural, — for it occurred in Captain
M'Clure's case, as told in the foregoing narrative,
— that if the ships of Franklin's expedition had
become frozen in in some bay which did not

PUBLIC MIND PRE-OCCUPIED BY WAR.

317

often clear out of ice, he should have done as
M'Clure intended to do, send a party home vi^
America, to convey intelligence and seek succour.
Franklin knew that when on a former occasion, in
1833, Sir John Ross had got into difficulties in
the "Victory," and was missing, a party was at
once organised, and sent down the Great Fish
River to seek for him. Might not Sir John
Franklin have fairly supposed that as much would
be done in his behalf ? Hot/ could he know of
the opposition all propositions of such a rational
nature were likely to meet with from persons con-
sulted by the Admiralty.

The public mind was too deeply engaged in the
sufferings of the British army upon the heights of
Sebastopol, to grant the attention it merited to the
interesting intelligence brought to England by Dr.
Rae or to the collateral proof brought home by
Captain CoUinson (who had happily escaped with
the " Enterprise ") from another point about the
same distance from the north shore of King Wil-
liam's Land as the Great Fish River. It consisted
of a piece of wood-work, which must have be-
longed to either the " Erebus " or the " Terror,"
and which was found by accident upon an island
near the " Enterprise's " winter quarters in Cam-
bridge Bay.

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318 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
took the opinion of some arctic authorities, upon the
subject of what could be done towards still farther
clearing up the tale brought home by Dr. Rae ; for
there was much about it vague, and calculated to
keep alive hopes o h lost distressing nature to
those deeply interefcavl i < he crews of Franklin's
ships. A gigantic war wl ^^ressing upon the
resources of our navy both in ships and men, none
of them could then be spared; and to meet the
outcry for some effort to be made to ascertain if it
really was the mouth of the Great Fish River that
Franklin's travellers had reached, the Hudson's
Bay Company were again requested to send out a
party to that locality.

Dr. Rae having declined to take charge of the
party which was equipped for this purpose, it was
consigned to the care of Mr. James Anderson, a
chief factor of the company, an officer of high
reputation and much experience as a traveller.
Lady Franklin, however, earnestly and solemnly
protested against this expedition ; she foretold the
improbability of its ever reaching King William's
Land, and short of that the result would be as
inconclusive as Dr. Rae's report, and a loss of
very valuable time.

1 1

MISSION OF MR. ANDEBSON.

319

Labouring under many disadvantages, from the
short time given to equip and start, Mr. Ander-
son commenced his descent, from Fort Resolution
to the mouth of the Great Fish River, on June
22nd, 1855, with three canoes of wooden framing
but birch-bark planking, without an Esquimaux in-
terpreter. On July 30th, at the rapids below Lake
Franklin, three Esquimaux lodges were seen, and
various articles were found, denoting that some of
the unfortunate men they were in search of had
been there. The foot note to this page is worthy
of careful perusal — we will refer to it again.*
. Pushing on. Point Beaufort was reached, and at
last Montreal Island landed upon. " There," says Mr.
Anderson, " on a high ridge of rocks at the S.E.

* Extract from Mr. Anderson^ s Report, vide Blue Book. —
" On the 30th, at the rapids below Lake Franklin, three Esqui-
maux lodges were seen on the opposite shore, and shortly after
an elderly man crossed to us. After the portage was made we
crossed over, and immediately perceived various articles be-
longing to a boat, such as tent-poles and kayack paddles made out
of ash oars, pieces of mahogany, elm, oak, and pine ; also copper
and sheet-iron boilers, tin soup tureens, pieces of instruments,
a letter nip with the date 1843, a broken handsaw, chisels, &c.
Only one man was left at the lodges ; but the women, who were
very intelligent, made us understand, by words and signs, that
these articles came from a boat, and that the white men belong-
ing to it had died of starvation. "

■'

^»

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m ^

i: ).r

i ■!:; Si

3 li

in I

320 DISCOVERY OP THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

point of the island, a number of Esquimaux caches
were found, and, besides seal oil, various articles
were found belonging to a boat or ship, such as
chain-hooks, chisels, blacksmith's shovel and cold
chisel, tin oval boiler, a bar of unwrought iron
about three feet long, one and a half inch broad,
and a quarter of an inch thick ; small pieces of
rope, bunting, and a number of sticks strung to-
gether, on one of which was cut * Mr. Stanley '
(surgeon of the Erebus). A little lower down was
a large quantity of chips, shavings, and ends of
plank of "pine, elm, ash, oak, and mahogany, evi-
dently sawn by unskilful hands ; every chip was
turned over, and on one of them was found the
word * Terror ' carved. It was evident that this
was the spot where the boat was cut up by the Es-
quimaux ; but not even a scrap of paper could be
discovered, and though rewards were offered, and
the most minute search made over the whole
island, not a vestige of the remains of our unfor-
tunate countrymen could be discovered."

The party next examined Point Ogle, where
only a small piece of cod-line and a strip of cotton
was found; and on the 8th August they began
to retrace their steps, having held no com-
munication with, indeed seen, no Esquimaux be-

i'^ir I

REMARKS ON DR. RAE S REPORT.

321

yond the one man and few women at the rapids
below Franklin Lake, and never been able to reach
King William's Land. ThM information reached
us early in 1856, and goes to confirm Dr. Rae's
supposition, tliat the Great Fish Kiver was the
stream upon which the party he had heard of had
retreated ; but so far as clearing up the mystery
of what became of them, tlie whole affair, if pos-
sible, is in a more unsatisfactory state than ever.

Taking it for granted that the Esquimaux did
see thirty or forty men Nvith a boat, cz Dr.
Rae asserts, what has become of them ? If they
did, when they reached the continent, become de-
sperate with misery, and commit cannibalism, — the
practice is by no means rare in those wild regions,
and it would assuredly prolong life : — where
are the survivors ? Is it likely they sat down there
and died one after the other? If they weiv. so
lost to their own interests and safety as to remain,
would not the survivors have scraped the earth
over the bones of those who perished first ?

Every arctic traveller knows that the tender
and oily bones of the seal — even the brittle ones
of birds — are found preserved over the whole
extent of the arctic regions visited by us. What,
then, has become of the bones of thirty men ?

i 1

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till

'^i

if-: f

H ■ 1

r:l

322 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAQB.

Five years after the " Erebus " and " Terror " left
Beechey Island, in Barrow's Strait, all those who
visited the scene of their winter quarters, found
clothing, scraps of paper^ and the thousand signs of
Europeans having been there, looking just as fresh
as the day they were left, and that in a far worse
climate than Montreal Island. Esquimaux were
not likely to have used dead men's bones. If they
had European clothing in their possession, it is
hardly likely that they could have concealed it
entirely. There is nOt a musket, pike, or cutlass
produced : the party were not likely to have gone
there unarmed ; indeed the Esquimaux acknow-
ledged having seen both powder, shot, and ball.
And as to Mr. Anderson's theory of the wind
blowing away or covering their journals and papers,
because his nautical almanacs suffered, it is
purely assuming that the officer who headed
Franklin's party was such an idiot as to leave
his papers strewed about the surface of Montreal
Island, instead of putting them in a cache, where,
as arctic discovery proves, papers have been pre-
served and discovered after longer intervals of time
than perhaps any other climate would admit of.

Looking therefore at the evidence before us, it
amounts simply to this, that

m ivlii

}E.

•" left
30 who
found
igns of
IS fresh
p worse
s were
If they
[1, it is
saled it
cutlass
7Q gone
ticknow-
nd ball,
tie wind
papers,
it is
headed
o leave
ontreal
where,
en pre-
of time
: of.
c us, it

ON THE RELICS OP FRANKLIN's CREW. 323

" A party from the * Erebus * and * Terror '
did reach the Great Fish River, and have left traces
at Montreal Island and at the first rapids in
ascending the stream ! " Further than this, all is
apocryphal. Mr. Anderson very naturally went
upon his journey, firmly believing every iota of the
translated account of Dr. Rae's interpreter ; in-
deed in the absence of any means of communi-
cation with the one old man and few women
whom he did see, he had no other resource than
to connect the traces which lay before him with
the report previously made public. But sailors
may be allowed to put a sailor's explanation to
what lay before Mr. Anderson ; and the folloAving is
our version of the tale it told : —

On Montreal Island Mr. Anderson found, he
says, " a quantity of chips, and shavings, and the
ends oi plank of pine, elm, ash, oak, and mahogany
evidently sawn by unskilful hands."

Now, no boat supplied to the " Erebus " or
"Terror" from Her Majesty's yards, which any
party of men could have dragged a hundred miles
over ice, would have been constructed of plank of
so many descriptions ; but it is very certain that a
party retreating to the Great Fish River, and
knowing the long series of rapids and portages

T 2

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Itr,

't !

n.m • [i

324 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

in that stream, would have carried with them
materials such as plank, which, with the framing of
their large boat, would form rough canoes fit for
their purpose.

Mr. Anderson distinctly says, " chips and
shavings." Now a savage, who had never seen a
planing instrument, was not likely to be able to
produce shavings. After informing us that the
plank was evidently cut by unskilful hands, Mr.
Anderson says, " everi' chip was twmed over, and
on one of them was found the word ' Terror '
carved ! '" Surely that ominous word is a mute
witness against Esquimaux having been the men
who there laboured; yet in the next paragraph
we read, —

" It was evident that this was the spof where
the boat was cut up by the Esquimaux ! "

Surely no such fair inference can be drawn.
That the party brought carpenters' tools with them,
we have the proof in Mr. Anderson discovering,
at the lodges near the rapids, "a broken hand-
saw, chisels, ^'c." ; and perhaps if a careful list
could be procured of every article seen there or at
Repulse Bay, some more interesting evidence
might be obtained ; for even as a straw will show
the course of a great stream, so may sor j in-

iE.

ON THE KELICS OF FRANIiLIN's CREW. 325

them

ling of

fit for

)S and
seen a
able to
«at the
Is, Mr.
;er, and
Terror '
a mute
he men
pgraph

t where

drawn,
h them,
)vering,
hand'

\\\ list
re or at

vidf nee

1 show

significant trifle throw sudden light upon this sad
subject.

The existence of traces further up the river
than Montreal Island is a significant fact ; and in
support of the idea that on Montreal Island
preparations were made to ascend the stream, we
have another proof in the ash oars being cut or
reduced into paddles, — a very necessary measure
for a party about to go up narrow and tortuous
rivers, and totally unlikely to have been done by
the Esquimaux, who have no kyacks or canoes in
that part of America. Some of these paddles were
found at the rapids likewise.

It is true the women at this spot made signs
that these articles came from a boat whose crew
perished of starvation ; but they did not give a
single proof of the truth of the tale, or point
out the grave of one of the unfortunate party.

Dr. Rae, zealous for the character of the Es-
quimaux, repudiates indignantly all idea of their
having been treacherous, nor is it at all desirable
to give rise to any bloody suppositions upon the
matter ; but any one, who will carefully read over
the able paper of Captain Maguire, in tbe Ap-
pendix of this work, can, as easily as the most
experienced traveller, form a correct idea of the

X 3

; ^
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'hit;,

y.l «

326 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

character of the Esquimaux generally ; and he will
then agree with us in thinking that the savage
of the polar regions, though not naturally cruel
or treacherous, would, like most others, consult his
own interests rather than the dictates of humanity,
when such a windfall as a boat's crew of starving,
scorbutic men, carrying with them untold wealth
in the shape of wood, iron, and canvas, fell into
their hands, and when they confessed, as those
poor fellows evidently did, their direful necessity.

Some of Franklin's people may, we think, have
died of disease or starvation at the place upon the
continent spoken of by the natives ; but that spot
has not been reached by us as yet. Others
evidently got to an island ; there the Esquimaux
say the officer perished, and £ve men likewise.
AVhether or no, such an island as Montreal Island
was very likely to have been chosen by them
whereon to await the opening up of the Great
Fish River; they would be in a good posi-
tion for commencing their canoe voyage, and be
less likely, whilst employed constructing canoes
or rafts, to be interrupted by natives. Granting,
therefore, that some perished at each place spoken of
by the natives (though, until there is proof, people
are justified in saying Englishmen can live where

SOME HOPE OF SUHVIVORS.

327

Esquimaux can) — granting even that tlie remainder
did so far forget their manhood as to eat the flesh
of their shipmates, is it unreasonable to suppose
that, when the river opened, some few of those un-
fortunates started with what they had constructed,
abandoning all their unnecessary gear on the
island, and at the first portage?

They might have ascended far, and fallen in
detail, and yet never, in such a water-intersected
region, have been discovered by Mr. Anderson
in his descent — the more especially if they, taking
Sir George Back's chart, had followed his old track
— a track from which Mr. Anderson departed con-
siderably, and with advantage to himself and his
party as far as rapidity of journey was concerned.
As to holding out a hope of any straggler sur-
viving amongst Esquimaux or Indians, it is not
our desire to do so ; but those who, by following
up a similar train of argument as ourselves, arrive
at a hope of such a pleasing and consolatory na-
ture, ought not to be ridiculed for doing so.

They who have kept alive hope, who have
urged on expedition after expedition, in spite
of failure, in spite of ridicule, and in spite of
uncharitable imputations of mania or interested
motives, have now reason to feel happy that such

328 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

trifles did not check their eiForts ; it remains yet
to be seen whether perseverance will not still lift
the curtain of this sad but glorious tragedy.

It is not alone the fate of those forty men,
that we des'.re to know — they were but a fraction
of the lost expedition ; there are still one hundred
souls unaccounted for ! and two of Her Ma.]esty's
ships !

We, who have reduced arctic travelling to a
mere arithmetical calculation, know very nearly the
distance a body of sailors numbering forty could
have come from, dragging a heavy wooden boat
over the ice, besides the quantity of articles
which have been enumerated elsewhere, and which
formed, doubtless, but a small portion of what they
had with them. Taking, therefore, the weight
dragged by the forty men as 200 lbs. per man, and
the distance accomplished daily about '( : miles, aa
allowance extremely liberal Tor debiiit^t-J searaen,
we have the precedents of Captains Fdchards,
Osborn, and Penny (who all have had to carry
heavy wooden boats as far as possible over the ice)
for saying that a journey of about fifteen days, or
150 miles, would be about the utmost distance they
could have come from ; the more so that sledge-
tiavelling was then but little understood, and

SITUATION OF " EUEBUS " AND "TERROR." 329

that the extent of the sledge journeys made from
Beechey Island by Franklin's people, as denoted
by their cairns, do not exhibit any marked im-
provement in that respect, Cape Bowden in
Wellington Channel, and Cresswell's Tower in
Barrow's Strait, being, as far as we know, the limit
of their explorations in that quarter; and neither
of them would entail a journey of fifty miles.

That the " Erebus " and " Terror " are some-
where within the limits of the unsearched area
about King William's Land, everything now
denotes. One hundred and fifty or two hundred
miles from Montreal Island, northward, carries
us into the centre of this space, and where Vic-
toria Strait is split in two by the large island
called King William's Land. In and about Cape
Felix on that island, or near the magnetic pole
in Boothia, they most probably got beset ; for
had they been on Victoria Land, where natives,
game, and fish abound, they would, it is fair to
infer, have sent their " forlorn hope " along it
towards the Copper-mine or Mackenzie Kiver.
How they reached that supposed point, with their
ships, time and a discovery of their journals will
alone tell. Whether by rounding the west side of
Prince of Wales Land, and pas»?ng down a channel

I';

M:!!

■'%

[i 'f

330 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST I'ASSAGE.

which some suppose to exist in a south-east di-
rection between it and Victoria Land, or whether,
as appears most natural, they took the fine and
promising channel which offered to the southward
betv-'een Cape Bur ney and Cape Wallcer, 7iow called
Peel Sound, and so struck the American continent,
we can only surmise. But the absence of all
cairns, or signs of their having been detained
or having landed on either coast of Prince of
Wales Land, as far as it is now kno^yn, or of North
Somerset, leads to the natural supposition that
they are nearer to King William's Land than to
any other spot — perhaps in some indentation on
its northern coast, into which they ran during a
late and stormy season, as M'Clure aid in the
" Investigator," and John Ross did in the " Vic-
tory," never to escape with their ships. It has
been argued against the existence of Franklin's
ships in this quarter, that he would assuredly
have visited the Fury Beach depot,* in Regent's
Inlet. We reply to this, that Franklin, through
his ice-master and others in his expedition, knew
well how wjrtLless it was for his purpose. He
knew that, nice it hau been formed, Sir John
Ross had proviolor ed the " Victory " from it,
that he had retroate ' apon if,, and lived on it with

!>/.

FURY BEACH DEPOT.

I /

531

his crew nearly twelve months, and eventually
equipped himself there prior to his escape in
1833. After that some whalers had swept nearly
everything off the beach ; and, to escape the con-
sequences of an Admiralty prosecution, one of
the vessels had thrown into Peterhead flarbour
a quantity of provisions she had carried off as
plunder from the " Fury " depot. All this Frank-
lin knew; and when Lieut. Robinson of the "Enter-
prise " reached that supposed depot in ] 849, from
Leopold Harbour, he found little there besides a
cask or two of flour and a few raisins — showing
how wisely Franklin had done in not falling back
upon it.

It is needless to discuss the question of who has
been to blame for the misdirected efforts of the
nation, or to lament the zeal and energy of officers
expended in an unsuccessful search for Franklin. It
could not, indeed be otherwise : the chart as it stood
in 1848 was a blank ; and were it so at the present
hour what clus should we now have as to where to
seek Franklin, even if two boat-parties, instead of
one, had been heard of on the American shore ?
The labours of those employed have assuredly
narrowed the area to the mere work of one season,
with a properly-equipped expedition, in Peel Sound ;

■1

I :

f m

' ij

332 DISCOVEltY OF TUE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

and to those who blame us for having spent time
in searching to the north-west of Beechey Island,
the simplest reply is, that we glory in having had
the hope accorded to us in 1852, of Franklin's ex-
pedition being in that direction. It kept up the
interest of the world upon the subject ; and it
en.u led us, though unsuccessful there, to say we
never desponded, and never believed that they
would not be found, or that they turned back from
Beechey Island ; and England may boast that,
owing to that and other circumstances, she never
relaxed her efforts until a certain clue to their
position was secured. It is, undoubtedly, for the
discovery of that clue, with the certainty that it
holds out, that by following it up steadily we shall
soon know the fate of Franklin's and Crozier's
ships' companies, that the Admiralty have, very
justly, rewarded Dr. Rae with a portion of the
twenty thousand pounds awarded by Parliament ;
and although such a reward does not corne under
the strict interpretation of the Act, still there is no
doubt of their Lordships having generously ex-
ercised their perogative, in stretching the rule, and
rewarding an active and zealous arctic traveller
for obtaining a trace which is worth twice the sum,
and which has given fresh hope and spirit to all

LADY franklin's LETTER.

833

"svho think upon the matter, as the two following
memorials Avill show. The first emanates from her
who has been the mainspring of the search, her to
whose untiring energy we owe the accomplishment
by naval officers of the discovery of the North-west
Passage, and the now perfect certainty of disco-
vering the long lost and sought " Erebus " and
" Terror "; the other, promoted by Sir Roderick
Murchison, and signed by the larger portion of the
scientific men of our day, who have turned their
attention to the subject, attests that wc are not
singular in our opinions.

LADY FRANKLIN'S LETTER.

" GO. Pall Mall,
11th July, 1856.

