The North Star, an old twenty-six-gun frigate, of 500 tons, had in the meantime, in the spring of 1849, been despatched with provisions for Sir James Ross, under command of Mr J. Saunders. Having got blocked in by the ice for sixty-two days, she was compelled to winter in Wolstenholme Sound, on the western coast of Greenland.

Immediately on the return of the Enterprise and Investigator they were re-commissioned, and placed under the command of Captain B. Collinson, with directions to proceed to Behring's Straits, to resume the search in that direction. HMS Plover, Commander Moore, was already there, employed in surveying the north-western coasts of the American continent.

The following were the officers appointed to them:—

"Enterprise."

Captain, R. Collinson; Lieutenants, G.A. Phayre, J.J. Barnard, and C.T. Jago; master, R.T.G. Legg; second master, Francis Skead; mate, M.T. Parks; surgeon, Robert Anderson; assistant surgeon, Edward Adams; clerk in charge, Edward Whitehead. Total complement, sixty-six.

"Investigator."

Commander, B.J. McClure; Lieutenants, W.H. Haswell and S.G. Cresswell; mates, H.H. Saintsbury and R.J. Wyniatt; second master, Stephen Court; surgeon, Alexander Armstrong, MD; assistant surgeon, Henry Piers; clerk in charge, Joseph C. Paine. Total complement, sixty-six.

Mr Miertsching, a Moravian missionary, who had spent five years on the coast of Labrador, was appointed to the Enterprise as interpreter. The vessels sailed from Plymouth on the 20th of January 1850, and reached the Sandwich Islands on the 29th of June. Meantime the Herald, Captain Kellet, had been ordered up from Oahu to Behring's Straits, to assist in the search. At Petropaulski she met the Royal Thames Yacht Club schooner Mary Dawson, owned by Mr Shedden, who had come along the Chinese coast to Behring's Straits, also in search of Sir John Franklin. After exploring for some time in company, they were compelled by the ice to leave the Straits; but the Plover wintered there, while Lieutenant Pullen led a boat expedition of a most arduous nature along the northern shores of America, towards the Hudson's Bay establishment on the Mackenzie River. Sir John Richardson also led a land party from the south to the Polar seas, but was compelled to return without discovering any trace of the expedition.

In 1846, also, the Hudson's Bay Company sent out an expedition, commanded by Dr John Rae, to survey the unexplored portion of the American continent, between the farther point reached by Dease and Simpson and the strait of the Fury and Hecla.

In the year 1850 several expeditions were sent out. The first consisted of HMS Resolute and Assistance, Captain Ommaney, with the screw-steamers Pioneer, Lieutenant Osborn, and Intrepid, Lieutenant Cator, as tenders, under the command of Captain Horatio T. Austin, in the Resolute. Their chief aim was to visit Melville Island, and to explore the shores of Wellington Channel, and the coast about Cape Walker. The ships were provisioned for three years, and a transport completed their supply at Whalefish Islands.

No expedition ever left England with a greater prospect of success, all engaged in it being enthusiastically resolved to use every exertion to advance the noble cause.

The ships were commissioned on the 28th of February 1850, and left England the 3rd of May. On the 16th of June they arrived at the Whalefish Islands, where they received the remainder of their supply of provisions from the transport.

At the same time that Captain Austin's expedition was fitting out, another was arranged and placed under the command of Mr William Penny, an experienced whaling captain of Dundee, to act in concert with it. Mr Penny, by the directions of the Admiralty, proceeded to Aberdeen and Dundee, where he purchased two new clipper-built vessels, which were named the Lady Franklin and Sophia; the first in compliment to Sir John's devoted wife, the latter to his admirable niece. These vessels were placed under Mr Penny's command, with separate instructions direct from the Admiralty. The ships showed during the voyage the good judgment employed by Mr Penny in their selection, and the men acquitted themselves throughout the enterprise in a way to justify the praise bestowed on them by their associates in the ships-of-war. Mr Penny had been employed in the Arctic seas since he was twelve years old, and had commanded a whaling ship for sixteen years.

The ships left Aberdeen on the 13th of April, but did not fall in with Captain Austin's squadron till the 28th of June, off Berry Island, on the west coast of Greenland.

About the same time that the above-named ships left England, three other expeditions were despatched; one in the Prince Albert, under Commander Forsyth, chiefly at Lady Franklin's expense. She had a crew of twenty men. Her mates were W. Kay and W. Wilson, and Mr W.P. Snow acted as clerk. She sailed from Aberdeen on the 5th of June, and was thus the last vessel which left England that year. Another in the Felix yacht, with a tender—the Mary—under the veteran Captain Sir John Ross, at his own charge. The Americans likewise showed a generous sympathy in the fate of the missing expedition, and sent out one to aid in the search, under Lieutenant de Haven, in the U.S. brig Advance, and the U.S. vessel Rescue, commanded by Mr S.P. Griffen.

These various expeditions were to examine the different channels up which it was supposed Sir John Franklin might have endeavoured to work his way. The result of their examinations proved beyond almost all doubt that he proceeded up Wellington Channel.

Without following the ships step by step through their laborious progress across Baffin's Bay, down Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Straits, we will carry them at once to Beechey Island, which lies at the south-eastern extremity of Wellington Channel, just at its entrance into Barrow's Straits. Here, on the 27th of August, Mr Penny discovered undoubted traces of Sir John Franklin. Here, accordingly, the ships assembled to prosecute the examination. Dr Sutherland, who went out in the Lady Franklin, gives the following account of the interesting event:—

"Traces," he observes, "were found to a great extent of the missing ships: tin canisters in hundreds, pieces of cloth, rope, wood—in large fragments and in chips; iron in numerous fragments, where the anvil had stood, and the block which supported it; paper, both written and printed, with the dates 1844 and 1845; sledge marks in abundance; depressions in the gravel, resembling wells which they had been digging; and the graves of three men who had died on board the missing ships in January and April 1846. One of the shore party was despatched with this intelligence to Mr Penny, who immediately came on shore, accompanied by Sir John Ross, Commander Phillips of the Felix, Sir John's vessel, Commander De Haven and Lieutenant Griffiths of the American expedition, which had joined our ships in Barrow's Straits, and other officers. There were unequivocal proofs that the missing ships had spent their first winter in the immediate vicinity of Beechey Island. A finger-post was picked up, which we at once supposed had been made use of to direct parties to the ships during winter, if they should happen to have lost their way in a snowstorm. Captain Parry adopted the same precautions around his winter quarters at Melville Island; and it is not improbable some of the posts may be found, after a lapse of thirty years. Our ideas were, that the ships had wintered in a deep bay between Beechey Island and Cape Riley, which we called Erebus and Terror Bay.

"Immediately adjacent to the supposed position of the ships, we found the site of a large storehouse and workshop, and smaller sites, which were supposed to have been observatories and other temporary erections. Meat-tins to the amount of 600 or 700, and a great number of coal-bags, one of which was marked 'T-e-r-r-o-r,' were found. But there were no papers found anywhere that had been left by the missing ships."

This station, in the opinion of Captain Penny, was occupied by Sir John Franklin's party until the 3rd of April 1846, if not longer, as a look-out up Wellington Channel, to watch the first opening of that icy barrier which seems so frequently to block it up.

No record, however, was left to show in what direction the bold explorers had proceeded. With deep regret, therefore, that no further information could be gained, the various vessels continued the search. Captain Forsyth had, however, before this returned in the Prince Albert to England, with news of an interesting discovery made by Captain Ommaney, of some articles left by Sir John Franklin on Cape Riley. He reached Aberdeen on the 22nd of October, having been absent somewhat less than four months.

Early the next year the Prince Albert was again despatched, under the command of Mr Kennedy, an old Arctic explorer; but he was unable to effect more than to prove where Sir John Franklin and his followers were not.

