Star. — London, England, 1821-11-14 00:00:00

. r PROPRESS . .OF THE ARCTIC LAND EX . NPODITION, lINDRR LIEUT. JOHN FRANKLIN, A.M. \ fr S i OOTI eepedition under Lieutenant Frank • had arrd on the coast of Hudson's Bay, they proceeded from York Factory, the grand depot of the Hudson's Bay Company, towards their wintering strand at Cumberland, the central pott of the inte rior, a distance of about 900 miles from the coast.— Lieutenant Franklin, Dr. Richardson, Mr. Back, and Mr. Hood, attended by the hardy Orkneymen, who had been engaged to man the boats in the rivers of the interior, had worked in the Company's service several years, and understood the language of many of the Indian tribes, left the factory on the 7th of September, 1819, with a fair wind, under a salute from the depot, and amidst the acclamations of the Officers and men of the Company. Of the immense quantity and variety of provisions supplied by Go vernment for the use of the expedition, the greater part was left at the factory ; those who knew the qountry, and the "difficulty of travelling through it, having represented the impossibility ofconveying Eu ropean food, which, at the Bay, receives the name of luxuries, to any considerable distance. The hardships attending the progress of travellers were, in fact, shewn to be (so great, as would render it absurd to calculate upon such a thing as the slightest change of diet in the winter season ; and when it was men tioned by Lieutenant Franklin, that he had brought with him preserved meats and soups in portable cases, to support the expedition in the cheerless regions through which they were to pass, there was a gene ral laugh amongst the Officers of the Company, at the idea. of associating anything like comfort with the formidable character of the enterprise. Some of these difficulties may be estimated from the account of the sufferings of the adventurers, in their advance towards Cumberland, to which place the writer of this article accompanied them. On the third day after their departure from the factory, the boats of the Company, which were proceeding to the various trading posts in the interior, came up with the expe dition in the Steel River, distant about sixty miles from the place at which they set out. Most of the rivers in that part of America abound with rapids and falls. The rapids are generally more navigable near the banks, but they frequently extend across the stream, and then the labour of the boat's crew be comes excessive, every man being obliged to turn into the water and assist in carrying the boat some times to the distance of half a mile before they gain the head of one of those terrible impediments. The Company's men, upon turning one of the points of the river, observed the Officers of the expedition making desperate efforts to get through the mud along the banks; some of them were up to their knees, others up to their waists, while the men were handing the boats over a most violent rapid, which, though but half a foot deep, rendered it necessary that those who stood in the water should hold fast by the boat, the impetuosity of the stream being so ex traordinary as not unfrequently to overturn a man in an instant, and dash him to pieces against the rocks and huge stones which lie scattered along the bed of the river. Indeed, before the Company 's boats had reached those of Lieutenant Franklin, it was suspected that the expedition had already met with more hard ships than they had any notion of encountering at so early a period. &vela' of the tin cases which had contained the preserved meats were seen at the different rippulting places (the spots of ground on the banks chosen for passing the nights upon), and those miserable abodes were drenched with rain, and pre sented an appearance the most appalling. Two black bears were seen prowling about, and devouring sonic of the luxuries which the travellers had ascertained it was impossible to convey, in any considerable quan tities, farther up the river ; and along the banks were seen strong symptoms of the inexperience of those who had gone forward. The traders with the North American Indians, in travelling to their posts, kindle fires of immense magnitude upon landing to put up for the night. Every man carries his fire-bag, con taining all the necessary apparatus. They proceed to hew down the trees, an office which they per form with wonderful dexterity. The fires are lighted, the tents for the Officers pitched, and the only regular meal taken during the '24 hours, served up in as com fortable a manner as possible under the circumstances. As the travellers advanced, the mild - season not having yet begun to disappear, vast herds of grey deer were observed passing the rivers towards the Esquimaux lands, and the Indians who were accom panying the expedition gave extraordinary proofs of their activity, by rushing upon the animals in the water, and striking long knives into their hearts.