" My Lords,
" Three months ago I felt constrained to address
a letter to your Lordships, requesting that you
would be pleased to delay your adjudication of the
reward claimed by Dr. Rae for ascertaining the
fate of my husband's expedition, until such time
as the result of a more complete and final search
could be known. I implored your Lordships to

'i,

334 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST TASSAGE.

adopt such measures as would set this question at
rest, and at the same time was compelled to re-
present that your refusal to do this would force upon
me the painful alternative of taking the burden of
an expedition upon myself, at whatever cost and
under great disadvantage.

" To this letter I have not been honoured with
any reply ; but, notwithstanding, it seemed to me
and to others not unreasonable to interpret your
silence in a manner not unfavourable to my wishes,
inasmuch as your Lordships were well aware that
so long as no adverse decision was announced to
me, I was precluded from taking any steps for ad-
vancing my private expedition, which depended
entirely on the non-adoption of the other. Even
when I read in the Gazette, after two months and
more had elapsed, that your Lordships, disregard-
ing my request, had given the reward of 10,000/.
to Dr. Rae, I was still unwilling to regard this act
as an absolute rejection of my petition for further
search, since in that light, or with such an object
in view, it might have been practicable to an-
nounce it at a much earlier period, and thus
relieve me from suspense, and set my hands free
for action. But besides this, I was aware that a
memorial to the same effect as my own petition

LADY FRANKLIN S LETTER.

335

signed by the most scientific men in London, and
embracing the opinions of all the chief arctic
officers, had been presented to the head of her
Majesty's Goverment (by who^^ it was kindly
received); and I indulged the hope that it could
scarcely fail to receive your Lordships' favourable
consideration. *

" Thus, between doubt and hope, between occa-
sional misgivings and reviving confidence, but
withal in constant and harassing anxiety, I have
passed three long months (precious months to
me, who required them all for my own expedition,
if that great burden were at last to fall upon me),
till at last a time has arrived when the equipment
of a private expedition is no longer possible, and a
season of probably unexampled openness for ice
navigation is passing away.

" I feel sure that if your Lordships would only
do me the favour of considering for a moment
the painful position in which I have thus been and
am still ^>laced, without a single word vouchsafed
to me either to confirm my hopes or to extinguish
them, deprived of any means but such as I had
a reasonable objection to, of securing public feeling
in my behalf, whilst the Arctic papers (including
my appeal to your Lordships), which were called

'Hi

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST lARGET (MT-3)

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11.25

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•u 136 Mil

IIS

lit
u

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iJiSi

^ IIIILi^

4W ^^^^^

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0

(716)872-4503

336 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.

u ]

for in the House of Commons, continued to be
■withheld, unable thus to make use of the present
or to calculate on the future, you would feel
that a great hardship — nay, that a great injustice,
for such I feel it to be — has been inflicted on
me.

" Yet, great as this trial has been, it receives
aggravation from the knowledge that I am not
alone aflfected by it. I abstain from obtruding
on you details of private matters, however they
might serve to illustrate this aspect of my em-
barrassing position ; but I feel sure that you will
deem it worthy of your kind and serious attention,
when I inform you that the distinguished in-
dividual who has generously oiFered me his
gratuitous services for the command of my private
expedition, should I be unhappily reduced to this
extremity, has done so at the sacrifice of all
his own professional and private interests, in
the purest spirit of sympathy with my anxieties
and of devotion to a holy cause. And I might
say much more than this, if I felt permitted to
do so. Your Lordships, however, will, I am sure,
perceive that I cannot indefinitely prolong the
state of uncertainty in which my noble minded
and generous friend is now placed ; and that

i'i'

LADY franklin's LETTER.

- Iv-

337

to this

xieties
might
ed to
sure,
the
linded
that

it is my duty either to release hirr. from his
promise, as I would so gladly do were I sure
that my cause were safe in your hands, or en-
able him at once to commence independent opera-
tions. - • - . • ■

" Regretting deeply that you have, as I learn,
come to a decision adverse to the immediate start-
ing of a vessel by the Eastern route, since I fully
recognise the possibility of following my husband's
track on that side down Peel Channel, I yet may
be permitted to express the opinion I have long
entertained, confirmed as it is by that of your late
eminent hydrographer, Sir Francis Beaufort, and
by that of Captains CoUinson and Maguire, that the
route by Behring Strait, though longer in distance,
is of surer and safer accomplishment, and that a
vessel despatched this autumn to Behring Strait
would probably arrive at the spot to be searched
in a shorter time than by the other. Captain
CoUinson, whose experience is the highest that can
be adduced on this point, has no doubt that he
could carry even such a heavy sailing ship as the
' Enterprise ' without the aid of steam, in one
season only, to the very locality where the remains
of the ' Erehus ' and * Terror ' are probably now
lying, and where it is at least certain that the

i.,;;

338 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

1!;' •^;.: . i

i I

J ■ )■',

Esquimaux hold the secret of their fate, and of the
pillage they have acquired from the catastrophe.

" This opinion of Captain CoUinson as to the
facility of a vessel's reaching the place of its desti-
nation in one season by way of Behring Strait, is
shared by Captain Maguire, as expressed in a
letter which I have permission to enclose. Your
Lordships will also perceive therein another reason
for the adoption of this route, which has not
hitherto received the attention its extreme impor-
tance deserves, namely, the facility it gives of
bringing the vessel into close contact with the
Esquimaux, it being Captain Maguire's opinion
(as it is that of Mr. Anderson, the late commander
of the boat party down the Great Fish River), that
the tranquil presence of a vessel is necessary to
extract the whole truth from the natives. These
people are not wanting in sagacity, and if they
see nothing but a boat or sledge-party, they will
be sure to calculate on the very limited resources
of such a party, that it will soon return whence it
came, and rid them of unwelcome investigations.
It is also to be recollected that the Esquimaux are
in the habit of making spring and autumn migra-
tions, so that time would be required to enable the
intelligence that white men were on the coast to

.'.r 1

IT II

of the
phe.
to the
9 desti-
brait, is
1 in a

Your
reason
las not
impor-
ives of
ith the
opinion
mander
L*), that
sary to

These
if they
ey will
isources
lence it
nations.
aux are

migra-
ible the
;oast to

LADY FRANKLIN S LETTER.

339

permeate throughout the country, and thus reach
the ears of any stragglers that may yet remain of
the crews of the missing vessels. ' - ...nrir,

" I would entreat of your Lordships, should you
doubt the accuracy of my statements, to call
before you those two able and experienced officers,
Captain CoUinson and Captain Maguire, one of
whom has brought back his ship and crew in
perfect safety, after a navigation in Arctic waters
of unexampled length and importance, whilst the
other, within a more restricted field of action at
Point Barrow, succeeded so well in his endeavours
to gain the confidence and co-operation of the
natives, as to be an earnest of his success in any
other quarter. .,f „ , ♦ , ., ,; : .

" I mention these two distinguished officers as
being especially qualified to speak of the advan-
tages and disadvantages of the route suggested,
not forgetting that Captains Osborn and Richards
are also on the spot, equally able to submit to
your Lordships, if honoured by your reference,
all that might have been said, in favour or other-
wise, of the route which you have pronounced
to be impracticable at this advanced season. All
are alike ignorant that I am expressing this
unbounded confidence in their capacity and zeal,

7. 2

111 il

,H ■

%
•I

ill

I 'i

1 N;

'■': ,H':

340 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

in the humble hope of reminding your Lordships
that if you give little weight to anything T can
advance, as coming from an incompetent or too
interested person, there are those at hand whose
qualifications, whose duty towards you, and whose
sense of responsibility, remove them widely from
odch disparaging circumstances.

" Whilst this subject is still under deliberation,
I commit the prayer of my present appeal to
your serious and humane consideration, believing
that the honour of my country is no less con-
cerned in the result, than are my own personal
interests and those of my fellow-sufferers in
calamity.

" I have the honour to be, my Lords,
" Your obedient servant,
(Signed) "JANE FRANKLIN.

"To THE Lords Commissioners of
THE Admiralty."

341

MEMORIAL

PRESKNTEU BT

SIR RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON,

O.as'.S.; D.aL. ; M.A. ; F.B.S.; f.L.8. ; UOS. HEM. B.S. EV. ; B.I.A.

To the Right Hon. Viscount Palmer aton, M.P., G.CB.

" London^ June 5.
" Impressed with the belief that Her Majesty's
missing ships, the " Erebus " and " Terror," or
their remains, are still frozen up at no great dis-
tance from the spot whence certain relics of Sir
John Franklin and his crews were obtained by
Dr. Eae, — 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 ex-
pedition to satisfy the honour of our country, and
clear up a mystery which has excited the sympathy
of the civilised 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.

s 3

fc'

] ■'(

342 DISCOVERY OF THE N0RTU-WE8T PASSAGE.

1, 1

Vrfl i

" We can scarcely believe that the British Go-
vernment, which to its great credit has made so
many efforts in various directions to discover even
the route pursued by Franklin, should cease to
prosecute research now that the locality has been
clearly indicated where the vessels or their remains
must lie, — including, as we hope, records which
will throw fresh light on arctic geography, and
dispel the obscurity in which the voyage and fate
of our countrymen are still involved.

" Although most persons have arrived at the
conclusion that there can now be no survivors of
Franklin's expedition, yet there are eminent men
in our own country and in America who hold a
contrary opinion. Dr. Kane, of the United States,
for example, who has distinguished himself by
pushing farther to the north in search of Franklin
than any other individual, and to whom the Royal
Geographical Society has recently awarded its
Founders' Gold Medal, thus speaks (in a letter
to the benevolent Mr. Grinnell) : — ' I am really in
doubt as to the preservation of human life. I well
know how glad I would have been, had my duty
to others permitted me, to have taken refuge
among the Esquimaux of Smith Strait and Etah
Bay. Strange as it may seem to you, we regarded

MEMORIAL OF MEN OP SCIENCE, ETC. 343

the coarse life of these people with eyes of envy,
and did not doubt but that we could have lived in
comfort upon their resources. It required all my
powers, moral and physical, to prevent my men
from deserting to the Walrus Settlements, and it
was my final intention to have taken to Esquimaux
life had Providence not carried us through in our
hazardous escape.'

"But passing from speculation, and confining
ourselves alone to the question of finding the
missing ships or their records, we would observe
that no land expedition down the Back River, like
that which, with great difliculty, 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
necesstfcx'y failure of provisions, prevented the com-
mencement, even, of such a search as can alone
be satisfactorily and thoroughly accomplished by
the crew of a man-of-war, — to say nothing of the
moral influence [of a strongly armed party remain-
ing in the vicinity of the spot until the confidence
of the natives be obtained.

'* Many arctic explorers, independently of those

z 4

M ^

'^W

344 DISCOVERY OF TUE NOllTII-WEST TASSAGE.

whose names are appended, and who are absent
on service, have expressed their belief that there
are several routes by which a screw-vcsaal could
so closely approach the area in question as to clear
up all doubt.

" In respect to one of these courses, or that by
Behring Strait, along the coast of North America,
we know that a single sailing-vessel passed to
Cambridge Bay within 150 miles of the mouth of
the Back River, and returned home unscathed, —
its commander having expressed his conviction
that the passage in question is so constantly open
that ships can navigate it without difficulty in one
season. Other routes, whether by Regent Inlet,
Peel Sound, or across from Repulse Bay, are pre-
ferred by officers whose experience in arctic matters
entities 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 ex-
pedition as, in the judgment of a committee of
arctic voyagers and geographers, may be considered
best adapted to secure the object.

tl '

MEMORIAL OF MEN OF SCIENCE, ETC.

345

" We would ask your Lordship to reflect upon
the great difference between a clearly defined
voyage to a narrow and circumscribed area, within
which the missing vessels or their remains must lie,
and those former necessarily tentative explorations
in various directions, the frequent allusions to the
difficulty of which, in regions far to the north of
the voyage now contemplated, have led persons un-
acquainted with geography to suppose that such a
modified and limited attempt as that which wc
propose involves farther risk arl may call for
future researches. The very nature of the former
expeditions exposed them, it is true, to risk, since
regions had to be traversed which were totally un-
known ; while the search we ask for is to be directed
to a circumscribed area, the confines of which have
already been reached without difficulty by one of
Her Majesty's vessels.

" Now, inasmuch as France, after repeated fruit-
less 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
eiipedition to collect every fragment pertaining to
his vessels, so we trust that those arctic researches
which have reflected much honour upon our
country may not be abandoned at the very moment

J^i!

I"!

346 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

when an explanation of the wanderings and fate of
our lost navigators seems to be within our grasp.
u *' 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 endeavour which
can be so much more effectively carried out by the
British Government.

" We have the honour to be," &c.,
' *' F. Beaufort, K. I. Murchison, F. W. Beechey,
Wrottesley, E. Sabine, Egerton EUesmcre, W.
Whewell, R. Collinson, W. H. Sykes, C. Daubeny,
J. Fergus, P. E. de Strzelecki, W. H. Smyth,
A. Majendie, R. FitzRoy, E. Gardiner, Fishbourne,
R. Brown, G. Macartney, L. Horner, W. H. Fitton,
Lyon riayfair, T. Thorp, C Wheatstone, W. J.
Hooker, J. D. Hooker, J. Arrowsmith, P. La Trobe,
W. A. B. Hamilton, R. Stephenson, J. E. Portlock,
C. Piazzi Smyth, C. W. Pasley, G. Rennie, J. P.
Gassiot, G. B. Airy, J. F. Burgoyne."

; I.

347

Taulb showing tho Mean Heioiit of Barometeu, with the
Tempuraturo of tho Air on board H.M.iS. " Investigator,"
from August 1850 to March 1853.

•

Ilarumetar.

ToniiR-raiurs of
Air.

Mean

Fi)r<'i'

Yp«r nnd
Muoth.

Yearly Abitract.

•

Wind.

IMSO.

liaronii'tvr.

r Aiiguit ■

smicto

2n-3<.«

■^■761

+60

+ 27

+30-5

Max. .TO 0.50; MlM.29l<i0i
Mean, 29828.

Sept. -

«,')()

■470

•800

■f 40

-1

+ 20^2

^■O

Oct. -

■1811

•380

■801

+ 24

-23

+02

Air.

Nov. .

•270

■IfiO

•73!>

+ .'

-32

-I0^2

Max. + 5; Mln.-40.i

Dec. -

•,',«()

■180

■978

-40

-234

2-5

Mean, — 4 WJ.

ISM.

Jan.* •

•J7{)

•400

■88.5

-15

-51

-325

Feb. .

■n.iii

•030

•9.58

-9

-51

-377

liaromcter.

March -

•TUt

•33H

■940

-5

-51

-a«-8

Mnximum • .10 7.V)

April •

Hay. •

■■ June -

•010

•410

30^ai7

+ 38

-82

-4-8

Miiiiinum - ■2li-o:u)

'tKIO

•SMI

•023

+ 47

-8

+ 189

Meuil • . . •2U^!i34

•150

•470

29837

+ .53

+'W

+3<il

Air.
Maximum • +.52^0
Minimum - — 51'0
Meim - • • +2-68

July -
■ Auguit -

(KM)

■urn

•4M)

■3'.m

■756
■805

+ 52

+52

+32
+21

+376
+ ;t70

2-8

Si-pt. •

-m

■4W

•870

+ 13

+ 1

+24^0

Oc. - -

•»K)

■3(K)

•877

+2<i

-22

+ 33

Nov. -

■7.W

■c:«)

30im

+ 10

-40

-1.5-2

1^8

Oec. -

•810

•490

■040

+ 11

-44

-200

1852.

Jan.

•fino

•280

^■841

+ 8

-51

-27-3

.34

Feb. -

31000

•070

•777

-I

-47

-26^8

Barometer.

March -

■M(m

•410

30^082

+ 5

—52

-28-4

Mnximum - 31000

April -
May. •

30-430

•.V20

■164

+ 31

-.38

-\i

Minimum - 28970

•2.V)

•con

29^987

+37

-26

+ 10-2

Mean - . 29906

3*.

Juno -

•100

•430

■7.58

+51

+ 11

+31 5

as"^

July -

•0(H)

■370

•749

+52

+30

+30^7

Air.

«i

August •

•170

•400

•810

+52

+ 19

+ .332

Maximum - +.52

Sept. -

•100

■070

'785

+ 38

+ ■^0^1

3-0

Minimum - —52

>-3

Oct. -

•;«K)

•440

•980

+ 10

-33

-50

•^•2

Mean . +0'05

Nov. -

•riHO

•400

•978

-43

— 105

>■

Dec. -

■C70

•28^970

•944

-4

-48

,X261

Barometer.

XHW.

Max. 30^72; Min. 29-180 i

Jan.

30.120

•£)■ 180

•i9^748

-10

-68

-4387

4 ■Of

Mean, 29900.

Feb. -

•JiHO

•400

30^085

-13

-57 '-38 60

2-50

Air.

March -

■720

•540

■048

+ 17

-68

-26-4

2-30

Max. + 17; Mln.-C5,

Mean, -36-92.

I ■•!

Robert M'Clurc, Commoudcr.
Her Majesty's* Ship " luvestigator."

ai(

I : 1.1

t;v,' i

.'^1,

n^^i

348 DISCOVERY OZ? THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

Gaub killed in the Abctio Rboions.

i»!u8k-oxen

Number killed.

Average Weight each.

Total Weight.

278 lbs.

1,945 lbs.

Deer ...

70 lbs.

7,716 „

Hares ...

169

fi ..

1,014 „

Grouse ...

186

Not weighed.

Ducks

198

.»

Geese ...

Wolves ...

Bears ...

•1

—

Total head killed

1,005.

SSAGE.

Total Weight.

1 ,945 lb8.
7,716 „
1,014 „

APPENDIX.

1 1

• u il

ilf^

\m <

xflK

( 'i '

;■ I

li <'

i i!

■:■ f

*ii.

APPENDIX.

■|

NARRATIVE OF COMMANDER MAGUIRE, WINTERING AT

rOINT BARROW.

In accordance with my last communication, I proceeded
to sea from Port Clarence on the morning of the 2l8t of
August, and with a favourable breeze passed through
Behring Straits by the eastern passage, on the following
day at noon. A succession of contrary winds delayed our
progress to the N. E. to a much greater extent than was
considered favourable to ensure our complete success of
rounding Point Barrow, at that advanced period of the
season.

In our passage to the northward we passed several
whale ships cruising in squadrons, a caution they seem to
have prudently adopted, for the bene It of affording mutual
assistance in the event of disaster. Their success up to
that time seemed to be indifferent ; and we have been
since informed by natives from Point Hope, that whales
have becoms very scarce on the coast, since the ships have
come in pursuit of them. The last whale ship (French)
seen by us was on the morning of the 25th of August, in
lat. 69° 30' JST., long. 167° 43' W., carrying all sail to the
southward. We soon afterwards made the ice in heavy
floes, and tacked in shore to ascertain its distance from

1 ji:

ft. I

352 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE

the land, when we found the

winds had done

\ 1

n "]■

contrary

good service by opening a free passage of from ten to
fifteen miles> in which we beat to the N. E., making but
slow progress until the night of the 2nd of September, when
a slant from the southward, with a fast-falling barometer,
warned us that a change of weather was at hand. Our
distance from Point Barrow, now reduced to fifty miles, I
thought we could accomplish before the ice set in shore,
and therefore pushed forward under all sail and rounded
it at the distance of one mile, on the following day at
noon, September 3rd.