Captain Austin's ships were constantly placed in great peril as they proceeded on their voyage. "The Assistance was hemmed in by the ice in the centre of Wellington Channel, and was in such imminent danger of being crushed to pieces, that every preparation was made to desert her," writes an officer belonging to her. "Each person on board was appointed to a particular boat, provisions were got on deck, and every two men were allowed one bag between them for spare clothes, attached to lines which were passed through the upper deck, ready to be pulled up at any moment. One day the vessel was raised six feet out of the water by the pressure of the ice; and it became so probable that she would fall on her broadside, that the men were employed with shovels and pickaxes in smoothing a place on the ice for her to lie upon." Again, on the 6th, a large floe came down upon them with great violence, and, pressing the vessel against the land ice, lifted her several feet out of the water. Everyone rushed on deck, with the exception of the carpenter, who coolly sounded the well to ascertain the depth of water in the hold. For some hours the ship was in danger of being driven on shore; the ice continued to grind and pile up round her, while all the ice-anchors were laid out, one of which was wrenched in two by the tremendous strain, and thrown high up into the air. The wind, however, providentially changed, the ice slackened, and they were safe. At length, while Captain Austin's squadron were secured for the winter in a field of ice between Cornwallis and Griffiths Islands, Mr Penny and Sir John Ross reached Assistance Harbour, where they wintered. A variety of means were taken to amuse the crews during the depth of winter; and, as soon as spring began, exploring parties went out in every direction. We cannot trace the progress of the several parties in boats and sledges. Their persevering struggles serve to prove the existence, at all events, if that were required, of the heroic endurance of hardships, the indomitable courage, the invariable cheerfulness under the most depressing trials, and the unconquerable ardour, in spite of every obstacle, characteristic of British seamen. About 2000 miles altogether were traversed by the different parties. Mr Penny made every effort to ascend Wellington Channel; but his success was trifling compared to his unwearied endeavours. When his sledge was stopped by open water, and after incredible labours a boat was brought to the spot, thick-ribbed ice had collected to impede its progress. All the efforts of the heroic explorers were in vain. Lieutenant De Haven's ships returned to the United States, after enduring many hardships; and Captain Austin, Sir John Ross, and Mr Penny came back to England in the autumn of 1851.

Another year, however, was not allowed to pass before a further expedition was entrusted to the command of a talented officer, Sir Edward Belcher. The Assistance and Resolute were again commissioned, and, with the Pioneer and Intrepid screw-steamers, were placed under his orders, many of the officers who before accompanied Captain Austin volunteering their services. Captain Kellet, who had returned home in the Herald, was appointed to command the Resolute.

They proceeded early in the spring for Wellington Channel, and, favoured by an open season, part of the squadron entered that mysterious inlet, with a favourable breeze, in high health, and with buoyant hopes that they were about to carry succour to their long-lost countrymen—how soon, like those of many others, to meet with disappointment! Up that very channel, it has since been ascertained, the expedition under Sir John Franklin had gone, but had been compelled, as those in search of it soon were, to return southward.

In the meantime, Commander Inglefield, who had first gone out in the Isabel, commissioned the Phoenix steam-sloop, with the Lady Franklin as a sailing-tender, and proceeded to Baffin's Bay. Mr Kennedy again went out in the Isabel, and the Americans sent forth the well-known expedition under Dr Kane, whose narrative must be read with the deepest interest by all, and his early death, the result of the hardships he endured on that occasion, sincerely deplored.

While Sir Edward Belcher in the Assistance, accompanied by the Pioneer, proceeded up Wellington Channel, Captain Kellet in the Resolute, accompanied by the Intrepid, leaving the North Star with stores at Beechey Island, continued his voyage to Melville Island, which he reached after encountering many dangers, and where he was frozen up at Bridport Inlet, on the 11th of September 1852.

We before narrated how the Enterprise and Investigator left England in January 1850, and, proceeding round Cape Horn, the latter reached the Sandwich Islands in June, and sailed again for Behring's Straits the day before the arrival of her consort. The Investigator had a remarkably quick passage to Behring's Straits; and after communicating with the Herald, Captain Kellet, off Cape Lisbourne, and exchanging signals with the Plover, which vessel wintered in those seas, she pursued her course easterly along the north coast of North America, and passed Point Barrow under press of sail on the 5th of August. Thus it will be seen that several ships as well as land parties were engaged in the search for the long-lost crews of the Erebus and Terror at the same time— from the east and west as well as from the south.

Since the 5th of August 1850, no tidings had been received of Captain McClure and the Investigator, till the time that Captain Kellet, who last saw him in the west, had once more made his way into the Arctic Ocean from the east, and was now commencing his long winter imprisonment at Bridport Inlet, Melville Island, in September 1852. The only time that exploring parties can travel is during daylight in the early autumn or in the spring. The spring is most fitted for crossing the Frozen Sea, before the ice breaks up and the cold has become less intense. In the autumn of 1852, Lieutenant Median, of the Resolute, was despatched by Captain Kellet to explore the coast of Melville Island to the west, and to form depots of provisions, as were other parties in different directions. On his return, passing through Winter Harbour, in Melville Island, at no great distance to the west of Bridport Inlet, what was his surprise and satisfaction to find in a cairn, a record, with a chart of his discoveries, left by Captain McClure on the previous May, stating that he should probably be found in Mercy Harbour, Banks' Land, unless he should be able to push on through Barrow's Straits, which it seemed very unlikely that he could have done. This was the first evidence to the new explorers of the actual existence of a continuous channel from the Atlantic to the Pacific—that there exists a North-West Passage.

Most tantalising was it, however, to them to know that at that season they could not possibly venture across to meet their countrymen. Indeed, the gallant McClure expressly forbade them in the document they had discovered. "Any attempt to send succour will only increase the evil," were his words. The winter passed rapidly away, but it was not till March that Captain Kellet considered it prudent to send an expedition across the Straits to where he supposed the Investigator was to be found.

We will now trace the progress of the Investigator, from the time she was last seen passing Point Barrow under a press of sail.

She made the ice on the 2nd of August, and, more than once being nearly caught by it, she reached Cape Bathurst by the 30th. Rounding it, she stood east and north, passing the south of Baring Island, which was called Cape Nelson. She then reached a channel with Baring Island on the west, and another land on the east, to which the name of Prince Albert's Land was given, when, on the 30th of September, she was fairly frozen in. Prince Albert's Land was taken possession of on the 8th of October, in the name of Her Most Gracious Majesty, by Captain McClure, with a party of officers and men, who landed, and planted a staff with a flag to it on the shore. On their return to the ship, they found that the land and sea ice had separated, and they were alarmed with the prospect of having to remain on shore during the whole of an Arctic autumn night. Happily, their signals were at last seen, and a party, with two of Halkett's inflatable boats, was sent to their assistance. In consequence of the excessive roughness of the ice, no other boat could have been got across. "By these means a large party were relieved, who were without tents, clothing, fuel, provisions, or in any way provided to withstand the severities of a Polar night, with the thermometer eight degrees minus." We take the opportunity of advising that all vessels should be provided with one or more of these admirable contrivances. They may be of any size, from that in which one man alone can sit, to one capable of carrying fifty people. One might always be kept on deck, which could be launched in a moment should a man fall overboard. By this means numberless lives might be saved.

Captain McClure, feeling assured that the ship was immovably fixed for the winter, started with a sledge party on the 21st, to proceed to the north-east, in the hopes of discovering Barrow's Straits; and, after travelling for upwards of seventy miles, they had the intense gratification, on the 26th of October, of pitching their tents on its shores. The next morning, before sunrise, he and Mr Court ascended a hill, 600 feet in height, whence they could command a view of forty or fifty miles over the Straits, though the opposite shore of Melville Island could not be discerned. They found, however, by their observations, that Sir Edward Parry had very correctly marked the loom of the land on which they stood; and that thus the long-vexed question was solved, and that, whatever others might have done, or might be doing, they had, at all events, found a watery way from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans.

They reached the ship again on the 31st, narrowly escaping destruction in a fog, when Captain McClure had to wander about during a whole night on a floe, with the thermometer from five to fifteen degrees below zero. And now the first winter of the Investigator was commenced in those ice-bound regions. By the middle of April, expeditions were sent out in all directions, and depots of provisions established for the relief of the long-lost companions of Sir John Franklin.

Both sides of the Prince of Wales' Straits were thoroughly explored, as was Baring Island and Prince Albert's Land as far as its southern shore, known as Wollaston Land,—a continuous coast-line being thus laid down along the whole southern shore of Barrow's Straits, and that of the north shore of the American continent, united with the discoveries of previous explorers. This, it will be remembered, was the winter of 1850-51.

When the short summer once more returned, Captain McClure made every endeavour to get the ship to the north-east, through the Prince of Wales' Straits into Barrow's Straits, but in vain. So closely was the ice packed at the north-east end, that, after running great hazard of shipwreck, he was compelled to give up the attempt on the 16th of July, when only twenty-five miles distant from Barrow's Straits, and bearing up, he ran to the south and west round Baring Island. The voyage off the west coast of that large island was full of danger, the ship frequently narrowly escaping being cast away, till at length, with a fair breeze, she entered Banks' Straits, which, leading into Melville Sound, may be looked upon as the western end of Barrow's Straits. They were but some eighty miles distant from Barrow's Straits, with every prospect of gaining them, and being able the following season to return home, when a heavy barrier of ice rose before them to intercept their progress. Backward they were driven into a deep bay, to which the name of the Bay of Mercy was given, as an acknowledgment of the merciful way in which they had been preserved from so many dangers. They had actually been only five days under weigh after leaving their winter quarters in Prince of Wales' Straits.

As in the previous season, their time was fully occupied in making exploring expeditions in all directions, and in shooting excursions. With the exception of about three weeks in January, when it was too dark to shoot, enough game was killed to enable them to enjoy a meal of fresh meat three days in the fortnight.