— Lieutenant Franklin, on entering the Hill River, so called from a neighbouring eminence, the only one that presented itself between York Factory and Cum berland, had reason to express surprise that trading goods could be transported to the interior in spite of such frightful obstructions. His men were fatigued in-the extreme, and be found it indispensably neces sary to request that the Officers of the Hudson's Bay Company would lighten his boat of the greater part of the luxuries and instruments. This accommoda tion was readily given, and, after the most laborious efforts, the expedition reached the Rock depot, one of the Company's posts, having devoted seven days to the exhausting toil of working up thirty miles of their journey. Upon arriving at the depot, the expe dition were treated with great hospitality by Mr. Bunn, the Officer in charge, who entertained them with the tittimeg, a fish which they admitted was the most delicious they had ever tasted, and which was caught in God's Lake (an immense piece of water, so named from the abundance and excellence of its iA. habitants). Mr. Hood, who is one of the draftsmen of the expedition, took a sketch of the Rock-fall and the post, which presented one of the most beautiful objects in these desolate regions, and introduced a distant view of a wigwam (an Indian tent), with its inmates. Five days after the expedition left the Rock depot, they reached another post, having encoun tered numberless difficulties similar to those which have been described. There was, however, some re lief to the painful sameness of the journey in several beautiful lakes through which they had to pass. At Oxford House post, which was reached four days subsequently, they were provided with pinentikin, the celebrated winter food of the country, made of dried deer or buffalo flesh, pounded and mixed with a large quantity of the fat of the aatimaL This food it sub. . - 4i.. stituted for the !armies, ht winter, is the most portable of all victuals, and satisfies the most craving hunger in a very short time. The Officers of the expedition were not a little surprised at the difficulty of cutting their meat, but they soon reconciled themselves to the long established practice of chopping it with a hatchet. During the summer,, ducks, geese, par tridges, &c. are to be had in the greatest abundance; but the frost soon drives all those delicacies out of the reach of the active Indian,*andpintatikin becomes the only resource of the traveller. The next pest at which they arrived was Norway House; upon leaving which they entered upon Lake Winnipic, at the fur ther side of which they had to encounter the grand rapid, extending nearly three miles, and abounding in obstructions quite insurmountable. Here they were obliged to drag their boats on shore, and carry them over the land, or, to use the technical language, " launch them over the portage." The woods along the banks were all in a blaze, it being the custom of the natives, as well as of the traders, to set fire to the .trees around the up-putting places, for the double purpose of keeping off the cold and the wolves, whose howling was increased in proportion to the extent of the conflagration: The expedition passed several other rapids and falls along a flat, woody, and swampy country, across five miles of which no eye could see. At length they reached the White Fall, where an accident took place which had nearly deprived the expedition of their commander. While the men were employed in car rying the goods and boats across the portage bf the' ' fall, Lieutenant Franklin walked down alone to view the rapid, the roaring of which could be heard at the distance of several miles. He had the boldness to venture along the banks with English shoes upon his feet, a most dangerous experiment, where the banks are flint-stones and as smooth as glass. He was approaching the spot from which he could have taken the most accurate observation, when he slipped from the bank into the water. Fortunately the water into which he was precipitated was still water. Had he lost his footing ten yards lower down, he would have been hurried into a current which ran with amazing impetuosity ovei a precipice, presenting one of the most terrific objects his eyes had yet fixed upon amidst all the horrors of the journey. Lieut. Franklin is an excellent swimmer, but he had on him a sailor's heavy Flushing jacket and trowsers, heavy English shoes, and a large neck-handkerchief, the weather having begun to set in very cold. He swam about for some time, and made vigorous efforts to -get upon the bank, but he had to contend against a smooth precipitous