The approach to the channel leading between the sandy
islets, that form the protec ion we were about to seek for
the winter in Elson's Bay, was found, contrary to our expec-
tations, shoal and intricate, making it necessary to anchor
the ship and sound out the passage. If it was found not
to afford sufficient water, of which there was a doubt, our
position was not one to lose time in, shut out, and close
down on an exposed shore, with a gale coming on that
would soon have loaded it with ice. Having ascertained,
as expeditiously as possible, that there was about nine
inches to spare across a shoal before we got to deep water,
the anchor was weighed, and after making a few tacks,
the narrowness of the channel and the ship taking the
ground twice, made it advisable to anchor and kedge
under shelter of the spit. A fortunate turn in the current
enabled us to effect this, as by the time the warps had
been run out, the gale had increased so much as to render
it unsafe to trip the anchor ; however, finding a strong
weather current setting, it was weighed, and the ship
warped into a wild-looking anchorage for protection, in a
gale of wind, no land being visible, except the low sand

APPENDIX.

353

lone us
ten to
ing but
x, when
ometer,
I. Our
miles, I
n shore,
rounded
day at

16 sandy
seek for
ir expec-
) anchor
)und not
lubt, our
nd close
on that
jrtained,
)ut nine
p water,
«r tacks,
ing the
kedge
current
irps had
0 render
strong
he ship
on, in a
3W sand

spit of Point Barrow and the islet adjoining, not more than
five feet above the level of the sea, which broke over them
with great violence during the height of the gale. These
are again guarded by the shoals lying oflP, on which the
drift ice grounds, making the anchorage, when gained, se-
cure, but difficult of access or egress. Daylight next
morning showed us how fortunate we had been in getting
shelter ; the gale, now veered to west, was unabated ; the
sea broke heavily over the shoals passed yesterday, and
against the sand spits to within a short distance of the ship,
whilst the offing was encumbered with heavy ice, becoming
gradually closer with the gale. As we found a strong
current setting to windward, I had no doubt of the ship
holding on, although the confined space of the anchorage
did not admit veering more than thirty fathoms of cable.
In the afternoon the gale began to moderate, and on the
following day the ship was moved to a more secure berth,
near the position selected for winter quarters, where we
remained until the ice set fast on the 24th of September.

A succession of strong gales and thick weather, for the
following week, retarded our preparations, consisting
chiefly in collecting driftwood, not found here in any
abundance. From this material the plank for housing-in
was sawed, and the remains stacked for the winter firing.
Advantage was also taken of every opportunity to send a
boat to sound the channel, knowing the difficulty of the
task after the ice had formed ; and on its breaking up we
should be too anxious to move wi*^ it, to have time for
that purpose. On the 25th, pancake ice began to form in
the bay, and drift out rapidly with the current. A party
was sent to haul the launch up on the adjacent islet, to be
out of reach of the natives ; this service was perforiied by

A A

,!'!''

' , ,

i ,; '.

if i'

' 1

354 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE.

Mr. G. T. Gordon, mate, who, when returning m the gig
with a fresh and favourable wind, was unable to push his
way through the young ice, and was carried in it through
the passage into the offing. In this distressing dilemma a
second boat was lowered, in which Lieutenant Vernon
promptly volunteered his services ; and by running out 700
fathoms of whale line the gig was reached, now carried
some distance off the land. By this means they were en-
abled to reach the spit, although they had another narrow
escape from being carried out, by the line parting when
they were close to it ; fortunately, one of the men was
sufficiently quick to heave the end amongst a crowd of
Esquimaux, drawn to the spot by witnessing the state of
our boats ; and they hauled them up, where they bad to
remain for the night, the ice being now too strong to
allow us to haul the boats through it, and not sufficiently
firm for the people to walk on board. During the night,
the ice moved but once a short distance, then set fast ; and
in the morning we had the satisfaction of receiving our
boat's crew on board, after experiencing a degree of
anxiety for their safety that is not easily described.

The following days were occupied in sawing a canal to-
wards our winter position, which was much delayed by
unexpected movements in the ice, undoing our work
when nearly completed; and on the 30th, at 10 p.m., we
were tracked up it by about seventy natives, men, women,
and children, whose shouts and exclamations of surprise
gave animation to the whole scene, and made it one of
deep interest.

Our time was now busily occupied in making the usual
preparations for passing a winter in this rigorous climate,
which we had thus early observed symptoms of. A tem-

;he gig
ash his
hrough
imtna a
Vernon
out 700
carried
ere cn-
narrow
OP when
len was
rowd of
state of
r had to
rong to
ificiently
le night,
ast; and
Mng our
;grec of

■

anal to-
ayed by
iir work
?.M., we
women,
surprise
it one of

the usual
climate,
A tem-

APFENDIX.

35i

porary house was erected close to the ship, to receive our
deck-load of provisions to enable us to have them clear,
for the crew to take exercise when the state of the weather
would not admit of their leaving the ship ; and an observa-
toiy, for the reception of the magnctical instruments, was
constructed from ice alone, which answered the purpose
perfectly for eight months.

These arrangements were completed by the 20th of
October, when the necessary winter routine was esta-
blished for an economical expenditure of fuel and provisions,
with due attention to order, cleanliness, occupation, and
amusement, to lighten as much as possible a time con-
fessed by all as being do])ressing and monotonous. Msiny
valuable hints on this subject were giiined from the works
of Captain Parry, in following whose exam[)le I con-
sidered we could not err: taking advantage of his experi-
ence, the masis and yards were kept In their proper places,
affording a better mark for seekii.'g the ship from a
distance, bearing in mind our being here in expectation of
parties falling back upon us for safety ; and as the land is
very low, and in winter, it may be said, not \ isible, the
ship made a fine object, being discernible in clear weather
at the distance of nine miles from every direction.

Deeming it a matter of importance that the " Plover's "
position at Point Barrow should be known as far to the
eastward as possible, and also wishing to ascertain whether
Dease's Inlet would afford shelter for any vessel that
might at any future time be desirous of wintering there,
I took the earliest opportunity of making a boat excursion
to perform this service, and left the ship on the morning
of the 21st of September, in the gig, accompanied by Mr.
T. A. Hull, second master. Steering off the laud into

A A 2

,5.1

I 'J.

Illl

fliif

,..:■

Y"l

■ :M^ 1

' 1

■ 1 ■;:' 1

I ■ it'

356 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

five fathoms, we passed a good deal of sailing ice, and pro-
ceeded E.N.E. over an even bottom of from five to six
fathoms with the wind from the S.E.

Changing our course to the southward, we got entangled
among a series of sand spits, when, taking to our oars, we
steered along the outside of the largest island of the group,
which we then supposed to be connected with the main-
land about Point Christie ; but it was afterwards found to
be one of the very low chain of sandy islets running along
this coast. As I suspected this was taking us to the east-
ward of the inlet, I landed to ascend the highest part, to
see how much farther it extended, and found a second
island running in the same direction. The water being
too shoal for hauling the boat up here, we stood out into
deeper water, and at length succeeded in hauling the boat
up for the night on the second island. During the night
a strong breeze sprang up from the N.W., with a tempe-
rature of + 30°.

Knowing we had run our distance for Dease's Inlet, I
was not a little puzzled to know where we were, as I
could scarcely fancy it was possible to lay down this coast
without noticing these islands.

On the following morning, our observations being
complete and the boat loaded, and now concluding that
Dease's Inlet must be looked for to the southward, and
first erecting a conspicuous mark on this place of the
" Plover's " winter position, we steered for a point of the
main just visible S.W. (true).

This proved to be Point Christie, where we landed in
time to get the latitude at noon. Its higher part does not
exceed ten feet above the level of the sea ; and here we
erected another large mark. The season now seemed to

APPENDIX.

357

as I

be 80 far advanced that I was in doubt between crossing
the inlet and returning to the ship ; but, as I considered
my object would not be carried out without placing
notices on Point Tangent, I determined to cross it, and
started with a fine leading wind from the northward. In
two hours we reached the eastern shore, which is even
more shoal than the western — the water about Point
Tangent being so shallow that o ; ; boat could not be got
within a cable's length of the beach.

Having now found that the greatest depth of water to
be obtained by sounding directly across Dease's Inlet was
eleven feet only, with its shores extremely shoal, I con-
sidered the question settled that no vessel could find
winter quarters there ; and, after leaving the proper
notices, started on our return to the ship. Sludge ice
was observed on our return to be forming in all the small
bays, the temperature having fallen to 4- 1 9°, warning us
that the open season was ncprly at an end. Passing the
night in the same place as the previous one, for the sake of
the driftwood, we left the next morning with all haste
for the ship, which, with a fine breeze from the northward,
we reached by noon. Twelve hours after our return,
it was reported to me that the ice was drifting past the
ship.

A further examination of Dease's Inlet was afterwards
made by Mr. T. A. Hull, second master, in the month of
May, in continuation of a survey of this coast from Point
Barrow eastward.

The southern shores of this inleti which had hitherto
been left blank on the chart, were now traced. It was
found to extend in a S.W. direction for a distance of
twenty miles, its breadth at the mouth being eight miles,

A A 3

i^'

358 DISCOVERY OV THE NORTH- WEST PASSAGE.

1'^ : .

and terminating in a shoal bay. The S.E. shore is much
higher than the rest, one cliif there being as high as
twenty-four feet. Four inconsiderable rivers empty them-
selves here — two on the eastern, and two on the western
shore.

The chain of islands which, commencing at the
" Plover's " winter quarters, closely abut on Point
Tangent, the western part of which was discovered by
Captain Moore, and denominated by him " Plover's
Group," has been found to be ten in number (on but two
or three of the lai'gest of which is there the slightest sign
of vegetation), running in a line almost parallel with that
of the coast, or E.S.E. and W.N.W. (true) from Point
Barrow to Point Tangent, where they terminate, the only
channel between them, of sufficient depth for a ship, being
the one by "'hich the " Plover " entered.

From the time of our arrival at winter quarters,
situated two miles E.S.E. (true) from the Esquimaux
settlements on Point Barrow, called by them Noowook,
we found this people, contrary to our preconceived opinion,
very troublesome and unfriendly. To such an extent did
this feeling exhibit itself, that it would have been prudent
to remove from their vicinity (particularly as we had
received more than one unmistakable hint to that effect),
had circumstances admitted it; but, as we occupied the
only spot of deep water to be found on this part of the
coast, it became necessary to put up with the evil, hoping
that time and a better knowledge of our character would
improve their conduct ; and I had no doubt our wintering
amongst them would eventually be attended with bene-
ficial results. The commencement of our intercourse was
attended with many unpleasant circumstances. No single

; I

APPENDIX.

350

bunt's crew could be at any distance from the ship without
being pilfered f rojn in the moat daring and barefaced way ;
and upon every trivial, and often without any, occasion,
their knives were drawn upon our men, who, although
armed with muskets, had strict orders in no case to make
even a show of them, unless obliged by necessity, as I
thought recourse to that force was to be avoided when a
good feeling in favour of any of our missing countrymen,
who may at any future period be in their power, was the
object sought. Carrying out these views to the extent of
not showing our arms was not appreciated, as they mistook
forbearance for timidity ; and, at the request of two
officers going with a watering party to the village, to
carry their guns nominally for the purpose of shooting
small birds, the show of them was found to have s^ good
an effect that it was adopted on all future occasions,
although we were obliged to cease sending for water after
a few turns, there being always some unpleasant display
of feeling on their part that was best avoided when
possible.

Whilst occurrences such as I have mentioned were
taking place daily with our parties away from the ship,
the difficulty of dealing with those collected about her
was sufficient to employ all the people left on board,
exclusive of the pressing duties of the ship, with a small
crew, at this season.

About the 15th of Septembei, they appeared to be
returning to their winter huts, from their usual summer's
excursion along the coast to the eastward, and, as the ship
lay in their direct track, we had a visit from all of them,
including also the Cape Smyth tribe, being the two most
numerous on any part of the coast, numbering together

A A 4

rid;

( ',

^5 1

i •

860 DISCOVERY OF THE N0KT1I-WE8T TASSAOE.

about five hundred. As many as seven or eight large
u-ini-aks arrived daily for eight or nine days, containing
their summer tents, families, dogs, and sledges, &c. : they
appeared perl'ect strangers, and looked in amazement at us
and the ship. They t)rought with them a small quantity
of fidh and venison : with the latter they parted reluctantly,
and seemed to prefer begging and stealing (in which they
were most unscrupulous) to any kind of exchange.

On the morning of the 17th I was informed that a large
u-mi-ak had come alongside, and the crew had forced
their way on board. As this was not an uncommon case,
I thought nothing of it when I found that Lieut. Vernon
was attending on deck. He soon came down to inform me
that the chief of the party had a musket, and was very
anxious to get gunpowder in exchange for venison. This
piece of information I considered the worst I had received,
amongst many un['3asant circumstances that I had ex-
perienced, feeling that we could not remain amongst them
if they had fire-arms.

It will be proper to state here that we have, at a very
late period of our stay, identified this chief as the same
who followed and annoyed Commander PuUen at Point
Berens in 1849, full particulars of which are given in his
journal.

As he expressed a wish to see me, I went up, and found
a large, powerful, elderly man, with a peculiarly bad
expression of countenance. He had a Hudson's Bay
musket, with the name of Barnett on the lock ; it was a
good deal worn, but fit for service. He had a powder
horn hanging hunter-fashion under his left arm, but
pretended to have neither ball nor shot, for which he was
most pressing, and would not dispose of anything except

AITENDIX.

3GI

fur aininunition. This, aa n matter of courao, he wns nut
(tupplicd with. I saluted him with much friendship, miulo
his wife ii present, and took him down to my cabin, where
I made him a present of tobacco, and satisBod his curiosity
about the ship bolow. Then I took him on deck with tiie
idea that ho would go away ; but nothing seemed further
from his thoughts, as he remained about the decks and
slipped down the hatchways on to the lower deck several
times — a part of the ship they had not had access to
during any period of our stay. During the forenoon
several u-mi-aks arrived alongside the ship, discharging
their crews in swarms on our deck, so as literally to
crowd it for the day. They were allowed every freedom
consistent with their known propensity for stealing; but
some, bolder than others, were difficult to deal with. One
man attempted to force back the after ladder doors, and
my 8to])ping him brought about a slight scuffle between us.
That did not seem to have satitjficd him, as he soon after-
wards came in contact with the quartermaster of the watch,
a quiet but rather short tempered, powerful young man,
who, before anybody could interfere, gave him a lesson ho
will not soon forget ; ho dealt him fair English blows
about the head, each of them sufficient to stun any one
except an Esquimaux ; but he received them until they had
the effect of quite taming him, when he was put over the
side in the presence of at least sixty of Ids countrymen,
few of whom offered to interfere, and the remainder looked
on with indifference. About noon, whenj at my particular
desire, three parts of the crowd went away, the remainder
were evidently detained by the old chief, whom there
was no moving out of the ship without having recourse to
force ; and this I had no intention of, preferring to wait

-I

362 DISCOVERY OF THE NOETH-WEST PASSAGE.

until he gut tired of his visit, and this seemed unlikely for
the present, as he hailed three u-mi-aks full of people to
come alongside. I heard the word " tawac " (tobacco)
used very often, I supposed as the inducement, and the
children I observed had been sent away. It occurred to
me they might have thoughts of pillaging the ship ; their
numbers to ours seeming so overpowering. In order to
be pre[)ared for anything of the kind, the men stationed on
deck were sent down one at a time to arm themselves
with pistols, to be kept out of siglit in their breasts, in the
event of a simultaneous attack being made with their
knives, all being provided with good oTies, and adepts in
their use. When the men were all armed, I was satisfied
to await the result. A silence seemed to prevail, as if they
had not decided what to do ; and whether they liad or had
not meditated any miscliief, beyond stealing as much as
they could, they attempted nothing, and went away as
night came on, leaving the old chief with his own boat
only. He had continued to range about the ship in the
most insolent way ; and I think it reasonable to suppose it
was only the fear of our fire-arms that kept him from
mischief. When left by himself, I was cautious not to
urge his going away, as I had done when there were
seventy people with him ; but letting him choose his own
time, he remained until 7 P. M. — a visit of twelve hours.
When he was gone, I was so thoroughly tired and provoked,
and knowing that every person in the ship must be suffer-
ing in the same way, that it became necessary to adopt a
difTferent system, the number of small articles stolen during
the day, notwithstanding all our vigilance, aifording suffi-
cient pretext for the change. All work was stopped the
next day, and an efficient arrangement made to allow

h>*».

APPENDIX.

363

only one boat's crew on board at a time ; and whatever
dissatisfaction it might give, it was necessary to adopt it.

It seems necessary to mention here the difficulty of
keeping a numerous tribe of natives out of a vessel like
the " Plover," as the ice chocks made a convenient
landing-place on the outside, not more than four feet from
the water, running the whole length on both sides, where
they mounted in all directions, and in some cases, when pre-
vented, they cut at our men's legs with their knives, and
in one or two instances cut through box-cloth trousers.
Whilst the knives of some were er ^aged in this way, those
of others were busily employed cutting the lead scupper
pipes out of the side ; the nails of the copper were proof
against them, but no part of the side escaped their attempts.
From this cause it became necessary to cover all the parts
assailable outside with a sheathing of wood, and after the
ship was frozen in she was enclosed round with a chain,
rove through posts fixed in the ice at the distance of seven
yards from the side. This arrangement, although very
unpopular, was found most beneficial.

The day succeeding the one last described, the chief was
observed sitting on the spit close to the ship, and I was
told had hailed the ship as if he wished to bp sent for.
This I thoiight too good a joke. He was soon afterwards
picked up by his own boat and came alongside, but, to his
surprise, was not allowed on board, as so many things had
been stolen the previous day. During the time he was
standing on the gangway, the crew happened to be clean-
ing, discharging, and reloading their arms, and examining
the two carronades, at which he seemed to stare a good
deal and went away. Several u-mi-aks arrived alongside,
as usual, during the day ; but none of the crews were

Ill

m
i I

364 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

allowed on board. Some bartering waa carried on, and a
few presents made to ihem ; but they seemed to prefer
adding to their stock by stealing, to any exchange.
- The following morning we had another early visit from
the chief, accompanied by some other leading men. They
brought, as a peace offering, all the articles stolen from
the ship for several days. This I considered very satis-
factory, and permitted them to come on board ; they re-
mained the whole day, but their conduct was altered very
much for the better, particularly the old chief, who was
now content to remain on the quarter-deck, to which they
were restricted. I think the display of our cleaning arms
before the chief on the day previous, led him to imagine
we were intent on doing them mischief, and seemed to
acc- ant for this sudden change in their manner.

The system of keeping them out of the ship except with
permission, and then to a very limited number only^ being
once commenced, it was continued throughout our stay ;
and although it was very diflScult to make them understand
the necessity for it, which made it disliked, and wu? the
cause of some ill-feeling towards us, it was impossible,
through their numbers and want of honesty, to adopt any
other course. At first we endeavoured to explain to them
that we wished all to come on board in turn ; but so far
from entering into this view, those who were admitted
and remained the whole day, would invariably be the first
alongside on the following morning, and be the most
clamorous and least satisfied of those not admitted. These
disappointments at not being allowed on board, were re-
taliated in jue or two instances by parties landing and
carrying away our driftwood collected in a stack on the
spit near the ship ; this was found too laborious a revenge

A.GE.

APPENDIX.

365

m, and a
to prefer
e.

risit from
I. They
len from
!ry satis-

they re-
;red very
who was
lich they
ing arms

imagine
ieiaed to

3ept with
ly; being
ur stay ;
idcrstand

w»i? the
possible,
[Jopt any

to them
it so far
admitted

the first
he most
These
were re-
liiig and
: on the

revenge

for them, and fire was tried ; but, a boat be'vjg sent, they
pretended it was an accident, and did not repeat it.

