The Press.
London, England, 1857-08-29 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 29, 1857.

steer in the direction pointed out, although quite out of his
course ; which was usually along the coast, as they were
accustomed to call at all the settlements.

On the 24th of June the Resolute at last
made fast to a floe, on a hich we have a sketch
of a vigorous game of cricket, co-existent with
leapfrog and foot-ball. Their course for some
time consists in cutting docks in the ice, being
nipped severely, and careening over, with top-
masts bending like whalebone, and every bell
in the ship ringing at each new jerk, till on the
Ist of September, at 3.40 p.m., they sighted
Melville Island, at the same hour, on the same
day of the week and month, that Sir Edward
Parry had first seen it thirty-three years before.
Shortly after, while they were making prepara•
tions for wintering off Dealy Island, Lieute-
nant Mecham returned with a travelling party,
having found on the sandstone boulder in
Winter Harbour which Parry had inscribed
with his name a journal left by Captain
M.Clure commemorating the discovery of the
North-West Passage. Their discovery of the
Investigator, which had to he abandoned, and
their abandonment of their own vessel, much
against their own will, at the command of
Sir Edward Belcher, compose the other events
of the eventful voyage. With respect to Mr.
M'Dougall's opinion as to the probability of
any of Franklin's crew being alive, he says
that he has " reluctantly come to the conclu-
" sion that no body of men could withstand
" the rigour and privations attending so pro-
" tracted a stay amidst the dark and dreary
" solitudes of the frigid zone, under the same
" circumstances in which Sir John and the
" officers and crews of the missing ships have
" in all probability been placed."

But though the voyage was dull in the first
instance, their time did not pass without adven-
tures with bears, theatrical experiments, and all
those kindred experiences that add life to the
dry bones of an Arctic voyage. We have here
an anecdote garnished with a telling illustra-
tion under the head of " Pursuit of Science
under Difficulties ":

Sunday 23rd, at one a.m., the quartermaster went outside
on the floe, to register the thermometers, which were kept
in a box secured to a table. In the act of reading off, his
attention was attracted by a slight noise, and his surprise
may be imagined when, on loukin roun.l, he observed a
bear within five yards of him. His situation, to say the
least of it. was not an enviable one, for one spring of the
brute would have put an end to his registering thermome•
tars for ever. Fortunately, however, the quartermaster
( Silvy) bad sufficient presence of mind to throw the strong
light of the lantere full on the face of the animal ; it
answered the purpose effectually, for Bruin (startled by
such an unusual aurora) beat a hasty retreat; the alarm
was immediately given, and two officers went in pursuit,
and traced him to the mass of hummocks astern, where
they lost the trail.

Here is a ludicrous adventure, reminding us
of the thief outstripping his pursuers, and
hallooing " Stop thief !" in order to divert
attention from himself:—

With respect to the " lost man," as he has since been
termed, it appears he left the Intrepid. with the intention
of crossing to the Resolute. On reaching the first post,
however, he lost sight of the Intrepid, though within fifty
yards of her. Afraid of advancing or returning, he adopted
the best, though somewhat laughable, expedient of calling
out at the top of his voice, " A man lost ! a man lost !" lie
was fortunately heard, and soon discovered crouching for
shelter under a snow pillar. The circumstance, as might
have been anticipated, gave rise to much pleasantry, and
the soubriquet of the " lost man " was affixed to him by his
shipmates.
The account of the rescue of the Investigator's
crew, though it has been almost as fully told
in Commander Osborn's volume as it is here,
bears repetition. To such a strait of provi-
sions had Captain M'Clure and his gallant
fellows been reduced, that the prospect of two
ounces and a half of oatmeal for breakfast
next morning, as a reward for bringing home
the carcase of a slain deer, caused an officer to
pass a restless night. We believe this anec-
dote has not been given before :
I now turn to a more pleasing anecdote, illustrating as
it does the never•failing mercy of the Almighty. I have
before observed in this Journal, that during the night
previous to the arrival of Lieut. Pim in the Pay of Mercy,
the first death occurred on board the Investigator since
leaving England in January, 1850.
The effect was such as might have been anticipated on
the minis of men, already depressed by hunger and de-
spair; causes which were visibly affecting both mind and
body. Captain M'Clure, therefore, with a view of re-
assuring the men and sustaining their drooping spirits,
called "all hands" on the quarterdeck, and in a brief
speech,—in which he adverted to the death of their ship-
mate,—implored them to be true to themselves and to the