New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1859-10-17
Sir john, FrenIxlln's IFafs.l

4 liza IN ram Wooiwich Engiand, on voyage o.
discovery III the Arctic seas with Sir John Frank
nn ~ NV writes Capt, Ftzjaines ID his journal
was, 4 Now we're offat last. No longing look was
!, rast behind. We drank lady Franklins health at
81 the old gcntemans table, and II being ms dauSh
Il ier,s birthday hers too.n On the Sth of June fol
= lowing the discovering ships parted company with
/ the steamers which accompanied them to Storm
ness and on the 18th Of July they babe farewell tc
4 the transport and sailed for Lancaster Sound.
..The rest,n says the London Daily News, ''i;
1 silence. The last words of these devoted English
men were cheering and full Of confidence, and
| their last messages were charged with love ant
tenderness for home. For ten years past, all the
national solicitude, aided and inspired By the mos
sacred DEVOTIONAL that the tender human feeling
of all nations, and the chvalrons rivalry of the Old
World and the New, could furnish Of zeal, skill
courage, eager daring and stern endurance, to the
one great object of seeking out the lost, has been
prodigally spent; and as ii indeed it were the will
of Heaven that in all calamity there should be a
blessing. we have seen not only our kinsmen be-
You'd the Atlantic, but France and Russia, iendlng
no sterile sympathy to our great bereavement.
Whenever and wherever the story of Franklin
and his comrades is told, the names of Bellot, of
Kane, of Grinnell. will be remembered with the
names Of Ray and Richardson, of Ross OF Mcclure,
4 and AlcClintock.r
i II will lie Of interest to recapitaate the sub
| stance of all that had been positively known of
4 the Erebus and Terror up to the date Of the late
4 discoveries by Capt. McClintock, of the steamer
4 IA,
4 summary SO concisely done in the Manchester
| Guardian that we cannot do better than to adopt
| it:
The latest communication received from any
member of the party was conveyed in letters from
Sir John Franklin himself, written only two months
after his departure in 1915, and dated from an ISL
and in Baffin's Bay. The next point at which we
have any trace Of the adyenturers is a small inlet
in the vicinity of Cape Riley at which place it is
proved that they were chartered during the first
winter Of their absence, and where an inscription
on the graves of three seamen shows that some, at
least Of the party must have remained until April
1916. They were then more than twelve months
from home, and from that time we had nothing to
throw the slightest light upon the course they had
taken, until DR.. Rae, of the Hudsons Bay Com
pany came upon the traces of them in the summer
Of 1854, which were made known in England dur
ing that year. His information, obtained from the
EsquiInaux on the west coast of Boothia which he
was exploring was to the effect that in the spring
four winters past-interpreted to mean the spring
of l650-a band of white men, about forty strong
were seen travelling southwark over the ice at a
spot near the north shore Of the island called King
Williams Land. The wasfarers, who were drag
ging boat with them, showed signs Of being al
ready short of provisions and they explained to
the natives by signs that their ships had been
crushed in the ice, and that they were endeayorng
to reach the northernmost hunting ground for deer.
At later date during the same season, the bodies
of some thirty persons were found by the Esqui-
mauX at a point about one days journey to the
west of the Great Fish River, on the mainland, and
five other bodies on small island in the vicinity.
It was evident that the unfortunate men had per-
shed of want so extreme that even the severity of
the climate could hardly have been felt to heghten
or hasten its fatal effect and large number of ar
tices preserved by the Esquimaux, and bearing the
initials of officers in the expedition and, in one
case. the full name of Sir John Franklin, conclu-
sively established the fact that these We're the re-
mains of at least portion of the crews Of the En-
ebus and Terror. -.
The sketch of the fate of the expedition which
is pon n
somewhat extended by the discoveries of Captain
M'Clintock Most Of our readers are aware that
this gallant officer commanded vessel fitted out
by Lady Franklin herself, to exhaust the field of
inquiry into the fate of her husband, and they will
rejoice to hear that her atfectonate enterprise has
been rewarded by the ascertainment Of new facts.