On the occasion of our cutting into winter quarters, our
men being of necessity much spread about on the ice, and
frequently surrounded by three times their number of
natives, much caution was necessary to prevent the tools
from being stolen, and many slight squabbles took place
between our men and theirs in consequence of their
playing them tricks and trying to trip them up. On these
occasions they always selected thooe of our people who,
from their appearance, were thought least likely to resent
their jokes, but in some instances they found they had
mistaken their men. Points of this sort were the most
difiicult for a commanding officer to deal with, as it was
not possible for him to prevent the provocation, and,
when not resented, the motives were misunderstood.

A more serious affair took place on board the ship ; the
officer in charge, Mr. Hull, second master, in keeping
back a large powerful man that attempted to force his w ay
over the side, had a knife drawn on him by a friend of
the other's on board the ship, who immediately called out
for the women and children to retire. Mr. Simpson the
surgeon was standing near, and very soon produced before
the man with the knife one of Colt's revolving pistols, and
explained to him the use of its six charges, which had the
effect of keeping them very quiet for the remainder of the
day. I met the women and children retreating over the
ice ahead of the ship, and thought something must have
happened, although they told me they were going home to
dance. A chief arriving at the same time reassured the
retreating party, when we explained to them that if they
used knives we must use guns, but otherwise we wished to

>M.

^1; '

!il

366 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

be good friends. Similar squabbles took place frequently
whilst our men were employed building the storehouse ;
knives were drawn as usual, and in two instances the
women and children were sent away. This was a cause
of a good deal of anxiety with me, as our men, being un-
armed, were very much at their mercy under such circura-
atances, and in the eveit of arming them, more forbearance
was necessary than some of them would have been found
to possess, from the frequent provocations they had
received in return for the usual kindness and good nature

lat characterise seamen. On giving the subject every
consideration, and seeing that it must excite an unpleasant
feeling, for our men to have knives pointed at them with-
out a means of defence being at hand, (he quartermaster
of the watch, and two petty officers of the party working
on shore, were armed with pistols, but properly cautioned
not to produce them unless under circumstances of
necessity, as I hoped the mere knowledge of their having
them would l>e sufficient. Of tMs we soon had an instance.
One of them played off one of their usual practical jokes
on one of our men, by kicking him in the back of the
knees when carrying a spar, for whicl, he Wiis rewarded
with a blow on the face ; he then drew his knift, when
the corporal of marines coming up, and being known to
have a pistol, the offender ran away. These sort of
annoyances continued as long as our men had work to do
outside of the ship, and when the natives were collected in
any numbers ; the difference of character displayed by them
when so, and the reverse, is worthy of remark. In the
former ease they are bolder and overbearing, and, when
Hiv eting with parties, gather round them and, apparently in
a half playful way, commence shoving them about and

GE.

APPENDIX.

367

uquently

rehouse ;

noes the

a cause

cing un-

i circum-

bearance

en found

hey had

id nature

set every

1 pleasant

em with-

:ermaster

working

jautioned

[vnces of

ir having

instance.

cal jokes

k of the

rewarded

fc, when

nown to

sort of

)rk to do

lected in

by them

In the

id, when

.rently in

lOut and

feeling their clothes, when, if they fail in getting what
they want given to them, they help themselves, and with
their knives soon remove any buttons that happen to be
bright. This was all done, and the offenders mixed up
with the rest, enjoying tlio thing as a good joke, before our
people could look round them. On the contrary, when
they are in small numbers, they .are not like the same
people, but seem quiet, harmless, inoffensive, and obliging ;
but even while displaying these good qualities, should their
numbers become increased, they lose no time in throwing
off their assumed humility, to join in any plunder going on.
In landing our provisions, I was particularly careful to
point out to the chief and other leading men that nothing
was going on shore, the nature of which they could not
see, except salt meat, wlilch was really the case, and this
1 knew they would not eat If it ^''as given them, and on
the day that all was landed, and the house locked, I
showed them the carronade, pointed at it, and told them
it was to keep thieves away, thinking that a show of pre-
paration would have the effect of saving us from any
attempt at robbery on their [>art ; but I have every reason
to believe that some of those on board at the time were
leaders in breaking into it three nights afterwards, when
fortunately three small sails (ship's) were the only things
they succeeded in taking away. A case of flour contained
in tins, belonging to the officers, had been opened; but
not found to be tobacco, as anticipated, and not liking to
go away empty handed, they had taken the sails. I was
quite unprepared for this theft, which was effected In the
night, notwithstanding a strict watch had been kept from
the ship, and the house was visited every hour, as I had
been told, by the officers of the ship acquainted with their

II :

1; i

iiii

M'l/

r ■:)

l-l '' >

',i ■■*

i I

'.,' 1 !

368 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

character, they would never attempt anything greater
than pilfering small things lying about. This there was
no remedy for, except keeping a good look-out. Now
they had commenced on a large scale, I had to consider
the best mode of checking them before anything of a more
serious nature should be attempted.

A slight show of fire-arms, in the way of intimidation
in all our former cases, had the effect of restoring the
stolen articles, and with a view to the same effect, I had a
small brass three-pounder mounted on a sledge, intending
to threaten them with a visit if the sails were not returned.
By the arrival of a native, who came every morning with
dogs' food, we were informed that, during the time of
sleep, some people had committed thii robbery, showing
plainly that the aftair was well known at the settlement.
Our people had in the meantime tracked them on the
snow to withit a short distance of it, when the sails had
been opened and most probably divided. About 9 a.m.
the chief came down, assuming a very determined air,
with his musket slung acrosei his shoulders, to offer his
assistance, and go with us for the recovery of our sails ;
but as he proposed leading us to Cape Smyth, where he
said they had been taken, and stoutly denied their being
at Point Barrow, his services were declined.

I must mention here that this was the common excuse
with them, when anything was stolen, they invariably
pointed to Cape Smyth, and said thj things had been
taken there. It became so well understood at last, that no
notice was taken of it, particularly in the present in-
stance.

The chief, after some hesitation, came on board, when
it was explained to him that we were quite aware where

3E.

Al'l^ENDlX.

!♦

369

greater
;re was
Now
jonsider
' a more

Qidation
'ing the
I had a
[tending
eturned.
ing with
time of
showing
tlement.

on the
jnils had
; 9 A.M.
Ined air,
offer his
ur sails ;
rhere he

ir being

I excuse
variably
ad been
that no
isent in-

d, when
re where

the sails were, and if they were not restored, I should take
the gun (which I showed him mounted) to their settlement
to look for them ; at the same time I thought the oppor-
tunity of having his musket in my power too good a one
to be lost, and took possession of it, telling him that when
he had brought back everything that had been stolen from
us, it would be returned quite safe.

This appeared to place him in a serious difficulty, and
after repeating the Cape Smyth story a good many times,
he returned to the town, and we went on with our work as
usual, intending to wait the result of his interference. In
about two hours he came again with some evasive story,
that they were going to bring the sails down. He re-
mained outside the ship evidently much disturbed, but not
mistrustful ; there were also a few others, women and
children, and one sledge.

We now observed with our glasses an unusual stir at
the settlement. In the first place, some women and
children were seen moving across the bay to Cape Smyth ;
afterwards the men were seen advancing down towards
the ship, in three single files, armed with their bows and
arrows and quivers. I fancied at this time I saw spears
also, but did not observe them afterwards. The leading
men were discharging their arrows ahead of them as they
advanced, picking them up again as they reached them,
which suiisfied me their visit was not friendly, and my
mind was soon made up to keep them in check at the
distance of musket range, by firing over their heads,
wishing above all things to avoid taking a life, unless
under some urgent necessity. Our small force, forty-ono
in all, was placed under command of the officers appointed
to guard the gangways, poop, and forecastle ; and previous

B B

f, 1!

370 DISCOVERY OF THE NOUTII WEST PASSAGE.

to their getting within range, a blank charge was fired
from our eighteen-pounder carronade, and the three-
pound brass gun, which had not the effect of dispersing
them, as I expected, and when within musket range, we
commenced firing over them from the forecastle. This
had the effect of dispersing them under shelter of the spit
about fifty yards from the ship's bows. At this time one
of the chiefs, who had been on board frequently, and
treated with every kindness, made a rush down ahead of
the ship, followed at first by others ; but when he found
the balls whistling over his head he dropped on his face to
avoid them, running a few paces closer to the ship, threw
down his bow and quiver containing seventeen arrows,
four of them with barbed iron heads. This man had be-
come very unpopular with the crew from some uncivil
acts of his ; and I have been able to understand since, that
although the order to fire over his head was carried out,
this direction was very much infringed upon. A few now
extended themselves under cover of the house, but as a
constant fire was kept up in that direction, not many at-
tempted to reach it, and a /ound shot being fired so as to
graze it, had the effect of dislodging them. At this time
a false alarm was given, that they were breaking down
the house and carrying things away. I was on the fore-
castle, and on hearing the report, ordered the man next
me, a marine, to fire at a man then escaping from under
cover of it, and from the sudden way he seemed to fall
and kick out his legs, I thought he was killed. Immedi-
ately afterwards the report was found to be correct, and
no more shots Avere fired at them ; and I had the satis-
faction to find out that the man fired at (the only instance)
was not killed, • .

3E.

as fired
three-
jpersing
nge, we
J. This
the spit
time one
tly, and
ahead of
lie found
is face to
ip. threw
1 arrows,
I had be-
e uncivil
ince, that
fried out,
few now
but as a
many at-
80 as to
this time
ing down
the fore-
man next
om under
led to fall
Immedi-
rrect, and
the satis-
instance)

APPENDIX.

371

As the chief, who had been lying concealed under an
ice hummock not far from the ship, and who I suppose
now saw no chance of gaining an advantage over us with
with his numbers, showed himself and beckoned them
back in a most energetic manner, causing a general retreat,
and as our mast-head afFordcd a commanding view, I was
glad to find that they were all able to use their legs quite
as well going home as they did coming out.

Although this affair would give them a poor idea of us
as marksmen, not ajjpreciating our motives, I considered
that some of them heard the ball sufficiently close to their
ears not to wish for a repetition. Mr. Simpson, the
surgeon, counted seventy-one, and allows himself to have
overlooked ten; he computes the number at eighty,
besides several stragglers, a computation I consider as
near as could be obtained.

The chief, with another man, stayed about the ship for
some time ; but as no compromise short of the immediate
return of our stores was contemplated, he was not allowed
to remain long. My having his gun was an advantage I
could hardly have expected, and as its value to him was
far greater than anything they had stolen from us, I was
content to wait the result of his interference, in the mean-
time not allowing any of them within gunshot until every-
thing was returned.

On the following day we had a pacific message, to the
effect that they were all asleep that day, but on the next
all our things would be brought down. They had not
left the spot they had advanced to, when I took a party
away from the ship to try the range of the gun in a sledge,
and to find how it would answer. I was glad they saw
us manoeuvring it, and as they still remained after motion-

B B 2

i n

i. I

372 DISCOVERY OF THE NOIITII-WRST TARSAGE.

ing them to goawny, a musket was fired wide of them ns a
hint to be off and report whsit they hud seen, which I
hoped would have the effect of quickening tlieir move-
ments, in returning our sails. At 7 A. m. on the follow-
ing day, the chief, with seven natives and a sledge,
brought down the sails, — a niaintopmast staysail, and
mizcn trysail, and a boat's cover, all muc^ worn and of no
importance to us; but the act was the same, and required
checking, lest other things we might feel the loss of should
be stolen also. I was told the party seemed in evident
trepidation. The sails had been cut into several pieces,
adapted in size for their u-mi-aks' sails, and had been
served out amongst the party. This would account for the
difficulty the chief had in getting them returnee , without
having a slight brush for them previously. All the pieces
were most ingeniously drawn together by the women, who
had been employed the previous day and night about them,
wh'",h occasioned the day's delay in their being returned.
As it was necessary, while we were settling matters,
to have a full restitution of everything stolen from the
ship and boats since our arrival, a careful inquiry
was made to find out every missing article ; and as these
included almost all the ironwork of the launch, which had
been cut almost to pieces, in the most vexatious way, while
turned bottom up on the adjacent island, I was the more
disposed to push this point. When the full extent was
known, the chief was acquainted that everything must be
returned previous to his getting his gun, or the natives al-
lowed to come rear the ship. He then left and returned
next morning with every missing article, when his gun was
restored to him, and the natives came about us as usual.
I had the curiosity to examine the charge of his gun whilst

GE.

APPENDIX.

373

ncm ns a
which I
I" inovc-
2 follow -
, slodge,
?iul, and
nd of no
refiuired
:)f ahould
I evident
il pieces,
lad been
nt for the
, without
the pieces
men, who
out them,
returned,
matters,
from the
1 inquiry
as these
uch had
ay, while
the more
stent was
must be
natives al-
returned
is gun was
as usual,
[un whilst

it was in our hnndn, and found it as well loaded with ball
us we could have done it ourselves, although he had previ-
ously told us he had no ammunition.

I made him a small present of tobacco for his trouble,
as I believe he was not a partaker in the robbery,
and I gave one of his wives a knife, as she had been very
industrious in putting the sails together. He made us
understand that he had been obliged to use his knife, as
well as his authority, to compel some of the thieves
to give up their share of the booty. I was glad to
have got the upper hand of them without any further
trouble on our part, as, iudependcnt of the more important
motives before mentioned, our own travelling parties
might be seriously inconvenienced fi'om being at variance
with them.

Notwithstanding these considerations, it is most neces-
sary for our preservation with such a people, to establish
respect from them by a moderate resistance upon any undue
encroachment on their part.

Had we not been employed on a service essentially of
peace, I should have taken a party up to their settlement
in the way of retaliation, on finding they had broken into
our store. I am not certain that it would not have been
the better plan in the present case, as kindness and
forbearance are not understood by them ; particularly after
being fired upon once or twice without receiving any
injury, they are likely to form an erroneo'is opinion as to
the power of fire-arms, many ot the present party,
including the chief, being the same who followed Com-
mander Pullen so pertinaciously along the Return Reef of
Sir John Franklin, when the system of avoiding firing at
them was adopted until the last extremity, and with

I) It

If,

374 DISCOVEIIY OF THE NOUTH-WKST PASSAGE.

Irt

I !

the same good fortune in not flncrlficing any lives. As an
instance of their ingratitude, I found many who were en-
gaged in the robbery of the house were of those who had
been allowed on board every day, and had received conside-
rable presents with the view of making friends of them in
the event of our requiring a kindness in return. Whilst
our misunderstanding was unsettled, a further enclosure was
marked out to include the ship, house, and observatory.
Hound this a stout hawser was supported on small
triangles, and in no instance during the remainder of our
stay was this boundary, which necessity had given us good
excuse for establishing, allowed to bo infringed upon. A
few troublesome characters, such as will be found in
all large communities, gave annoyance occasionally for a
month or two, by shoving each other purposely inside
the boundary, when, finding their tricks provoked hard
blows, little more trouble was given in this way.

Our intercourse from this time went on more smoothly,
and the Esquimaux, feeling themselves in error, seemed
to make many friendly overtures to regain our esteem.
Some of these consisted in bringing down their tambourines
alongside, and dancing and singing in 1 "'^q numbers. In
this they had, in some degree, anticipated ray intentions, as
the officers were at the same time engaged in printing a
notice for the lower deck of a " Native Dance," intended
to be given in three days' time, with the view of showing
them we bore no ill-will, and wished for a friendly inter-
course; and as it was to be the commencement of
our winter festivities, and headed " Great Novelty," it
had the desired effect of producing amusement amongst
the crew.

At 4 P.M., October the 28th, our visitors were admitted,

As an
were en-
wlio had
1 conaide-
r them in
Wliilat
osure was
jcrvatory.
on small
ler of our
n us good
upon. A
found in
ally for a
icly inside
oked hard

smoothly,
»r, seemed
ir esteem,
mbourines
ibers. In
entions, as
printing a
intended
»f showing
idly inter-
cement of
ovelty," it
amongst

J admitted,

Al'l'ENDIX.

;i75

to the number of seventy. After they were mudo to sent
themselves round the deck, the entertainment conunenccd
by serving each with a little tobacco ; then our musical in-
struments (a violin, cornopcian, drum, and triangle) played
a lively air, which caused a general exclamation of wonder
and pleasure, most of the party now hearing them for the
first time. This was followed by a request for them
to dance ; and being supplied with a drum, they willingly
complied. Our seamen danced in their turn ; and in a little
time the natives entered fully into the spirit of the amuse-
ment, stripping off their skin coals and dancing naked
to the waist with the temperature at + 6°, showing the
state of excitement they work themselves into, as the male
performers shout in a wild triumphant manner, and
all the lookers-on join in a chorus and become as nuich ex-
cited as the performers : their appearance makes a scene as
savage as can be well imagined. By 10 r. M. the party
broke up, all appearing to have had dancing enough ; the
whole compony seemingly pleased with their evening's
amusement. When we came to take down a few flags that
were hung under the housing for ornament, it was vexing to
find several large pieces cut out of them as if in handfuls.
The chief and some others remaining appeared sorry, and
promised the pieces should be returned, which was faithfully
done the next morning.

On the following day I paid a visit to the village,
accompanied by Mr. Simpson, the surgeon. We were
followed by several idlers from about the siiii), who, as we
neared the huts, spread the report of our arrival, which soon
caused a great crowd to gather round us following to the
chief's hut, where we found him on his housetop ready to
receive us. The winter huts were now covered with snow ;

i: It 4

■^<

H hi

iiis

III

^^^■^H^K ^H

376 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

the chiefs stood about five feet above the ground, with a
square opening at one end, into which we followed through
a low dark passage sloping downwards for five or six
yards, when we stood beneath the opening in the floor of
the inhabited part of the hut. It is circular in form, just
large enough to admit one person at a time. Passing
through it, we stood upon a smooth boarded floor, about
16 ft. by 10 ft. ; the roof was seven feet high, and in the
centre was a small square skylight, covered with transparent
whale membrane.

The transition from the daylight and glare to the dark
passage was sudden, and in some degree prepared our
eyes for taking in at the first glance the appearance
within. We were placed in the centre of the hut;
the chief, with a wife on each side of him, sat opposite to
us. There were four or five young men, and two women
with children, lying about the floor, all naked to the
waist, the children perfectly so. The first breath of the
interior was rather offensive, but we soon got accustomed
to it ; and as the temperature was already high, being
followed by a number of men whom it seemed impossible
to accommodate in so small a space, it soon became insuf-
ferably hot, when the temperature was easily reduced
by cutting a hole through the skylight, which made a
very agreeable and necessary change in the air we were
breathing.

Our visit seemed to give great satisfaction, and was
commenced with a smoke, according to the method
of doing everything. For the remainder of the time,
about an hour, I endeavoured to find out from them how
far the nearest winter settlement of natives was east of
this place, with the view of communicating with them

AGE.

APPENDIX.