rock, and was just exhausted when two of the Company's Officers, who were at a short distance from the fall, looked up and saw him strug gling in the water. With the assistance of their poles they raised him out of his pet ilous situation, in which he had been. nearly a quarter of an hour. The moment he reached land he fell to the ground, and remained without motion for some time. Ills power ful constitution, however, soon buffeted the effects of the accident, and he had happily only to regret the injury his chronometer, for which he had given 100 guineas, received in the water. After a tedious journey of forty-six days, the dangers and distresses of which rather increated than diminished as they advanced, the expedition arrived at Cumbeiland, a post situate on• the banks of a beautiful lake, and stockaded against the incursions of savages, the at tacks of wolves and bears, and the more ferocious assaults of rival traders. CH Y BUSINESS. A Court of Aldermen was yesterday held at Guild hall, to consider of an Address of Congratulation to his MeatsTy, on his arrival in his British dominions, at which the Loan MAYOR, thirteen Aldermen, She riffs, and City Officers, were present ; when an Ad dress was unanimously agreed to—(&e Advertise ment), and the Sheriffs, attended by the Remem brancer, directed to wait on his MAJESTY, to know his Royal will and pleasure when this Court should attend with the same. The Court requested the Loan MAYOR to call an early Court, to express their acknowledgments of the services of the late LORD MAYOR, &c. and his Lordship was pleased to appoint Tuesday next for that purpose. A Court of Common Council will be held to-morrow, for the purpose of con sidering of an Address to his MAJESTY, on his return. THE EVENING STAR. SUBSCRIBERS TO THE BEACON BOND. We thoroughly intended (says an Edinburgh Paper) to redeem our pledge to give the names of all the parties who, after The Beacon had appeared in all ' its enormity, bound themselves to support it with their money and their influence. It was our in• tention also to have dwelt upon the responsibility which „as thus incurred morally and civilly ; but having learned that Mr. GIBSON (in vindication of his character as a professional man) had determined to proceed against them at law, we relinquished our intention. Mr. GIBSON has instituted two actions— one against Mr. DOUGLAS CUEAPE, Advocate, as author of the libels, or one or other of them, as one of the Proprietors, and also as Editor of The Beacon; and Mr. DUNCAN STEVENSON, as Printer, concluding for £5,000 as damages, &c. and the other against— Sir William Rae. of St. Catharine's, Bart. his Majesty's Ad vocate for Scotland; James Wedderburn, F.sq. his Majesty's Solicitor-General for Scotland ; John Hay Forbes, F.sq. Advo cate, Sheriff-depute of the County of Perth ; John Hope, Esq. Advocate, and Deputy under the said Lord Advocate; Sir Wal ter Scott, Bart. Principal Clerk of Session, and Sheriff-depute of the County of Selkirk; the Right Hon. William Arbuthnot, Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, and Secretary to the Trustees for Fisheries and Manufactures in Scotland ; Henry Home Drummond, Esq. Member of Parliament for the County of Stirling, and, at the time of signing the bond, Deputy under the said Lord Advocate; and J. Wauchope, Esq. Writer to the Signet, and Keeper of the Register of Horning* and Inhibitions, " as combining, by contributions in money and otherwise, to support the said Newspaper in its most wicked and nefarious attacks upon the pursuer;" And which action concludes for £lO,OOO, in name of damages, &c. A letter received from President BOLIVAR, dated Cucuta, September 7, 1821, states that the inhabit- ants of Carthagena had sent a Deputation, °Tering to surrender, provided the PRESIDENT would take possession in person. It was his intention to make his public entry into that city on the Ist of October. LONDON. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1821. THE FUNDS. STOCK EXCHANGE, ONE O'CLOCK. A Loan of a Million and a Half sterling has been contracted for Denmark, by Messrs. HALDIMAND and Co. upon a plan similar to that of the Prussian Loan. It is in the 5 per Cent. Stock, and we under stand the contract price is about 75 ; it has this morn-, ing been sold at a premium of 5 per Cent. The princi pal is to be secured upon the Sound Duties. By a recent regulation of the Committee of the Stock Exchange, its Members are restricted from making any bargains for a future Account until within fourteen days of the Settling-day of that in actual existence. This is the first day, therefore, upon which dealings for the opening in January have been publicly transacted, and the amount of continuation properly ascertained. _ _ Consols for the opening have been currently done at 79, three quarters per cent. above the price for the, present Account, which is an interest of 7 1 , per cent. All the efforts which have been so strenuously made to check the speculation for a rise, appear to have been ineffectual, as the Market this morning has assumed a decided character of strenth and firmness.