The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-29 00:00:00

ARCTIC LAND EXPEDITION.

The following deeply interesting and most impor-
tant letter has just been addressed by Dr. King to
Earl Grey, as the Colonial Secretary :
TO THE RIGHT HON. EARL GREY.

17, Saville-row, Nov. 25.
The last ray of hope has now faded that Sir John
Franklin by his own exertions can save himself and
his 125 followers from the death of starvation. I
trust, therefore, your Lordship will excuse my call-
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that assistance was dispatched in search of Sir John
Ross, and from that board the Polar Land Journeys,
so fruitful in result, were one and all set on foot.
I have already called your Lordship's attention to
the evidence which Sir Edward Barry on his retire-
ment from active service has laid before the Admiralty
in confirmation of his opinion that the most serious
consequences to his crew would be the result of
pissing a third winter in the Polar regions—and a
third winter, it is now too evident, the lost expedition
must pass in the inclement North. In order, how-
ever, to save our fellow-creatures from all the hor-
rors of starvation and its awful consequences, I have
offered to your Lordship to undertake the boldest
journey which has ever been proposed ; and one
which is justifiable only from the circumstances.
I have offered to attempt to reach the western
land of North Somerset before the close of the sum•
mer of 1848 —to accomplish, in fact, in one summer
that which has never been accomplished under two
summers, by which means I incur the risk of having
to winter with the Esquimaux ; or of having to make
the journey along the barren ground to winter quar•
ters on snow-shoes. How, your Lordship may in-
quire, is this Herculean task to be performed ? Upon
what grounds do I rest my hope of success ? I would
state, in answer, that it is necessary the leader of such
a journey should have an intimate knowledge of the
country and the people through which he has to
pass—the health to stand the rigour of the cli-
mate—and the strength to undergo the fa-
tigue of mind and body to which he will
be subjected. It is because I have these requisites,
which I conscientiously believe are not to be found
in another, that I hope to effect my purpose. The un-
civilised man—and upon the service under conside-
ration we must have large dealings with him—in
choosing his subject looks for physical, not mental,
qualifications; awl if these are not aupatent, he is
cautious and undecided—and the more you hurry
him the less certain you are ol making him answer
your purpose. Time, the most impel taut element in
Polar travelling, will in this way be lost to the
stranger in the land, at .d the journey rendered un-
availing ; while my great activity, power of en-
durance, and success as a physician, during my
journey in search of Sir J. Ross, must to fresh in
the recollection of nine-tenths of the Indian popula-
tion through which such a m'ssion as I have pro-
posed will have to pass—and cannot fail to secure to
me every co-operation. It is a well- scertained fact
that the medical traveller succeeds while all others
tail.

If v our Lordship will take a glance at the map of
North America and direct your attention to but
three places—Behring Strait on the Pacific, Barrow
Strait on the Atlantic, and the land of North Somer-
set between them—you will perceive that to render
assistance to a party situated on that land there are
two ways by sea and one by land. Of the two ways,
the route by the Pacific is altogether out of the
question. It is an idea of by-gone days; while
that of the Atlantic is so doubtful of success, that it
is ri.erely necessary, in order to put this assistance
asidesol:fo . s
times,3af2s.
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To a land journey, then, alone can we look for
success; for the failure of a land journey would be
the exception to the rule, while the failure of a sea
expedition would be the rule itself. To the western
land of North Somerset, where, I maintain, Sir John
Franklin will be found, the Great Fish River is the
direct and only route ; and although the approach to
it is through a country too poor and too difficult of
access to admit of the transport of provision, it may be
made the medium of communication between the lost
expedition and the civilised world,—and Indian guides
be thus pieced at their disposal to convey them to the
hunting grounds of the Red Men. Without such guides
it is impossible that they can reach these hunting
grounds. It was by that intricate and dangerous river
that I reached the Polar sea, while acting as second
officer in search of Sir John Ross ; and as there
were but two officers on that honourable service,
your Lordship can but look to these officers for the
elements of success, if a mission by that river is
resolved upon. All that I can do, as one of those
officers so peculiarly circumstanced, is to place my
views on record as an earnest of my sincerity. Even
if the Admiralty should determine to try to force
provision-vessels through Behring and Barrow
Straits, and scour the vicinity in boats for the lost
expedition—and try they must, and succeed—it
will be satisfactory to know that such a mission
as I have proposed was adopted ; while if they
should fail in their attempts—and I am sorry
to say that I fully believe they will fail—
and the service under the consideration is put aside,
it will be a source of regret, that not only the nation
at large will feel, but the whole civilised world.
When this regret is felt, and every soul has perished,
such a mission as I have proposed will be urged again
and again for adoption • for it is impossible that the
country will rest satisfied until a search be made for
the remains of the lost expedition by a person in
whom the country has confidence. No inexperienced
person can go upon such an errand. The efforts of
the Danish Government for the lost colonies of Green-
land, the efforts of the Portuguese Government for
the brothers Cortereal, and the efforts of the French
Government for the unfortunate La Perouse, cannot
fail to raise our national pride when placed in similar
circumstances.

