tween Melville Island and Banks' Land); the other way she cannot go." Mr. Roche and ten men of the Resolute, and Lieut. Cresswell and Mr. Wynniatt of the Investigator, now left for Beechey Island, to go home the first opportunity. Capt. Kellett speaks highly of Mr. Roche and these men: he says, "Their only fault is-they eat." He expresses great hopes from his travelling parties then out: "I am most anxious for the results of their journeys ;" and alluding to his officers, "My next letter will show you what stuff they are made of... If Sir John Franklin's ships are ever to be found, I think they will now. Be assured, we will have them between us." It will be seen, from these extracts, what admirable arrangements were made by Capt. Kellett for the recovery of our missing countrymen, if they had attempted the solution of the Great Question by the north. That they might have done so by one of the passages east or west of Byam Martin Island was but barely probable; and even this could only be presumed on the condition that Franklin had first attempted and failed to get to the south-west between Cape Walker and Banks' Land, evidence of which failure there was none. All the results of the searching expeditions up to this time led to an opposite inference. The absence of traces along the southern shores of and between the Parry Islands, particularly at the sandstone at Winter Harbour (Melville Island), proved positively that Franklin had not been there, and, negatively, that if sought for via Barrow's Strait, it must be to the south-westward of that Strait, or east and south of Winter Harbour; these were the only reasonable conclusions that could be arrived at. The results of Capt. Kellett's travelling parties were not known when the Phoenix left Beechey Island. We shall return to them anon.

Before we close our notice of Capt. Kellett's despatches, we cannot but remark on the kind and ingenuous manner in which that good man and excellent officer speaks of all about him; he seems well to understand and to value the "stuff" they are made of, and to have infused his own buoyant, enthusiastic spirit into them. There is no attempt ostentatiously to speak of his own services. The private letters from him that have been published show his feeling: "I can merely state that we have done nothing wonderful. We have reached Melville Island certainly; but what of that? Parry did so thirtyfour years ago, without the aid of steam, gunpowder, or galvanic batteries." Again, 3rd April, the day before his parties started, he says in a private letter to Mr. Barrow: "On Sunday I read prayers, and made a short address to the men, which they appeared to understand. I hoped they would leave little for any one to do coming after us,

and that they would render the Expedition (by their exertions) so remarkable that every person would feel proud in having belonged to it. "We will do our best," was their response; and they will, I am convinced." As there were not many to cheer us, we cheered one another, and parted. Again, alluding to the exhaustive nature of the travelling service, he says, "I have been a long time at sea, and seen various trying services, but never have seen (for men) such labour and such misery after. No amount of money is an equivalent. The travelling parties ought to have some honorary and distinctive mark. Men require much more heart and stamina to undertake an extended travelling party than to go into action. The travellers have their enemy chilling them to the very heart, and paralyzing their limbs; the others the very contrary. I should like to see the travelling men get an Arctic medal. I would gladly give £50 towards it, and I am sure every Arctic officer would be anxious to subscribe; but to be of value it ought to be presented by the authority of her Majesty." On the 19th April, 1853, when he first met Commander M'Clure, his heart overflows with joy: "This (he says) is really a red letter day in my voyage, and shall be kept as a holiday by my heirs and successors for ever. . . I cannot describe to you my feelings," &c. He sees good in everything.

We shall now refer to Commander M'Clure's despatches. They are up to the 10th April, 1853.

*See Blue Book, "Papers Relative to the Recent Arctic Expeditions, 1854," pp. 21-62.

CHAPTER XIV.

CAPTAIN M'CLURE'S DESPATCHES PRINCE OF WALES' STRAITNORTH-WEST PASSAGE DISCOVERED-WINTERS PRINCE OF WALES' STRAIT, 1850-51-HIS SEARCHING PARTIES AND THEIR REPORTS -WEST SIDE OF BARING ISLAND, TERRIFIC PASSAGE ALONG IT BAY OF MERCY -WINTERS THERE, 1851-52- DETENTION WINTERS, 1852-53-REMARKS-LIEUT. PIM ARRIVES ON BOARD 66 INVESTIGATOR."

It will be remembered the Investigator, Captain M'Clure, was last seen in Behring's Strait, August 5th, 1850, standing to the northward, with the intention to round Point Barrow, and endeavour to get to the eastward and to the north of Melville Island, and to examine the land or sea, whichever it might be, to the north of the Parry Group. The expectation of finding Franklin in this direction had arisen out of the then prevailing feeling, for it was nothing more, that he had passed to the north up Wellington Channel. We have already shown the fallacy of this notion, not only as being at variance with his Instructions, which directed him primarily to Cape Walker and the south-west, but that cape not having been visited at the time, it was not known whether he had reached it, and was pursuing the course of his Instructions to the south-west or not. There was a probability of finding traces of the Expedition south of Banks' Land, but scarcely a hope north of it. Captain M'Clure rounded Point Barrow without much difficulty, and proceeded eastward, communicating with the natives. Notices were deposited at Points Drew and Pitt, Jones's Island, &c. On the 21st, he passed the Pelly Islands (Mackenzie River), still pushing eastward. At Point Warren his landing was disputed by two very hostile natives: having conciliated them he was informed the tribe had left. "A flat brass button being observed in the ear of the chief, he was questioned about it. . . He said it was taken from a white man who had been killed by one of his tribe who went away when the vessel was seen. The white man belonged to a party that landed at Point Warren, and there built a house. Nobody knew how they came, as they had no boat, but they went inland. The man killed had strayed from the party, and he (the chief) and his son buried him upon a hill at a little distance." When this oc