On the 11th of April, Captain McClure, with Mr Court, second master, and a sledge party, started to cross the ice on sledges, to visit Winter Harbour, in Melville Island. Soon after leaving the ship a thick fog came on, and continued for several days, so that their destination was not reached till the 28th.

We must picture to ourselves the sort of work these brave men had to go through, to do full justice to their perseverance and courage,—day after day travelling on, dragging their sledges across the frozen strait, often in the face of biting winds, encamping night after night with simply a tent to shelter them and a spirit-lamp only with which to cook their food or to afford them warmth. Yet thus, during that eventful period in the history of Arctic discovery, were many hundred British seamen employed in different portions of the icy ocean, all nobly engaged in the search for their lost countrymen and brother sailors. Not only for month after month, but year after year,—the only interruption being the dark, long night of mid-winter, and the brief period of summer navigation,—when, amid icebergs and ice-fields, whirled here and there, tossed by storms, and urged impetuously on by currents, they forced their way onward, in the hope of gaining the open ocean in another hemisphere.

At Winter Harbour Captain McClure found a large fragment of sandstone, with this inscription—"His Britannic Majesty's ships Hecla and Griper, Commanders Parry and Lyddon, wintered in the adjacent harbour during the winter of 1819-20. A. Fisher, sculpsit." Lieutenant McClintock had left a notice of his visit on the previous year on the same fragment, and protected it by a large cairn. In this cairn Captain McClure now deposited his own despatches, giving a plan of the way he intended to proceed under the various circumstances which might occur. One portion especially is worthy of notice.

After stating his intention of visiting Port Leopold, in Barrow's Straits, and of leaving there information of the route he purposed to pursue, he says: "Should no intimation be found of our having been there, it may be at once surmised that some fatal catastrophe has happened, either from being carried into the Polar Sea, or smashed in Barrow's Straits, and no survivors left. If such should be the case, it will then be quite unnecessary to penetrate farther to the westward to our relief, as, by the period that any vessel could reach that port, we must, from want of provisions, all have perished; in such case I would submit that the officer may be directed to return, and by no means incur the danger of losing other lives in quest of those who will then be no more." Admirable indeed is the calm courage with which he contemplated that fearful contingency which we now know too well overtook the expedition of which he was in quest, and his generous anxiety that no more valuable lives should be sacrificed in searching for him. Accomplishing in ten days what occupied eighteen upon the outward trip, the party reached the ship on the 9th of May. Summer was approaching. Some deer and musk oxen were shot. By the 10th of August the frozen-up mariners began to entertain the joyful hopes of being liberated. Lanes of water were observed to seaward, and along the cliffs of Banks' Land there was a clear space of six miles in width extending along them as far as the eye could reach; and on the 12th the wind, which had been for some time from the northward, veered to the south, which had the effect of separating the ice from that of the bay entirely across the entrance. Every moment they were in expectation of their release, and then a few days' sail would carry them into Barrow's Straits, and perhaps into Baffin's Bay itself. Shortly, however, the wind changed to the northward, the ice again closed: in vain they waited for it to open.

On the 20th the temperature fell to 27 degrees, and the entire bay was frozen over. The ice never again opened, and the usual preparations were made for passing a third winter in those Arctic seas. It is wonderful to observe how officers and men kept up their spirits, and how cheerfully they bore their trials and privations. They had for a year been placed on two-thirds allowance of provisions; the consumption was still further decreased, to enable them to exist another eighteen months. The winter was severe, but passed away without sickness; and now Captain McClure informed his crew that it was his purpose to send a portion home in a boat by Baffin's Bay. The intended travellers were put on full allowance, and all preparations were made for their starting on the 15th of April.

One day towards the end of March, Captain McClure and his first lieutenant were taking their daily exercise on the floe near the ship, when they saw running towards them a person whom they supposed to be one of their own men chased by a bear. They hurried on, when, to their surprise, they discovered that he was a stranger, his face so blackened by the smoke from the oil-lamp that his features could not be recognised. "Who are you? Where are you come from?"

"Lieutenant Pim—Herald—Captain Kellet," was the answer. Wonderful indeed it seemed; for Lieutenant Pim was the last person with whom the captain of the Investigator had shaken hands in Behring's Straits. It was some time before Lieutenant Pim could find words to express himself, when he announced that he was ahead of his party, who had crossed from the winter quarters of the Resolute in Bridport Inlet, Melville Island. Captain McClure then set out with a party of officers and men to visit the Resolute, which ship was reached on the 19th of April 1853, after traversing a distance of 170 miles.

Great was the satisfaction of the two gallant captains at thus again meeting. It was finally resolved that a portion of the crews of both ships should be sent home, while the remainder should stay in the hopes of extricating them during the coming summer. As, however, many of the Investigator's crew were suffering from scurvy, only a small number were able to continue the journey westward, under command of Lieutenant Cresswell and Lieutenant Wynniett.

On the 2nd of June they arrived on board the North Star, Captain Pullen, at Beechey Island. The distance was 300 miles, and it had taken them four weeks to perform the journey.

On the 8th of August the Phoenix screw-steamer, Captain Inglefield, arrived. At that time Captain Pullen had been away a month up Wellington Channel, to communicate with Sir Edward Belcher. By the time he returned, the season had so much advanced, that it was decided to send back the Phoenix with Lieutenant Cresswell and his party. On the 4th of October they landed at Thurso, and on the 7th of October arrived at the Admiralty, with the announcement of the safety of the Investigator, and the tidings that the geographical question of the existence of the long-sought-for North-West Passage had been satisfactorily solved.

We must now turn briefly to narrate the fate of the numerous exploring vessels left in the Arctic regions at the setting in of the winter of 1853-54.

Before we do so, we must, however, give a brief account of the progress made by the persevering and brave Captain Collinson.

When, in 1850, Captain McClure succeeded in reaching the ice through Behring's Straits, the Enterprise, from having been somewhat longer on her voyage, was not so fortunate, and was compelled to winter in Port Clarence. Hence the Enterprise again sailed on the 10th of July 1851, to push her way eastward along the American coast, visiting the islands which form the northern shore of the channel. Here he found several depots and marks left by Captain McClure in the spring or in the previous autumn. The Enterprise finally was frozen in, in a sheltered harbour in Prince Albert's Land, near the entrance of Prince of Wales' Straits.

Several long and hazardous expeditions were performed on foot with sledges during the spring of 1852, both north and east, being out between forty and fifty days. Again putting to sea, the Enterprise passed through Dolphin and Union Straits and Dean's Straits eastward. By the 26th of September the Enterprise reached Cambridge Bay, when she was again frozen in, to pass her third winter in the ice—one of the most severe ever experienced in those regions. During the next spring, that of 1853, Captain Collinson, with his Lieutenants Jago, Parkes, and other officers, were employed in pushing on their laborious explorations in the direction where they hoped some traces of their long-lost countrymen might be found. In latitude 70 degrees 3 minutes north and longitude 101 degrees west they fell in with a cairn erected by Dr Rae, from which they obtained the first intimation that any parties had preceded them in the search, and their observations tended to corroborate his, namely, that the ice, except in extraordinary seasons, does not leave the east coast of Victoria Land.

Little did Captain Collinson know that from the shore on which he stood, as he looked eastward, he gazed on the very ice-field in which the Erebus and Terror had been beset, and that amid it, not many miles distant, the brave, the noble Franklin had breathed his last—that it was during an extraordinary season the two exploring ships had entered the icy snare, from which they were never to be released.

But we are anticipating the events of our deeply interesting and melancholy history.

Captain Collinson and his companions reached their ship on the 31st of May, after an absence of forty-nine days. It will be thus seen, that in justice the honour should be awarded to Captain Collinson and his followers, equally with Captain McClure and his, of having discovered the North-West Passage. Indeed, it is believed that it is only by the way he came, if any passage is practicable, that a ship could get round from the east to the west.

On the 10th August the Enterprise once more put to sea, steering westward. The Straits were found free of ice till they were abreast of the mouth of the Coppermine River, where they were detained till the 23rd. They passed Cape Bathurst on the 31st, again encountering ice; Herschel Island on the 5th of September; and, after overcoming various obstacles, were finally fixed for the winter on the west side of Camden Bay.

The season passed mildly away. In the spring more expeditions were made, and visits received from the Esquimaux. The ship was not free till the 20th of July. She reached Port Clarence on the 21st of August; and at length Captain Collinson was able to send home despatches announcing the safety of his ship, officers, and crew.