It has been stated in the periodical literature of the
day, that a party of sappers and miners sailed last
June in charge of provisions destined for the Mac-
kenzie River, as supplies for the lost expedition ; and
that Sir John Richardson is to leave England in
February next to head this party. I hope this may
be mere report. Such an expedition would be one
of relief from a difficulty which, to be successful,
anticipates the difficulty to be overcome ; for, if the
lost expedition can reach the Mackenzie River, or
even the Great Bear Lake by the Coppermine River,
to benefit by these supplies, they have solved the
problem of more than three centuries; they have dis-
covered the north-west passage, a dream we can
scarcely expect to be realised.
The recent survey of Dr. Rae is satisfactory only
so far as confirms the Esquimaux chart furnished to
Sir J. Ross ; and as it supports my views, that the
western shore of the Great Fish River estuary is con-
tinuJus with the western land of North Somerset—
or, to use my own words of 1836, " that from Cape
Hay the land trends .N.N.E, when it dips the horizon,
where a small space intervenes—in all probability a
deep bay—to a land gradually rising into boldness,
following a north-westerly course ; the extremes of
which are named Points Ross and Booth.*" If the
survey of Dr. Rae could be depended upon, the view
I have taken is the correct one ; but at present it is
valueless in a geographical point of view.
I would state, in conclusion, that the various sur-
veys which have been set afloat since I came forward
in 1836 as a volunteer have but cleared the way to
render the soundness of my views the more apparent.
The several expeditions which have since been under-
taken, whether they have resulted in success or failure,
have afforded so many successive links in the chain
of evidence which demonstrates the scientific character
of the views advanced by me in 1836, and for adherence
to wkich I have been refused all character as a sci-
entific traveller and all honorary acknowledg-
ment of faithful service to my country. I am
not, however, asking your Lordship to recom-
mend to her Majesty the bestowing upon me a
mark of approbation, as a reward for the sound-
ness of these views, which has been bestowed upon
those who contradicted them. lam asking your
Lordship to appoint me to a service for which I am
peculiarly qualified, a service of extreme hazard and
labour, but which, to be successful, must be under-
taken by some one of great experience. lam willing
to labour still for that recognition which will give
me equality with those who are now my superiors,
and when I state to your Lordship that I stand alone
as a single individual, isolated from the heroes of the
Pole in regard to reward for services, I trust your
Lordship will consider that I have strong claims
for such a service. The time has arrived, I say,
when I am able to refer your Lordship to my past
services and my present character as a guarantee
that I am sincere in my offer, and as an
earliest that I will faithfully discharge the duties
which will devolve upon me if I should be honoured
with the service I am seeking at your Lordship's
hands. Surely, my Lord, I should now have a peace
offering. A considerable portion of the main conti-
nent of North America bears the outline which I
gave to it—in which I differed with Sir George Back.
The Great Bay of Simpson and the trending of the
land north-east of Cape Hay are so many truths ;
and although the trending of the land named Points
Ross and Booth—which I maintain runs N.W. and
S.E., and not east and west as Sir George Back has