The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-10-21
The Arctic Revelations.

The veil which SO long hung over the
fate OF Sir John Franklin and his unfor-
tunate comrades has at length been rent
asunder. Nine wears at least have already
elapsed since all hope of their return was
lost, but the despair of seeing them did not
lessen the interest felt by everybody in
their fate, or the desire to know where, how,
and when they met it-by which of the
thousand dangers which they braved, and
on what spot of the awful wastes which
they undertook to explore. There was
something terribly tantalizng in the disap>
pearance of two ships of war, manned by
full crews, and provided with everything
which could give them chance of safety
within the frozen wilderness, whose secret
two centuries of courageous endeavor on
the pert of the greatest maritime nations of
the world, and of the unheard-of fortitude
on the part of explorers they employed,
have not sufficed to reveal. There is hardly
a man of this generation whom the noble
story of Arctic exploration has not moved
to the depths of his soul and Franklin was
one of the ablest, oldest and bravest men
who had trodden that perilous path. For
nearly ten years be himself has occupied in
all our eyes the place of interest which we
bad previously assigned to natural mys-
teres which he sailed to unfold. He has
himself during that period been sought with
more courage and more devotion, with Deep
err forttude or holier enthusiasm, than those
be or his predecessors ever displayed, great
as their herosm undoubtedly was, IN the
search for the Northwest Passage. 1t is
but two years since the United States sent
mis- track man of whom age may we'll be
proud, and OF whom his country may well
boast as long as religious heroism is thing
to boast of. Only two winters ago, around
every fireside in England as we'll as here,
there were eyes wet with tears over Kane's
noble record of the long Arctic night
through which he watched in the brave hope
that be might tell the world where Frank
lin and his men had parished, and we had
hardly done perusing it when Kane himself
died in the cause. The world had we'll nigh
despaired of ever getting another ray of
light thrown on the mystery. The ships
had sailed away into the frozen seas.
Eight years In pursuit had brought no
better traces of the expedition than few
graves, few instruments, few vague
Esquimaux rumors and the public had
almost been reconcied to the pain of uncer
tainty as to the exact nature of its fate,
by the perfect certainty which time had
brought that no member of it was now
living. Happily Lady Franklin hoped
against hope, was proof against demonstra-
ton and against failure and when both
England and America had recoied from the
icy barrier in despair, she launched one more
ship on the track. 1t was small, screw
steamer: commanded by Capt. McClintock,
manned by twenty-five men, and, as the
result proves, all worthy of one another, and
of the duty they undertook. This last re-
serve of wife's devotion has done what all
else failed to accomplish. The fate of
Franklin and his ships and men is at last
known. He died twelve years ago. A
year afterwards the two ships were aban-
doned, and the surviving crews--l50 men
in all-started on their march southwark
over the ice. They persisted miserably, man
by man, along the frozen waste, and their
track remains, marked by skeletons, cloth.
ing, arms and food, lying as they dropped.
There was but one thing wanting to have
made this Franklin Expedition worthy of as
noble an epic as that which has immortalized
the fall of Troy and the conquest of Jerusa-
lem-and that was that the man who laid
bare the mystery which has perplexed US for
twelve years should be worthy of the men
in whose footsteps he followed and we are
glad to say, this too has been vouchsafed
us. The story of Captain McClintock's
wanderings, as told in bis own narrative
which we publish this morning, form as
worthy close to this great Tragedy. There
are incidents calmly recorded in it which
no tale of adventure has supplied anything
to surpass, and which we hope will be men
toned with honor, as long as courageous
devotion to duty, in the face Of tie most
appalling perils, finds anybody to admire
it. Our age is after all the age of chivalry
The march of Christian civilization may
have turned the fire which precipitates 9
murderous shock, but it has fed the calmel
and nobler heroism which, for duty's sake
supports the hardest strain, and ferces
struggle, and sorest trial, not for an hour
or for day, but for weeks, and months
and years.--N. Y. Times.