The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-10-22
THE POLAR REGIONS.
Captain Halls Adventures.

!. Capt. Hall, Tile Arctlc explorer, In
4 letter to friend, in reference to
his recent Arctic voyage, says:
In the spring of 1861, when the
snow was nearly all gone, an Esqui-
maux party, conducted by a native,
well known throughout the northern
regions, found two boats with Id any
skeletons in and about them. One
of these boats had been previously
found by McClintock; the other was
found lying from One-quarter to one
half mile distant, and must have been
completely entombed in show at the
time McClintock's parties were
there, or they most assuredly would
have seen it. In and about this boat,
besides the many skeletons alluded
to, were found many relics, most of
them similar in character to those
McClintock has enumerated as having
been found in the boat he discovered.
The native who conducted this
native party in Its search over King
Williams Land is the same individ-
ual who gave DIR. Rae the first infor-
nation about white men having died
to the westward of where he (Dr.
Rae) then was (Pelly Bay, in the
year 1913. His name is In mock
poo-zhe-iook, and he is a native Of
Neitcheele, q very great traveller, and
very int elligent. He is, in fact, a
walking history of the fate of Sir
John Franklin's expedition. This
native / met within one days sledge-
journey of King Williams Land-off
Pt. Dryden-and after stopping a
few days among his people, he &C
companied me to the places | visited
on and about King Williams Land
The same gear that the EreJus and
Terror ,,ere abandoned one Of them
consummated tie Great North aOest
Passage, haoing fve men aboard.
The evidence of the exact number /
is circumstanti"l. Everything about
this Northwest Passage ship of Sir
John Franklin's expedition was in
complete order; four boats were
hanging high up on the ships sides,
and one was on the quarter deck
the vessel was in its winter housing
OF sail or tent cloth. Tue vessel was
found by the OoiSj joo lik natives near
O'Reilly Island, lat. $3.50 N, lon
80 W., early IN the spring of 1919,
it being frozen in the midst of
smooth and unbroken foe of ice of
E.
| must now tell you of the
heartrending ,tragical part of my ex-
pedition before L conclude. In the
spring of 1862 | started from Repulse
Bay on a dog-sledge journey to King
Williams Lani. My company were
entirely of natives, and on our get
ting about two hundred miles on our
way, we met party OF Pelly Bay
natives who were fleeing from their
country on account of "war'' raging
there. The effect on my company
was that on no consideration could
they he induced to proceed further,
and therefore, terrible as the blow
was to my plans, | had to turn hack,
trusting that / could succeed in get
ting a small band of faithful white
men out of some of the whale ships,
if they should happily make into
Repulse Bay.
Not until the fall of 1867 was |
able to get the desired number of
white men to accompany me, besides
my EsquimauX interpreters-Joe and
Hannah-as an escort OF defense,
while making the long-delayed sledge
jsurney to King Williams Land, and
even then it was only at the very last
is, while the whaling :
vessels were weighing anchors and
starting for the States--that L was
successful The result of my taking +,
seamen that neither | nor their cap =,
tains knew much about, proved as
many would expect. Two men OF
the five would, | am quite confident, I,
have proved better men than they /,
lid had they not been all-advised. :
None of the men, except noble :
Frank Lailer, ever accompanied me
on any of my sledge journeys. In
the fall of 1868, during a mutinous
attack made upon me, when my faith
ful man was absent about seven miles
distant on business, | was compelled, I
in self defense, to call into requlsi- {
ion u revolver. Coleman, the leader, I
fell and died in fifteen days. | feel t
hat had I not taken this "dread /
ny fate would have {
been quite as sorrowful as that OF
Henry Hudson.