377

id, with a
id through
ve or six
he floor of
form, just
Passing
3or, about
and in the
ransparent

I the dark
pared our
ippearance
the hut ;
•pposite to
svo women
ed to the
ath of the
ccustomed
igh, being
impossible
ame insuf-
reduced
1 made a
ir we were

and was
3 method
the time,
them how
as east of
with them

before the severity of the winter set in ; but I could not
make out anything very clear from them. We have a
great difficulty in making them understand that our
business is not bartering, as their ideas do not extend
beyond that, although, from our constant repetition, they
appear to be aware that we are waiting for two ships that
have gone far away into the ice. The chiefs was the only
house we visited ; and, returning across the bay to the
ship, we were accompanied by a young man and a boy,
who talked a great deal more than we could understand ;
but the former, in explaining to us the sort of tobacco that
had been given him on board a ship, twisting his fingers
together to describe American twist, or negrohead, led us,
in his description of the vessel, to believe it might have
been the "Investigator" or "Enterprise," leaving the
ice this last season, but we were afraid of giving way to
our credulity in supposing it to be either of them. As
they willingly accompanied us on board, I was glad
to avail myself of Lieutenant Vernon's knowledge of the
language to sift their story more thoroughly. He allowed
them, most patiently, to describe all they had seen, in
their own way, and eventually ascertained that the ship
they were on board of had diagonal decks, and an ice-
chock larger than the " Plover's." The illuminators in
the deck they remarked were square ; these are the points
that seem to have caught their attention, and were suffi-
cient to show that they had been on board one or other of
the ships ; but when the captain was described as wearing
spectacles, Captain CoUinson was identified. The remain-
ing point of importance was, that she was gone to
the eastward the summer before last (1851), agreeing
with the time the " Enterprise " passed. In the spring

\.h

378 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST I'ASSAGE.

of this year I stood on the point from which she had been
boarded, with the native who gave this information. It is
Cape Governor Simpson, and forms the western point of
Smyth's Bay, distant about forty-five miles to the eastward
of Point Barrow. The ** Enterprise " seems to have
been delayed oflf it with light winds, but on a breeze
springing up she was lost sight of to the eastward. Two
u-mi-aks got alongside of her, and the people speak
with pleasure of the presents they received ; and it
is worthy of notice that a particular kind of tobacco, with
which we know the " Enterprise " to have been provided,
led to a voluntary description of their having boarded a
ship, alFording more information in a few minutes than all
our inquiries of the chiefs and others in several months had
done. i -1 •

After some experience with them, we found more in-
formation was obtained by casual observations of their
own, brought about by something they might happen to
see or have shown them, than by asking direct questions,
as it seems difficult to lead their thoughts from the passing
events around them.

On the evening of the 5th November, the crew had a
little recreation with the immolation of Guy Fawkes ; and
the natives, being told that he was a "big thief," were at
great pains to get an opportunity of expressing individu-
ally that they were not thieves, which was very amusing,
and seemed as if they expected to be treated similarly.
The ceremony concluded with a rocket, on which they re-
tired to a distance in dismay, and were evidently much
impressed with the whole proceeding. They were after-
wards gratified with a dance on board, which seemed to
restore their confidence, and closed the amusements for
the day.

YGE.

APPENDIX.

.379

had been
»n. It is

point of
eastward

to have
a breeze
d. Two
le speak
; and it
300, with
provided,
oarded a

than all
>nths had

more in-
of their
appen to
uestions,
3 passing

iw had a
ces; and
were at
ndividu-
imusing,
imilarly.
they re-
y much
'e after-
emed to
ents for

As some of the crew had expressed a wish to see the
Esquimaux village, and understanding there had been an
invitation from one of the chiefs to witness a dance, I
gave eight men leave on the afternoon of the 2 1st of No-
vember. All went well with them until one of our party,
a quarter-master, who had been obliged to handle one of
the natives rather roughly on his attempting tt force his
way into the observatory, was recognised by his old anta-
gonist, who became furious with passion, and immediately
attacked him, but was prevented by others from using his
knife. He then endeavoured to get some of our people to
his hut, who, seeing he had some weapon concealed in his
sleeve, declined, when several of the Esquimaux hustled
and tripped up our men, who still had protectors suffi-
cient amongst the crowd to bring them away in safety.
One man, the carpenter's mate, who by some means got
left by his companions, was seized round the arms by two
men, whilst the man who attacked the quarter-master
picked his pockets of some tobacco and beads he had taken
with I na for the kmd purpose of distributing amongst
them. The chief was very much put out by the affair,
and tried to get some of our people to his hut ; his great
aim being to get gunpowder, I suppose he fancied this
display of feeling would not be favourable to his wishes.

Aftir this attempt at a friendly intercourse, we all
ceased going to the village for upwards of two months ;
when, seeing no inclination on the part of the men to renew
their visit, I found if we pursued the system of holding
back, a valuable opportunity would be lost of acquiring a
knowledge of their habits which it would be interesting to
become acquainted with ; and for this purpose the officers
again went occasionally to the settlement, taking care to

'■IT

i ,

380. DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. •

go with some influential man, who kept away those in-
clined to be troublesome.

This was again very soon put a stop to, by our not
allowing the man to come to the ship who had behaved so
badly when our men were at the huts ; and in enforcing
this measure we went r.3ar to having another aflfray with
them. He had been to the ship several times since the
occurrence took place, and on being told, always went
away. On the occasion in question, he evidently ini ended
to remain and to get up a distuibance, if possible. The
chief, who was on board, seeing this, went outside and
tried to get him away, to no avail, and another chief tried
also. The title of " chief " given here is merely nominal,
as, in a community where every man has to provide for his
own wants, the most industrious, bold, and successful
hunter becomes, from the property he possesses, of more
consideration than those not possessing those qualities ; but
this does not extend beyond his own boat's crew or hunting
party for the time being. Seeing this man was resolved
to remain whether we pleased or not, I thought it neces-
sary to have our own way as to who should visit the ships
or who not, and as his conduct was well known to his
countrymen, and condemned by many of them, his case
was a good one to enforce. The great objection to any
sort of disturbance was the difficulty of making the well-
disposed understand our motives, or the separation of one
from the rest as bad ; and these cases rarely occurred,
except when they ware collected in large numbers, which
made them imagine they could do as they pleased. While
the altercation was going on outside, the natives on board,
of whom there were several, began to leave the ship,
although most of them had been visitors and declared

\GE.

those in-
cur not
haved so
Bnforcing
•ray with
iince the
tys went
intended
le. The
side and
aief tried
nominal,
ie for his
uccessful
of more
ties; but
hunting
resolved
it neces-
;he ships
n to his
his case
I to any
le well-
n of one
ecurred,
which
While
n board,
le ship,
Icclared

APPENDIX.

381

friends, without, as it appeared, possessing any confidence
in us. I then directed Lieutenant Vernon to go out, and
once more tell him to go away« The natives thinking he
was the leader of an attacking party, two-thirds of the
men, and all the women and children, walked straight
away for the village, leaving the bad character in the mino-
rity, which he had sufficient tact to discover, and followed
the others, when quietness 'vas again restored ; and those
who had made such a hasty retreat out of the ship were
now anxious to return again, but others were chosen in
preference, from those who had remained as spectators, and
were apparently indifferent. The crew were ut dinner at
the time ; and they were not disturbed, as our state, with
regard to arms, is one of constant readiness. The chief
afterwards told me very impressively not to go to the
village ; a privation very little felt personally, but showing
the absence of control on the part of the chiefs, when our
being at variance with one individual of bad character put
an end to friendly communication between us and a whole
tribe. ' " -

He continued to make us visits at intervals of two or
three days ; but when, to put a stop to them, on one occa-
sion Lieutenant Vernon had, with great good nature and
patience, walked with him a considerable distance from the
ship, and left him to return, he followed him back leisurely,
when I saw there was no means of dealing with him by
kindness, and ordered two marines with muskets, outside
on the ice, to prevent his farther advance to the ship. On
seeing them he seemed to fly into a great state of excite-
ment, and presented his breast to be fired at, when one or
two well-disposed individuals took him away, and he did
not repeat his visits agaia for some time ; when, being told

! i i

382 DISCOVEKY OF THE NORTH-WEST PAy,SAGE.

iV',i|

t;'

tjl

by the chietb that he was now good, I was glad of an oppor-
tunity to come to terms with him, seeing that dispute?
would do us no good, however much we had right on our
side ; and as I thought we had established our point, of
keeping him away, to as great an extent as could be ex-
pected with a savage, it was explained to him by one of
the chiefs that he was to go away, and when we intended
that hd should remain, a message would be sent to him.
Understanding this, he went away much pleased, and on
being sent to in a few days, he came down in his best
clothes and behaviour, and was allowed to remain, which
put an end to all disputes between us.

During this day, which was fine and clear, with a tem-
perature at 23°, we had eighteen natives on board, nnd
seventy-two were counted outside, or in sight of the ship,
making ninety in all, men, women, and children, a number
not unfrequent in the depth of winter when they were not
engaged hunting. No temperature wao too severe to keep
them away ; with the thermometer at 30" and 40° below
zero, they commenced arriving alongside as early as
6 A. M., three and four hours before daylight, and those
not admitted on board sat on the snow, laughing and play-
inff about as cheerfully ^s we should have done in sunshine.
A party of six at this time had a narrow escape from being
starved on the ice, on which they were adrift for six days.
They went out to hunt the white bear, when the floe be-
came detached, and drifted ini,o the open water. They
were saved from this perilous situation by the chance of
its being again brought in contact with the land floe. Al-
though the weather was very severe, so perfect is their
clothing, that the only injury they received was some
frost-bites about the face: as they were without food, a

GE.

APrENDIX.

383

,n oppor-
disputc?
t on our
joint, of
d be ex-
ly one of
intended
to him.
, and on
1 his best
a, which

h a tem-

ard, nnd

the ship,

I number

were not

5 to keep

0° below

early as

ad those

md play-

lunshine.

»m being

dx days.

floe be-

They

lance of

De. Al-

is their

:i8 some

food, a

descrlpiion of their sufferings would be one of thrilling in-
terest, if we could understand their language sufficiently
to appreciate it.

A short time afterwards, on a general break up of the
ice, one man was carried away and lost. Finding he had
left a wife and two children, I sent a message to her to
come to the ship, and on making her some useful presents,
I endeavoured to have explained to a party assembled
that our business here was looking after people who were
also in the ice, hoping it would have a tendency to gain
their assistance and friendship in favour of any of our
parties travelling along the coasts they frequent.

Several stratagems were tried to find out if we were on
the look-out at night ; small parties, generally two or
three women, came alongside, and on being sent away,
would make some excuse of going out sealing, or some
such pretence, to keep in our neighbourhood, but our
watch was always too vigilant for them. One man was
caught, in the middle watch, coming out of a tent erected
over a theodolite on the ice close to the Bhip, and was
brought on board a prisoner. As he had not been able to
steal anything, the case was not strong enough to inflict
any punishment on him, and he was permitted to go away
the following day at noon, with the promise of a good
thrashing if he was caught again. While he was on board,
only four or five women and the chief came near us. I
was glad to see the latter, as he witnessed our leniency
on the occasion ; but he deemed indifferent as to whether
we hati punished him or not. This detection put a stop
to their nightly excursions, and left us unmolested.

A few of them from the first showed disinterested par-
tiality to us, wiiich was appreciated, and they were invited to

'■.SJ

iHi

384 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST I'ASSAGE.

sleep on board on a few rare occasions. For some time they
were nervous about it, but mustered courage enough after
a little time. My object in allowing them to do so was to
give them confidence, and let them see some more of our
habits, which I thought would raise us in their estimation.

In the early part of February we were startled by a
native report that a large ship with a great many men was
wintering to the southward at Point Hope. A party be-
longing to Cape Smyth had lately returned from Point
Hope (a journey frequently made by them in the v»'inter),
and had, it was said, been on board the ship ; but knowing
it to be an impossibility for a ship to winter there, not
much attention was paid to it, beyond thinking there ge-
nerally exists some grounds for such reports, and when
well sifted they can sometimes be traced out. The pre-
sent report seemed to be a forerunner of a party of natives
belonging to Point Hope, who arrived at Point Barrow
about this time, and soon afterwards visited the ship.
The information received from them was of there being a
large ship somewhere to the south with very little men on
board; whether we mistook their "little" for few — or
most likely it was one of many such stories these people
have amongst them from the habit of repeating them one
to the other without reference to the date, as in this case,
if the story mentioned was traced to its source, it would
most likely prove to be some whaler visited by them in
the summer.

This circumstance is mentioned to account for the way
reports are carried along a great extent of coast by natives
meeting for a short time for the purpose of barter, and at
considerable distances from their respective settlements,
when> as ma^ naturally be supposed, an interchange of

GE.

ArrENDix.

385

me they
g\i after
) was to
e of our
imation.
ed by a
men was
tarty be-
m Point
v.'inter),
knowing
lere, not
;here ge-
nd when
The prc-
>f natives
Barrow
he ship.
3 being a
men on
few — or
ie people
hem one
lis case,
it would
them in

the way
yr natives
and at
lements,
lange of

news takes place, and thus becomes extended onwards,
subject to such change of version as the repeating tribes
are likely to give it, making it necessary to consitlcr their
reports well before taking much notice of them, unless
accompanied by some token of their authority.

The chief of this party wa-: a pleasing, spirited man,
about thirty-five years of age, and was accompanied by
his two wives, who were good-looking young women.
He had come on a bartering expedition to dispose of some
copper k jttles, receiving glutton skins in exchange. He
recognised Mr. Simpson, the surgeon, as liaving seen him
at Hotham's Inlet, and he was also familiar with the name
of Captain Moore and some of the former officers of the
ship. He described his journey to us, of which I was
anxious to get the particulars. He had slept fifteen times,
eight of them on the snow, but he showed no signs of
having suffered from cold. He described the sea as being
open all along the coast to the southward, but he was not
familiar with ships, which I accounted for by the lowness
of the land about Point Hope deterring the whalers fi'om
closing it, otherwise there are many in that latitude iu the
summer. He seemed to be a poet, and favoured us with
an extempore song of some length, which included the
name of the ship and some of our own. He afterwards
passed his hand down his stomach several times, expressive
of great friendship, and then fixed his forehead against
mine, and used it as a fulcrum to rub noses several fimes,
a ceremony not very agreeable in his heated state ivom
singing. A chief of this place was of the party, which
made him feel quite at his ease, otherwise they are mis-
trustful on the first visit. Pie described his people's barter
with the Asiatics of the opposite coast (the Tchuk-chI, or,

C C

'lii

' t

38G DISCOVEllY OF THE NOUTII-WEST PASSAGE.

as they call it, Tsau-chu) to consist of the martin (sable),
fox, wolverine, wolf, and benr-skins, and sometimes whale-
oil and fish ; for wliich they get in exchange kettles,
tobacco, beads, knives (Russian), and walrus teeth.
While he remained he was a welcome and constant visitor.
The southern natives are far more agreeable than those to
the northward, who have been rarely visited ; the officers
speak of the former as more grateful and modest, particu-
larly the females, while the latter arc thought impudent
and ungrateful. On leaving, he sung of the good name
he should give the ship on his way down the coast, which
will be of benefit to our boats on their expedition to Cape
liisburne.

About the middle of February a great many of the
natives removed into the interior to hunt the reindeer,
found very numerous on these vast plains, which form the
north-western termination of America. As I was curious
to see something of the country and their mode of living
at this inclement season, I thought my making an ex-
cursion to their hunting grounds would show we placed
every confidence in them. I accordingly left the ship on
the 1st March, accompanied by Mr. Gordon, mate, tw^o
seamen, with a native guide, and sledge drawn by six
dogs, carrying tents, guns, and provisions. Our route
into the interior was S. S. W. (true) across snowy plains,
differing little in appearance from the bay ice, except on
the approach to a lake, when the rise became more sudden,
and being exposed to the sweeping winds, grass was oc-
casionally seen in spots through the snow, offering, with
deer of which we saw a great many, the only thing worthy
of notice. Three days and a half heavy travelling
brought us to an encampment on the bank of a river.

APPENDIX.

3S7

(sable),

} whale-
kettles,

J teeth.

t visitor,
those to

e officers
particu-

mpudent

lod name

jt, which

I to Cape

ly of the
reindeer,

1 form the

as curious
of living

12 an ex-
e placed

le ship on ,
late, two
n by six
lur route
y plains,
[except on
Ire sudden,
!s was oc-
iring, with
|ng worthy
travelling
>f a river.

The people hud a hole through the ice, which we found to
be seven feet thick, and reaching within one of the bottom.
Their houses differed from those described by Captain
Parry, in being excavated in the snow lodged on the river,
the ice of which formed a perfectly even floor. Their
position from outside was only observable by seeing the
implements of chase belonging to the owners in a group
over the top. We found them in no instance wanting
in kindness, but their character for begging had not
fallen off since leaving Point Barrow. Their mode
of killing the reindeer is novel, and such as nature
has pointed out. The country is so open that they have
no means of approaching the animals under any cover ;
they therefore dig deep pits in the snowy ravines, selecting
places where the surface is even, to cover them ligluly
over with shibs of snow. Tlie moment the animal puts
his feet upon them he is precipitated into the pit, the
depth of which is too great for him to leap from.

Having effected my purpose of visiting and going
amongst them, I returned to the ship after an absence of
seven days. The position of the place by astronomical
observations was S. 40, W. 38 miles from the ship.

Nothing further worthy of remark occurred in our
intercourse, until I was setting out on a journey along the
coast to the eastward, when some of ;'ie worst disposed
tried to deter a young man from accompanying me as
guide by threatening to follow and murder us when we
slept, the guide amongst the number, upon whom it ap-
peared to have no effect, beyond his repeating the story
and advising that the men should not be allowed into the
ship during my absence. This report made it evident
that the fact of our force being divided had been talked of,

c c 2

•t

.1 I

u it

:l!

388 DISCOVERY OV THE NOTITII-WEST PASSAGE.

and I felt sorry our ro-idcncc amongst thcni for so long

had

dcrcd

produced no better feeling, but I consulcrcd it ncccs-
Bory to fihow wo were capnplc of defending ourselves, and
travelling when we found it necessary. If this was not
established, our position, confined to the ship by a tril)e of
unarmed savages, would not be very flattering. With
these feelings I set out on my journey, well satisfied with
the resources of my party, and with the judgment and dis-
cn tion of the officer (Lieutenant Vernon) in whose charge
the " Plover " was left. On my return, after an absence
of twenty-five days, I was glad to find everything going
on as favourably as possible. The natives were returning
from the interior in large numbers, and the day previous,
27th of April, as many as 40 sledges with 93 people
crossed the bay to the village, from the hunting grounds.

From this time we procured an abundant supply of
venison, the only instance during our stay of our receiving
any benefit from our proximity to them. It lasted nearly
two months, and had the effect of restoring for a time
the health of the crew, previously much debilitated and
exposed to scurvy. < •

The appearance of this disease was attributable to the
great inequality in the character of some of the provision^
in the older supplies of preserved meats and flour; and it
became necessary to discontinue the use of beef altogether,
and to increase the issue of the last au[)ply of preserved
meats and preserved potatoes.

The season for their whale-fishing wa> now approaching,
and commenced on the 7th of May ; the distance to the
open water was about four miles W. (true) of Point
Barrow. On the 11th, hearing they had caught a whale,
I made an excursion to the scene, with the hope of being

■ i

I (

iGE.

APPENDIX.

389

SO long

it nccc8-

Ives, niul

wa3 not
a tribe of
5. With
sficd with
t and dis-
)sc charge
II absence
ing going
returning

pi'cvious,
93 people
grounds,
supply of
r receiving
ited nearly
br a time
itated and

ble to the
provision^

ur; and it
altogether,
preserved

)proaching,
nee to the
) of Point
it a whale,
le of being

in time to sf^z its distribution, but on arriving, the
only rema'ns we could discover was about half a pound of
blubber, to so good an account do they scciu to turn every
part of tne animal. We found the open water extending
E. N. E. and W. S. W. (true), and no bottom with ten
fathoms. The ice to tlio southward seemed opoii, and
I Buppodcd the water was IVec in that direction to
Behring Straits. It would be interesting to bo able to
conjecture its north-eastward extent, the wind blowing, it
may be said, constantly from that qurrter; if the ice
should liappcn to be broken, it must clear a large space of
water.

