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(Continued from page 139.)
We hurry over the details
of the winter months, the monotonous and dreary solitude of which was
endured with a cheerfulness which speaks volumes for the crew and their
officers; and look in again upon the little band, as on the 17th of
February 1859, the sledge parties left the ship for the first time on
their several journeys. From the western extremity of Bellot's Strait, the
coast of Boothia, and the whole coast of King William's Island, to the
mouth of the Great Fish River, was to be thoroughly explored, while to the
north, the coast of Prince of Wales' Island was to be traced to the point
in latitude 72.50 reached by Sherard Osborn in 1851. Captain Young, of the
mercantile marine, whose enthusiasm in the cause had not only induced him
to abandon lucrative appointments in command, and accept of a subordinate
post on board the Fox, but to subscribe £500 in aid of her outfit, was
now, with a few men, about to start for the purpose of depositing
provisions in the last-mentioned direction, in view of the more extended
search in the spring, and Captain M'Clintock, with Petersen and another,
to leave for the south, for a similar purpose, and to communicate with the
Esquimaux of Boothia. Both parties returned in safety in the following
month, and M'Clintock with important intelligence, bearing on the main
object of the expedition.
He had encountered, in the
immediate vicinity of the magnetic pole, in latitude 70 deg., a small band
of natives, one of whom had on his dress a naval button. "It came," they
said, "from some white men who were starved upon an island where there are
salmon, (that is, in a river,) and that the iron of which their knives
were made came from the same place. One of these men said he had been to
the island to obtain wood and iron, but none of them had seen the white
men."
"Next morning the entire
village population arrived, amounting to about forty-five souls, from aged
people to infants in arms, and bartering commenced very briskly. First of
all we purchased all the relics of the lost expedition, consisting of six
silver spoons and forks, a silver medal, the property of Mr A. M'Donald,
assistant-surgeon, part of a gold chain, several buttons, and knives made
of the iron and wood of the wreck, also bows and arrows constructed of
materials obtained from the same source.
"None of these people had
seen the whites; one man said he had seen their bones upon the island
where they died, but some were buried. Petersen also understood him to say
that the boat was crushed by the ice. Almost all of them had part of the
plunder.
"Next morning, 4th March,
several natives came to us again. I bought a spear 6½ feet long from a man
who told Petersen distinctly that a ship having three masts had been
crushed by the ice out in the sea to the west of King William's Island,
but that all the people landed safely; he was not one of those who were
eye-witnesses of it; the ship sunk, so nothing was obtained by the natives
from her ; all that they have got, he said, came from the island in the
river."
M'Clintock, on receiving
this intelligence, hurried back to the Fox with all the speed in his
power, and organised plans for a careful and deliberate search of the
district in question. He had encountered great hardships on this rapid
journey, during which he had travelled, in twenty-five days, 420 miles, in
a temperature the mean of which was 62 deg. below freezing.
On the 2d of April all was
ready for the start. Lieutenant Hobson, the second in command, was
entrusted with the examination of the western coast of King William's
Island, M'Clintock following the bend of Boothia to the east, exploring
the eastern shore of the island, and, after a visit to Montreal Island,
returning in the track of Hobson. The two parties proceeded in company to
the spot where the natives had been met with, and gained from them, on
this second visit, additional information.
"The young man who sold the
knife told us that the body of a man was found on board the ship ; that he
must have been a very large man, and had long teeth : this is all he
recollected having been told, for he was quite a child at the time.
"They both told us it was
in the fall of the year—that is, August or September—when the ships were
destroyed; that all the white people went away to the 'large river,'
taking a boat or boats with them, and that in the following winter their
bones were found there."
At Cape Victoria, Hobson
and M'Clintock parted company, and we now follow the steps of the latter.
Crossing over the channel which separates Boothia from King William's
Island, he passed several deserted villages of the Esquimaux, around which
numerous chips and shavings of wood from the last expedition were seen,
and at last reached a cluster of thirty or forty inhabited huts, where he
purchased for a few needles six spoons and forks with the crests or
initials of Franklin, Crozier, and others of their companions, and was
told that it was five days' journey across the island to the scene of the
wreck, of which but little now remained.
