The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-02-16
From the Boston j. urna
RESEARCHES FOR SIR JOHN FRANK
LIN

luc CttNZeO WV1iu TIE Idlc III OH JUuU |
aud his associates is regarded with anxiety and
uncertainty almost painful to be borne Indeed,
in every quarter of tie globe, in the most re-
mote and secluded spots over which the dag of
England waves, in the most distant sea in which
a British or American ensign has been unfurled,
there the question Of Frankiias safety OF loss is
discussed with the ivelest interest In our
own country, the feeling in his behalf has been
so deeply stirred, that one expedition has already
been sent 10 aid in the search for the missing
vessels, and another is already preparing for
the same purpose. From Great Britain, ship
after ship has been despatched, and il now APP
pears as if the national pride Of Britain was ex-
cited to leave no nook or cornor of the Arctic |
Seas unex plored, no lands, or islands, however
small unvisted, where Sir John may have !
left the traces Of his existence or Of his des'ruc
ton.
The tcnacity with which most English writer's |
and travellers adhere to the opinion that Frank
lin is yet alive and may return 10 his native
land, is truly astonishing, bet characteristic OF
the nation. 1t appears sometimes as If the ma
tlonal pride and honor Of England was involved
in the fate Of Franklin. A late writer in the
London Times, In an article of considerable
eng h and ability, says "the total extinction OF
two British men. Of war, commanded by two
sach officers as Sir John franklin and Capt.
Fitziames, is an event of the strongest improb.
lin and his officers in Arctic navigation are freely
admitted I; but the idea which is held out in
the above extract from the Times, and which
has been put forward by other English writes,
that British men of-war are quite exempt from
the dangers of the sea, is rather extravagant
No vessel, whatever its national character, or
however well oficered and manned, is exempt
| from the common perls, Of the ocean-the fall
| ing iceberg, the sunken rock, the sweeping hur'
| rcane, the enguldng wave.
| Sir John franklin sailed from England in
May, le45, with The Erebus and Terror, having
| on board 1873 persons, and arrived at the Whale
| fish Islands in July. The Erebus was spoken
| in the same month by whaler Enterprise, and
the whaler Prince of Wales reported that, on
the Goth Of the same month, she saw Frankln's
vessel in LAT "a deg. 4S min and lon. 90 deg.
| Is min. w. This would place the vessel not
far from the middle of Baifin's Bay, and oppo-
| ste Lancaster Sound. They were then snci.
! ored to iceberg, and waiting lforabe OF.
pnrtunity, to emit r this Sound. From this last
named date, (July 20, lS45,) till Aug. 23, 1859,
Y period of Eve years and one month, no traces
and no intelligence of any kind, direct or ind
rect, was received from the expedition. At
this later date, traces of the ships were discnv
cred at Cape Riley, by Captain Omtnaney.--
Four days after, (Aug. 27,) unn.is akabie ev
dences, such as fragments of iron, empty tin
| meat ems, pieces Of cloth, ropes, wood, and
paper, both written and prin ed, with the dates
of 1544, 45-lha, Franklin had spent the winter
of IS45, 49, at Beeciy Islands, were discover
ed by Captain Penny. Upon this island also
were discovered some sad memorials of the
missing ships, which, united with the intense
areariness of those distant regions, must have
deeply stirred The feelings of those brave heart.
ed seamen by whom he discovery was mad,-
the graves Of three of Franklins men who died
in Jan and April, 1876 Bat 1t is remarkable
hat papers of any kind were found on this
island, deposited, as is often the in those
Northern ex piora;ons, for navigatars who nigh,
. afterwards visit the spot, though cairn, oil
rounded heap of stones, built upon bluff point
seemed to indicate that ii was Frankn's inten-
ton to have left such papers. One of the
cords, deposited in carn by Captain Parry,
on Melville Island in 1919, was found to be in
state of perfect preservation when opened
thirty years after by party from Capt. Austin $
expedition.