We are inclined to consider Captain Collinson's voyage, with the light of the information subsequently given us, not only as the most remarkable of all the Arctic voyages, but as guided by the greatest wisdom, and executed with a courage, forethought, and perseverance unsurpassed. He may well claim the honour of being "the first navigator who took a ship of 530 tons through the narrow Dolphin and Union Straits and Dease's Strait, ice-strewn and rocky as they are, in safety to Cambridge Bay (105 degrees west), preserved his men in health through three winters, and finally brought them home in health and his ship in safety."

We must now return to Sir Edward Belcher's expedition. The greatest service it rendered was through Captain Kellet, by whose means the brave Captain McClure and his crew were rescued from their perilous position. We left the Resolute and Intrepid on the northern side of the Strait, frozen up in Bridport Inlet, in the spring of 1853. Although a northern gale drove them to sea during the summer, when they drifted about for eighty-seven days helplessly in the pack till off Cape Cockburn, on the 12th of November they were again frozen in; and the Investigator, also remaining fixed, was abandoned, the officers and crew spending the winter on board the Resolute. The Assistance and Pioneer being likewise frozen in, Captain Kellet received orders from Sir Edward Belcher to abandon his part of the squadron; and on the 26th of August the two last-named ships were also abandoned, the officers and crews arriving safely on board the North Star on the following day at Beechey Island. Fortunately the next day the North Star met the Phoenix and Talbot, when all the ships returned to England.

All due praise must be awarded to the gallant officers and men of the expedition, who exerted themselves heroically in the great cause they had undertaken. An Arctic passage was discovered; McClure and his followers performed it on the ice, probably the only way in which it ever will be performed; but the most important Arctic mystery was still unsolved—the fate of Franklin remained undiscovered. It was only known where he was not. As if to teach all those engaged in that well-arranged, powerful expedition a lesson of humility, the discovery was reserved for others with far humbler means at their disposal.



CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

VOYAGE OF THE FOX.

None of the numerous expeditions sent forth to discover traces of Sir John Franklin's expedition afford matter of greater interest than that of the little yacht the Fox, while it has surpassed all in successfully clearing up the mystery which for ten long years or more hung over the fate of that gallant Arctic explorer and his brave companions.

The Fox, a screw-steamer of 177 tons, was the property of Lady Franklin, and the command of her was confided to Captain McClintock, RN, who had already made several Arctic voyages. He had as officers, Lieutenant Hobson, RN, and Captain Allan Young, a noble-minded commander of the mercantile marine; with Dr Walker as surgeon, and Mr Carl Petersen as interpreter. She was prepared at Aberdeen for her arduous undertaking, and sailed 1st of July 1857. She entered Baffin's Bay, and had got as far north as Melville Bay, on its north-west shore, when she was beset by the ice early in September, and there blocked up for the winter.

Soon after midnight on the 25th of April 1858, she was once more under weigh, and forcing her way out from among huge masses of ice thrown in on her by the ocean swell. Repeatedly the frozen masses were hurled against the sharp iron bow, causing the vessel to shake violently, the bells to ring, and almost knocking the crew off their feet. On one occasion the ice stopped the screw for some minutes. Anxious moments those—"After that day's experience I can understand how men's hair has turned grey in a few hours," says Captain McClintock.

Touching at the Danish settlements to refit, and at Pond's Bay, the little Fox, narrowly escaping destruction, at length reached Beechey Island on the 11th of August. Here a tablet was erected to the memory of Sir John Franklin and his officers and crew, and the Fox, having filled up with stores and coals from the depot there, left again on the 16th.

On the 18th she had run twenty-five miles down Peel's Straits, the hopes of all raised to the utmost, when a pack of ice appeared, barring their farther progress. Putting about, she visited the depot at Port Leopold, where boats and an abundant supply of all sorts of articles were found, which, in case of the destruction of their own vessel, would afford the explorers a fair prospect of escape.

Far different was the condition of Arctic explorers now, than it had been when Franklin sailed on his fatal expedition. Then they had to depend entirely on their own resources; now, through the sagacity and forethought of those who sent them forth, depots of provisions and boats and sledges, and even huts, had been provided, to afford every possible means of escape should any disaster overtake their ships.

Captain McClintock, on leaving Leopold Harbour, sailed north down Prince Regent's Inlet, but in vain attempted to force a passage through any channel to the east. At last he returned some way north to Bellot's Straits, discovered by Mr Kennedy, and called after his unfortunate companion, Lieutenant Bellot, of the French navy, who lost his life when belonging to Sir Edward Belcher's expedition. He passed some distance through Bellot's Straits, and the Fox was finally beset, on the 28th September, in a beautiful little harbour in them, to which the name of Kennedy Harbour was given.

Depots were now established by travelling parties to the north-east, some eighty miles or more from the ship, and all preparations made for prosecuting their interesting search in the spring. This commenced the winter of 1858-59, the second passed by the Fox in the ice.

On the 17th February, Captain McClintock started with Mr Petersen and one man, Thompson, on a long pedestrian expedition, with two sledges drawn by dogs. Lieutenant Hobson set off about the same time, as did also Captain Young,—all three expeditions in different directions, towards the south; the first two accomplished several hundred miles to King William's Island.

Great indeed were the trials and hardships they underwent in these expeditions. Day after day they trudged on, employed for two hours each evening, before they could take their food or go to rest, in building their snow huts, exposed to biting winds, to snow and sleet, and often to dense fogs.

On one occasion one man alone of a whole party escaped being struck by snow-blindness; and he had to lead them with their packs, and to guide them back to the vessel. How terrible would have been their fate had he also been struck with blindness!

On the west coast of King William's Island, which is separated by a broad channel from the mainland of America, they fell in with several families of Esquimaux, among whom numerous relics of the Franklin expedition were discovered. The most interesting were purchased. Farther north, on the west coast, a cairn was found, within which was a paper with the announcement of Sir John Franklin's death, and with the sad statement, written at a subsequent period, that it had been found necessary to abandon the ships and to proceed to the southward.

A boat on runners also was found with two skeletons in her, and another skeleton at a distance—all too plainly telling a tale which shall be narrated hereafter. The Esquimaux also said that they had seen men sink down and die along the shore; and that one ship had gone down crushed by the ice, and that another had been driven on shore. With this terrible elucidation of the long-continued mystery, only partly cleared up before by Dr Rae, they began their return journey.

On the 19th of June Captain McClintock reached his ship, the ice having begun to melt with the increased warmth of the weather. August arrived, and the explorers began to look out anxiously for the breaking up of the ice.

At last, on the 10th, a favourable breeze drove the ice out of the bay, and the trim little Fox, under sail and steam, merrily darted out of her prison, and hurried north towards Barrow's Straits. She reached Baffin's Bay, and, touching at the Danish settlements, arrived in the English Channel on the 20th of September, having made the passage under sail in nineteen days from Greenland.

THE FATE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S EXPEDITION.

The last intelligence which had been received of the Erebus and Terror was from the whalers in July 1845, at Melville Bay. Thence the expedition passed on through Lancaster Sound to Barrow's Straits, and entered Wellington Channel, the southern entrance to which had been discovered by Sir Edward Parry in 1819. Up by it the ships sailed for 150 miles, when, being stopped by the ice, they returned south by a new channel into Barrow's Straits, and passed the winter of 1845-46 at Beechey Island. In 1846 they proceeded to the south-west, and ultimately reached within twelve miles of the north entrance of King William's Land.

Here they spent the winter of 1846-47, as far as can be known, in the enjoyment of good health, and with the intention and hope of prosecuting their voyage to the westward through the only channel likely to be open along the northern shore of America, and from the known portion of which they were then only ninety miles distant.

On Monday the 24th May 1847, Lieutenant Gore, with Mr Des Voeux, mate, and a party of six men, left the ship, and proceeded for some purpose to King William's Island, where, on Point Victory, he deposited a document stating that Sir John Franklin and all were well.

This document was afterwards visited by Captain Crozier, and a brief but sad statement of after events written on it. In less than three weeks after that time, the brave, kind, and well-beloved commander of the expedition, Sir John Franklin, had ceased to breathe, as Captain Crozier states that he died on the 11th of June 1847. Who can doubt that his life was taken by a merciful Providence before he could become aware of the dreadful doom about to overtake his gallant followers?

Probably Lieutenant Gore returned from that journey of exploration, as Captain Crozier speaks of him as the late Commander Gore, showing that on the death of their chief he had been raised a step in rank; but not long to enjoy it—he having among others passed away. The command of the expedition now devolved on Captain Crozier; but who can picture his anxiety and that of his officers and men, as the summer of 1847 drew on—the sea open to the north and south, but the ships immovably fixed in the vast mass of ice driven down upon them from Melville Sound? How bitter must have been their grief and disappointment when August and September passed away, and they found that they must pass another winter, that of 1847-48, in those regions! We know, too, that the ships were only provisioned up to 1848.

Painfully that dreary winter must have passed away, and sad must have been the feelings of Captains Crozier and Fitzjames when they came to the resolution of abandoning the ships, by which a high sense of duty had induced them hitherto to remain.

