Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-10-07
sehwatka,s Expedition.

Sehwatka's Expedition.
The return of the Schwatka Arctic
Expedition again reklndlss interest
in regard to the i'll fated expedition
of Sir John Franklin. The party
1t. Schwatka, of the army, left this
country two years ago for the pur-
pose of endsavoring to recover the
records of the Franklin expedition -
1t has explored King Williams Land,
and found many traces of the Frank
lin party, and has probably demon.
strated that further search for the
records will be useless. 1t Schwatka
found the grave of Lieut.. Irving,
third officer of the Terror, which he
was enabled to identify by a silver
prize medal that officer took at the
Royal Naval School, and which was
found in his grave. The remains
were brought away, for interment in
Englsnd. A considerable number of
relics were found at the spot where
Irving was buried, showing it had
been camp; and the natives had
spoons and other articles that once
belonged TO the Franklin party
Some of the Oldest of the Esquimaux
remembered to have seen some OF
Franklin's men and told about their
struggles and prlvations, sickness
and death. They intlmatsd as fheir
opinion that they were reduced to
living upon each other at the last. AS
to the records, the Esquimsux stated
that books aud papers had existed,
but they were destroyed years ago
by the children, who also had broken
up number of watches belonging
to Frsnklin's men.
No event in modern history has
more impressively touched the SYM
pathy OF the civilized world than has
the loss OF the Franklin party. Their
fate has been subject OF pathetic
interest tor thirty years, and every
little bit of wood, or rope, or what
not, That the exploring and searching
parties have brought back, brings
tears to the eyes of brave men of
every land.
1t was in the spring of 1916 that
Sir John Franklin, then sixty years
of age, with large experience in
peace and war, and also as an Arctic
navigator, set out upon his fatal at
tempt to find Northwe Passage.
His expedition consisted of two ships,
the Erebus and Terror, with a com
plement 1874 officers and men and a
transport which carried extra sup.
plies to Disco in Greenland. The
vessels were sighted in Baffine Bay
by whaler in July following, and
that is the last ever seen of them by
white men. To this day it is not
known exactly what happened to
them, or where they went down, or
were broken up. But the fate of The
party has been determined by many
mute but tearfully eloquent witnesses.
In the course of eleven years after
their departure more than twenty
expedltions,at cost of over S., 00O,-
900, went in search Of the missing
explorers but their fate was unde.
termined till 1859, when Nc Clintock,
sent out by Lady Franklia, made
discovery of paper III a oairn, and
it contained a brief record of the
Franklin party. The ships had been
abandoned in April, 1S4s, after be.
ing ice-bound since September, 1916
Sir John Franklin had died June I
1S47, before the most serious troubles
of the party began. At that time
the officers and crew had been re,
duced to the number of los, bu
they were all we'll. In conclusion
the party stated that the party woulC
start the next day for Great FISH
river.
1t now appears remarkable that o.
so many men not one escaped alive
to tell the story of the subsequent
sufferings of the party. Capt. Hall
and LIT. Schwatka have both beer
over the same country attended b,
only few Esquimaux. They ap
pear to have found game abundant
Yet here were more than hundred
men, with supplies (for the paper
said nothing about scarcity, and the
old camps indicated plenty,) making
their way south TO safety, no one o
whom has ever been seen except III
skeleton, or heard from except
through some relic.
A coal mine explosion in England
will occasionally destroy more lives
than were lost in the Franklin expe.
dition, but the Three Hundred O
Thermopyle, or the Six Hundred O.
Balakiava are not more securely en-
shrined in the heart of the world than
Franklin. Exchange.