The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-10-29

RETURN OF THE EXPLORING YACHT Fol
OFFICIAL AccouNroF THE EXPEDITION
INTERESTING DETA1Ts.
From tho London Times.
The For screw discovery vessel, (Capt
M'Clintock,) which was sent to the Arcti
regions at the expense of Lady Franklin, t
discover traces Of the missing expedition
arrived off the Isle Of Wight on Wednesday
On landing, Capt. M'Clintock at once cam
on by train to London, bringing with hir
two cases containing relics.of the long miss
Ing expedition Of Sir John Franklin. w
have received the following from the Ad
mirality:
"Thursday, Sept. 22-10:30 A. NJ.
The Secretary of the Admiralty present
his compliments to the editor of the Times
and forwards the accompanying letter fo
insertion"
-..- YACHT Fox, R. Y. S.
SIR Il beg you will inform the Lord
Commissioners Of the Admiralty of the saf
return to this country, of Lady franklin
Final Searching Expedition, which l hav
had the honor to conduct.
Their Lordships will rejoice to hear tha
our endeavors to ascertain the fate of tn
6 Franklin Expedition have met with com
plete success.
At Point Victory, upon the north wes
coast of King Williams Island, record ha
been found, dated the 25th Of April, lS4S
and signed by Captains Crozier and Fitz
james. By it we were informed that He
Majesty's ships, Erebus and Terror, wer
abandoned on tho 22d of April, lS4S, in tn
ice, five leagues to the N. N. w., and tina
the survivors-in all am ounting to los souls
under the command of Capt. Crozier-wer
proceeding to the Great Fish River. 81
John Franklin had died on the / lth of June
lS47.
Many deeply interesting relics of our los
countrymen have been picked up upon tn
western shore of King Williams Island, an,
others obtained from the Esquimaux, b,
whom we were informed that subsequent Il
their abandonment one ship was crushe,
and sunk by the ice, and the other forcet
on shore, where she has ever since been
affording them IN almost ineXhaustibie min
of wealth.
Being unable to penetrate beyond Belio
Strait, the Fox wintered in Brentford Bay
and the search-ncluding the estuary of tn
Great Fish River and the discovery of so
miles Of coast line, by which we have unite'
the explorations of the former searchin;
expeditions to the north and west Of ou
position with those of Sir James Ross
Dease, Simpson and Rae to the south-ha
been performed by sledge journeys thi
spring, conducted by 1t. Hobson, r. n.
Capt. Allen Young and myself.
As somewhat detailed report of ou
proceedings will doubtless be interesting t.
their Lordships, it is herewith inclosed, to
ge,her with chart of our discoveries ant
explorations, and at tho earliest opportunity
will present myself at the Admiralty t.
afford further information, and lay befor
their Lordships this record found at Por
Victory.
have the honor to be, &C.,
+. l.. MCLSToCH, Capt. II. n.
To the Secretary of the Admiralty.
1t will be remembered that the Fox ef
fected her escape out of the main pac
in Davis Straits, in lat. 63t degrees \.
on the 18th of April, 1875, after IL winter
ice drift of l,l9j geographical miles.
| The small settlement of liolsteinborg wa
reached on the 2Sth, and such seanty sup
plies obtained as the place afforded.
On the Sth of May our voyage was re
commenced; Goodhaven and Upernivi
visited Melville Bay entered early in June
and crossed to Cape York by the 26th; her
some natives were communicated with: the
/ ,,,l,n,nly c.,n-n;,al Nr Dntnrypp
Interpreter, formerly known to them in tn
! Grinnell expedition under DR.. Kane. Ii
reply to our inquiries for the Esqumau,
dog driver Hans, left behind from the Ad
vance in 1888, they told us that he was re
siding at Whale Sound. Had he been ther
would most gladly have embarked him, IL
! his longing to return to South Greenland
continues undated.
! On the 18th of July communicated will
Cape Warrender natives, near Cape Hors
burgh: they had not seen any ships sine
the visit of the Phoenix in 1854, nor hav
any wrecks ever drifted upon their shores
/ 1t was not until the 9th of July that WI
reached Ponds Inlet, owing to a most unu
sual prevalence of ice in the northern por
ton of BafFin's Bay. and which rendered ou
progress since leaving llolstenburyh one o
increasing struggle. Without steam powe
we could have done nothing. Here onl,
one old woman and boy were found, bu
they served to pilot us up the inlet for =;
miles, when we arrived at their village
For about a week we were in constant ant
most interesting communication with thes
friendly people. Briefly, the information
from them was, that nothing whatever re
specting the Franklin expedition had com
to their knowledge, nor had any wreck
within the last twenty or thirty years
reached their shores.
The remains of three wrecked ships ar
known to them two of those appear t.
have been the whalers of Dexterity ant
Aurora, wrecked in August, 1921, some 81
or so miles southwark of Ponds Inlet
The third vessel, now almost buried in til
sand, lies few miles east of Cape Hay
This people communicate overland ever
winter with the tribes at Igoolik: they al
knew of Parry's ships having wintere'
there 1929, and had heard of late years 0
DR.. Rae's visit to Repulse Bay, describing
his boats as similar to our whale boat, ant
his party as living in tents, within snow
houses, smoking pipes, shooting reindeer
&c. None died. They renamed there oni.
one winter.
No rumor of the lost expedition ha
reached them. Within Ponds Inlet the ma
twas told US the ice decays away every year
bu. so long as any remains whales abound
Several largo whales were seen by US, an
We found among the natives considerabl
quantity of whalebone and many narwhal
horns, which they were anxious to barte
for knives, files, saws, rifles, and wool
they drew us some rude charts of the inlet
showing that it expands into an extensiv
channel looking westward into Prince Re
gents Inlet.
We could but regret that none of ou
own whaling friends--from whom We ha
recently received so much kindness-wer
here to profit by SO favorable an opportu
nifty. Leaving Ponds Inlet on the 9th o
August, we reached Beechy Island on tn
llth, and landed handsome marble table
sent on board for this purpose by Lad
Franklin, bearing an appropriate inscriptio
to the memory of our lost countrymen /
the Erebus and Terror.
The provisions and stores seemed in per
feet order, but small boat was muc
damaged from having been turned owe
| and rolled along tho beach by storm. Th