The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-13 00:00:00

14 ,N D N ,

THE ARCTIC SEARCHING

EXPEDITIONS.

CAPTAIN AUSTIN'S DISPATCHES.
(Continued from The Sun of yesterday.)
RFPORT OF PROCEEDINGS.
Her Majesty's ship Resolute, off the winter quarters
of Captain Penny's expedition, between Capes
Martyr and Hotham.—Aug. 12, 1851.
Sir,—ln order that the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty may learn by the first opportunity the
proceedings of the expedition intrusted to my charge,
I consider it advisable that a brief account (amended
since the return of Captain Penny) should be placed
on board the Lady Franklin, my brief report of the
14th inst. having been transferred to the Felix in
consequence of the attempt to send a boat to Ponds
Bay to communicate with the whaler being relin-
quished.
2. Captain Orrunanney having examined Wolsten •
holme Sound, which proved to have been the winter
quarters of the North Star, and completed the search
of the north shore of Lancaster Saund and Barrow's
Strait from Cape Warrender to Cape Feilfoot, looked
into Port Leopold, and then proceeded in further
execution of his orders, the Intrepid having, in the
meantime, examined Maxwell Bay and Cape Hurd,
finding at the latter place a record from the Inves-
tigator.
3. Captain Otnmanney, in the Intrepid, reached
Cape Riley and Beechy Island on the night of the
23d of August, and at both found traces of the missing
expedition.
4. On the 24th Captain Ommanney was joined by
the United States' schooner Rescue, and in the latter
part of that day he dispatched the Intrepid to search
the shore to the northward, but she was stopped by
the fixed ice about four miles beyond Point Lanes.
5. On the 25th a lead opened towards Cape Ho-
them; Captain Ommanney, hoping to find a record
there, dispatched the Intrepid to take advantage of it,
following in the Assistance; Captain Penny, who had
now arrived and communicated, remaining to search
the bay, between Cape Riley and Beechy Island.
6. The Resolute having in her search been detained
by weather did not reach Cape Riley and Beechy
Island until early on the morning of the 28th. She
found between the latter and Cape Spencer the Felix,
Sir John Ross, the two brigs of Captain Penny, and
the Rescue, Lieutenant De Haven, and saw from the
crow's nest the Assistance and Intrepid on the opposite
shore, near Barlow Inlet ; the other United States
schooner Advance was beset a few miles to the north-
ward, with searching party to Cape Bowden, where a
bottle, scraps of newspaper, shot, and other miscel-
laneous fragments were found, conveying the im-
pression that it had been the resting place of a shoot-
ing or other small party.
7. In rounding Beechy Island we were hampered
by the closing of the ice, which drove the Pioneer
into shoal water, where she grounded, and was after-
wards hove off without having sustained any damage.
8. Previous to the arrival of the Resolute, Captain
Penny had found on Beechy Island three graves, and
various other conclusive evidence, which, the moment I
saw them, assured me that the bay between Cape Riley
and Beechy Island had been the winter quarters of the
expedition under Sir John Franklin is the season of
1845 6, and that there was circumstantial evidence
sufficient to prove that its departure was somewhat
sudden, but whether at an early or late period of the
season very difficult to determine.
9. The absoluta necesssity for the Resolute being
held ready to push across the strait at the earliest
moment to communicate with Captain Ommanney,
determine further movements, and get to the west-
ward,' prevented travelling operations, but the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Cape Riley, Beechy Island,
end the coast of Wellington Strait, to near Cape
Bowden, were satisfactorily searched, without any re-
cord whatever being found.
10. On the morning of the 28th the ice eased off
sufficiently to enable Lieutenant Pa Haven to rejoin
his consort round Cape Spencer. On the afternoon
of the 4th of September, upon a southerly movement
of the ice, the Assistance rounded Cape Hotham, and
the United States expedition reached to near Barlow
Inlet ; and on the morning of the sth another move-
ment enabled the Resolute and Pioneer to reach the
western shore, but not in time to obtain security in
Barlow Inlet.
11. We continued beset until the evening of the
7th, when the ice gave way to the northward, and
carried us, in a critical position, out of the strait to
the south-east of Cape Hotham. This movement
enabled Captain Penny and Sir John Ross to cross
the strait.
12. Early on the morning of the 9th another change
occurred, when we succeeded in relieving ourselves
from the ice, and (with the brigs and schooners)
gained the water between the pack to the southward
and Cornwallis Island ; then passed onwards with
raised hopes to the westward, steering for the
southern extremity of Griffith Island, and sighting
in the evening the Assistance and Tender in that
direction.
13. On the morning of the 10th we reached an
