Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1854-04-05
THE GRINNELL EXPEDITION IN
SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN

riser. we have full and authentic account OF
the expedition of the "Advance" and "Rescue"
in search of Sir John Franklin. Fragments OF
DR.. Kane's journal were published soon after
his return he also delivered several lectures ln
this city and elsewhere on the subject; and a
foretaste was given in the last number OF Harp
ers' Magazine but these passages have only
stimulated public desire to retrace the course OF
our gallant seamen on their errand of mercy
amid the pers of the polar seas, and learn the
whole particulars of an expedition sustained by
the munfcence of an enlightened merchant
whom New York is proud to number among her
citizens. Sir John Franklin sailed from Eng
land for the Arctic regions on the 25th of May
1916, and was spoken by whaler on the 25th
of July following. Since then nothing has been
seen or heard of his expedition, except the dis
covery of his winter quarters at Beechy,in lS46
and a few other memorials, some of which were
found by the Grinnell explorers.
When the year l648 had arrived without any
tdngs of Frankin's gallant party, Great Britain
despatched three separate expeditions to reclaim
them These were well devised; but peculiar
drawbacks seemed to attend their efforts, and
before the beginning of 1850, they had all aban-
doned the search, almost without attaining the
first threshold of inquiry.
Their failure aroused everywhere the gener-
Gus sympathes of men. Science felt for its vo-
taries, humanity mourned its fellows, and an i'm
pulse, hoier and more energetic than either IN
voked crusade Of rescue. That admirable wo-
man. the wife Of Sir John Franklin, not content
with stimulating the renewed efforts of her own
countrymen, claimed the cooperation of the
world In letters to the President of the United
States, full of the eloquence of feeling, she call
ed on us, as "kndred people, to join heart and
hand in the enterprise of snatching the lost nav
igators from dreary grave"
The delays incident to much of our national
legislation menaced the defeat of her appeal
The bill making appropriations for the outfit of
an expedition fingered on its passage, and the
season for commencing operations had nearly
gone by. AT tthis juncture, a nobe-spirited mer-
chant Of New York, Of whom, as an American
and man, can hardly trust myself to speak,
fitted out two of his own vessels, and proilered
them gratutously to the Government Thus
prompted by the munifcent lberality of MIR.
Grinnell, Congress FASTENED to take the expedi-
tion under its charge, and authorised the Presi-
dent to detail from the navy such necessary Of
ficers and seamen as might be willing to engage
in it,
The expedition is fortunate in having such a
as DR.. Kane. With the watch
fulness Of Jealous saram for noting observa-
;ions important to science, he combines rare hu-
NOR, and keen relish for the cXcitements of
nautical life, and possesses more than ordinary
tact for describing even technical details in a
manner that must be clearly comprehensive TO
every class of readers. We make two extracts
in proof of this remark:
ARCTIC NAvIGATIoN.-Let us begin by imag-
ining 4 vessel or, for varety,two of them, speed.
ing along at eight knots an hour, and heading di-
rectly for a long, low margin Of ice, about two
miles of. "D'ye sec any opening" cries The
captain, hailing an officer on the fore.top.sai
yard. Something like "a lead little to lee
ward Of that iceberg on our port-bow." Ina lit
tie while we near the ice; our light sails are 60
in, our commander taking the place Of the ot
Ger, who has resumed his station on the deck.
Before you, in plain of solid ice, is a huge
iceberg, and near it a black zigzag canal, check
cred with recent fragments.
Now commences the process of" coming
Such work with the helm is not often seen in or
dinary seas. The briggs head is pointed for th
open gap the watch are stationed at the braces
Il sort of silence prevails. Presently come
down the stentorian voice of our commander
"hard- :arboard," and at the same moment tn
yards yield to the ready haul at the braces. Tn
brig turns her nose into sudden indentatior
and bangs her quarter against a big lump Q
swashing" ice. "Steady therew For half
minute not a sound until second yell, "Dowr
down hard DOWN. and then we rub, and scrapt
and jam, and thrust aside, and are thrust aside
but somehow or other find ourselves in an ope
canal, losing itself in the distance. This is Z"
lead"
AS we move on, congratulating ourselves
we think about the thing at all-that we ar
"good" for few hundred yards more, sudde
exclamation addressed to nobody but sufficient
ly distinctive, comes from the yard arm (we'
call it t"pshaw !') and looking ahead, we see thu
our" lead is getting narrow, its sides edging tC
ward each other-it is losing its straightness.-
At the same moment comes complicated SUI
cesson of orders: "Hem starboard p" Port
Easy ~" So ""Steadie- e-ee-ee %" Hard-a- port
Hard, hard, hard," (scrape, scratch, thump
"Eugh y an anomalous grunt, and we are jan
med fast between two great ice-felds of vi
known extent. The captain comes down, an
we all 60 quietly to supper.
| AN ARCTIC WALK.-Now let us start out vi
on walk, clothed in well fashioned Arctic CO.
tune. The THERMOMETERS is, say % deg, not low
er, and tho wind blowing royal breeze, bl
gently.
Close the lips for the first minute or two, an
admit the air suspicously through the nostr
and moustache. Presently you breathe in a dr.
pungent, but gracious and agreeable atmospher
The beard, eyebrows, eye lashes, and the dowr
pubescencc OF the ears, acquire delicate, wh
and perfectly envolying cover Of venerable hoa