The site of the wreck lying
exactly in Hobson'a track, in which he was himself to return, M'Clintock
continued his journey to the southern extremity of the island, and
thereafter crossed over to Point Ogle and Montreal Island, at the foot of
the Great Fish River. A careful examination of the latter, the last spot
in which the survivors of the last party had been seen by the natives,
yielded nothing to the seekers but a piece of a preserved-meat tin and
some scraps of copper and iron hoops; and with much disappointment they
again turned northwards on the 19th of May. Five days afterwards they
recrossed to King William's Island, and followed the windings of the
western shore. Here on the 25th, "while slowly walking along on a gravel
ridge near the beach, which the winds kept partially bare of snow," in all
the solemn stillness of an Arctic midnight, they came upon a human
skeleton stretched upon its face, with scraps of clothing lying round, and
appearing through the snow. The victim appeared to have been a young man,
slight built, and, from his dress, a steward or officer's servant. A
pocket-book found close by afforded hopes of his identification, but
though every effort was made to decipher the hard frozen leaves, nothing
but a few detached sentences, in no way bearing on the fate of the
expedition, has been made out.
"It was a melancholy truth
that the old woman spoke when she said, ' they fell down, and died as they
walked along...... This poor man seems to have selected the bare ridge
top, as affording the least tiresome walking, and to have fallen upon his
face in the position in which we found him."
They now approached a large
cairn, originally built by Simpson in 1839, and where, as it must have
been passed by the last crews, they eagerly anticipated finding some
record, but a careful search proved wholly fruitless, and from the
appearance of the cairn, they were led to believe that it had already been
examined and rifled by the Esquimaux. Twelve miles further, however, they
came upon a cairn built by Hobson's party, who had reached the same point
a few days before, and in which was deposited a note, announcing the
discovery of the record so ardently sought, under a third cairn, still
further to the south, and on the site of one formerly built by Sir James
Ross.
Of this painfully
interesting document we are enabled, through the kindness of Mr Murray, to
present a facsimile to our readers.
"There is an error in this
document," says Captain M'Clintock; "namely, that the Erebus and Terror
wintered at Beechey Island in 1846-7,—the correct dates should have been
1845-6; a glance at the date at the top and bottom of the record proves
this, but in all other respects the tale is told in as few words as
possible of their wonderful success up to that date, May 1847. . . .
"Seldom has such an amount
of success been accorded to an Arctic navigator in a single season, and
when the Erebus and Terror were secured at Beechey Island for the coming
winter of 1845-6, the results of their first year's labour must have been
most cheering. These results were the exploration of Wellington and
Queen's Channel, and the addition to our charts of the extensive lands on
either hand. In 1846 they proceeded to the south-west, and eventually
reached within twelve miles of the north extreme of King William's Land,
when their progress was arrested by the approaching winter of 1846-7. That
winter appears to have passed without any serious loss of life; and when
in the spring Lieutenant Gore leaves with a party for some especial
purpose, and very probably to connect the unknown coast-line of King
William's Land between Point Victory and Cape Herschel, those on board the
Erebus and Terror were 'all well,' and the gallant Franklin still
commanded."
But, alas! round the margin
of the paper upon which Lieutenant Gore in 1847 wrote those words of hope
and promise, a sad and touching postcript had been added by another hand
on the 28th April in the following year.
"There is some additional
marginal information relative to the transfer of the document to its
present position (viz., the site of Sir James Ross's pillar) from a spot
four miles to the northward, near Point Victory, where it had been
originally deposited by the late Commander Gore. This little word late
shews us that he too, within the twelvemonth, had passed away.