This pursuit occupied them until the 2 1st of June,
when most of their ** 00-mi-aks " were brought to the land
to be prepared for their sunmn > journey to the eastward,
previous to whicli they seem to allow themselves ton days'
enjoyment, which is passed in eating, smoking, and
dancing ; they then commence tlie work of preparation.

AVhilat treating on this subject, it is worthy of being
mentioned that the natives state that the whales make
their appearance off Point Hope in April and May, when
the ice there breaks up into fields, and that most of them
have disappeared by the time the ships arrive. About the
same time these animals also aj)pear at this place, and are
pursued by the natives in their 00-mi-aks, as mentioned
before, until June, when few are seen, and in July none in
this neighbourhood, and the people believe they retire
northward, to return this way in August and Se[)tem.ber.
The masters of whaling vessels have informed me that
whales are less abundant in the open water in July aud
August than in September. 1

. A month previous to this time we received, quite

c c 3

i i ;

; i

1 : .

! -I

390 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

by accident, some very useful information. Two of tho
officers, Lieut. Vernon and Mr. Simpson (surgeon), con-
vei'sing with one of the chiefs more intelligent and com-
municative than the rest, asked him if he had ever
seen any boats like ours along the coast, when he said he
had, near the Colville river. Finding that Mr. Simpson,
by turning over tlie leaves of Commander Pullen's journal,
was able to describe the occurrence that took place, the
man unwittingly gave a detail of the whole affair, which
corresponded v ith the written accounts, even to the wind ;
by which it app;nirs the chief of this place, with his Hudson's
Bay gun, — IJarnctt, 1843 (vide evidence taken before the
Arctic Committee, questions 1384-5-6) is the individual
described by Commander Pullen, and he appears to have
taken a hirge number of men with him to follow the boat;\
The man afterwards seemed very uneasy, and was perhaps
thrown off" his guard when he told so much, but the officers
sujjposed that he thought if the book told so much, they
must also be acquainted with every circumstance by
the same means, and that he was doing no harm in
acknowledging the facts. He was very anxious from the
first to learn the names of Commander Pullen and
his companion Lieutenant Hooper (a prevalent habit with
them), but he was not told until he had identified them in
the most minute way. In further conversations connected
with the foregoing circumstance, we were enabled to
identify this people as the Western Esquimaux, and
the same man traced out for us the different stages of the
journey. This point had been of doubt with us; supposing
the distance from Point Barrow to Barter Island 240
miles of an exposed coast, it could not be accomi)lished by
them in the short season of open water, as their skin boats,

^GE.

APPENDIX.

391

0 of the
an), con-
ind com-
had ever
3 said he
SuTipson,
8 journal,
place, the
lir, which
the wind ;
Hudson's
before the
individual
3 to have
the boatv".
as perhaps
:he officers
luch, they
stance by
harm in
from the
alien and
habit with
id them in
connected
nabled to
naux, and
iges of the
supposing
sland 240
iplished by
skin boats.

when deeply laden, arc not adapted for a seaway. These
difficulties were explained by saying they take the boats
away on sledges, a month before the ice breaks up ;
the exposed parts of the coast and large bays are avoided
by an inland navigation through rivers and lakes of which

we were ignorant.

The first stage of the journey is the Colville, and occu-
pies ten days, where they meet a friendly tribe of Esqui-
maux, called Kuna- tag-miutes (supposed by Messrs. Dease
and Simpson to be a name for the Russians), but there is no
doubt of their being Esquimaux, and wearing the lip onia-
ments peculiar to them. They confine themselves to the
rivers and land from which their name is derived, " Nuna "
(land), and have a communication through the rivers of the
interior to the coast, about Hotham's Inlet, as our in-
formant told us he had met a woman two successive
seasons at the Colville, who had been frequently aboard
this ship in Kotzebue Sound in the winter of 1849, and had
travelled from there through the interior without having
touched upon the inteimediate coast.

The journey to the Colville is anticipated by them with
much pleasure, particularly this year, as they frequently
spoke of telling of the wonders seen on board this ship, in
addition to the pleasing thoughts of feasting and dancing
they were to enjoy with their friends. From thence a select
party extend themselves to Barter Island, the women ac-
companying them to within a day's journey of meeting the
eastern people, when the men advance and conclude their
business as expeditiously as possible. They give an amusing
account of the mutual distrust that exists between the two
parties. The wpstern people never sleep while they are in
sight of the eastern, and all bargains seem to be made knife

c c 4

]■■ ii

,-i\

392 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

i.i;' I

-i rf,

in hand. The articles and system of bartering appear to
be as described by Sir John Franklin, but I think later
Avriters on the subject have supposed that Russian goods find
their way to the north coast from posts on the Colville,
which we have not been able to verify. This tribe
receives Russian (Siberian) articles from the Point Hope
people, previously alluded to, which they convey to the
eastward and exchange for English knives procured from
the Hudson's Bay posts, but there is no intermediate
supply from the Russians that we could hear of. The
journey cast from the Colville takes them ten days, which
tliey describe as being made always against the wind ; and
the return to Point Barrow from Point Berens occupies
little more than two, while they sleep in their boats,
and allow them to drift before the wind; this would
make it appear that easterly winds must be very prevalent
in the early part of August. Mr. Simpson, who has
taken much pains to inform himself on the subject, consi-
ders the 25th of July the time of their depaiture from the
Colville; this has been further established 'y the fact of
the party who attacked Commander PuUen on the 9th of
August at Return Reef, being then on their return from
Barter Island. The time of their annual visit never dif-
fers probably three days, as we have found them gene-
rally as accurate in that way as if they were acquainted
Avith dates. From this information it may be concluded
that the Esquimaux make one-third of their summer
journeys, by carrying their boats over the ice, — before
a ship or her boats become available, which gives them a
season so much longer, at a time when the weather ie very
favourable, — this will have been pointed out to them by
necessity, from the shortness of the season of open water,

APPENDIX.

393

which, if they confined themselves to, it would limit their
excursions to a very short range. Their return for
the winter takes place, as we have seen, about the
10th of September, and seems to end their labours for
the year.

Two days after receiving the above information, May
20th, a native man was observed outside the ship wearing
a small canvass bag with an address written on it, — " To
the Chief Trader of the Russian settlement, N. America,"
— which caused considerable curiosity on our pai ts, and on
making further inquiries he told us he had the paper in his
hut that was originally in it, on which he was despatched
with the promise of a large reward of tobacco if he brought
it to the ship. Some hours afterwards he returned with
two torn pieces of paper, complaining that his little
girl had destroyed the rest ; fortunately, the most important
part was preserved, which has been enclosed. This inform-
ation is so far satisfactory, as it shows Commander M'Clure
to have been making his passage along shore, which has
been further confirmed by natives here, who were on board
the " Investigator " at Point Berens or Return Reef, where
they describe her to have had an easterly wind with no ice
in sight. The " Enterprise," it has been mentioned, was
visited the year following not so far to the eastward by
eighty miles. From these positions it is reasonable to infer
they had not again communicated with the shore to the west-
ward of the Mackenzie, as the natives of this place, who arc
in yearly communication with the Esquimaux who frequent
the mouth of that river, have — to our repeated inquiries
as to whether they had heard if the ships had been seen by
the other people — answered they have not, or they would
have heard of it. It will give some idea of the difficulty

394 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH- WEST PASSAGE.

of making the Esquimaux compreh(jncl the meaning of our
notions, when it is considered the " Investigator " had an
interpreter on board, who will have explained the object of
the letter given by Commander M'Clure, and we had been
eight months constantly making inquiries for such things,
and endeavouring to explain our business here, without the
individual charged with the paper knowing what it was
for ; and if the canvass bag had not been found useful, its
contents would never have been known.

In order to impress upon them the value of such things
as papers and messnges, I gave the man a considerable
present of tobacco, very much to his surprise and that of
his companions, which had the eifect of producing an old
American song book, the only article of paper remaining
in their possession.

I have now to mention the occurrence of a native man
being shot by accident, which at the time caused us con-
siderable trouble and uneasiness, but eventually I have
had reason to believe it was viewed by most of the
Esquimaux in its true light.

On the morning in question, June 8th, the quarter-
master of the watch, David Dunstall, came into my cabin,
and informed me he had had a dreadful misfortune, and,
to my horror, that he had shot a native alongside the
ship, and on hurrying outside I found the man was shot
through the head, and must have died instantaneously.
The man who had been the cause of the unlooked-for
event showed by his manner that it had been an accident,
and upon laakirg some further inquiries, I found that
several natives hud arrived alongside the ship previous to
the time they were allowed, and although desired on that
account to go away several times, they could not be

'i I

APPENDIX.

)

395

induced to do so, and the quarter-master of the watch
took out a fowling-piece in hia hand, in order to frighten
them, and when motioning with it for them to go away, it
went off and lodged the contents of the barrel in the back
part of the poor man's head. The remainder of the party,
five or six, ran away co speedily that there was no means
of overtaking them, and the body being left, it became
necessary to consider the best means of disposing of it.
We soon afterwards removed it to such a distance from the
ship that the natives could advance to it without fear of us,
and at the same time it gave no pretext for their coming
any neare co the ship. When this had been done, and a
large quantity of tobacco left with the body as an intima-
tion of our friendship, all that we could do Avas to hope
that some of our friends amongst them would still have
sufficient confidence to come down and give us an oppor-
tunity of explaining this affair. In this expectation we
were not disappointed, as two of the chief men came to
the ship at once, having, before leaving the settlement,
exerted their influence to quiet the pcojJe in their first
outbreak. One of these men, who was remarkable for
his intelligence, was made to comprehend the possibility
of such an accident ; and great pains were taken to show
him that the charge was shot intended for birds, not men.
When this impression was established, we requested them
to go back and explain it to the people. By the time
they had arrived at the place where the body had been
left, a great many had collected, amongst them the wife
and friends of the unfortunate deceased, but who, I was
glad to find, had left no children. They sat round, and
appeared deeply engaged in conversation for about two
hours, listening, as we supposed, to the explanation ; then

! !

396 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

liM

11! 1

111 u

'I !

nil

. I

they seemed to examine the body, and his own deer-skins
having been brought down, he was wrapped in them and
pUiced on a sledge, which was drawn by his wife leading
and four men, one following, across the bay to the
cemetery, near Point Barrow. None of the others ac-
companied the procession. A few of them came as usual
alongside the ship, but as they were for the most part of
those known not to be friendly to us, our people were
kept on board to avoid any treacherous retaliation.
During the day I was gratified to find the wives of the
principal chiefs came on board, and expressed their sorrow
at the absence of their husbands, who were at the open
water looking after vrhale; but they had been sent for,
and were coming on board as soon as they returned.
They told us also that all work was stopped for five days,
the women not being allowed to sew for that time, which
seems to be a general custom on the occasion of any
deaths, and remarked that we ought not to have any
hammering on board for the same time ; and as I was
anxious to show every sympathy in our power, the
caulkers at work outside were ordered to cease work, and
the ensign hoisted half-mast, the meaning of which was
explained and understood by them. In the evening one
of the chiefs who had been first down after the accident
visited us with his wife, j,nd brought the intelligence that
a division existed in the camp as to revenging themselves
on us, but as the chiefs were unwilling to favour it, it
seemed probable nothing of the sort would be attempted.
However, proper precautions were taken to avoid any
surprise, particularly as a thick fog at the time of sleep
favoui-ed such a design.
. On the following day the four chiefs, with their wives,

■ I

APPENDIX.

897

wives,

came on board, when, with the asaistancc of the officers,
the whole affair was again explained, which they ceemed
to comprehend, and appeared to entertain no fear of going
below as usual when asked. We were quite aware of
their inability to control individuals, but they have to a
certain degree a good deal of sway, and recommended us
to make presents to all the people who lived in the same
house as the deceased, and cautioned ua not to stray away
from the neighbourhood of the ship, as the feeling of a
great many of them was uncertain. On their leaving
they were made presents, and desired to bring the house
party to the ship at the expiration of five days, the time
they strictly confine themselves to the house, and I
believe are seldom intruded upon. They arrived at the
ship in due time, numbei'Ing as many as ten, accom^ anied
by the chiefs. The widow was young, and seemed in
unaffected grief, which the large presents she received did
not dissipate ; but time and a continual course of kindness
on our parts brought her to forget her loss so far that she
regretted to me, and I believe in sincerity, the thoughts of
the ship going away. Our intercourse from this time, as
might be expected, could not be conducted with the same
satisfaction it had previously been, although no trouble or
inconvenience was spared to do away with their unfavour-
able impression. The views they entertained of the case
very much assisted a reconciliation, as they had no idea of
any such thing as a general control existing amongst us ;
the act was set down as purely an individual one, and the
whole fault of it attributed to the man as an act of his
own, while they seemed to consider the remainder not in
any way concerned in it.

About fourteen days after the occurrence a largo

398 DISCOVERY OF THE KORTII-WEST PASSAGE.

I h'

S ('

' f

collection of people had assembled at Point Barrow to
witness some dancing festival previous to setting out to
the eastward.

A party from Cape Smyth afterwards endeavoured to
get up an united force to attack the ship, without being
able to succeed. However, the chief and a good many of
the Point Barrow people wishing to make a merit for
which to be rewarded, of their not joining our enemies, I
was obliged to tell them I should be very sorry if the
people came down with bows to the ship again, but if
they did, a good many would be killed. This appears to
have put an end to it, as we were next told of the
departure of the hostile party, and were not troubled with
any more reports of that descnption.

We now watched with some anxiety the preparations
for the departure of the natives, as the time was approach-
ing for the departure of our boats for Cape Lisburne, and
their transit over the ice could not be effected without some
risk of interruption until the numbers of the natives became
decreased, so that we were much pleased to see them in
a state of forwardness. On July 4th they couimenced
leaving, and continued to follow for three successive days.
Each party halted to sleep near the ship to have an
opportunity of begging from us till the last moment, and
as I had prepared some printed papers for them to dis-
tribute among the eastern Esquimaux at Barter Island,
they were treated with every indulgence; and those
entrusted with the printed papers received a present of
tobacco, some buttons, prepared in England, bearing
information concerning the Arctic search, and some other
email trifles to keep them reminded of their charge,
which they faithfully promised to pass on. I redeemed a

APPENDIX.

399

long-made promise to the chief, giving him some gun-
powder. I think it had a good effect, by showing we had
no fear of them ; and I was fully aware he had a sufficient
quantity for mischievous purposes, as his gun, when in
our possession, we found well loaded with ball-car tritlge.

I accompanied one party a short distance on their
journey to see if I could gain any useful hints for our own
boats. The ** oo-mi-aks " were secured on small sledges,
and seemed to be easily drawn by three people. The
principal part of their barter (whale-blubber and seal-oil)
was carried on small truck -sledges, drawn by the women
and dogs, the men seeming to confine thtmsclves to the
charge of the boats ; but at lanes of water and different
passes they mutually assist each other. The rate of
travelling whilst moving was expeditious, but they made
frequent halts to smoke, and before I left them, although
near their place of encampment, they ate a hearty meal.

Between the 4th and 7th of July, as many as twenty-
seven to thirty " oo-mi-aks," accompanied by 150 people,
passed to the eastward, much to our satisfaction, as it left
us with comparatively few to trouble us in our prepara-
tions for sending away the boats.

On the 7th I made an excursion across the bay to
observe the state of the sea-ice, and walked two miles to
the westward in the offing without beuig able to get a
glimpse of open water in any direction from the highest
hummock. This made me form the idea of taking the
boats over the ice to the southward until we fell in with it.

On the morning of the 9th I left the ship with the gig
and whale-boat intended for Cape Lisburne. They were
placed on two strong sledges drawn by their own crews
and officers, Liyutcnunt Vernon and Mr. Gordon (mate).

400 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

I'i.

assisted by an auxiliary party of ten, including myself
nnd the carpenter, making up twenty in all. Thirty-
four days' provisions for the boats' crews, clothing, am-
munition, &c. were carried on two native sledges drawu
by dogs, a third conveying provisions for the auxiliary
pirty. Parts of the transit over the ice were attended
with difficulty, and the whole was very laborious, re-
quiring the utmost strength of all the parties, assisted at
times by natives, and for two days by a strong and
favourable breeze, enabling us to make sail on the
boats, which lightened the labour very much. Travelling
to the southward for three days, the open water ap-
I)eared within two miles of the beach at what seemed a
most eligible place for launching the boats. I walked, ac-
companied by Lieutenant Vernon, to the open water, but
the hummocks intervening seemed to offer too great an
obstacle to the tran&it; however on the following morning,
July 12th, as the weather was favourable, 1 decided to at-
tempt it, and succeeded in launching the boats safely at
noon. They soon after shoved off with a favourable
breeze, which they held for eight hours only.

On the 15th, whilst calculating on the progress they
might have made, a party of people were observed coming
down at 8 o'clock in the evening, tracking an " oo-mi-ak,"
and on making out some of our people amongst them our
astonishment was so great we could hardly believe our
eyes. I went without loss oi time to meet them, not in a
very agreeable state of mind ; but when I counted the full
number of the party I was comparatively easy. It
appears that on the night of the 13th, finding the ice
closing on them, they managed to get the boats on to the floe,
and fancied themselves safe although drifting to the north-

APPENDIX.

401

ward. Tho ico continued to prcsa in towards the land,
crushing the floe and piling it up to nearly twenty feet in
height ; and at length the floe gave way beneath them, and
the gig was partly filled with pieces and could not be
withdrawn further towards the land. Tho whaler, a
lighter boat, was also stove ; and as she could not be
brought further, the whole party were obliged to make the
best of their way to the shore before the ice should case
off, as it seemed inclined to do, and leave them on de-
tached pieces. Fortunately the danger, so imminent, was of
that slow though overwhelming nature that they h id time
to provide themselves with three days' preserveJ. meats,
and their arms and ammunition, with which they were en-
abled to reach the ship. I have forwarded Lieutenant
Vernon's journal, which will show their Lordships how
that ofiicer and his companion, Mr. Gordon, acquitted
themselves on the occasion ; and I have much satisfaction
in mentioning the high terms in which he spoke of tho
conduct of the crews, not a man of whom expressed his
opinion until they had decided on deserting the boats,
when from their manner he concludes they thought it high
time ; and he further describes them as obedient, cool, and
intrepid from the commencement of the danger until their
return on board. The loss of the ship's boats was a heavy
misfortune ; but when it was considered the whole party
had found their w.iy safely to the ship, we were too much
rejoiced to give a look of regret after the boats, which
could not have been saved.

Two days after the return of the boat party I had se-
rious thoughts of despatching another in a native " oo-mi-
ak," to keep our appointment at Cape Lisburne ; but on
weighing the matter maturely, 1 gave up the idea, r.. by

D D

:;l

402 DISCOVEUY OF THE NOilTU-WEST rASSAQE.

I!ii

no '.iicans in our power could it reach the rendezvous by tho
appointed time ; and as the ship would be obliged to wait
for the return of the party, tho delay would render it im-
pos8il)le to regain this place as a winter station, in tho
event of its being so ordered. With these considerations,
and a present prospect of an early release, I thought it
better not to divide our small force at a time when the
services of every one would be required to extricate tho
fihip, and to take the earliest opportunity of going to the
south in order to recruit the health of the ship's com-
pany.

As early as July 25th we were enabled to swing the
ship for local attraction ; and the ice having cleared away
for a considerable space in our neighbourhood, we moved
into the fairway to be ready f'>r the first opening in the
offing.

