The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-27 00:00:00

DR. KANE'S ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY NIGHT.
By the arrival of the Vanderbilt steam-ship
North Star we have dates from New York to the
13th inst., announcing the return of Dr. Kane's
Arctic Expeditionary Corps, which, it may be re-
membered, started two years since on a voyage of
exploration, for the purpose of discovering, if pos-
sible, traces of Sir John Franklin, _ _

The following details are extracted from the New
York papers
" Dr. Kane, the intrepid Arctic navigator, after hav-
ing been given up as lost, bas returned safe borne, with
the loss of but three men on his whole expedition. He
left his brig frozen up in the Arctic Sea on the 24th of
May, 1855, went 300 miles over the ice to the sea, and
then, in open boats, 1,300 miles to Upernavik, in Green-
land. After waiting for upwards of a month a Danish
trading ship found them there, and after a subsequent
delay of a fortnight they were taken on board and pro-
ceeded homeward. At Lievely, on Disko Island, 250
miles south of Upernavik, the Danish vessel fell in with
the American Searching Expedition under Lieutenant
Hartstein, and the party were transferred to the Arctic
and Release, which vessels reached this port last even-
ing.

Readers will remember that by this arrival we have
the return at the same time of two parties of Arctic ex-
peditionists—the Kane expedition, without its vessel,
but with all but three of its men, and the Hartstein ex-
pedition, with its two vessels and men, all safe and sound.
The De Haven expedition was sent out May 2, 1850,
by Mr. Grinnell, to search for Sir John Franklin. Dr.
Kane was surgeon on board.

" The Kane expedition started May 31, 1853, under
command of Dr. Kane, and expected to be back in two
years. It had but one vessel, the brig Advance. For
more than a year back its fate was esteemed very doubt-
ful ; and when last spring it was proposed to send out a
party to search for it the proposition met with far less
favour than its friends desired, because it was thought
almost a settled fact that Dr. Kane and his party were
past all hope of recovery. Congress, however, favoured
the proposition, and two vessels were despatched on the
search on the 4th of June, 1855. They have
found the lost searchers for Franklin, and restored
them to thousands of surprised and rejoicing friends.
Since the third expedition's sailing no news had been
brought back of them, and we had no time to publish
the steamer Union's report that the expeditionists were
off Sandy Hook before they came to anchor off the Bat-
tery, and the gallant adventurers were withstanding as
well as they could the overwhelming welcomes of their
friends. The doctor has improved in personal appear-
ance i❑ his ansence. He brings home a bronzed face, a
long and heavy black beard, a shock of hair just
whitening a little—a sort of dark iron gray—a stouter
body, and a hand with a hearty grip in it. The greatest
interest, of course, pertains to his story. We give it as
we took it from his lips :
"The expedition succeeded in crossing Melville Bay
and reaching the headland of Smith's Sound as early as
the 6th of August, 1853. Finding the ice to the north
completely impenetrable, they were forced to attempt a
temporary passage along the coast, where the rapid tides,
running at the rate of four miles an hour, with a rise
and fall of 16 feet, had worn a temporary opening. Pre-
vious to taking this step, which involved great risk—
which was, in fact, equal to s sacrifice of the brig iu which
Dr. Kane was—a Francis metallic life-boat, with a cashe
of provisions, was concealed as a means of retreat.
" The penetration of the pack-ice was attended by
many obstacles. The vessel grounded with every tide,
and but for her extreme strength she would not have
been able to sustain the shocks. She was several times
on her beam ends, and once on fire from the upsetting of
the stores.

" Some idea of this peculiar navigation may be formed
by a knowledge of the fact of her losing her jibboom,
best bower anchor and bulwarks, besides about 600
fathoms of warping line. They were cheered, however,
by a small daily progress ; and, by the 10th Sept., 1853,
they had succeeded in gaining the northern face of
Greenland, at a point never reached before.
" Here the young ice froze around the vessel, and
compelled them to seek a winter asylum, in which they
experienced a degree of cold much below any previous
registration. Whisky froze in November, and four
months i❑ the year the mercury was solid daily. The
mean annual temperature was five degrees below zero.
This is the greatest degree of cold ever experienced by
man, and their winter quarters were nearer the Pole
than ever before occupied.
" The scurvy was easily controlled, but the most fear-
ful as well as the most novel feature of the winter was a
tetanus, or lockjaw, which defied all treatment. It car-
ried away 57 of the best Esquimaux sledge dogs, and
was altogether a frightful scourge.