The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1854-10-31
(From the Montreal Gazette and Herald. Oct 2lst.1
DISCOVERY OF THE
ACTUAL AND WRETCHED FATE
OF THE LONG-Losr
SIR JOHN FRANKLIN
AND HIS COMPANIONS IN MlsFoRTUNE,.

We are indebted to Sir George Simpson,
Governor OF the Hudson Bay Territory, for
the privilege of first publishing to the civil
lied world, at length, the ascertained fate of
the noble but jill starred Sir John Franklin
aid his gallant company. Alas! that their
tate should have been SO sad; and that the
problem, which has SO long occupied the
thoughts and engaged the energies of the
great nayigatOr's countless friends and ad-
mirers, in Europe and America, should be
solved by SO painful, SO distressing a nara.
tive as is contained in the following letter,
which only reached Sir George Simpson yes
terday afternoon, it having been forwarded
from York Factory via Red River. Our own
hopes of Sir John Franklin's restoration to
the world had, we confess, long ceased; but
who could have been prepared for the lear
ful reaIity--a miserable and lingering death
from literal starvatiun-possibly,a as DR.. Rae
conjectures, worse than starvation-on the
frozen and desOiate shores Of the Arctic
Ocean! But we shall not detain the reader
| by any reflections OF ours from the perusal
of DR.. Rae's Intensely interesting narrative;
we snail merely mention that York Factory
is situated at the mouth of Hayes River, in
Hudson's Bay, in about So degrees west
longitude.
DR.. Ras's Letter to Sir George Simpson.
YORK FACTOY, Aug. 4th, 1854.
Nv DEAR Sir GEoRGE:-Your several let.
tiers, public and private, Of dates 18th June
and LIST December, 1853, and 18th and 10th,
1854. were handed me on the 2Sth uIt., on
my reaching Churchill, and l rejoiced to
know that your health had been benefited
SO much by your visit to the north.
Let me now allude to the expedition ar.
fairs. arrived here on the 3lst ult., with
my small party, in excellent health, but /
am sorry to say without having effected cur
object. At the same time, information has
been obtained and articles purchased from
the natives, which placed the fate of a por.
ton, il not all of the then survivors of Sir
John Franklin's miserable party, beyond q
doubt-a fate the most plorable-death
from starvation, after having had recourse
to cannibaism as means of prolonging lie.
| reached my old quarters at Repulse Bay,
on the 18Th of August, and preparations
were Immediately commenced for winter.
ing. On the LIST of September, I explained
to the men our position, the stock of provi.
sions we had on hand, mot more than three
months rations,) and the prospects we had
OF getting mure. &C., pointing out all the
danger and difficulty Of our position. All
readily volunteered to remain, and our exer-
tons to collect food and fuel went on with
undated energy. By the end of Septem-
Der, l09 deer, musk OK, SO braces of Ptar-
migan, and one seal had been shot, and the
nets produced 100 salmon,
Or the larger animals above enumera ted,
40 deer and the musk OK were shot by nv.
self, 81 deer by Mstegan (the deer hunter,)
IA by one of the men, 8 by Ouglicbuck, and
l6 by the oil er men. The migration of
the deer terminated about the middle Of Oct.
and % more animals were added to the
stick.
On the 28th Of Oct, the show being sui.
ficiently hard for building, we were happy
to exchange our cold tentes for the more
comfortable shelter Of the snow.house. The |
winter was very severe, but the temperature
IN our snow-huts was never so low as in nv
winter quarters Of l846-7. Up to the l2t |
January we had nets set under the ice in the |
lakes; the nets were taken up on that date
as they produce nothing,
On the 3lst March my spring journey
commenced, but in consequence of gales of
wind, deep and soft snow, aud foggy Gather
We made but very little progress. We did
not enter Pelly Bay until the 18th. At
this place we met with Esqumaux, one of
whom, one being asked if he ever saw white
people, replied in the negative. but said that
a large Potry Cat least forty persons) had per.
ished from want of food, some ten or twelve
days journey to the westward. The sub.
ance Of the information, obtained at vari.
oss sources, was as follows:
In the spring four winters past (sprinc
lS5O),a party of white men, amounting 10
about forty, were seen travelling southw ard
over the ice, and dragging boat with them,
ssqumaux who were killing seals on the
north shore Of King Williams Land, which
is a large island named KeIelk.tak by the Es.
quimaux. None Of the party could speak the
mtive language intelligibly. but, by signs,
tie natives were made to understand that he
saip OF ships had been crushed by ice, and
that the "whites" were now going to where
they expected 10 find deer to shoot. From
the appearance of the men, all of whom. ex-
cept one officer (chieO looked thin, they
WIRE supposed to be getting short of provis.
ions, and they purchased a small seal from
the naties.
At later date, the same season, previous
to the disruption OF the ice, the bodies of !
about 80 white ersos were discovered on
the continent, and five more on an island
nclr i, about long days journey say 80 or
40 miles) to the northwest Of large stream
which can be no other than Backs Great
Fish river, (named by the Esqumaux Out
ko'-hi-ca.lik.) as its description and that of
the low shore in the nighborhood of Point :
Oge and Motreal Island agree exactly with :
that of Sir George Back.
Some of the bodies were buried (probabIv
those of the first victim of iamine), some
wee in tent or tents, others under boat ,
thai had been turned over to form shelter.
ano several lay scattered about in different
directions. =
Cne of those found on the isle nd was sun. {
pos,d to be an officer, as he had telescope
strapped over his shoulder, and a double 4
barelled gun underneath him. u
From the mutilaied state of many Of Tho