The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-13 00:00:00

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

(From the Atha:awn.)
The extreme interest which has been felt by the
public in the fate of the long missing Arctic expedi-
tion has been strongly illustrated by the avidity with
which the report of its ascertained existence in March
last was received. Seizing eagerly on the asserted
fulfilment of a long deferred hope, the press at once
announced the actual safety of Sir John Franklin
and his party; and as news generally travels with
the properties of an avalanch, swelling in importance
with every step, many hours had not elapsed before
the return of the Erebus and Terror in the course of
the present month was spoken of as an almost certain
event. For ourselves, we had misgivings, which we
thought it right to hint at even in that first moment
of excitement; and we have since, with the coolness
which a week of reflection gives, set ourselves care-
fully to weigh the arguments for and against the
trustworthiness of the evidence offered. We are
bound to say, even for the sake of those whose disap-
pointment will be sorest if disappointment there shall
finally be, that this inquiry has yielded a result
wholly unsatisfactory to ourselves.
It will be remembered that the Advice whaler
accompanied the Truelove in her recent passage to
Lancaster Sound in search of the expedition, on the
faith of the narration of the Esquimaux. On board
the former ship Mr. Robert Goodsir, the brother of
Professor Goodsir, of Edinburgh, was embarked, with
the touching purpose of assisting personally to seek
after information respecting Sir John Franklin's
ships—in one of which his brother Henry had gone
out as surgeon and naturalist. His letters to his
relatives in Scotland, descriptive of his hopes and
fears, have been obligingly placed in our hands to
assist us in estimating, by private evidence from the
spot, the reports which were likely to reach iets
through public channels. We will give Mr. Goodsir's
version of the same report which has reached the
Admiralty through the Truelove, for the sake of some
variations which it contains :
" Off Cape Maculloch, Aug. 1, 1849.
" We this morning had what might have been
considered as cheering intelligence of the expedi-
tion. Mr. Parker, the master of the Truelove, of
Hull, came on board to breakfast, and informed
us that some Esquimaux, who had been on board
the Chieftain, of Kirkaldy, had sketched a chart, and
pointed out to Mr. Kerr where both Sir John Frank-
lin's and Sir James Ross's ships were lying; the former
being at 'Whaler Point, the latter at Port Jackson,
at the entrance to Prince Regent's Inlet. Sir John
Franklin had been beset in his present position for
three winters. Sir James Ross had travelled in sledges
from his own ships to Sir John Franklin's. They
were all alive and well. The Esquimaux himself had
been on board all the four ships three months ago—
i. e., about the end of April or beginning of May.
Mr. Parker seemed confident as to the correctness of
this information ; and as his ship is" nearly full, and he
will proceed homewards very shortly, Mr. Kerr had
given him the chart, which he said he intended to for•
ward to the Admiralty, and to inform them of what
he had learnt. All this was very pleasing intelligence;
but when I began to consider, I soon saw much to
throw doubt upon its correctness and authenticity.
First, there was the extreme difficulty of extracting
correct information of any kind from the Esquimaux
even by those best acquainted with their habits and.
language. A leading question they are sure to an-
swer in the affirmative. Then, there is the great un-
likelihood of Sir John Franklin's being beset at a
spot so comparatively near to the constant resort of
the whalers during the months of July and August
—Pond's Bay and its neighbourhood—for three sum-
mers and three winters, without sending down
dispatches to them by the light boats fitted on sledges."
It will be observed that this letter enters into
greater detail than that of Mr. Ward, communicated
by the Admiralty to the public. The actual position
of the two expeditions is here given ; and it is stated
that communication between them had been effected
by means of sledges. Mr. Goodsir's letter also places
the date at which the ships of the two expeditions had
been seen by the natives five or six weeks later than
the Admiralty account—a fact itself showing loose-
ness and uncertainty. Doubts—very reasonably
founded, we think"`—of the trustworthiness of the
Etquimaux's report had already arisen in the minds
of Mr. Goodsir and his companions. Nevertheless,
with a spirit of noble enterprise, the Advice joined
the Truelove in an attempt to reach Regent's Inlet for
the solution of the question. Under the date of the
2d of August, when off Cape Walter Bathurst, Mr.
Goodsir writes—

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" You may conceive how delighted I am to find the
Advice now running rapidly into Lancaster Sound
with a smart breeze, ard one, too, likely to last. If
there is only land ice in Navy Board and Admiralty
Inlet we are sure to get whales—which will justify
the master in taking this step. Had the other vessels
been poorly fished many of them would have made the
attempt to run up the Sound; as it is, none of them
will now do it."

Mr. Goodsir's hopes of getting through the Sound--
which, us we have seen, had a private motive to)
enhance the public one—were not of long duration..
On the 10th of August he writes from Navy Board.
Inlet :

" Since I last wrote we have had such a series of
gales and storms that I have been unable to put pen.
to paper. About four o'clock on Saturday morning ,
the 4th, it came on to blow from the eastward witl
thick weather. We had little or no ice hitherto, ant i
what we had seen was exceedingly light. Everythin.
looked well, and we were very sanguine that w e
should be able to gain some intelligence of' the exp( )-
(lition. Before it came on thick we could make 0, It
what we took to be Prince Leopold's Island at t' ae
mouth of Prince Regent's Inlet, and the ice apparent ;ly
stretching right across the Sound ; but the thickness
came on so rapidly and the gale increasing t( a
perfect hurricane, prevented Us making out anyth ivg
accurately."
Thus baffled, the party were obliged to give. up
further search. The ships were driven down. the
Sound; and all that could be done was to land some
Admiralty cylinders and provisions in Cape Hay.
Though eager to have this sea swept for
intelligence, it is remarkable that in no part
of his letter does Mr. Goodsir allude to that
given by the Esquimaux, excepting as being
unworthy of confidence. The arguments on this side
of the question are too many to permit us to differ
from Mr. Goodsir's view. It must surely strike
most persons on reflection as remarkable that the
Esquimaux should have n o " papers" or vouchers to
show in confirmation of the alleged fact' of their
having been on board the expedition ships. The
chances of such a document coming some% here to
hand could never have heen overlooked by nu n in
the position of Sir John Franklin's crews ; and, in-
deed, it is inconceivable that the officers of the
several ships would have allowed such an opportu—