The natives brought us a report this morning that our
deserted boats had been seen drifted near the shore at the
Sea Horse Islands, and their contents made a prize of by
a small party, who succeeded in bringing the gig to the
lar^d. On our passage down, beating close along shore,
some natives brought the shell of the boat off, exchanging
her readily for a native " oo-mi-ak " we had provided our-
selves with in the mean time.

In watching the dissolution of tho bay ice, we had
flattered ourselves this season was fourteen days before
the last, which it really was in the thinness of the ice ;
but from the absence of strong winds it remained stati-
onary, at a +ime when the sea was open the preceding
year. Every day, at this period (the end of July) seemed
to effect a marked cliangc in the ice, and on the 30th a
pt.'ceptible n»otion to the northward was observed in some

APPKNDIX.

408

i by tho
to wait
it im-
in the
rations,
iuf»ht it
icn the
iftte the
T to the
'a com-

iring the
cd away
B moved
g in the

that our

•c at the

e of by

to the

shore,

hanging

ed our-

wc had
8 before
the ice ;
ed stati-
receding
seemed
30th a
in some

of the heavy huinmocka in the ofKng, and a lane of water
sufficient for the ahlp was found by Mr. Hull (uccond
master) whom I sent to observe tho state of the ice to
seaward.

In consequence of this report I set out in a boat on the
following day to trace its extent, preparatory to moving
tho ship, and to sound along shore to find how close we
could approach in case of necessity. Everything seemed
favourable to our purpose, and I fully expected to return
in tho evening and get under weigh ; but on approaching
Cape Smyth I had tho raortificption to find the lane of
water terminate so close to the shore that a native
" oo-mi-ak " could not have passed. This was one of
the disappointments of ice navigation which teaches one
patience, and requires to be borne with, in addition to
others we are liable to, even under favourable circum-
stances.

From the Ist to the 6th of August an officer was sent
each day to Cape Smyth, to bring the earliest intelligence
of any change in our favour ; but tach day brought the
same unwelcome report, that the ice was still close with
the shore and no open water to be seen. It seems a
strange complaint in these latitudes, but the fineness of
the present season was the cause of our detention. During
the month of July the wind was registered one day from
five to six In force ; for four days four ; and the remaining
twenty-six barely averaged two, proving the extreme of
fine weather to be a greater obstacle in moving masses of
ice than the reverse state of it.

On the 7th, a fresh breeze from the eastward gave me
some hopes of a change in our favour; and on visitin*^;
Cape Smyth I observed a narrow lane of water extending

OD 2

404 DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

! N

aB far as the eye could reach to the southward. On
getting on board at eight p.m., we left our anchorage, where
we had found shelter for p'-^ven months and four days,
seven days later in the season than Captain Parry had
been enabled to leave Melville Island. We carried a
favourable breeze for eight hours, and had made con-
siderable progress, when the wind shifted to S. W., with
thick weather and heavy rain, which made it difficult to
avoid coming in coiitact with the ice, from the narrowness
of the channel we had to beat in. A continuation of thick
weather and light contrary winds on the following day
prevented our making any progress ; and in the afternoon,
finding we were losing ground, I made fast to a large floe-
piece, when we found the drift to be one mile an hour,
east, being very nearly in the opposite direction to our
course. After a few hours we were enabled to cast oftj on
a light wind springing up from the northward, and run
along shore to the S. W. ; but the ice had become gradu-
ally closer during the few hours of westerly winds, and we
had much difficulty in picking our way during the night,
as a thick fog prevailed. On the following morning,
August 9th, the outer edge of the land floe in the depth of
Peard Bay was found to extend unbroken from the land
to a distance of nine miles, and the ice outside seemed t o
close to offijr us a passage in the desired direction ; but as
the wind was fresh and favourable, the ship was forced
nto open water by ten A. M., having sustained some severe
but unavoidable shocks in doing so. I was now anxious
to keep close in with the land, in order to stop any boats
^,hat might be making their way to Point Barrow in con-
sequence of our failing to reach Cape Lisburne ; and at
two P. M., in passing the Sea Horse Islands, we got into

I V

"•il

3E.

APPENDIX.

405

•d. On
e, where
XT day8,
irry had
arried a
de con-
(V., with
Ecult to
rrowness
I of thick
ring day
fternoon,
irge floe-
an hour,
a to our
st oftj on
and run
le gradu-
3, and we
be night,
morning,
depth of
the land
emed t o
but as
as forced
Qe severe
anxious
iny boats
V in con-
3 ; and at
got into

three fathoms in endeavouring to close the shore for the
purpose of sending a boat to put up a mark, which we
were not able to accomplish, as the wind was found to
blow rather on shore, and was too strong to admit of the
ship lying off and on with safety. I accordingly bore up
to run for Cape Lisburne, and on the following day,
August 10th, at eleven a.m., communicated with Her Ma-
jesty's Ship " Amphitrite," Captain Frederick, from whom
I received their Lordships' orders directing me to rnnain
at Point Barrow, but the health of the crew would have
prevented my doing so had I received the order previous
to leaving ; and as there seemed no difficulty in returning
during the present season, I repaired in company with the
*' Amphitrite " to Port Clarence, to await the arrival of
the " Battlesnake," and to obtain the changes found ne-
cessary in the crew, with an increased supply of provisions
and fuel for another year.

Our return seemed the more necessary as their Lord-
ships' instructions direct provisions to be left in the
neighbourhood of Point Barrow, which I had not done,
considering at the time I left it was probable I should re-
turn. A reference to Sir E. Belcher's instructions relative
to the north coast seemed also to make it desirable that
the " Plover " should return to the station she was known
to occupy by that officer, in the event of any of his parties
advancing with the certain hope of succour at Point
Bari'ow.

RoCHFORT Maguire, Commander.

Her Majesty's Ship "Plover."

Port Clarence, 21st August, 1853.

THE END.

I (

London :

Printed by Spottiswoodb & Co.,

New-strcet-Square.

COMPLETION

THE TRAVELLER'S LIBRARY.

-♦

The Traveller's Library being now complete, the Publishers call attention to this collection as well
adapted for Travellers ani Emigrants, for School-room Libraries, the Libraries qf Mechanics' Insti-
tutions, Young Men's Libraries, the Libraries qf Ships, and similar purposes. The separate
volumes i-re suited fur School Prizes, Presents to Young People, and for general iuatruction and
entertainment.

The Series comprises fourteen of the most popular of Mr. Macaulay's Essays, and his Speeches on
Parliamentary Ileform.

The department of Travels contains some account of eight of the principal countries of Europe,
as well as travels in four districts of Africa, in four of America, and in three of Asia.

Madame Pfeitfer's First Journey round the World is included ; and a general account of the
Australian Colonies.

In Biography and History will be found Mr. Macaulay's Biographical Sketches of Warren
Hastings, Clive, Pitt, Walpole, Bacon, and others ; besides Memoirs of Wellington, Turenne,
F. Arago, &c. ; an Essay, by Mr. Henry Rogers, on the Life and Genius of Thomas Fuller, with
Selections from his Writings ; and a history of the Leipsic Campaign, by Mr. Gleig, — which is the
only separate account of this remarkable campaign.

Works of Fiction did not come within tlin plan of the Traveller's Library ; but the Confessions of
a Working Man, by Souvestre, which is indeed a fiction founded on fact, has been included, and has
been read with unusual luturest by many of the working classes, for whose use it is especially re-
commended. Dumas's story ..f the Maitre-d'Armes, though in form a work of fiction, gives a
striking picture of an episode in the history of Russia.

Amongst the works on Science and Natural Philosophy, a general view of Creation is embodied
in Dr. Kemp's Natural History of Creation; and in his Indications qf Instinct remarkable facts in
natural history are collected. Dr. Wilson has contributed a popular description of the Electric
Telegraph. In the volumes on the Coal-fields, and on the Tin and other Mining Districts of Corn-
wall, is given an account of the mineral wealth of England, the habits and manners of the miners,
and the scenery of the surrounding country.

It only remains to add, that among the Miscellaneous Works are a Selection of the best Writings
of the Rev. Sydney Smith ; Lord Carlisle's Lectures and Addresses ; an account of Mormonism, by
the Rev. W. J. Conybeare ; an exposition of Kailway management and mismanagement, by Mr.
Herbert Spencer ; an account of the Origin and Practice of /'ringing, by Mr. Stark ; and an account
of London, by Mr. M'Culloch.

Summary of the Contents of the TRAVELLER'S LIBRARY, now complete in 102 Parts,
price One Shilling each, or in 50 Volumes, price 2s. Gd. each in cloth. — To be had also,
in complete Sets onlj', at Five Guineas per Set, bound in cloth, lettered, in 25 Volumes,
classified as follows : —

VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

IN EUROPE.

A CONTINENTAL TOUR By F. BARROW.

ARCTIC VOYAGES and. „ „ „ . vvu

DISCOVERIES [ By F.MA^Nb.

BIIITTANV and the BIBLE By I. HOPE.

BRITTANV and Ulc CHASE By I. HOPE.

CORSICA By F. URECiOROVIUS.

OERMANV.clc: NOTES of al „ „ , . ,„„

TRAVELLER I "^ ^^ ^AINO.

ICKLAND HyP. MILES.

NORWAY, a RESIDENCE in By S. LAINO.

NORWAY, RAMBLES in By T. FORESTER

RUSSIA By the MARQUIS DE CUSTINE

RUSSIA and TUKKEV By .L R. M'CULLOCH.

ST. PETERSBURG By M. JERRMANN.

The RUSSIANS of the SOUTH.... By S. BROOKS.
SWISS MEN a-4 SWISSl .. iri.-nri!«nM

MOUNTAINS ; ••••^^ "• FtKGUSON.

MONT BLANC, ASCENT of. By J. AULDJO.

^'"h^ALPsM'f.!!^.'!".".".^.'.'!} B^ ''• '^O''^ TSCHUDI.

VISIT toiheVAUDoisor') ,, .. ,,,,.,„,

PIEDMONT ) Byt. BAINES

London : LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, & ROBERTS.

Completion of th". Traveller's Library.

Summary jf Contents-- wn/inuerf.

VOYAGES AND TRAVELS- con<e««ed.

IN ASIA.

CHINA and TIIIDKT My the AIIHK IIUCJ.

SYRIA and I'AI.ESTINE " KUTIIKN."

The PHILIl'l'lNK ISLANDS, By 1'. GIRONIEBK.

IN AFRICA.

AFRICAN WANDERINGS By M. WFRNE.

MOROCCO Bv X. DUR.IIEU.

NKiEK EXPLORATION... By T. J. IlLTCllI.NSdN.
The ZULUS of NATAL By U. II. MASON.

IN AMERICA.

BRAZII ByK. WILBEUKORCE.

CAN lUA By .Mrs. .JAMESON.

cur. V By \V. H. HURI.BUT.

NORTH AiMERlCAN WILDS, By C. LANMAN.

IN AUSTRALIA.

AUSTRALIAN COLONIES By W. liUGIIES-

ROUND THE WORLD.

A LADY'S VOYAGE By I')A I'FEIFFER

HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.

MEMOIR of the DUKE of WELLINGTON.
The LIFE of MARSHAL 1 By the Rev.

TURENNE J T. O. COCKAYNE.

SCHAMYL Bj itODENSTEDT and WAGNER.

FERDINAND I. .ind MAXlMI-> „ „ .„„«

LIAN II f ByHANKE.

FRANCIS ARAGO'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
TIIO.MAS HOLCROFT'S MEMO-'KS.

CHESTEUFIELD&SELWYN, By A. HAYWARD.
SWIFT and RICHARDSON .. By LORD JEFFREY.

DEFOE and CHURCHILL By J. FORSTER.

ANECDOTESof DR. JOHNSON. ...By Mrs. PIOZZI.
TURKEY and CHRISTENDOM.
LEIPSIC CAMPAKiN, By ;he H-". (J. R. GLEIO.
An ESSAY on the MFB and GENIUS1 By HENRY
of THOMAS FULLER / ROGERS.

I- :

ESSAYS BY MACAU LAY.

WARREN HASTINGS.

LORD CLIVE.

WILLI Ail PITT.

The EARL of CHATHAM.

RANKE'S HISTORY of the POPES.

GLADSTONE on CHURCH and STATE.

ADDISON'S LIFE and WHITINGS.

HORACE WALPOLE.

LORD BACON.

LORD BYRON.

CO.MIC DRAMATISTS of the RESTORATION.
FREDERIC the (illEAT.

HALLAMS CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
CROKER'S EDITION of BOSWELL'S LIFE
JOHNSON.

Mr. MACAULAY'S SPEECHES on PARLIAMEN-
TARY REFORM.

WORKS OF FICTION.

The LOVE STORY from SOUTHEY'S DOCTOR.
Sir ROGER De COVERLEY, from the SPECTATOR.
MEMOIRS of a MAITRE-D'AR.MES, By DUMAS.

''iNG MrN.^.l°!.!'..!'^"!^!^:}By E. SOUVESTHE.

"^"n PaTuS ''"I^O^"''"^'^} ..ByE. SOUVESTRE.

Sir EDWARD SEAWARD'8 NARRATIVE of hi
SHIPWRECK.

NATURAL HISTORY, $(c.

NATURAL HISTORY ofi

CREATION. /

INDICATIONS of INSflNCT ,

.By Dr. L. KEMP.
.By Dr. L, KEMP.

ELECTRIC TELE(!RAPH, &c. By Dr. G. WILSOW.
Our COAL-FIELDS and our COAL-PITS.
CORNWALL, its MINES, MINERS, &c.

A f

MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.

LECTURES and ADDRESSES | "cAKLfsi^K."'^

SELECTIONS from SYDNEY SMITH'S WRIT-
INGS.
PRINTINC; By A. STAKK.

RAILM'AV MO.iALS and

By H.SPENCER.

RAILWAY POLICY ..../
MOIIMONISM.... BytliuIU'v. W. J. CONVBEARE.
LONDON By J. R. M'CULLOCH.

Loudon: LONGMAN, BIIOWN, GUEEN, LONGMANS, & ROBERTS,

IMi

CA.

K. Wir.nEUFORCE.

liy Mrs. .r;( MESON.

y W. H. HUKMU'T.

S. It, C. LANMAN.

iLIA.

.... B, W. iiUGIIES-

AfORLP.

. Bj I ')A I'FEIFFEIl

r, By A. HAYWARD.
By LORD JEFFRHY.

By J. FORSTKR.

N... .By Mrs. I'lOZZI.

le Iio". O. R- (iI.EKi.

JENIUSI By HENRY

) ROGERS.

RESTORATION.

lAL HISTORY.
lOSWELLS LIFE of

;S on PARLIAMEN-

.By E. SOUVESTRE.
NARRATIVE of hi

[C. By Dr. V,. WILSOi-J.
OAI.-riTS.
NERS, ttc.

By H.SPENCER.

W. J. CONYBEARE.
By J. U. M'CUIil.OCH.

, & llOBKRTS.

NEW WORKS m GENERAL LITERATURE,

rUBLISHBD BY

LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS,

39, PATEBKOSTKB BOW, XONDON.

CLASSIFIED INDEX.

Affricnlture and Rural

Affairs. Pages.

Bavldon On valuing Rents, &c. - *

CaCrd't) Letters on Agriculture - ^

Cecil'B Stud Farm . . - 6

Loudon'h Apricullure - - - 13

Low's Klfments of Affrioulture - U

" Pnmesticuted Anim»l» - 13
M'lntosh & Kemp'9 year-Dook for

the Country - - - • 1-1

Arts, MannfactureBj and
Architecture.

3
4
i
4

Arnott on Ventilation - - -
Bourne On the Screw Propeller -
Brunde's Dictionnry ofSciencet&c.

** Oreanic Chemislry-
ChcTreul on Colour - - - -
Cresy's Civil Engineering
FaHtlake On Oil Painting -
I'uirbairn's Informa. for Engineers
Gwilt's Encvclo. of Architecture -
Herring on Paper-Making
Jameson' Sacred & Legendary Art

** Commonplace Book
Konig's Picloiial Lift of Luther -
Loudon's Uural Architecture
Mosrley's Engineering - - -
Piesse'B Art of Perfumery - - -
Richardflon's Art of Horsemanship
Scrivenor on the Iron Trade -
Stark's Printing - - - -
Steam Engine, by the Artisan Club
Tdte on Strength of Materials
U re's Dictionary of Arts, &c.

Biography.

Arago's Autobiography

„ Lives of Scientific Men -
Bodenstedt and Wugner's Schamjl
Buckingham's (J. S.. Memoirs
Bunsen's Uippolytu - - -
Clinton's (Fynes) Autobiography
Cockayne's Alarsltal Tureune
DennlKtoun's Strange & Lumisden
Forster's l)e Foe and Churchill
Haydon's Autobiography,by Taylor
Hayward's « hesterfttld and Selwyn
Holcioft's Memoirs . - -
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopsedia
Maunder's Biographical "rreasury-
Mymoir of the Uuke of Wellington
Memoirs of James Montgomery -
Merivule'B Memoirs of Cicero
Eussell's Memoirs of Moore -

'* Life of Lord Wm. Russell
St John's Audubon _ _ .
Scuthey's Life of Wesley

*' Life and Correspondence

" Select Correspondence -

Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography
Sydney Smith's Memoirs
Taylor's Loyola - - - -

" Wt'sley - - - -
Waterton's Autobiography A '^Bsays
"Wheeler'b ' "fe onicrodolus

Books jf c ^neral UtUity.

Acton's Cookery - - - - 3

BlHck's Treatise on Brewing - - 4

Cabinet Gazetteer - _ - - 5

•* Lawyer - - - - 6

Cust's Invalid's Own Book - - 7

Gilbart's Logic for the Million - 8

Hints on Etiquette . - - 9

How to Nurse Sick Children - - 10

Hudson'sExecutor's Guide - - 10

" On Making WilU - - 10

Kesteven's Domestic Medicine - 11

Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia - \'2

Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge 15

" Biofiraphical Treasury 15

" Scientific Treasury - U

** Treasury of History - 15

'* Natural History - - 15

Piesse's Art of Perfumery - - - 18

Piscator's Cookery of Fisii - - IH

Fockst and the Stud - - - 9

Pycroft's English Reading - - IB

Reece's Medical Guide - • - 'IS

Pages.

Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionnry 18

Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 18

Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - - 18

Roget's English Thesauius - - lU
Rowton's Debater - - - •19

Sliort Whist 20

Thomson's Interest Tables - - "ii

Webster's Domestic Economy • 'i'i

West on Children's Diseases - - 24

Willich's Popular Tables - - 24

Wilmot's Blackstone - - - 24

Botany and Gardening.

Hooker's British Flora - - - 9

** Guide to Kew Gardens - 9

*' ** *' Kew Museum l*

Lindley's Introduction to Botan;, 13

'* Theory of Horticulture - 13

Loudon's Hortus Britannicut - 13

" Amateur Gardener - 13

" Trees and Shrubs - - 13

** Gardening - - - 13

•' PlanU - - - 13

M'Intoah & Kemp's Year-Book for

the Country • . - - 14

Pcreira'B Materia Medica - - 17

Rivers's HoNe Amateur's Guide - 18

Wilson's British Mosses • - 24

Chronoloey.

Blair's Chronological Tables • 4

Brewer's Historical Atlas - - - 4

Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - 5

Haydn's Bentson's Indei - - 9

Jaquemet's Chronology - - 11
Johns & Nicolas' Calendar of Victory, 11

Nicolas's Chronology of History • 13

Commerce and Mercantile
Affairs*

Francis's Stock Exchange - - 8

Gilbart's Treatise on Banking - 8

Lorimer's Young Master Mariner 13

Mac Leod's Banking - - - 11
M'('ulloch'sCommerce& Navigation 14

Scrivenor on Iron Trade • - 19
Thomson's Interest Tables - -22

Tooke's History of Piices - - 2i

Tuson's Britibh Cjnsul's Manual - 'i'i

Criticism, History, and
Memoirs.

