The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1869-10-12
FROM THE FROZEN SEAS.
Report Of Captain G. e.. Esall 70
MIR. Henry Grtnneii--Nhat wan
sSiscGvereh Concerning Sir john
ErankIsn'S Party.
REpULsE BAY, June 90. 1869.

my purpose, and every preparation was
made, to make this journey last season ;
but my attention then having been called
10 Melville Peninsula, in the vicinity OF
Fury and iIecls Straits, where native re-
! port had il that White men had been
seen, [ directed my expedition there by
way Of Ami-tokc, Oog-Et-iSlc, Ig-loo-
lik, with the ardent hope aad eXpecta-
ton Of rescuing alive some Of Sir John
Franklin's last companions. The re-
suit of this journey was the finding Of a
tenting- place Of Il few white men and
stone pillar they had erected close by it
at the bottom Of Parry Bay, which is
some fifty miles south of the western
outlets of Fury and IIecla Straits, and
the visiting Of several places where
white men and their traces had been
seen by natives Of lg-loo lik aud vicm-
ity about the years 1861 / also gain
ed much information from the natives Of
! Ig- loo-lik, north Of Ooglit-i Isle, and
thereabout, that confirmed the report ]
heard in the winter Of 1868, which /
have already stated. And still further
proofs of this report have been also OBJ
taned on my late visit to King Williams S
Land. My sledgej journey to the Straits of
Fury and Hecla, and thence down to
Parry Bay and back to Repulse Bay by
the route already defined, consumed
ninety six days. .-. ........ .:
The result of my s.edge journey to
King Williams Land may be sumed
up thus: None of Sir John Franklins
companions ever reached or died on
Montreal Island 1t was late in July,
1S4S, that Crozier and his party, ofabout
forty or forty-fve, passed down the west
coast of King Williams Land in the vi
cinity Of Cape Herschcll. The party
was dragging two sledges on the sea ice,
which was nearly in its last stage of dis
solution-onc, large sled, laden with
an awning covered boat, and the other,
a small one, laden with provisions and
camp material. Just before Crozier and
party arrived at Cape Herschell, they
were met by four families Of natives and
both parties went into camp near each
other Two Esquimaux men, who were
Of the native party, gave me much sad,
but deeply interesting information. Some
of it stirred my heart with gladncss, in,
termingled with rage; for it was con
fession that they, with their companions,
did secretly and hastily abandon Croziel
and his party to suffer and die for need
Of fresh provisions, when in truth, il
was in the power of the natives to save
every man alive The next trace of Gro
zier and his party is to be found i'll the
skeleton which McClintock discovered
little below, to the 'southward and
eastward of Cape HerscheIl. This was
never found by the natives. The next
trace is camping place on the seashorC
, of King Williams Land, about three
miles eastward of Pfeifer River, where
two men died and received Christian bu
rial. At this place fish bones were found
by the natives, which showed them thai
Crozier and his party had caught while
there q species Of fish excellent for food
with which the sea there abounds, The
next trace of this party occurs some five
or six miles eastward, On q long, low
point of King Williams Land, where
one man died and was buried Their
about S. S. f., two and half miles fur
ther, the next trace occurs, on Tod6'S
Is,et, where the remains Of five men lie
The next certain trace of this party is
on the west side of the inlet west o.
Point Richardson, on some low land
that is an island or part of the main
land, as the tide may be. Here the avn
ing covered boat and the remains OF
about thirty or thirty five Of Croziers s
party were found by the native Poo yet
ia, of whom Sir John Ross has given a
description in the account Of his voyage
in the Victory, lS29-34
| In the spring Of lS49,a large tent was
found by some of<the natives whom
saw, the floor Of which was completely
covered with the remains of white men
Close by were two graves. This tent
was little way inland from the head of
Terror Bay.
In the spring of 1861, when the snow
was nearly all gone, an Esquimaux par
ty, conducted by native well known
throughout the northern regions, found
two boats, with many skeletons in and
about them. One of these boats had
been previously found by McClintock
the other was found lying from once quar-
ter to one half mile distant, and must
have been completely entombed in snow
at the time McClintock's parties were
there, or they most assu-cdly would have
seen it. In and aboat this boat, besides
the many skeletons alluded to, were found
many relics. most of them similar IN
character to those McClintock has emu
merated 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
! individual who gave DR.. Rae the first in
formation about white men having died
to the westward of where he { DR.. Rae
then was { Pelly Bay J, in the spring of
1854 His name is In-nooA- -poo-zhc jock,
and he is native of Neitchille, q very
great traveller, and very intelligent He
is, in fact, a walking history of the fate
of Sir John Franklin's expedition. This
native / met when within one days
sledge journey of King Williams Land
off Point Dryden--and after stopping
q few days among his people, he accom-
panied me to the places | visited on and
about King Williams Land.
The same year that the Erebus and
Terror were abandoned, one of them
corsummated the Great North Pas
sage, having five men aboard. The ev-
idence of the exact number is circum-
stantial Every thing about this North
west Passage ship of Sir John Frank
Inns Expedition was in complete order
four boats were hanging high up at ships
sides, and one was on the quarterback !;
the vessel was in its winter housing of
sail or tent cloth. This vessel was found
by the Ook-i 100 -lik natives near O Rellly's
Island, latitude 6So 30' North, longitude
99o s. West, early in the spring of 1849
it being frozen in, in the midst of q
smooth and unbroken foe of ice of only
one winters formation. From certain
evidence / have gained, both at Ig-loo-