curred they could not make out. The following day they landed again and saw two huts, but could gather nothing positive from them. Captain M'Clure then proceeded to Cape Bathurst. Here he communicated with a fine, intelligent tribe of Esquimaux, and left another despatch. On the 6th September, they were off the small islands near Cape Parry. Thus far they were on known ground. They now steered to the northward and eastward, and on the morning of the 7th they discovered "high land. appeared to be resting on

On approaching it, the main pack its western shore, which side," says

.

Captain M'Clure, "it was my intention to have coasted had it been possible; the eastern one being comparatively clear, as far as could be ascertained from the masthead, decided me to follow the water, supposing it an island, round which a passage would be found into the Polar Sea. The south cape, a fine, bold headland, was named Lord Nelson's Head." They landed near it, and took possession, "calling it Baring Island," and left records of their visit. Its ascertained position was lat. 71° 6' N., long. 123° W. Capt. M'Clure here remarks, "We observed numerous recent traces of rein-deer, hares, and wild-fowl: moss and divers species of wild flowers were also in abundance. . . From an elevation obtained of about 500 feet we had a fine view towards the interior, which was well clothed with moss, giving a verdant appearance to the ranges of hills that rose gradually to between 2,000 and 3,000 feet, intersected with ravines. . . The sight to seaward was favourable in the extreme; open water with a very small quantity of ice, for the distance of full forty miles towards the east, insured good progress in that direction. We made sail to the eastward. On" the 9th, "land was observed to the eastward, extending to the northward as far as the eye could reach. The mountains in the interior are lofty and snowcovered, while the low ground is quite free. This discovery was

named Prince Albert's Land, lat. 72° 1' N., long. 119° 25′ W. Continuing to the north-east," on the 10th they "were near two rocky islets, named after the Princess Royal. . The wind becoming fair and weather clearing, all the studding sails were set, with the hopes of reaching Barrow's Strait, from which we were now distant about seventy miles, as the water was tolerably clear in that direction. . Our advance was of short duration; the wind

.

*See "A Personal Narrative of the Discovery of the North-West Passage," by Alexander Armstrong, M.D., R.N., F.R.G.S., Surgeon and Naturalist of H.M.S. Investigator, chap. vi., p. 159.

.

suddenly shifted to the north-east, and began to freshen; the water, which a few hours previously had excited hopes of a good run, became so thickly studded with floes, there was scarcely sufficient to keep the ship free." Alternately beset and free, the gallant commander persevered. "The wind shifting to the north-west, . . a clear space of two miles was the result, . . in which we continued working the whole night, and upon the 12th, perceived we had lost some miles, as the pack was in motion to the southward. . . On the 15th, . . the wind, which had been fresh from the south-west during the day, at seven, p.m., fell light, when the ice in the northeast, no longer restrained, spread itself abroad with such rapidity that a little after eight it was observed approaching, its white line clearly defined, running, like an unbroken wave, along the dark, smooth water. It encircled the vessel, sweeping her away to the south-west."

As the navigable season was now drawing to a close, a harbour was to be sought. After full consideration, the commander resolved to continue to advance to the north-east as long as the season permitted, and then submit to "hazarding a winter in the pack." He says: “I decided upon the latter for these reasons,-that to relinquish the ground obtained through so much difficulty, labour, and anxiety, for only the remote chance of finding safe harbour quarters, would be injudicious; and thoroughly impressed as I am with the absolute importance of retaining every mile to ensure favourable results while navigating these seas, the loss of which might frustrate the operations of a whole season; above all, being in the vicinity of Banks' Land, and in the direction which Sir John Franklin would, in all probability, have endeavoured to penetrate, could he have reached Cape Walker, I considered that our position was most eligible for carrying into full effect the Instructions of the Admiralty, when the season becomes favourable for despatching parties upon this important and interesting search. . . On the 17th they were beset." On the 8th October the

ship was housed for the winter. The 10th, Prince Albert's Land was taken possession of. "From an elevation of 1,500 feet, which gave an extended view in every direction, the country was very hilly, with deep ravines and large lakes. . . The course of the water towards the north-east we were anxious to trace, hoping to see an opening into Barrow's Strait; in this we were disappointed, from the many low points intervening rendering it impossible to ascertain the land from the sea, both being frozen. Dissatisfied with the view obtained

from Prince Albert's Land respecting the waters we were now in, as