Up to 22nd April 1848, the total loss by deaths had been nine officers and fifteen men. On the 22nd April 1848, Captains Crozier and Fitzjames, with their officers and crews, consisting of 105 men, abandoned their ice-bound ships, and landed on the 25th on King William's Island, and started the following day for Back's Fish River, which runs through the Hudson's Bay territories from the south.

Their hope was that they might, voyaging up that river, at length reach some of the Hudson's Bay Company's trading posts. That they reached the mouth of Fish River we have melancholy evidence. Here they probably encamped, and, when the season advanced, proceeded some way up, but, finding the difficulties of the navigation insurmountable, they returned to the mouth of the river, with the intention perhaps of proceeding along the coast to the westward through the North-West Passage, which they now knew for a certainty to exist. Before, however, they could do this, it was necessary to send to the ships for stores and any provisions which might have remained on board.

For this purpose a strong party must have been despatched with a boat on a sledge, showing that they started rather early in the summer season, before the Straits were frozen over, or late in the spring, when they might expect to have to return by water. They greatly overrated their strength. When still eighty miles from the ships, they left the boat with two or more invalids in her, and a variety of valuables, hoping to reach the ships more speedily, and to return to her. One or more of those left with the boat attempted to follow, and dropped by the way. Some, perhaps, reached the ships, and attempted to regain the boat; but the greater number, overcome with hunger, disease, and cold, fell on their northward journey, never to rise again.

Two skeletons were found in the boat; and one, supposed to be that of a steward, between her and the ships. Of the ships, one was seen by the Esquimaux to go down, while the other drove on shore with one body only on board, probably that of a person who had died during the final visit. Certain it is that no one regained the boat on their return journey to the south. Plate and vast quantities of clothing were found along the route, showing that on leaving the ships the hapless men considered themselves capable of considerable exertion; and as they carried a large amount of powder and shot, they undoubtedly hoped to maintain themselves by means of their guns.

In vain did the main body at the mouth of Back's Fish River wait the return of their shipmates. Week after week, month after month, passed by—they did not appear. How long they remained encamped on this bleak and barren coast it is difficult to determine. If the account received by Dr Rae is to be credited, it was not till the spring of 1850 that the survivors of that gallant band made a last desperate attempt to push their way inland, and sank down, as had their companions in suffering many months before them. Thus perished the whole of that gallant band of true-hearted seamen, who, with high hopes and spirits, had left England five years before in the prosecution of an undertaking which they had every reason to believe would so greatly redound to the honour and glory of England, and to their own high renown. The task was accomplished; a knowledge of the North-West Passage was obtained. Their lives were sacrificed in the attainment; but they won names imperishable in English naval history, and gave another example of the undaunted courage, hardihood, and perseverance of British seamen.



CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH POLE—1875.

Since the numerous expeditions connected with the search for Sir John Franklin, England had sent forth none towards the North Pole. Other nations, in the meantime, had been making efforts to reach the long-desired goal. Influenced by the representations of numerous officers and other scientific men interested in Arctic discovery, the British Government at length came to the resolution of despatching some ships under the command of naval officers, who were to penetrate through Smith's Sound, to ascertain whether an open Polar sea existed, and to endeavour to reach the North Pole.

Two screw-steamers, the Alert of 751 tons, and the Discovery of 668 tons,—being strengthened by every means science could devise for resisting the Polar ice,—were fitted out, and Captain Nares was selected to command the expedition. Commander Markham, who had considerable experience, was appointed to act under him on board the Alert. Captain Nares and Commander Markham were the only two officers in the expedition who had previously crossed the Arctic Circle, but all the others were selected for their known high character and scientific attainments.

The other officers of the Alert were Lieutenants Aldrich, Parr, Giffard, May, and Sub-Lieutenant Egerton. Various important duties connected with the scientific objects of the expedition were undertaken by them. Dr Colan, the fleet surgeon, was known as a good ethnologist; Dr Moss, in addition to other scientific attainments, was an excellent artist. Captain Fielden went as ornithologist; Mr Wootton, the senior engineer, was an officer of experience; Mr White was the photographer of the Alert; and Mr Pullen, the chaplain, was a botanist. Besides the officers, the complement of the Alert was made up of petty officers, able seamen, marines, and others, forty-eight in all, some of whom were well able to assist the superior officers in their scientific duties. Christian Neil Petersen, a Dane, who had served in the expedition of Dr Hayes, was engaged as interpreter and dog-driver on board the Alert.

The Discovery was commanded by Captain Henry Stephenson. His active staff consisted of Lieutenants Beaumont, Rawson, Archer, Fulford; Sub-Lieutenant Conybeare; Doctors Ninnis and Coppinger; engineers Gartmel and Miller; assistant paymaster Mitchell, a photographer and good artist. Mr Hodson was the chaplain, and Mr Hart the botanist.

Their scientific duties were divided like those of the officers of the Alert. HM steamship Valorous was at the same time commissioned by Captain Loftus Jones to accompany the exploring ships up Davis' Straits as far as Disco, where she was to fill them up with the coals and provisions which she carried for the purpose. She was an old paddle-wheel steamer of 1200 tons, and was but ill fitted to withstand the ice she was likely to encounter in those seas. Loud cheers from thousands of spectators rose in the air, as, on the 29th of May 1875, the three ships steamed out of Portsmouth harbour and proceeded towards Bantry Bay, which they left on the 2nd of June for their voyage across the Atlantic. Heavy gales were met with, which tried the gear of the ships, the Alert and the Discovery each losing a valuable whale-boat, besides receiving other damage. The Valorous reached Godhaven on the 4th of July, and the Alert and Discovery arrived there on the 6th. Some days were spent here in transferring the coals and stores brought out by the Valorous to the two exploring ships—the Alert receiving also twenty-four dogs, which had been provided by the Danish Government. The ships then proceeded, accompanied by the Valorous, to Riltenbenk, where the Discovery received her twenty dogs, and an Eskimo named Frederik, who came on board with his kayak.

On the 17th of July the Alert and Discovery steamed northward on their adventurous expedition, while the Valorous proceeded towards the Disco shore, where, from its coal cliffs, she was to supply herself with fuel.

A fog coming on hid the ships from each other. After running through a perfectly clear sea for some distance, the weather being fine, Captain Nares determined to take his ships through the middle ice of Baffin's Bay, instead of passing round by Melville Bay. On the 24th of July the pack was entered, but the floes were rotten, and at first not more than 250 yards in diameter. As the ships advanced, the ice became closer, and the floes of much larger circumference, making it necessary to look out for channels. The commanders were constantly in the crow's nests, and succeeded at length in carrying their ships through, in the space of thirty-four hours, although not without some scratches, and having to put on full steam.

They found the entrance to Smith's Sound perfectly clear of ice, none drifting southward, although there was a fresh northerly breeze. The scene of the wreck of the Polaris was visited, and either the log, or a copy, of the ill-fated vessel discovered. The next point touched at was Cape Isabella, on the 29th of July. Here a cairn with a small depot of provisions was erected, at an elevation of 700 feet from the water, by the crew of the Alert, while the Discovery pushed forward. On the 30th of July the Discovery was beset off Cape Sabine, by a close pack five or six miles broad. The Alert, having bored through it, joined her, and both ships spent three days, sometimes getting under weigh and attempting to escape, until the 4th of August, when the pack moving forward enabled them to round Cape Sabine. Proceeding twenty miles farther along the south side of Hayes Sound, they put into a snug harbour, near which was discovered a valley with abundance of vegetation, and traces of musk oxen. Finding, however, that there was no channel in that direction, they bore away to the eastward, towards Cape Albert. Here a clear space of water appeared along the shore of the mainland; but the coast affording no protection, they ran into the pack, with the expectation of forcing their way through. In this they were disappointed, and, unable to extricate themselves, they were drifting at a fearful rate towards an iceberg. The Discovery seemed to be in the greatest danger, but suddenly the floe wheeled round, and the icy mountain was seen tearing its way through the surface ice directly down on the Alert. Her destruction seemed inevitable, when, at the distance of scarcely a hundred yards, the iceberg turned over, the floe splitting up, when the ship, although nipped, made her escape. They both then got round in the wake of the iceberg. For the next twenty-four hours they were struggling towards the shore, through ice four feet thick, amidst bergs of 300 feet in diameter, although only from twenty to forty high. At length successful, they reached, on the 8th of August, the land of Victoria. Thus they pushed forward, sometimes struggling with the ice, and boring their way through the packs, at others making progress by an open space near the shore. So closely-packed was the ice, that the channel by which the ships advanced was often immediately closed astern, so that they would have found it as difficult to return as to proceed northward.

