The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-03-09

trip, being eight feet and SIX inches
through Early in May the country be-
came mountainous and we soon encoun
tered Bach's Great Fish river along which
we travelled two hundred miles.
When forty miles from its mouth
we came upon an Esquimaux
camp. Only one Of the Esquimaux had
ever seen a white man. He gave infor-
nation Of ship which he had seen thirty
years before, and from his description l
determined that it was Sir John Franks
Inns expedition He remembered White
man whom I took to be Lieut.. Bach.
The next white man he saw was dead in
a bunk. He said the ship had four sticks,
three standing and one pointing out. The
natives did not know how to enter, and
cut through the side of the ship from the
ice, and the next summer the ship sunk
| The only relic found here was long
board with the initials IL N" on it,
made with copper headed tacks.
May 3lst. another Esquimaux camp of
one hundred souls was found. But five
or six Of them had seen white men. Here
important Information was gained which
showed the complete destruction Of the
records of the Sir John Franklin party. A
boat was found with skeletons in it. They
had found there tin EoX, in which were
books and an iron TO which other pieces
Of iron would stick. Human bones were
found sawed in two to get the marrow
out, showing to what extremity the party
was driven. The careful manner in which
this tin box was kept, satisfies me that it
contained the records of the party, and
that the IRON was the dip needle.
Our party remained on King William S
land from June to Nov TO- The civilized
part of our food was exhausted June a.
so that for nine months and ten days We
lived on what the country produced
reindeer, 522 of which were killed on the
Expedition. (iIere map Of King VIII
liam's land was thrown on the canvas and
the lecturer pointed out the points visit.
cd He showed where the graves of a
number of the Franklin expedition were
found; the coast line extending twenty
miles, which they examined Tor three
weeks; the place where the captains rec
ord was found, with other relics of the
party. The furthest point reached by the
Franklin party was indicated, and tho
last grave in Starvation cove where small
stones were used to cover the body in,
stead of large ones, as heretofore on ac>
count of tae weakness of the party)
We remained on King Williams lane
for three weeks, hoping that some Of the
natives who saw the Franklin party would
return, and then started, hoping to reach
Hudsons Bay at least by the end Of the
year But it was March a when We
reached there, and on the Goth of March
civilized food was resumed.
On Jan the thermometer Indicated :,
degrees below zero, or 1O4 below the
freezing point. 1t was the coolest wealth
cr on the trip. This day we moved til,
camp IA distance of twelve miles, aut
suffered no inconvenience on account Of
the weather until cold wind came up
1t was but a gentle zephyr, but it is fa1
pleasanter with the Thermometer at Y
below and calm weather than 80 degrees
warmer with breeze. 1t was hard Il
keep the nose and cheeks from freezing
but an application of the hand warn
from the reindeer skin glove, allayet
the difficulty. 1t is nearly Away
calm there. At - degrees below
f the sky assumes a leaden hue with rel
tinge where the sun is Steam arise
from everything, and travelling part
looks like locomotive letting off steam
If party halts to rest in a valley, it sool
collects like fog bank. The position O
a herd of reindeer can be seen at dis
lance of from six to ten, or even fifteen t
twenty miles. Even at that distance ma
tiycs can sometimes tell the difference be
, tween different animals by the vap0
which arises. When it is as cold as this
the runners of the slcdgcs give forth
: ringing sound. At the maximum distance
, it resembles the notes of an Aeolian harF
e The white men made no more complain
$ of the cold than the native EsquimauX
= The Esquimaux never heard Of applyin
S snow for frost bites, and | don't thin
that at that temperature the snow has tn
properties which it has where it is warm
: er. never experienced that feeling O
t drowsiness which extreme cold is said t
produce and | think it results from sleep
q ing in ships or improper houses
. During this Incorporate weather W
: had not enough reindeer flesh for full ra
e tions for the men and dogs, The dog
n had been given but few scanty meals
e We lost twentysix ont of fortyfour be
t fore we reached Hudson's Bay, but neve
+. were they unfaithful to their human mas
n ters They would ravenously devour on
1 of their own number should he die an
d have been known to eat canvas, tar opt
n and even over shoes-anything that ha
; a little grease on it, They are fed ever
It other day, or every third or fourth day
e the larder is low, and one time the dog
e were without food seven days and til
: party three days. From the 18th of NJ
V vember to the 9Th of December-91 day
n the dogs had but six meals
II In February | had the three sledgt
On tI,ot mo ,,,;rI,. oo,-.. ,,,