—Prices at One o'clock : S per Cent. Reduced 77 y 4 Vs 77 S per Cent. Cons. 78 Vs 77 3% per Cent. 87%.-4 per Cent. 96!h % 5 per Cent. 111 Vs 110 %. Bank Long Annuities 19% 9-16 India Bonds 71 70 prem. Exchequer Bills 4s. ss.—Ditto (Small) C. 6s. pr. Cons. for Account 78 1 / 4 78. In the present state of the Continental Press, it i s not only difficult, but impossible, to obtain correct information on any of the topics that occupy the at tention of the Holy Alliance. Are the relations of amity to be maintained between Russia and Turkey ? If we endeavour to answer this question, by referring to the foreign journals, the labour will be fruitless. One day they are all peace, and another all war. But there is another method of coming to a conclu sion—namely, by looking at the policy that has ever directed the measures of one or other of those Poten tates who imagine that they hold in their hands the destinies of nations ; and at the same time making a proper estimate of the moral and physical energies of those whom the Great Powers never deign even to consult on any of their measures, though of all others they are the most interested. In discussing the question as to war or peace, it is quite common to inquire what does Russia intend? What Austria and Prussia and England? With us the main question is, what can the Greeks do for themselves against the Turks? and we have no hesi tation in declaring our opinion that, if in earnest— and we cannot doubt that they are—they can do everything that is necessary for their own emancipa tion. Can we doubt this, when we recollect what they fight for, and the fate that awaits them in the event of a failure? Will the guarantee of Russia prove a shield for them in the event of submission? They know well, that however this might suit the future views of the Court of St. Petersburgh, to themselves it would be a sentence of extirpation : I Again, if we look at the imbecile state of the Power with which the Greeks have to contend, what have they to fear from persevering in the struggle? Talk indeed of the Turkish troops—the whole strength of their empire directed against Greece ! Have we not for years seen the same Power holding out its threats against ALI PACHA, and leading its troops to the attack of the rebel, with promises a hundred times repeated, that now—now the attack would be decisive! But what has been the result? Can the Greeks, then, have anything to dread as to the issue of the struggle? We say nothing—but from the interference of the Great Powers. And what have they to gain or lose by either aiding the Greeks or the Turks ? We will not now attempt to answer this question. Suffice it to say, that the interests of these Powers are individually different; and that each of them knows this. What do they aim at then in their nego tiations (from which they exclude the oppressed Greeks)? Only to deceive each other—each aiming at its own interests and vainly persuading itself that it will outwit the other parties in prosecuting its own views of policy. In making this statement, we are only attending to the voice of history respecting all such negotiations. They will go on in the course they are following till one of the parties loses patience and demands a categorical answer regarding some point in issue ; and then they will openly quarrel. Such we are confident will be the result of the present dis cussions, but how soon or how remote may be the rupture, time alone can unfold. The Paris Papers of Sunday arrived this forenoon. Their contents are important, since,•if they may be credited, they put an end for the present to all chance of a war between Russia and Turkey. A private letter from Vienna, of the 31st October, says--" The continuation of peace is henceforth beyoud a doubt. The dlty before yesterday the Council o f S tate ant% bled, on account of the arrival of a C our i er from s• Levant and th e woo p ns ui re Petersburgh, who brought an official communic. : . tion from the Court of Russia; This communicatic4 lioninclosed thin a circumstantial &pose of t h e existing siitia. declaratiow that the Sovereign of Russia is r e „,1, 51 to terminate everything amicably, an d to risk th e extremity of a war, the issue of Which must be ruin. oils to the European Alliance, and to the ro w ,. dal interests of Christian pe o pl e "_Th e writee ' ef Another letter, from Spain, said to be n h ery re. cent date, quoted in the Gazette de Prance, s ass, ,, i know from the