Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1879-01-14

with an escort, composed of company of
contra -guerillas commanded by the in
famous Dominguez; and while on his
journey, he distinguished himself by his
valor, and chivalric conduct in the en-
counter between his escort and the Mexi-
can guerillas, among whom were Gen.
Gaona and his son, whose lives, together
with those of four other officers, he was
the means of saving; and, on his return,
received the complimentary present of a
sword from his fellow -townsmen. He
suffered terribly while in Mexico, from
fever, exposure, and the effects of lance
wound which he received in the affair
with the guerillas.
On his return home, after the war was
ended, he was sent to the Mediterranean
in the store-ship Supply" and, while on
this voyage, was seized with an attack of
tetanus, the most terrible of all disorders
when, to use his own expressions, his
body felt as though it were composed of
fiddle-strings, and host of devils were
turning him up. He had not the faintest
hope of recovering from this disorder, but
he did, and returned to Norfolk, not quite
dead in September, 1849 After brief
rest at home, he was again ordered on
duty on the Coast Survey; and in the
Spring succeeding he was luxuriating
among Cherokee roses and blooming mag
nolias in the perfume laden atmosphere of
Florida; and on the twelfth day of Nav,
while bathing in the tepid waters of the
Gulf of Mexico he was suddenly startled
by brief missive from Washington, or
dering him to proceed at once to New
York to join the Arctic Expedition in
search of the long lost Franklin. In
seven and half days from that date he
had left the port of New York, and was
proceeding on the voyage which has
given Immortality to his name. The rest
of his story is too well known to need re-
capitulation
The commander of the expedition,
Lieutenant De Haven, had never. even
heard of Doctor Kane until they met for
the first time in the Navy Yard at Brook
lyn, the day before they set sail; and he
confesses that when he took the measure of
the man upon whom the health of himself
and crew must depend, he felt misgiving
that he was not the right man for the
place; and if there had been time he
would have requested the Department to
exchange him for some more promising
person. But there was not time, and he
made up his mind to send the feeble look
ing little Doctor back as soon as he got to
Greenland, if he should ho-d out SO long.
The Doctor was, as usual, sea a-siclz, and
when they touched at Whale-fish Island.
after having been thirty-one days at sea,
an English transport ship was found there.
and Captain De Haven benevolently pro.
posed to send the Doctor home as an in
valid. The Doctor looked at the com
manding officer in blank dismay, and
firmly said 81 won't 60" and De Haven
soon learned the mistake he had made in
estimating the character of his physician.
Hereturned from this memorable expedi-
ton in May, 1851, after an absence of six
teen months, nine of which he had been
ice-locked in the Arctic Ocean. Yet the
hardest ard most difficult part of the ex-
peditiOn he had to accomplish, after his
return, in writing the history of it. AS
Dr. Livingstone has said, he would rather
make another journey across the Cont
nent OF Africa than write another book of
travels, so did DR.. Kane feel when he sat
down to his literary labor. There was
nothing IN 1t to brace up his nerves, and
test his powers Of endurance and that in
domitable faculty of overcoming difficult
ties which seemed essential to his exist
ence. His book completed, he at once set
himself to work to organize the second
expedition, which he was so eager to
command, and all his energies were bent
upon raising tie requisite funds to pay
for the necessary equipments The labors
and anxieties he underwent while making
his preparations for his second Arctic
voyage were hardly less trying to him
than the dangers he encountered while
absent on that perilous expedition; but his
plans were at last completed, and, though
he was still suffering from debilitating
illness, he was as full of eagerness and
enthusiasm when he left, on the thirty
first of May, 1858, on that ever-memora
BILE voyage, as young boy going on an
excursion for pleasure We can give no
word to his exploits while on his expedi-
ton; he returned to New York on the
eleventh ofOctober, 1856, after an absence
of thirty months, and the news of his ar
rival caused pulsation of delight through
out the civilized world. Honors and
greetings awaited him on both sides Of the
Atlantic, but his health was fast falling
him; and when he left New York for
England, hoping to be strengthened by the
journey, he said to Mrs. Grinnell, on tax
ing leave of her, that he was not sure of
soon returning to her again. He grew
worse in England, and ON the seventeenth
of November, 1855, left there for Havana,
where he arrived on the twenty fifth of
the following month, growing all the time
weaker, and on the sixteenth of February
his earthly career was closed.
He was five feet six inches in height,
and in his best health, weighed about one
hundred and thirty five pounds. His
complexion was fair, and his hair soft and
silken, of dark chestnut color. His eyes
were dark gray, but lustrous, with wild
light, when his feelings were excited, and
when he was in the torrent-tide of enrap-
tured action, ''thelight beamed from them
like flashing scimetars, and in an impas-
stoned moment they cleaned frightfully,"
In company, when the talk ran glib, and
lxv-r Tx<.1