Austin's Germany - - - - 3

Blair's Chron. and Histor. Tables • 4

Brewer's Historical Atlas - . - 4

Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - 6

'* Hippolytus - - - 6

Burton's History of Scutland - 6

Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus > 6

Conybeare and Howson's St, Paul 6

Euiitlake's History of Oil Painting 7

Emkine's History of India - - 7

Francis's Annals of Life Assurance 6

Gleig's Leii)sic Campaign - - 23

Gurney's Historical Sketches - 6
Hamilton's Essays from tlie Edin-

burgli Review ... - 8
Haydon's Autobiography, by Taylor 9

Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - II
Julms and Nicholas's Calendar of

Victory - - - - - 11

Kemble'R Anglo-Saxons - - 11

Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopeedia - 12

Le CJuesnc'8 History -tf Jersey - 11

Macaulay's Crit. and Hist. EsHsys 14

" History of England ' - 14

*• Speechc'i - . . 14

Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 14

'* Hintory of England - 14

M'Culloch'sGeograpnicalDictionary 14

Manstein's Memoirs of Uustsia - 14

Miiundcr's Treasuryof History - 15

Memoir of the Duke of Wellington 23

Meri%att''s IfiHtory of Rome - - 15

'* Uunian Republic- • 15

Milner's Church History - - 16

Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c. - 17

Mure's Greek Literature - 17

Raikes's Journal - - - - 18

Ranke's Ferdinand & Maximilian 23

Pages.

Rich's Comp. to Latin Dictionary Ih

Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - IH

Rogers' Ess.iys from Edinb. Review, 19

Roget's Enslish Thi-saurui - - 19

Ru»»eir8{Lad> Kurhcl) Letters - 13

" LifenfLoi.l W, Russell 19

Schmiti'F Hintnry of Greeie - 19

Smith'H Siu'ied Annuls - - 20

Southey's Doctor - - - - 21

Stfplien's Ecrlesiastioal Rioi .aphy 21

•* Lectures on French H story 21

Syilnev Smith's Works - • - W

*** S.-lect UorliS - 23

'* Lectures - IJO

** Memoirs - - iO

Taylor's LoyoU - - - - 21

■ '< WvMey - - - - 21

Thirlwall's Hihtoryof Greece - 21

Thornbury's Shukspoarc's Kntjland 2J

Townsend's State Trials - - 22

Turkey and Christendom - - 23

Turner's Anglo-Saxons - - 2i

" Middle Ages - - 22

" Sacrid Hi-t.of the World '.*2

Vehse's Austrian Court - - 2i

Wbitelocke's Swedish Embassy - 24

Woods' Crimean Campaiyn - - 24

Young's Christ of Hiitory - - '*4

Geography and Atlases.

Arrowsmitli's Geogr. Diet, of Bible S

Brewer's llistoric.il Atl:is - - 4

Butter's Geograpkiy and Atlases - 6

Cabinet Gazetteer - - - - 6

Cornwall, its Mines, &c. - - 23

Durrieu's Morocco - - - 23

Hughes's Australian Colinies - 23

Johnston's General Gazelleer - 1 1

Lewis's English Rivera - - 13
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 14

" Russia and Turkey - '23

Milner's Baltic Sea - - - 10

*• Crimea - - - - 16

" 'luissia - - - • 15

Murt^.y B ' ncvclo. of Geography - 17

Shjir;>'i T' tisli Gazetteer - - iO

Whee'e* t Geography ofllerodolus 24

Juveuilfe Books.

Amy Herbert - - - - 19

Cleve Hall ----- 19

Earl's Daughter (The) - - - 19

Experience of Life - - - 19

Gertrude - - - - 19

Gilbart's Logic for the Young - H

Howitt's Boy's (jountrv Book - 10

" (M:iry)Children's Year - 10

Katharine Ashton - .- - 19

Lanetun Parsonage - - - 19

Mrs. Marcel's Conversations - - 15

Margaret Percival - - - - 19

rjxroft's English Reading - - IH

Medicine and Surgery.

Brodie's Psychological Inquiries - 4

Bull's Hints to Mothers - - - 5

*' Management of Children - 5

Copland's l.Uctionary of Medicine - C

Cust's Invalid's Own Book - - 7

Holland's Mental Physiology - 9

*' Medical Notes and Reflect. 0

How to Nur.ie Sitk Chtldrt-n - - 10

Kesteveii's i'omestic Medkine - 11

Latham On DiisLiises ot the Heart • 1 1

Pereira C'n Food and Diet - - 17

Pereira's Materia Medica - - 17

Reece's Mediual Guide - - - 18

West on Diseases of Infancy - - 24

Miscellaneous and General
Literature.

Austin's Sketches of German Life 3

C;irlisle'8 Lectures anil Aildresces 23

Chalybxus'Spcculative Philosophy fi

Vifvnve of Fclipieoj I'uith . - 7

Eclipse of Faith - - - 7

Greg's Political and Social Essiiys 8

Gurney's Evening Recreatifpns - 8

Hassall on Adulteration of Fc o 1 - 9

llavdn's Book of Dignities - - 9

Holland's Mental Physiology - 9

Hooker's Kew Gui'.'nf . - - 9

IJi

» I

CLABSIFII'D INDEX.

Howitt'sHnral Life of England - 10
•' ViBlUtaKemarka'ikPlaccslO
Jameson's Commonpldce-Bouk - 10
Jert'rey'H f Lord) Contributions - 11
La»t ofttieOlii S<|uire» - - 17

Macaulay's C'rit. and Hist. Essays H
" Speeches - - - U
Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 14
Memoirs of a Maitre d'Armes - 2;i
Maitland'8 Churchin the Catacombs U

23
IH
IS
IH
13

Martineau's MiHcullanies
Pascal's Works, by Pearce
Printing: Its Orij^in, &c.
Pycrol't's Enplisli Keadinff -
Rich's Comi). to Latin Dictionary
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries -
Rowton's Debater
Seaivard'B Narrative of his ShipwreckZO
Sir Roger de Coverley - - -
Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works
Southey's Common-place Books -

" The Doctor &c.
Souvestrr'a Attic Philosopher

" Confessionsof a Working Man
Spencer's Psychology -
Stephen's Essays - - - -
Stoiv'B Training System
Stracliey's Hebrew Politics -
Tagart on Locke's Writings -
Thomson's Laws of Thouglit
TnwuM-nd's State Trials
■Willich's Popular Tables
yonge's Enulish-Creek Leiicon -

" Latin Oradus
Zumpt's Latin Grammar

Natural History In general.

Callow's Popular Conchologv - 6
Ephemera and Young On the Salmon 8

Gosse's Nat. Hist, of Jamaica - 8

Kemp's Natural Hist, of Creation 23

Kirbv and Spence'8 Entomology - 11

Lee's Elements of Natural History 11

Mann on Repioduction - - 14

Maunder's Natural History - - 15

Turton'sSliellsnftheBritishlslands M

VonTschudi'B Sketches in the Alps 'i^l

Watcrton's Essays on Natural Hist. 22

"Vouatl's Th.^ Dog . - - 24

" The Horse - - - 24

l-Volume Encyclopsedias
and Dictionaries.

Arrowsmith's Geogr. Diet, of Bible 3

Blaine's Kural Sports - - - 4

Brande's Science, Literature, & Art 4

Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 6

Cresy's Civil Engineering - 7

Gwilt'B Architecture - . - 8

Johnstcm's Geographical Dictionary 11

Loudon's Agriculture - - - 13

" Rural Architecture - 13

" Gardening - - - 13

" Plants . - - - 13

" Trees and Shiubi - - 13

M'CuUoch'sGeographital Dictionary 14

" Diclionavy of Commerce 14

Murray's Encyclo. of Geography - 17

Sharp's British Gazetteer - - 20

L're's Dictionary of Arts, &c.- - 22

Webster's Domestic Economy - 22

Religious & Moral Works.

Amv Herbert - - - - 19

Arrowsmith's Geogr. Diet, of Bible 3

Bloomfield'sGreekTestament - 4

'< Annotations on do, - 4

Bode'a Bampton Lectures - - 4

Calvert's Wife's Manual - - 6

Cleve Hall 19

Convbearc's Essays - - - 6

Conyheare and Howson's St. Paul 6

Dale's Domestic Liturgy - - 7

Defence ol Brliiise oj Vaith - - 7

DespreiOn the Apocalypse - 7

Discipline - - - - - 7

Earl's Daughter (The) - - - 19

Eclipse of t aith . - - 7

Englishman's Greek Concordance 7

Englishman'sHeb AChald.Concord. 7

Experience of Life (The) - - 19

Gertrude ----- 19

Harrison's Light of the Forge - b

Hook's Leclureson Passion AVeek 9

Home's Introduction to Scriptures 10

<< Abridement of ditto - 10
" Communicant's Companion 9

Jameson's Sacred Legends - - 11

'* Monastic I^egends - - 11

" Leeendsiif the Madonna 11

" Sisters of Chaiity - 10

Jeremy Taylor's Works - - - 11

Kaliscli's Commentai y on Fxodua - 1 1

Katharine Ashton - - - 19

KSnig's Pictorial Life of Luther - 8

Pages.

Laneton Parsonage . - 19

Letters to my Unknown Fr V'nds - 1 1

" on Happiness - - - 11
Long's Intiuiry concrning Religion, 13

Lyra Germanica - - . 5

Maltiand'r Church inCatacombs - 14

Margaret Pcrcival - - - - 19

Martineau's Christian Life - - 18

*1 liner's Churcli of Christ - - 18

Montgomery's Original Hymns • 16

Moore On the Use of the Body - 111

" " Soul and Body - 10

" 's Man and liis Motives - Hi

Mormonism - - - - 23

Noale's Closing Scene - - - 17

Newman's (J. H.) Discourses - 17

Ranke's Ferdinand & Maximilian 2^1

Readings for Lent - - - 19

" Confirmation - - 19

Robins against the Roman Church, 19
Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek

Testament ----- 19

Saints our Example - - - 19

Sermon in the Mount - - 20

Sinclair's Journey of Life - - 20

Smith's (Sydney) Moral Philosophy "JO

" (G.) Sacred Annals - - '20

Southey's Life of Wesley - - 21

Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biol ;aphy 21

" - - 21

- 21

ir's (J. J .
ir'8 Loyola

) Discourses

Tayler's
Taylor's

" Wesley
Theologia Germanica - - -
Thomson on the Atonement -
Tliumb Bible (The)
Turner's Sacred H istory -
Twiiiing's Bible Tyjies -
Wheeler's Popular Rible Harmony
Toung's Christ of History
" Mjstery of Time -

Poetry and the Drama.

Arnold's Poems - - - - 3

Alkins (Dr.) British Poets - - 3

BaiUie's (Joanna) Poetical Works 3

Bode's Ballads from Herodotus - 4

Calvert's Wife's Manual - - 6

** Pneuma - - - - 6

Flowers and their Kindred Thoughts 11

Goldsmitli's Poems, illustrated - 8

L. E. L.'sPoelical Works - 13

T.inwood's Anthotogia Oxoniensis- 13

Lyra Germanica - - - - 5

Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome 14

Mac Donald's Within and Without 14

Montgomery's Poetical Works - 16

" Original Hymns - 16

Moore's Poetical Works - - IG

" Lalla Rookh - - - 16

" Irith Melodies - - - 16

** Songs and Ballads - - 16

Reade's Man in Paradise - - IH

Shakspearc, by Bowdlcr - - 20

Southey's Poetical Works - - 21

" British Poets ... 21

Thomson's Seasons, illustrated - 22

Political Economy and
Statistics.

Caird's Letters on Agriculture - 5

Census of. f61 - - . . 6

Dodd's Food of London . . 7

Greg's Political -ind Social Essays 8

Laing's Notes of a Traveller- - 'i3

M'CuUoch'sGeog. Statist. &c. Diet. 14
" Dictionary of Commerce 14

" London - - - 23

Marcet's Political Economy - - 15

Rickards Oi, Population & Capital 18

Tegoborski's Kussian Statistics - 21

Willich's Popular Tables - - 24

The Sciences in general
and Mathematics.

Arago's Meteorological F.ssays - 3

" I'opular Astronomy - . 3

Bourne On tlie Screw Propeller - 4

Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. 4

" Lectures on Organic Chemistry 4

Brougham and Routh's rrincipia 5

Cresy's Civil Engineering - - 7
DelaBeche'sGeologyofCornwall,&c. 7

De la Rive's Electricity - - 7

Faraday's Non- Metallic Elements 8

Grove's Correla. of Physical Force a P

Herscbel's Outlines ol Astronomy 9

Holland's Mental Physiology - 9

Humboldt's Aspects of Nature - 10

*' Cosmos - - - 10

Hunt On Light - - . 10

Kemp's Phasis of Matter - - 11

Lardner'B Cabinet Cyclopsedia - 12

Mann on Reproduction - - - 14

Pages.
Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversatiom - 1,1
Moseley'sEngineering& Architecture 17
Owen's LecturesonComp. Anatomy 17
Our Coal Fields anil our Coal T ta
Pereir.i on Polarised Light -
Pescliel's Elements of Physics
Phillips's Fossils of Cornwall, &c.

Mineralogy
" Guide to Geology -
Portlock's Geology of Londonderry
Powell's Unity of Worlds
Smee's Electro-Metallurgy -
Steam Engine (The)
Tate On Strength of Materials -
Wilson's Electric Telegraph -

Rural Sports.

Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 3 j
Berkeley's Reminiscences - - ^ I
Blame's Dictionary of Sports - 4 1
Cecil's Stable Practice - - - ^ I
" Records of the Chase - " **
" Stud Farm - - - - '^
The Cricket Field .... 7
Davy's Piscatorial Colloquies- - 7 ^
Ephemera On Angling - - - 8

" Book of the Salmon - 8 ;
Hawker's Young SjKirtsman - -91
The Hunting-Field - - -81
Idle's Hints on Shooting - - 10
Pocket anit the Stud - - - " j
Practical Horsemanship - -91
Richardson's Horsemanship - - IH '
Stable Talk and Table Talk - - 8 ;
Stonehenge On the fjreyhound 21 |

The Stud, for Practical Purposes. 9

Veterinary Medicine, Ace. i

Cecil's Stable Pr.actice

" Stud Farm
Hunting Field (The) .
Miles's Horse-Shoeing -

'* On the Horse's Foot -
Pocket and the Stud
Practical Horsemanship _ -
Ricbar.ison's Horsemanship
Stable Talk and Table Talk -
Stud (The)
Youatt's The Dog .
** The Horse

Voyages and Travels.

Allen's Dead Sea - - . .
Baines's Vaudois of Piedmont
Baker'* W.mcierings in Ceylon
Barrow's Cont'nehtal Tour .
Barth's African Travels
Burton's Medina and Mecca .
Carlisle's Tu."kev an.! Greece
De Custine's Russia
Duhcrly's Journal of the War
Eotlien -.--.-
Ferguson's Swiss Travels
Forester's Rambles in Norway
Gironifere's Philippines - - -
Gregorovius's Corsica - . -
Hill's Travels in Siberia
Hope's Brittany and the Bible

" Chase in Brittany
Howitt's Art Student in Munich -

" (W) Victoria -
Hue's Chinese Enipire - - -
Hue and Gabet's Tartary & Thibet
Hughes's Australian Colonies
Humboldt's Aspects of Nature -
Hutchinson's African Exploration
Jameson's Canada - - . -
Kennard's Eastern Tour
Jerrmann's St. Petersburg -
Laing's Norway ....

" Notes of a Traveller
M'Clure's North West Passage
Marryal's California - - -
Mason's Zulus of Natal
Mayne's Arctic Discoveries .
Miles's Rambles in Iceland -
Monteith's Kars and Erzerouin .
Pfeifi'er's Voyage round the World

** .Second ditto - - -
Scott's Danes and Swedes .
Seaward's Narrative - - -
Weld's United States and Canada -
Werne's African Wanderings
Wheeler's Travels of Herodotus -
Wilberforce's Braiil & Slave Trade
WhiUingham's Pacific Expedition

'Works of Fiction.

Arnold's Oakfield

Lady Willoughby's Diary

Macdonald's Villa Verocchio

Sir Roger de Coverley - - -

Southey's The Doctor &c. -

Trollopc's Warden - - -

6
6 i

S I
15 i
!■'■' I

" I

I?i
8 I

21 I
24 I

Pagrt.

[m.) Convprftationi - 1.^
iiginperinK&Archiiecture 17

turt'8r)n C'omp. Anatomy 17

it'ltlH anil Dur Cdul r U '.{3

I'olariM'd UgM ■ - 17

lements of i'liysicB - 17

OHHiU of Cornwall, &c. IH

inrraloffy - - 17

uide to Oeolony - - IH

ieology of Londonderry IN

nity of Worlds - - IH

;tro-Mi'tallurRy - - 2(1

ine(Tlie) - . - 4

rpngtli of Material! - 21

lectnc Telegraph - - -3

7
7

8
H
'J
8

111
1)
!)

IH
H

■:\
II

arts.

leand Hound In Ceylon

Ileminiscences -
ctionary of Sports
}\e Practice - - -
ordB of the Chase -
i Farm - - - -
t Field - - - -
;ntorial Colloquies-
()n ADKling -
Booli of the Salmon
fount; SiKjrtsman -
ng-Field - - -
a on Shooting
I the Stud
lorseman^hip
I'h Horsemanship -
k and TaWe Talk -
e On the fjreyhound
for Practical Furposts -

ry Medicine, dec. i

hie Practice - " 1

id Farm - - " " ;

■■icld(Tlie) - - - H

irse-Slioeing - - - 15 i

he Horse's Foot - - K' !

I the Stud - - - '•* i

■lorsemanship - " ** !

n'a Horsemanship - IH

k and Table Talk -■ - H |

1 . - - - S I

■he Dog - - - - 21 I

'he Horse - - - '*

and Travels.

'ad Sea - - - -
audois of Piedmont
.iriv^erinds in ("eylon
"ont'nehtal Tour -
Vican Travels
'ledina and Mecca -
ru.'Kev and Greece
e'R Itus^ia
Journal of the War

a Swiss Travels -
Rambles in Norway
Philippines - - -
as's 'TorBica - - -
k-els in Siberia
ttany and the Bible
ise In Brittany
rt Student in Munich -
\V ) Victoria -
lese Empire - - -
laliefBTartaryS: Thibet
Australian Colonics
'8 Aspects of Nature
in'8 African Kxploration
Canada -
Eastern Tour
'9 St. Petersburg -
orway - - * "
otcs of a Traveller
Ivorth West Passage -
California - - -
,ulu8 of Natal
-rdic Discoveries -
imliles in Iceland -
5 Kara and Km-roum -
Voyage round the World
•Second ditto - - -
nep and Swedes -
Narrative - - "
ited States and Canada -
frican Wanderings
Travels of lleriHlctus -
;es BraiilA Slave Trade
lam's Pacific Expedition

f Fiction.

lakfield

luahliy's Diary
;i'8 Villa Vcroccljio -

deCoverley - - -

Tile Doctor &c.

Warden - - -

3
23

6
23

23
23
23
23
23

23
23
111
111
lU
23
23
111
23
23
II
23
23
23
It
15
23
23
23
ID
23

" I

ni>

23
24 '
23
21

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