!. 1t appears TO be the opinion, from several rea
sons, of almost all engaged in the search for
Franklin, that he passed up Wellington Chan
/ mel. This channel leads north.from Barrow S
Straits, in Is lat, and 90 lon west and his in.
structinns received from the Admiralty were to
proceed up this channel, and, if possible, throug h
it. And franklin and his officers expressed
their determination, both before and after !eav
ing ENGLAND, to carry out the wishes Of the
Admiralty.
=: Franklin's winter quarters at Be ,chy Island in
1915 6, were no doubt selec ed to favor this OBJ
ject. This Island lies at the SOU, heastern ex
tremi'y Of Wellington & annsl, jnst at its en-
rance into Barrows Straits; and his situation
at this point would enable him to take adv intage
OF the first opening of the ice, to proceed up this
channel which IS now pretty clearly ascertainrd
to be communication leading into the great po
lar basin, and at times to beiree from ice When
II was discovered by Parry, in 1929, it was clear
of ice as far as could be dscerned with telles.
cope; and Capt Penny's sledge, in the Spring
of 1851, was stopped by open water in it
Whales in great numbers have been seen run.
ing southwark from this channel, and the
fact that they generally swim at the rate of five
or six miles an hour, and can live under water
only fifteen or twenty minutes at time without
rising pr,.ves that open water exists at intervals
the length OF The passage; and everything now
seems to poin, to it as the one by which Frank
lin mus; be sought, upon the suppos;ton thai
he did not attempt to regain his steps eastward
after leaving Beechy Island.
An account Of some Of the principal resear
ches which have been made for Franklins YES
sells will be given, merely promising that it will
, be as short as is consistent yith ineligible
ness.
, Early in 1880. the Admiralty, after drspat-
ching an expedition by the way of Behring.
Straits, sent four ships under command of Cap
tain Austin, who had served in exploring
squadron under Capt. Parry, with instruction.
to examine carefully Barrow's Straits. This
squadron consisted OF two sailing vessels ant
, two steam tenders. In company with Capt
Austn's vessels, Capt Penny captain Of ma.
: nv years experience in the northern whale fish
ery, was despatched by the Admiralty in com
mand Of two small sailing vessels. 1t will be
recollerted that it was Capt. Penny who frs
discovered the traces Of Frankn's encampmen
at Beechy Island Ia the season of 1850, thess
two expeditions thoroughly examined Barrow.
Straits and the adjacent waters and then took
+. up winter quarters at the southern extremity o
= Wellington Channel. In the spring Of 1851
, parties IN boats and sledges explored in the ag
| yregate, over two thousand miles Capt. ON
NANNY, the commander off one Of the sledge par
D ties whose instructions were to sea -ch 10 the
I southwark and westward between Cape Walker
and Banks Land, was gone from his vessel six
~ days. During some OF this time the there
mometer indicated temperature of n deg, be-
low the freezing point. Capt. Ommanny gives
his decided opinion that vessels would be un-
able t. navigate along the coast he explored
E from the appearance of fixed ice, and shoals
and from the southerly trending of the land
, where it was supposed to lie in westerly di
rection. Another sledge party travelled
along the eastern shore of the land ex.
p'ored on the west side by Ommanney's party
Tie mercury in thermometer carried by this
party, was frequently frozen, and their chrome
meter was stopped from excessive cold-No
passages examined by this party appeared 10 be
ever sufficiently open for navigation Another
5 party examined CORVALLIS Island, which hes
on the western side of Wellington Channel,
Bathurst Island, Byan Martin Island and
Straits, and The coast north west of Bathurs,
Island to the 10th deg. of lat. Another party
penetrated as far west as the western coast OF
Melville Island in about ] IL deg. west longr.
tude, and visited the spot where Parry encamp.
ed in June, 1820-no Arctic explorer having
! since that time got SO far to the west This
} party met wirh bears, foxes, muskoxen, deer
and birds, in great abundance. They travelled
when the cold was intense that bottles Of
water carried by tie men in their breasts, froze
; after an hour or so. salt pork broke like sue,
and rum thickened. The intrepid commander
Of this expedition is certain Franklin never vi
sited Melville Island Other sledge parties