On the 25th August, after many hairbreadth escapes, a sheltered harbour was reached on the west side of the channel in Hall's Basin, north of Lady Franklin's Sound, in latitude 81 degrees 44 minutes north. Here the Discovery was secured for the winter, while the Alert, as it had been arranged, pushed onwards, for the purpose of proceeding as far as possible through the supposed open Polar Sea, and reaching, some might have vainly hoped, the Pole itself.

After rounding the north-east point of Grant's Land, instead of discovering, as had been expected, a continuous coast leading a hundred miles farther towards the north, the Alert found herself on the confines of what was evidently a very extensive sea, but covered as far as the eye could reach by closely-packed ice of prodigious thickness. Through this ice it was at once seen that it would be impossible to penetrate. The ship, indeed, herself was placed in the greatest peril, for the ice was seen bearing down upon her while she lay unable to escape, with a rock-bound coast to the southward, and no harbour in which to seek for refuge.

Happily she was saved by the extraordinary depth to which the ice sank; for the mass grounding on the beach, formed a barrier inside of which she was tolerably safe. We can well enter into the disappointment of those who expected to have found the long-talked-of open Polar Sea, instead of which ice, evidently of great age and thickness, the accumulation, it might be, of centuries, and resembling rather low floating icebergs massed together, than the ordinary appearance of salt-water. When two vast floes meet, the lighter portions floating between the closing masses are broken up and thrown over their surface, sometimes to the height of fifty feet above the water, forming a succession of ice-hills of the most rugged description.

Although Captain Nares saw at once the almost impracticable character of the ice in the direction of the Pole, and which there was every probability would prove continuous, he resolved, as soon as the weather would allow, to despatch a sledge party in the desired direction. The supposed Polar Sea was appropriately named the "Palaeocrystic Sea," or "Sea of Ancient Ice."

The ice hitherto met with was seldom more than from two to ten feet in thickness; that which was now stretched before them was found to measure from eighty to one hundred and twenty feet in depth, its lowest part being fifteen feet above the water-line. This enormous thickness was produced in consequence of its being shut up in the Polar Sea, with few outlets by which it could escape to the southward, the ice of one season being added in succession to that of the previous year.

The two ships were now in their winter quarters,—the Alert off the coast of Grant's Land, with a bleak shore to the southward, and to the north a vast wilderness of rugged ice, extending in all probability to the Pole, in latitude 82 degrees 27 minutes, many miles farther than any ship had ever attained; while the Discovery was seventy miles off, in a harbour on the coast of Greenland, inside Smith's Sound, in latitude 81 degrees 45 minutes. Lieutenant Rawson, with a party of men, had come on board the Alert in order to convey notice of her position to the Discovery. He made two determined attempts to perform the journey between the two ships without success, owing to the ice remaining unfrozen till late in the autumn in Robson's Channel. He and his men had therefore to pass the winter on board the Alert. As soon as the safety of the Alert was secured, sledge parties were sent on along the shore to the southward and westward, with boats and provisions for the use of the travelling parties in the spring, under the command of Commander Markham and Lieutenant Aldrich. The latter advanced three miles beyond Sir Edward Parry's most northward position, and from a mountain 2000 feet high sighted land towards the west-north-west; but no land was seen to the northward. On their return journey, which lasted for twenty days, most of the people were frost-bitten in the feet.

The winter was passed by the officers and crews of the two ships much in the same way. Banks of snow were heaped round the vessels, and the decks covered ten feet thick with snow to keep out the cold from below, the only apertures being those required for ventilation or egress. The interiors of the ships being warmed by hot-water pipes, a comparatively comfortable atmosphere below was maintained. The time was passed by holding schools, with theatricals, penny readings, and games of all sorts. As soon as travelling was possible, on the 12th of March, Lieutenant Rawson and Mr Egerton, accompanied by Neil Petersen and his dog sledge, set off from the Alert to communicate with the Discovery, the temperature being at this time forty degrees below zero. Two days after leaving the ship Petersen was taken ill. A camp was pitched, but, as he showed no signs of recovering, the officers determined to return. At the utmost risk to themselves they succeeded in retaining heat in the body of the sufferer, and were thus able to bring him alive to the ship; but his feet, which they were unable to protect, were so severely frost-bitten that it was found necessary to amputate both of them, from the effects of which operation he died two months afterwards. The following week, the two officers with fresh men set out and succeeded in reaching the Discovery, thus relieving those on board of the anxiety they had felt in regard to her consort's safety. During the first week in April, the exploring parties, with sledges from both ships, started off in various directions. The party selected to make the desperate attempt to reach the North Pole was under the charge of Commander Markham and Lieutenant Parr. Such was the rough nature of the ice, that a road had to be formed in many places by pickaxes before an advance could be made, even with light loads. The sledges having thus to go backwards and forwards over the same road, the advance was very slow, averaging not more than a mile and a quarter each day. Unable to obtain any fresh provisions, their food was of a character not calculated to maintain their health, and consequently ere long they were all attacked by scurvy. Notwithstanding this, the gallant men pushed on, until on 12th May they planted the British flag in latitude 83 degrees 20 minutes 26 seconds north, leaving only 400 miles between them and the North Pole—many miles farther to the north than any explorers had hitherto succeeded in gaining. The distance made good was 73 miles only from the ship, but in order to accomplish it 276 miles had been travelled over. Commander Markham saw clearly that by proceeding farther he should run the risk of sacrificing the lives of his people. Thus, with a heavy heart, he determined to go back.

The return journey was attended by even greater difficulties than the advance. From the time of their start in April to their return in June, the days had been spent in dragging the sledges over a desert of ice-hills, which resembled a stormy sea suddenly frozen; half the time the men facing the sledges, and hauling forward with their backs in the direction they were going. On getting to within 30 miles of the ship, so large a number were suffering from scurvy, that Lieutenant Parr gallantly volunteered to set out alone to obtain relief. Happily he succeeded, after much difficulty, in arriving, and help was immediately despatched, the officers and men vieing with each other in dragging forward the sledges. Unhappily one man had died before assistance had arrived. Of the rest, only two officers and three men were able to work; three others painfully struggling on rather than add to the difficulties of their companions. The remainder, being perfectly helpless, were carried on the sledges.

Another party sent out by the Alert proceeded to the west under Lieutenant Aldrich, and, after exploring 220 miles of coast-line, they also were attacked by scurvy. Not returning at the time appointed, relief was sent to them. Lieutenant Aldrich and one man alone, out of a crew of seven, remained at the drag-ropes. Numerous expeditions had been sent out also by the Discovery, one of which proceeded along Greenland and suffered greatly. When met by a party, under Lieutenant Rawson, sent out to their assistance, they were found dragging forward four of their helpless comrades, two at a time, advancing only half a mile a day. Two of the men died just as Polaris Bay was reached, opposite Discovery Harbour.

Other exploring expeditions were made in various directions. Captain Stephenson made two trips across Hall's Basin to Greenland. When at Polaris Bay he hoisted the American ensign and fired a salute, while a brass plate, which had been prepared in England, was fixed on Hall's grave. On the tablet was the following inscription:—"Sacred to the memory of Captain C.F. Hall, of the U.S. Polaris, who sacrificed his life in the advancement of science, on 8th November 1871. This tablet has been erected by the British Polar Expedition of 1875, who, following in his footsteps, have profited by his experience."

No inhabitants were seen in the neighbourhood of the ships' winter quarters, but ancient Eskimo remains were traced on the west side of Smith's Sound up to latitude 81 degrees 52 minutes. From thence they crossed it at the narrowest parts of the channel to Greenland. It seems surprising that animal life should exist so far north; but that it does so was proved, six musk oxen having been shot at the Alert's winter quarters, besides fifty-seven others near Discovery Grave. In the same neighbourhood, although not, unfortunately, until the summer had commenced, a seam of good coal, easily worked, was discovered by Mr Hart, the naturalist. It is remarkable that the aurora was far less magnificent than in more southern latitudes. Of the numerous expeditions sent out by the Discovery, several were exposed to extreme danger, while nearly the whole of the men engaged in them suffered from scurvy. One expedition had been despatched to explore North Greenland with a lifeboat. In this party Lieutenant Rawson with four men had become detached, when, with the exception of the lieutenant and a marine, they were attacked with scurvy. One of the men died on the way. Happily they were met by Dr Coppinger, by whose assistance they were greatly restored; an Eskimo, also, being successful in shooting seals, supplied them with fresh food. Dr Coppinger, feeling anxious about the North Greenland party, set out with the Eskimo in a dog sledge, and found them in a most exhausted condition; everything had been left behind, and four were so crippled with scurvy that they were being dragged on by two others, who were only slightly attacked. When the doctor arrived they had not a particle of food, and must inevitably have succumbed. One of the party died the morning after their arrival at Hall's Rest, to which they had been dragged. So critical was the condition of the sufferers, that an officer and two men were despatched in a dog sledge to communicate with the ships; but, as the ice was already breaking up, it was with the greatest difficulty that the channel was crossed in about three days. On their arrival, the captain immediately set out with a relief party. Great anxiety was felt for another party under Lieutenant Beaumont, which was absent far longer than had been expected. He had with him a whale-boat, in which he and his people were driven far up the Sound, and it was not until the ships were on the point of returning home that they were picked up.

