Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-10-28
SIR JOIN FRANKLIN.

SIR JoFM FRANKLIN.
AftsrAweary lapse Of fourteen years,
the remsins Of 81 John Franklin have
been found.
Sir John sailed from England May
10th, 1845, in search of the "North-
West Passage" to the Pacific, since dis.
covered by Capt. Mcclure. His ships
we're the Erebus and Terror, the former
commanded BY himself, the latter BY
Capt. Richard Crozier. On board were
1873 souls, not one of whom eve,
returned to tell their tale. A whalel
saw the two ships on the 9th Of July,
1916, moored to an iceburg in Bafin'a
Bay. It was the last time they were
ever seen.
From that time to this, Arctic Elk.
petitions have been mainly conducted
with view Of finding the lost explorers
Every device that ingenuity could con-
trive, or humanity prompt, aided BY
the untiring devotion Of wife "nd the
generosity of the two Governments,
has been rssorted to, at first in hope Of
finding the explorers, and subsequently,
in the hope Of learning their fate.
Three expeditions Chose of Capts'
Moore and Kellett, that Of Sir james
Ross, and the land party of Sir John
Richardson) were sent out by the
British G Government in 1848. In 1849,
DR.: Rae made an expedition, and Capts.
Moore and Kellett repeated theirs, all
without success. In 1850 there were
no less than eight expeditions made
(three sent by the British Government,
the others by Lady Franklin or by pub
lie subscription )-one by DR.. Rae,
another by the Behring's Strait Explo-
rers, Mcclure and Collinson, third
by the Baffin's Bay Explorers, Capts
Osborne, Austin and Ommaney, a
fourth by Sir John Ross, . fifth BY
Capt Penney, sixth by Com. Forsyth,
seventh by the North Star, and the
eighth by the American Grinnel Fxpe-
dition, commanded by Lieut.. Della
ven. More or less Of the traces Of
Franklin's unfortunate voyage were
found, but no evidences of his hna
fate. -.e .s...~ 49,.
In 1851. the Prince Albert and thu
Isabel made two more expeditions. II
1852, Sir Edward Belcher sailed witt
five vessels. In 1858, DR.. Kane made
his famous Expedition, and lady
Franklin sent out two more vessels
DR.. Rae went again, and the British
Government sent out Captain lngle'
field. Belcher found and rescued Cap.
tain Mcclure, who had been buried
three years in the ice, but no traces
we're found of Sir jain Franklin.
In 1856 the United States govern
ment sent Capt. Hartstene in search Of
DR.. Kane. Since that time there have
been, we think, two more expeditions
| making in all tacenty-three since thu
search for Franklin began. The las
| of these, Capt. McClintock's terminates
the long suspense, with melancholy Ger.
tainty.
King Williams Island, the spo'
where the remains were found, is one
| of the. southernmost islands of the Arc.
| tic Ocean. It is but little north Of
the upper shores Of Hudson's bay ; il
twelve degrees of latitude further south
than the spot where DR.. Kane winteree
safely, aDd three hundred miles further
south than are the Danish Settlements
IN Greenland. 1t has long been known
and visited. Because it was SO neal
by, and so far south, the expeditions
have never dreamed Of looking there
before, but have prosecuted their una
vailing search in the icy regions further
north.