Smyrna times., 1880-10-20
The Search for the Franklin Relics.


The return of Lieutenant Schwatka from |
his sledge journey in search of the Frank |
lin records which were supposed to be in |
existence, but which are now declared to |
be absolutely lost, has pretty well settled it |
that we know as much to-day as we ever
shall about Sir John Franklin's fatal expe
dition, fve-and-thirty years ago, into the |
Arctic seas. Something over three. years
ago public interest in the Franklin expedi. |
ton was revived by stories of a cairn, or
stone. cheap, in which it was alleged were
articles and books that had undoubtedly
belonged to Sir John Franklin.
In 1878 the whaler Eothen was fitted out
in New York for an Arctic expedition, of
which Lieutenant Schwatka, u. S. A., was
placed in command. There seemed good
reason to believe that the books mentioned
by natives were the longed. for records kept
by Sir John, and that a sequel of world.
wide interest and Importance would be
added to Sir Leopld McClintock's famous
search of 1859, which definately fixed the
fact that Franklin and all his los men had
persisted in the fields of ice. But no sooner
had the Eothen reached Hudsons Bay than
the stories were proved untrue, the cairn
found to be an imagination. Still Lieuten.
ant Schwatka decided to 90 on and search
King Williams Land in such thorough
wise as to make the result final and conclu-
sive. April 1st, 1879, the sledge journey
was begun, the party having already been
Injured to the climate by an eight months
residence at Camp DAILY, Hudson Bay.
Four white men and thirteen Inuits made
up the party. On the 18th of May the first
natives were reached, patriarch's family
of nine men, and some triAing relics were
obtained. The old man proved a good
| witness. Some thirty-tve years before he
had seen the dead body of a white man in
the bunk of a big ship, from which his
people used to steal wood and iron. He
had also seen tracks of white men on the
mainland, but tho men never appeared.
On the last day of May Netchellk en-
campment was reached. Another old man
there remembered having seen number OF
skeletons, books ard papers, knives, forks
and spoons, and dishes scattered among the
rocks. In this way the party progressed,
until on Adelaide Peninsula a Netchellik
woman was met who told the most import.
ant story of any obtained during the voy-
age. Many years ago she, in company
with her husband, had seen ten white men
dragging q sledge with boat on it on the
coast of Washington Bay, The men were
very thin, and their mouths were dry and
hard and black. Her husband and his
companions tried to help the white men
over the ice, but at length lost sight Of
them. The next spring she saw a tent on
the shore at the head of Terror Bay, and
} dead bodies were both within and outside
it in the sand. There were great many
of them, but how many she had no idea
Many things were lying about, including
} books and a tin case containing written
| papers. For these the natives cared moth
ing and left them TO the winds and waves
The box was destroyed by an inquisitivt
3 native, and so persisted, according to Lieut.
3 Schwatka's belief, those records for which
9 so much would have been given. and t
obtain which 80 many perils have beer
J, faced.
g Then began the search for bones ant
r relics, and with success. Human skull
bones, the wrecks Of boats, pieces of iroi
!. and cloth, broken medicine bottles ant
miscellaneous articles were found on tn,
south coast of Erebus Bay, showing wher
y one party had met death. Only one littl,
D cairn was discovered, and that contained
nothing of any importance. Above Col
o linson Inlet the searchers came upon tn
e most notable spot of their journey, tn
Q camp made by Captain CTozier, who, afte
G Sir John Franklin's death on shipboard il
l847, became chief of the Expedition, an,
r, abandoned the vessels in despair of thei
ever getting free from the ice which er
l locked them. At this camp were foun
t cooking stoves, kettles, clothing, blanket
o and an opened grave. Upon a stone at it
e foot was silver medal, awarded to job
Irving by the Royal Naval College in 1885,
l This proved the grave to be that of Lieu
a Irving, third officer of the Terror. Tn
bones were brought away for interment i
n his native land. The other bones foun
t. were buried on the spot, and it is believe
that the remains of from twenty to fort
j. persons were buried. Having thus don
d all that could be done, and explored man
.e miles inland for mounds in hope of "
'e finding some papers, the party safely a
10 complished the return to a warmer clim
n losing no member by the way.
It The journey occupied eleven month
and covered 3,25l miles, being both
time and distance an unparalleled feat
Arctic travel. A peculiar feature of tt
journey, moreover, was that the party SUI
sisted by the way, living upon the reindee
;, musk.oxen and other food that could
H. captured. Travelling over much the sam
IA territory as that traversed by Franklin
al men, these lived in plenty where the othe
49, persisted in want. And though they d
D not obtain the records of which they We
he in search, they did, as DIR. Hayes say
OF secure most valuable information, contrib
gS ting much to geographical knowledge e
e. tirely unknown regions, as well as to Il
III final solution of question which has f
so long a time commanded the sympathi
og of the civilized world.
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