"In the short space of
twelve months how mournful had become the history of Franklin's
expedition; how changed from the cheerful ' All well' of Graham Gore ! The
spring of 1847 found them within 90 miles of the known sea off the coast
of America; and to men who had already in two seasons sailed over 500
miles of previously unexplored waters, how confident must they then have
felt that that forthcoming navigable season of 1847 would see their ships
pass over so short an intervening space ! It was ruled otherwise. Within a
month after Lieutenant Gore [He himself also had passed away. Note the
words, "the late Commander Gore."] placed the record on Point Victory, the
much-loved leader of the expedition, Sir John Franklin, was dead; and the
following spring found Capt. Crozier, upon whom the command had devolved,
at King William's Land, endeavouring to save his starving men, 105 souls
in all, from a terrible death, by retreating to the Hudson Bay territories
up the Back or Great Fish River.
"A sad tale was never told
in fewer words. There is something deeply touching in their extreme
simplicity, and they shew in the strongest manner that both the leaders of
this retreating party were actuated by the loftiest sense of duty, and met
with calmness and decision the fearful alternative of a last bold struggle
for life, rather than perish without effort on board their ships; for we
well know that the Erebus and Terror were only provisioned up to July
1848. ....
"Lieutenant Hobson's note
told me that he found quantities of clothing and articles of all kinds
lying about the cairn, as if these men, aware that they were retreating
for their lives, had there abandoned everything which they considered
superfluous."
But there was yet a third,
and not the least affecting discovery to be made by the returning band. As
they reached the western extremity of the island, they came in sight of a
wide and desolate bay, on the southern shore of which was found a large
boat, mounted on a sledge; "another melancholy relic which Hobson had
found and examined a few days before, as his note left here informed me,
but he had failed to discover record, journal, pocket-book, or memorandum
of any description." In the boat was that which transfixed the searchers
with awe: the portions of two skeletons—the one of a slight young person;
the other of a large, strongly made, middle-aged man. Near the former,
which lay in the bow of the boat, was found the fragment of a pair of
worked slippers, and beside them a pair of small strong shooting
half-boots.
"The other skeleton was in
a somewhat more perfect state, [No part of the skull of either skeleton
was found, with the exception only of the lower jaw of each.] and was
enveloped with clothes and furs; it lay across the boat, under the
after-thwart. Close beside it were found five watches; and there were two
double-barrelled guns—one barrel in each loaded and cocked— standing
muzzle upwards against the boat's side. It may be imagined with what deep
interest these sad relics were scrutinised, and how anxiously every
fragment of clothing was turned over in search of pockets and
pocket-books, journals, or even names. Five or six small books were found,
all of them scriptural or devotional works, except the 'Vicar of
Wakefield.' One little book, ' Christian Melodies,' bore an inscription
upon the title-page from the donor to G. G. (Graham Gore?) A small Bible
contained numerous marginal notes, and whole passages underlined. Besides
these books, the covers of a New Testament and Prayer-book were found.....
"The only provisions we
could find were tea and chocolate; of the former very little remained, but
there were nearly forty pounds of the latter. These articles alone could
never support life in such a climate, and we found neither biscuit nor
meat of any kind. ....
"I was astonished to find
that the sledge was directed to the N.E., exactly for the next point of
land for which we ourselves were travelling!
"A little reflection led me
to satisfy my own mind at least, that the boat was returning to the ships:
and in no other way can I account for two men having been left in her,
than by supposing the party were unable to drag the boat further, and that
these two men, not being able to keep pace with their shipmates, were
therefore left by them supplied with such provisions as could be spared to
last until the return of the others from the ship with a fresh stock.
"The same reasons which may
be assigned for the return of this detachment from the main body, will
also serve to account for their not having come back to their boat. In
both instances they appear to have greatly overrated their strength, and
the distance they could travel in a given time."
What thoughts must those
have been of that lonely pair in the deserted boat, as hour by hour they
gazed across the dreary wastes for the comrades who never returned, or of
that strong man in his solitary death-watch when his sole companion had
sunk beside him into his eternal sleep!
Neither by Hobson nor
M'Clintock had any trace been found of the missing vessels, and at last
the latter reached the cairn where the record above referred to had been
discovered by his lieutenant. Around it were found an immense variety of
relics, —stores, pick-axes, shovels, compasses, medicine-chest, &c, and a
heap of clothing four feet high— but not one scrap of writing. From this
point the coast was carefully explored to the south, but no further traces
found, and on the 19th June the weary searchers reached once more "their
poor dear lovely little Fox."