Secrefary at War that th e 4 1 , 14 Envoy has received, within these three days, news 0 peace between that Power and the Porte ; , cacti, ficing, says the Emperor of RUSSIA,. his own i n . terests to that of legitianacy.'" The same letter which mentions the official intel, ligence received at Vienna, adds, "The Greek ho t* established in our city have received from Gre ta news extremely unfavourable to the cause of the e , surrection. There is no plan or agreement are al the insurgents ; the greater part of them hav e 4, ready returned to their homes. The commetcli houses of Hydra, which have hitherto furnished* funds for maintaining the fleet are partly ruLied partly discouraged. " The Greek sailors, whose pretended patriotism* itself at the rate of two piastres per day, have " persed now that there is no longer any pay. monks of Mont Athos, who possess immense nc6 t • have never wished to take any part in the revolt. Greek insurrection, it is believed, is on the point expiring for want of aliment. The Greeks, who d: the vengeance of the Ottoman Government, re ing refuge in the imperial territories. They ate chasing, at this moment, lands in Hungary, uh has caused a rise in the price of the crown don ai which are now selling to advantage for the di • of the public debt. Several of the GieeksT depositaries of the wealth of numbers of their f countrymen who have fallen, and patriotism don not prevent them from now rejoicing at the lap inheritances which have thus devolved upon tbea The wantonness of this last aspersion makes tk credibility of the rest of the statement more Mu questionable. That the Greek cause is yet in smug gling state cannot be denied, but we are far fon , believing that it is either expiring or hopeless. The Moniteur offers, for the first time, some it. marks of its own on the general state of affairfmtit East of Europe, which are deserving of attentive:- " Still," it says, gi there is the same incertitude as is peace and war (not aware, it would seem, of the Vienna intelligence of the Slst October), or rather the same conviction that it is the interest of Europe, including those of Greece, to present peace. Al that has been hazarded as to the journey of the Of ENGLAND to Hanover, as well as the letters km Odessa, Constantinople, and St. Petersburgh,leads the same conclusion. The Journals confirm art deny, by turns, the Haiti Sc/serif of the Suns for the general armament of the Empire. fis Act has been published in the Provinces, itt pears certain that it has not been so in the capii It is not the insurrection of the Greeks which du quiets the Turks, it only serves to irritate thesis fury, for they have a sovereign contempt for that* fortunate people. But it is not so with the trot& which begin to manifest themselves in Servia, sir with the misunderstanding of the Porte with the Schah of Persia. As to the Greeks, their was and their reverses are alternately denied and cm firmed by statements the most opposite. Nothing's certain but the frightful misfortunes of the coon and the anarchy which reigns in the councils of it surrection. The recal of the Turkish troops frm Moldavia and Wallachia has been announced. lle SULTAN has made there a terrible example of the h. nissaries ; a thousand Albanese of that corps werept to death by his orders. 'fnis retreat of the Uhl which would be conformable to the ancient capitalt [ions of the two Principalities, of which Russia is tls guarantee, seemed to be a means of preserving peas between Russia and the Porte. But now all attr. counts announce, that these two Principalities alt inundated with Ottoman troops. The Russians art on the other side of the river Pruth, the existing boundary of Moldavia. In spite of these hostile de snonstrations, or rather these mutual precantimli the Porte appears inclined to any conditions ;ha can prevent or retard a rupture with Russia. It must feel the impossibility of supporting the s with the present organization of its armies. Tit Janissaries are not the least of its embarrassments. This corps, more formidable for its masters thske its enemies, is jealous of the projects of the pry SULTAN, who wishes to organize his troops ales& European manner, and a similar project of ref° has already cost Sultan SELIM 111. his life. Neeir sity on one side, and magnanimity on the elier , seem then to unite to preserve Europe from a ir 4 of which it would be difficult to calculate the resale Be this, as it may be the result, one remarkabk fact cannot escape notice ; it is this, that Austria ts ducing its armies, and that England set it Meer ample in the month of August last. These ale° symptoms of war." A Convention is said to have been entered intoll which the stay of the Austrian troops in the K dotty of Naple, is fi xed at ten years.--.. There Una*