The above brief account may give some faint idea of the hardships and sufferings endured by the officers and men of the expedition, as well as of their courage and perseverance.

At length the icy barrier which had enclosed the Alert for so many long months began to break up; but there appeared not the slightest indication of a passage opening up to the northward by which the desired goal could be reached. Captain Nares felt fully confident that the sea before him had for centuries remained frozen, and would continue for ages more in the same condition. His crew were all, more or less, suffering from scurvy.

As much resolution and moral courage is often exhibited in retreating as in advancing. Captain Nares saw that to remain longer in the Polar Sea, in the vain attempt to carry out the object of the expedition, would not only be useless, but would in all probability prove destructive to the lives of his gallant followers. Steam was accordingly got up, and the Alert, boring her way through the ice, succeeded in again entering Smith's Sound. Early in August she got within ten miles of the Discovery; but for some time being prevented moving farther south by the ice, an officer was despatched overland to direct Captain Stephenson to get ready for sea. Not, however, until the 28th of August could the Discovery force her way out of her ice-bound harbour.

It often appeared as if all their efforts to get free would be baffled, but by dint of constant watchfulness for an open channel, by boring and blasting the ice before them, and often running full tilt at the mass which impeded their progress, they forced their onward way, until at length the open sea was gained. The Arctic Circle was recrossed on the 4th of October, exactly fifteen months after it had been crossed on the northward voyage.

Happily the Pandora, Captain Allan Young, who had gone in search of the expedition, was met with, and returned with the ships. Heavy gales were encountered in the Atlantic, when they were all separated. The Alert reached Valencia harbour, in Ireland, on the 27th of October, and the Discovery, Queenstown, on the 29th, soon after which they both returned to Portsmouth.

Besides Neil Petersen, three men, George Porter, James Ward, and Charles Paul, seamen, died of scurvy. The scientific results of the expedition are considerable; and the gallant men engaged in it have fully maintained the high reputation of British seamen for courage, perseverance, high discipline, hardihood, and endurance.



CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

MEMOIR OF COMMODORE JAMES GRAHAM GOODENOUGH.

To die in the path of duty, whatever that duty may be, is as honourable as to fall when engaged on the field of battle, or on the deck in fight with an enemy; and for either lot, British officers have ever shown themselves ready.

Among those of whose services the country has lately been deprived, none stood higher in the estimation of all who knew him than Commodore James Graham Goodenough. A brief notice of his career may induce others to follow his example. He was the second son of the Dean of Wells, was born in 1830, and sent at the age of eleven to Westminster School, of which his father had once been headmaster. He there gained the character he ever maintained of a brave, noble, and kind-hearted boy, who hated all evil doings or evil things. He was diligent and successful in his studies, and was beloved by all his companions.

In 1844 he joined HMS Collingwood as a naval cadet, and in her proceeded to the Pacific station. Here he spent four years, gaining from his messmates the same warm regard he had won from his schoolfellows. Ready for the performance of every duty, he was the leader among his companions on all occasions. He was a good linguist, and equal to the best in navigation and seamanship, as well as in all exercises. His chief characteristic was the thought of others rather than himself. When the Collingwood was paid off, he joined the Cyclops, commanded by Captain Hastings, and in her continued some time on the coast of Africa. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1851, passing the best examination at college. In that rank he served on board the Centaur, the flagship on the Brazilian station. He next served, during 1855, on board the Hastings, commanded by Captain Caffin, a Christian officer, whose advice to his young midshipmen when joining is worthy of being noted: "If you are a Christian, nail your colours to the mast and fight under them; you will be sure, in the end, to overcome your opponents!" While belonging to the Hastings, he was gazetted as having served with the rocket-boats at the bombardment of Sveaborg. After commanding the gunboat Goshawk, he proceeded to China, where he joined the Calcutta, flagship; and was gazetted on four occasions: for the capture of a large snake-boat from pirates in the Canton River, for being thrice in action in boats for the destruction of Chinese war-junks, for gallant services at the assault and capture of Canton, and for services on shore at the capture of the Chinese forts in the Peiho River. He now obtained the rank of commander, and returned for a brief time to England. After this he had for three years the command of the Reynard, on the China station. He next served as commander on board the Revenge, in the Channel squadron, and in 1863 was promoted to the rank of captain. During a residence on shore of about eighteen months he married. In 1864 he was sent by the Admiralty to America to visit the dockyards of the United States, and, at the end of that year, he went out to the Mediterranean as captain of the Victoria, flagship of Sir Robert Smart.

For five years, until 1870, he was in command of the Minotaur. The high esteem in which he was held was shown by his having been selected to assist in the revictualling of Paris after the Prussian siege, and also in distributing the peasant relief fund, when, accompanied by his wife, he gained the affection of all with whom he came in contact.

In 1871 the Admiralty again employed him to visit and report on the naval dockyards of Russia, Austria, Italy, and France,—another proof of the confidence reposed in him.

At length, on the 22nd of May 1873, he was appointed to command HMS Pearl, as commodore on the Australian station. He went out with the determination of doing his utmost for the advancement of science and for furthering the cause of humanity. In the duties he had undertaken he was engaged for nearly two years, during which, while cruising through various parts of the Western Pacific, he never failed when visiting islands inhabited by savage races to endeavour by every means in his power to establish with them a friendly intercourse. On the 12th of August he had landed at Carlisle Bay, on the island of Santa Cruz, accompanied by an interpreter, through whose means, according to his usual plan, he was engaged in communicating with the natives, when, after a conference with some who appeared to have no hostile intentions, as he was in the act of stepping into his boat, a savage, a few yards off, shot a poisoned arrow, which struck him in the side. The example thus set was followed by the other natives, and several of the British were wounded. The boats immediately returned to the ship, but, notwithstanding the efforts of the surgeons to counteract the effects of the poison, the commodore felt that death was approaching. His great anxiety during the following days of intense suffering was to impress the principles by which he had been guided on those serving under him. As he lay in his cabin and his last hours were passing, not a murmur escaped his lips. The only regret he expressed was that he had not strength enough to praise God sufficiently for all His mercies. "The day before his death, believing that he would not live out the night, he had all his officers summoned to his bedside," writes his chaplain, "where, in lovely and loving words, he spoke of the truth and the infinite love of God, and the readiness he felt to go. He had a word for each—a word of love—as, at his request, each kissed him and said good-bye. He then caused himself to be carried on to the quarter-deck and placed on a bed there, the ship's company being assembled to hear his last words to them. He earnestly desired that no revenge should be taken on the natives of Santa Cruz. In these last words to the men he spoke to this effect: 'We cannot tell their reason, perhaps they had been injured by white people, but we cannot communicate with them, not knowing their language; perhaps some day, it may be twenty or thirty years hence, some good missionary, some Christian man, may go among them and find out why they did this.' His heart was full of God's love to himself. He spoke of this love, and exhorted all to love God, telling them how he had loved them all, even when having to punish them, seeing good in them to love. Many such words were spoken before he said good-bye, blessing them all in the name of God. He passed away in perfect peace at 5:30 p.m., on Friday the 20th of August 1875. Thus died, in the performance of his duty, as true and noble a sailor as any of the gallant officers who have graced our naval annals. The two young seamen, Smale and Rayner, who had been wounded at the same time as the commodore, died within a few hours of him."



CHAPTER NINETEEN.

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION—1867.

Far to the south of Egypt, beyond Nubia, lies a little known and mysterious country now called Abyssinia, formerly a part of Ethiopia, the wonderful kingdom of the renowned Prester John and once of the Queen of Sheba.

Bounded on the north by the Eastern Soudan, on the east by a stretch of sterile, uninviting ground varying in width to the Red Sea from a dozen to at least two hundred miles, and a sort of "no man's" land unless claimed in a measure by Egypt and in a kind by Italy in these latter days; adjacent in the south to the broad lands of the warlike Gallas tribes, and approached from the west by the barren Southern Soudan,— Abyssinia has from time immemorial been the arena of rebellions, of inter-tribal hostilities, of inroads by neighbouring tribes, of attacks by civilised powers. Least of all has the land produced signs of progress in the arts of peace. Its mountains, towering to heights of 8000, 10,000 and 13,000 feet, have been the hiding-places of cruel robbers, of deposed chiefs, of disappointed insurgents; and its valleys have rung with countless cries of dying men in hotly contested battles.