Little is said by
M'Clintock of the determination or endurance required bearing on so
extended and minute a search on an Arctic shore for a period of more than
two months and a-half. The temperature was frequently nearly 30 deg. below
zero, with cutting north winds, bright sun, and intense severe glare. The
men had each to drag a weight of 200 lbs., to encamp every evening in snow
huts, which it cost something like two hours of hard labour, at the close
of a long day's walk, to build, and in which the very blankets and clothes
became loaded with ice. "When our low doorway was carefully blocked up
with snow, and the cooking lamp alight, the temperature quickly rose, so
that the walls became glazed and our bedding thawed; but the cooking over,
as the doorway partially opened, it as quickly fell again, so that it was
impossible to sleep, or even to hold one's pannikin of tea without putting
our mitts on, so intense was the cold." Under these privations, Hobson at
last had fairly broken down, and for many days before he reached the yacht
had been totally unable to walk or even stand without assistance. He was
obliged in consequence to be dragged home in one of the sledges, but by
the time M'Clintock arrived had already begun to mend. One death had taken
place during their absence, making, with that of the engineer, who had
suddenly died of apoplexy during the winter, the third that had occurred
in the voyage.
Captain Young had been
compelled to return some time before from his explorations to the north
for medical assistance, his health having been greatly injured by exposure
and fatigue; but after having recruited, had started again to renew the
search, in the face of a strong written protest by the doctor; and his
continued absence was now the only cause of anxiety to the little band. At
last M'Clintock, with five men, set off to seek him, and two days after,
to his great joy, encountered him on his return, so weakened that he too
was travelling in the dog-sledge, but with the particulars of a long and
most interesting exploration of new ground, though without any traces of
the missing crews.
Every part of the proposed
search had now been fully and efficiently performed, and ail thoughts were
busied towards home. By the middle of July, they were ready to start; but
it was not until the 10th of the following month, and after many anxious
hours, that the little vessel was fairly under way. Their passage
homewards was almost without interruption from the ice, except for four
days, when, though it closed them in, its friendly shelter apparently
saved them from the worse fate of being driven ashore in a heavy gale off
Creswell Bay. Without either engineer or engine-driver, M'Clintock had
himself to superintend the working of the engines, and found, at first,
the unwonted task not a little arduous, not only from its novelty, but the
continuous attention required, extending, on one occasion, to twenty-four
hours' incessant work. On the 21st, they gained the open sea, and, eight
days later, were lying in the quiet, security of Godhavn, reading their
first letters from home, after a lapse of two years; and, on the 20th
September, arrived in safety in the Irish Channel.
"I will not," writes the
commander, in the simple and manly phrase which lends to his volume such
an additional charm, "intrude upon the reader, who has followed me through
the pages of this simple narrative, any description of my feelings on
finding the enthusiasm with which we were all received on landing upon our
native shores. The blessing of Providence had attended our efforts, and
more than a full measure of approval from our friends and countrymen has
been our reward. For myself, the testimonial given me by the officers and
crew of the Fox has touched me perhaps more than all. The purchase of a
gold chronometer, for presentation to me, was the first use the men made
of their earnings; and as long as I live, it will remind me of that
perfect harmony, that mutual esteem and good-will, which made our ship's
company a happy little community, and contributed materially to the
success of the expedition."
For the importance of the
geographical data acquired by M'Clintock in this expedition, the reader
may be referred to the highly interesting preface to his journal by Sir
Roderick Murchison, where also will be found a statement of the names on
which the claim has, as it appears to us with justice, been advanced for
Franklin and his companions, of the discovery, in advance of M'Clure, of
the north-western passage. But the engrossing interest of the narrative
must ever centre in the scanty, but how deeply touching glimpses it
affords of the last hours of those who, eight long years before, had found
on those gloomy shores an unmade grave. As yielding one more proof of what
can be accomplished by the courage and the devotion of our sailors, it
will hold a high place in Arctic literature. As containing the record of
the fate of Franklin, it will live, we believe, with our language. |