Captain NJ 'Clintock returned to England on We'd
nesday, bringing with him an official record of the
abandonment of the missing ships, which record
had been found buried in the earth not far from
Point Victory, on the northwest coast of King
Williams Land.
Captain A'Chntock's Discovery Of The Fate OIL
Franklin and the E-ebns and Terror.
The following letter has been addressed to the
Secretary of the Admiralty:
YACHT Fox, R. VS..
ST.. beg you will inform the Lords Commits |
oners of the Admiralty of the safe return to this
country Of Lady Franklins Final Searching Expe-
lition, which have had the honor to conduct.
40 Their Lordships will rejoice to hear that our |
ndeavors to ascertain the fate of the Franklin I
Expedition have met with complete success.
: At Point Victory, on the northwest coast of |
ling Williams Island record has been found,
ated the 18th of April, 1913, and signed by
aptains Crozier and Fitzjames. By it we were in
,rmed that Her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror
ere abandoned on the I'D Of April, 1s48, in the
q, five leagues to the N. N. w. and that the sur
vors-in all amounting to one hundred and five
,uls, under the command of Captain Crozer-
ere proceeding to the Great Fish river Sir John
rankin had died on the 11th Of June, 1s47.
Many deeply interesting relics of our lost coun-
ymen have been picked up upon the western
lore Of King Williams Island, and others obtained
ON the Esquimaux, by whom we were informed
lat subsequent to their abandonment one ship was
'ushed and sunk by the ice and the other forced
! shore, where she has ever since been, affording
em1 an almost inexhaustible mine of wealth.
(" Being unable to penetrate beyond Bellot Strait
e Fox wintered in Brentford Bay and the search,
GLIDING the estuary of the Great Fish River and
Q discovery Of 800 miles of coast line, by which
e have united the explorations of the former
arching expeditions to the north and west of our
,sition with those of James Ross, Dease, and
mpson, and Rae to the SOUTH has been performed
sledge journeys this spring, conducted by Lieut.
OLSON, r. N, Capt Allen Young, and myself.
" As a somewhat detailed report of our proceed
gs will doubtless be interesting to their Lord
ips it is herewith enclosed, together with a
art of our discoveries and explorations, and at
9 earliest opportunity Twill present myself at the
lmiralty to afford further information, and lay
fore their Lordships the record found at Port
Glory. have the honor to be, ETC.,
+. j.. McCLINTOCK, Captain r. n"
The enclosure referred to above gives minute ,
count of searches made by the expedtionary /
rites. The following describes what was found !
! the sth Of May:
:" ! now gave Lieut.. Hobson directions to search
the wreck, and to follow up any traces he i
ght find upon King Williams Island. l
!" Accompanied by my own party and Mr.. Peter 4
n, marched along the east shore of King vii. {
ms Island, occasionally passing deserted snow {
Is, without meeting natives till the Sth of May i
len off Cape Norton we arrived at a snow vii t
re containing about thirty inhabitants. They
thered about us without the slightest appearance
fear or shyness, although none had seen living 1
lite people before. They We're most willing to Z
all their knowledge and barter all !
cir goods but would have stolen everything had t
~ not been very closely watched. Many more I
lies OF our countrymen were obtained we could c
t carry away all we might have purchased. |
icy pointed to the inlet we had crossed the day i
fore, and told us that one days march up it, and &
ence four days overland, brought them to the
teck. 4
" None of these people had been there since
SIS, at which time they said but little remained
cir countrymen having carried away almost /
'erything. !
Most Of our information was received from an in
lligent old woman; she said it was in the fall of /
g year that the ship was forced ashore many of t
g Walte men dropped by the way as they went '
wards the Great River, but this was only known i
them in the winter following, when their bodies i
ere discovered. Z
They all assured us that we would find natives
ION the south shore at the Great River, and some
W at the wreck; but unfortunately this was not |
g case Only one family was met with off Point