extensive flow, extending from the south-west of
Griffith Island to the southward as far as the eye could
reach, to which the Assistance and Tender were se-
cured. We joined company, as did the brigs; and
in the eveniug the United States expedition, Captain
Ommanney, informed me that he had searched by
parties on foot (unhappily without finding any trace)
the shores of Cornwallis Island from six miles above
Barlow Inlet to Cape Martyr, had found two bays on
the south side, eligible for winter security, and had
deposited on Cape kiotton a depot of 20 days' provi-
sions for 90 men, as also a small depot on Griffith
Island since taken up.
14. Captain Ommanney proceeded in a southward
and westward direction about 25 miles on the morning
of the 11th. Of the situation of the brigs I was
somewhat apprehensive, confident that, from the
severe weather, they were to the southward and east-
ward of their former position.
15. Having now seen the uncertainty of the navi-
gation to the westward, and the necessity for mea-
sures of precaution and prudence, with a view to sub-
sequent operations, I determined upon placing the
Assistance and tender in winter quarters in the bay
midway between Capes Hotham and Martyr, and
addressed a letter to the leaders of the two expedi-
tions, apprising them thereof, and proposing that the
whole force might be concentrated and arrangements
made for each taking such portion of the search as,
under the circumstances, might best insure the ac-
complishment of the object of our mission.
16. On the morning of the 13th, the weather
having somewhat cleared, with the temperature clown
to near asro (plus three degrees) we cast off. After
much labour and difficulty cleared the bay and
stream ice, and reached open water east of Griffith
Island, when the United States' expedition was seen to
communicate with each other, hoist their colours, and
stand to the eastward; and it was not until some short
time after that I recollected Lieutenant De Haven
had, in reply, apprised me of the probability of his
return to America this year, but the circutnstances in
which we were placed wholly prevented our bearing
up for communication. The same evening we made
fast to the fixed ice between Cape Martyr and Grif-
fith Island as the only hope of finding security and
gaining westing.
17. On the morning of the 14th the Pioneer pro-
ceeded to examine the ice to the southward, and re-
turned in the evening, reporting no change ; and
early on the morning of the 16th the Assistance and
Tender left for their winter quarters, the Resolute and
Tender remaining at the edge of the ice, in the hope
of obtaining at least an amount of westing that
would be of good service when carrying out spring
operations.
18. The bay ice proving very strong, the Assist-
ance and tender got closely beset, and drifted for
some time helplessly towards the shore, upon which
(as soon as the vessels could be extricated) Captain
Ommanney deemed it advisable to return, rejoining
the same evening.
19, We thus remained in the hope that the Reso-
lute and Tender might be able ;to advance until the
24th, when, front the state of the ice and the low
temperature (plus 132 deg.), we were, after mature
consideration, reluctantly compelled to give up all
idea of prosecuting further, and to consider it impe-
rative to look forthwith to the security of the expe-
dition. The bay ice having this day slightly eased
off a short distance astern, we commenced to cut
through the newly-found pressed-up ice, between 300
or 400 yards in extent, and fro:n two to five feet in
thickness, between us and the lane of water, with a
view of reaching the small hay a little to the eastward
of Cape Martyr; but the new ice again making very
fast, we were obliged to relinquish the effort on the
evening of the 25th.
20. Although it was now late to hope for much by
'travelling parties, yet, as the ships were fixed, I de-
termined to dispatch a limited number to do all that
could be accomplished before the season finally closed,
as pioneers to the routes of the ensuing spring par-
ties, and to gain experience, there accordingly started
on the 2d of October, a party of six men under the
command of Lieut. Aldrich, with one runner sledge
and 13 days' provisions (assisted by one officer, six
men, and one fiat sledge, with three days' provisions),
for Somerville and 'Lowther Islands on the Cape
Walker route ; a double party of twelve men,
under the command of Lieutenant M'Clintock and
Mr. Bradford, surgeon, with four flat sledges, four-
teen days' provisions, and a depot for the Melville
Island route; a small party under the command of
Lieutenant Mecham towards Cape Hotham, to ascer-
tain if any of the expeditions, late in company, were in
sight from that position; and (afterwards) a small
party, under the command of Lieutenant Osborn, to
search the bay between Cape Martyr and the Cape
north-west of our poition, but the weather becoming
severe, with a considerable fall of temperature (49
degrees below the freezing point), they shortly re-
I turned, having only succeeded in placing the depots