Abyssinia has throughout the ages been divided into provinces, although the greatest authority has been nominally centred in one royal personage, or Negus. In the fact of these divisions, or principalities, we have largely the secret of continual disturbance. Jealousy has been responsible for much. The three principal provinces are Amhara, Tigre, and Shoa; the first being in the centre, with Tigre in the north, and Shoa in the south. Gondar is the capital of Amhara, Adowa is the main town of Tigre, and Amkobar is the most important place in Shoa. The prince, or governor, of each province, is known as "Ras," a term we often find in reference to Abyssinian matters.

In the seventh century of the Christian era, 200 years after the country had passed the zenith of its power and glory, the Mohammedans swept like a great avalanche upon Abyssinia, stifled but did not utterly destroy Christianity, which had been introduced in the middle of the fourth century of the era in which we live; and maintained such a strong influence, that for century after century the whole land was in darkness and ignorance; and though the Christian religion has remained, it is in a debased and corrupt form. Europe knew nothing of Abyssinia worth the name for ages. Then a princess of Judah, Judith, prosecuted designs upon poor Abyssinia, sought out the members of the reigning family, and would have caused each one to be slain. Fortunately, a young prince was carried off to a place of safety. Coming to maturity, he ruled in Shoa, while for nearly half a century Judith reigned in the north. In the year 1268 a.d. the true royalists were restored to power in the whole kingdom.

When the warrior-mariners of Portugal were searching for new empires in every sea and upon every continent, rumours reached them of a kingdom somewhere, at the head of which was Prester John. This was just prior to the dawn of the fifteenth century.

Filled with wonder at the reports that reached them, and curious to solve the mystery that enshrouded Prester John and his wonderful kingdom, the Portuguese went on making their searches, under Pedre de Covilham, of renown, fixed upon Abyssinia, entered it, and secured the friendship of the chief ruler. Strange to relate, the Portuguese made no serious attempt to add Abyssinia to their dominions—possibly they did not think the task worth the trouble and expense; but they maintained some degree of power over the people through their religion, an influence whose effects were seen by Bruce and by other travellers of scarcely a hundred years ago—one not obliterated by tribal warfare and by a terrible, merciless coming of the Gallas from their country in the south.

In the year 1818 was born in Kaura, a child to whom the name Lij Kassi was given—a lad whose uncle was then governor of that part of Abyssinia. The boy grew to be wilful, self-reliant, and very ambitious; it is even said that he set himself out to be the elect of God, who should raise his country to a glory equal to that of Ethiopia of old. There was a prophecy indeed, "And it shall come to pass that a king shall arise in Ethiopia, of Solomon's lineage, who shall be the greatest on earth, and his powers shall extend over all Ethiopia and Egypt. He shall scourge the infidels out of Palestine, and shall purge Jerusalem clean from the dealers. He shall destroy all the inhabitants thereof, and his name shall be Theodoras." Whether Lij Kassi really pretended to be the elect of Heaven, the Messiah, or not, certain it is that when he had fought very bravely to found a state of his own, and had defeated the prince of Tigre in pitched battle, he gave himself out to his followers and to all Abyssinia as Theodore, king of Ethiopia, and was crowned under that name in his thirty-eighth year.

The ambition of Theodore was still boundless. He gathered an increased following, conquered tribe after tribe in Abyssinia proper, and prosecuted a most successful crusade in the country of the Gallas, subduing descendants of those who had wrought havoc in his native land from time to time, and established himself at a place nearly a mile square, and 9000 feet above the level of the sea. The town is known to us as Magdala.

Gondar was still the capital of Abyssinia, and to it and the country generally Theodore invited Europeans. Ambitious as he was, and warlike, the king—for Theodore had become the acknowledged ruler of the nation— was anxious to develop the resources of his kingdom, and that his people should be taught trades and industries. He was intelligent enough to see that Abyssinia could not be a great country if its natives were not imbued with ideas of civilisation, and if its products were not purchased by foreigners and their wares imported to the interior. Many merchants and artisans in search of employment under another flag went out to Abyssinia, therefore, and found employment; while consuls, or representatives, of European powers were appointed, and welcomed by Theodore to his court.

The British consul, Mr Plowden, was killed by a rebel force in March 1860, while on his way to the port of Massowah upon the coast; and so grieved was Theodore that he commissioned a superior body of his soldiers, not only to subdue the offending tribes, but to seek out the murderers of Mr Plowden and to punish them. This was done, and the king was greatly pleased when the British Government freely acknowledged he was in no sense to blame for the massacre. They sent out Captain Cameron to succeed the unfortunate Plowden, and presents were carried from our Queen. Theodore was delighted, further, to receive Protestant missionaries from England, and to show other tokens of friendship for Britannia.

A great change came over Theodore's conduct at length. His temper was soon ruffled, his pride was unbearable, he practised cruelties upon his people, and he became cold towards England, more particularly when months passed away and he received no answer to a letter sent to the British Government. So wroth was the king when he heard that Cameron was going to Egypt—a country Theodore disliked—that he ordered the arrest of the British consul and two missionaries, named Sterne and Rosenthal. They were thrown into a dungeon, in the year 1863. Great indignation was aroused in England. When, however, it was known that Theodore had some grounds for thinking that he had not been treated with full courtesy, Mr H.J. Rassam, then at Aden, was sent with Lieutenant Prideaux and Dr Blaine on an embassy to Theodore, taking with them friendly letters from the British Government, together with handsome presents; and it was expected that upon their arrival and explanation the prisoners would be released.

The king at first received them courteously, but, his mood soon changing, they too were seized and thrust into prison. The British Government in vain endeavoured to procure their release; but finding this impossible, an expedition was prepared.

As the Red Sea lies under the jurisdiction of the Indian Government, it was at Bombay that the preparations were made, and the command was given to Sir Robert Napier, then commander-in-chief of the Bombay army, with Sir Charles Staveley second in command. Vast numbers of ships were taken up for transport, 30,000 animals were purchased in India, Arabia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean, and 15,000 troops received orders to embark. An advance party under command of Colonel Merewether, arrived at Zula, a tiny village in Annesley Bay, and preparations were at once commenced for the disembarkation of the troops and stores upon their arrival. HMS Satellite and other men-of-war also arrived in the bay, and the work of making the piers and preparing store-houses commenced. The construction of the piers, and the duty of landing the stores, fell upon the naval force, and were admirably performed, the manner in which the Jacks worked under a blazing sun eliciting the warmest encomiums from the military officers. Water was terribly scarce, and the boilers of the men-of-war were kept constantly at work distilling for the use of the transport animals and troops.

When the expeditionary force marched inland a Naval Brigade of eighty men with two rocket tubes, commanded by Captain Fellowes of the Dryad, was organised. These marched forward, and speedily took their place with the advanced division, under General Staveley. Their arrival was warmly greeted in the camp, their cheerfulness and good-humour here, as during the Indian Mutiny, rendering the men of the Naval Brigade great favourites with the soldiers. Their camp was a sort of rendezvous, and round the fires many a cheerful song was sung, many a joke exchanged, after the day's work was over.

Theodore had retreated, upon the news of our advance, to Magdala, a natural fortress of immense strength situate 400 miles from the coast. At Antalo, half-way up, a halt was made for three weeks, to allow stores to be accumulated. Here, fortunately, large quantities of provisions were procured from the natives, and numbers of little cattle hired for transport; for the want of water upon landing, and a terrible disease which broke out among the horses in the passes up to the plateau land, had disorganised the transport train, and immense as was the number of animals, it proved wholly incapable of transporting the stores for so large a force. At Senafe, at Adigerat, and at Antalo, strong fortified camps were erected, and bodies of troops left to overawe the king of Tigre, who, although professing to be our ally, could not have been depended upon had misfortune of any kind befallen us.

The march from Antalo led over a mountainous country almost bare of habitations, and the fatigues endured by the men were very great. The climate, however, proved exceedingly healthy, and although the heat by day was great, at night the air was cool and bracing, and in some places even sharp cold was experienced. From the plateau of Dalanta, some 15 miles from Magdala, a view of the fortress was obtained, and after a day's halt the advanced column was ordered to move forward. It consisted of the 4th Regiment, a regiment of Punjaubees, one of Beloochees, and the Naval Brigade.

The march commenced at daybreak. The road was extremely difficult, and the men suffered greatly from want of water. The baggage had proceeded up a valley under the charge of the Beloochees and a baggage guard of men of the 4th Regiment, the rest of the column marching along the hill, so as to protect it from a flank attack. It had been intended that the column of baggage should not emerge from the valley upon the plateau of Aroge until the troops had arrived there for its protection. Owing to some misapprehension, however, upon the part of Colonel Phayre, who commanded it, the Beloochees were marched up on to the plateau before the covering force arrived there, and while the column of baggage was still in the valley. A continuation of this led direct to Magdala, and Theodore seeing it there, apparently unprotected and open to attack, ordered his men to advance and seize it.