The Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1869-1872, 1869-10-27


grces 80 minutes north, Longitude 80 degrees
minutes west, early i'll the Spring of 1919.
il being frozen in the midst of "A smooth and
unbroken hoe of ice of only Winters forma-
ton.
To complete the history Of Sir John Frank
lin last expedition. one must spend q Sum-
mer ON King Williams Land, with n consid-
erable party, whose only business it should be
to make searches for records which beyond
doubt lie buried on that island. am certain
from what heard the natives say, and from
what / saw myself, that little or nothing can
be gained by making searches when the land
is clothed in its Winter garb, for the Esqui-
mauN have made search over all the coast of
King Williams Land on either side, from its
southern extreme up to Cape Felix, the north
Crn point, for anything and everything that
belonged to the companions Of SIR Joln
Franklin, and these searches have been made
when the snow had nearly all disappeared
from the land.
My slodge company from Repulse Bay to
King Williams Land consisted of eleven
souls all EaqUinauN. Although they nre as
untameable as eagles by nature yet by their
aid alone j was able 10 reach points otherwise
inaccessible, and when there TO gain much i'm
portant information relative To the fate of Sir
John Frankliu's expedition. tried hard to
accomplish far more than did, but not one OF
the company would on any account whatever
make II Summer search over that island
which, from information | had gained Of the
natives, had reason to suppose would be re-
varied by the discovery Of the whole of the
manuscript records that had accumulated in
that great expedition, and had been deposited
In II vault little way inland eastward of
Cape Victory. Knowing as ! do, In" Charac-
ter Of the EsquimauX in that part of tho
country IN which King William Land is situ-
ut'd, | cannot wonder ut nor blame the Re
pulse Bay natives for their refusal TO remain
there as desired. 1t Is quite probable that
had We remained las ! wished, no one of us
would ever have got ont of the country alive
How could we expect, If we had got into
strIightcncd circumstances, that We should
have received better treatment from the Esqui-
mauX of that country than the one hundred and
five souls who were under the command of the
heroic CroZier, some time after the landing of
his party on King Williams Land.
Could and my company with reasonable
safety have remained TO make Summer
search on King Williams Land, il is not only
probable that we should have recovered the
logs and journals of Sir John Frunklin's expe-
dition, but hnve gathered up and cntonbcd
the remains of nearly one hundred of his
companions, for they lie about the places
where the three boats have been found, and at
the large camping place at the head of Terror
Bay, and the three other places that have al
side Of Port Richardson. however, nature
herself has opened her bosom and given sep
ulturc To- the remains Of the immortal heroes
thmt died there. Wherever the EspuimauN
have found the graves of Fmnl:lins CompIn-
ions they huvc duS them up and robbed the
dead, leaving them exposed to the rIvages of
wild beasts. On Tudd's Island the remains of
/ five men wcr" not buried but after the savn-
gcs had robbed them of every nrticlc ;hnt
could be- turned to any account for their uSc,
their dogs were allowed 10 finish the disgust
| ing work.
Wherever found that Sir John Franklin :
! companions had died, | erected monuments,
| then fired sIlutcs and waved the star spanglcd
banner over them in memory AMI respect OF
/ the great and true discoveries of the North
west Passage. / could have gathered great
! quuntlti"s--a great vnriciy--Oi relics of Sir
| John Truklm's expedition, for they arc now
/ posscsSr.i 10y natives all over the Arctic re-
! Huus that I visited or heard of, from Pond 4
/ BAY to Mackenzie river. As il was, had Ia
/ he satisfied with taking about one hundred
and twenty-five pounds total weight of relics
! from natives about King Williams Land.