desire to form a correct opinion of the present state of the case, and to make themselves acquainted with what has really been done in the progress of discovery for a north-west passage, and what measures have been adopted for the relief of our imprisoned seamen. Much of the material thus condensed is to be found scattered through a variety of publications, huge and expensive quarto volumes of voyages, now scarce or out of print, parliamentary papers and returns, foreign journals, &c., but the largest portion of this information is entirely new. In condensing from the voluminous Blue books on this subject that have been published during the last few years, my chief object has been, avoiding rash and speculative opinion, to direct the reader's attention as much as possible to matters of fact; to place before him all that is really practical, important, and interesting, and especially to put him in possession of what is known of the result of the recent voyages, and the latest position and intended plan of operations of the numerous vessels at present out on the search for the Erebus and Terror. In putting myself in communication with all those best informed on the subject of which this volume treats, I have to acknowledge myself deeply indebted for much polite attention and valuable information to Lady Franklin and her niece Miss Cracroft, to John Barrow, Esq., of the Admiralty, to Capt. Becher, R.N., the talented editor of the Nautical Magazine, to Commander C. C. Forsyth, R.N., and to Dr. Shaw, the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society of London. In conclusion, I may state, that as the son and grandson of very old Lieutenants in the Royal Navy, having been originally in the service myself, having five brothers afloat, and a large number of other relatives holding Her Majesty's commission, I feel a deep professional, as well as philanthropic interest, in hearing tidings of the safety of Sir John Franklin and his gallant comrades, and am but too happy to aid in satisfying the public desire for information, by contributing my mite in the publication of the following narrative of voyages and travels in the Arctic Regions, with the appended suggestions and opinions of experienced officers and competent parties. To the intrepid veteran and navigator, whose name figures so frequently and so honourably in these pages, I hope we may yet be able to apply, with the few slight verbal alterations I have made, the following lines, which were originally addressed to Dr. Leichardt, who after two years' absence on a journey through the unexplored regions of Australia, returned to Sydney, when all hopes of his safety had been given up, and his dirge had been sung by his friends. That bold traveller is again absent on a second journey in the interior of that vast continent, and has not been heard of for more than two years. May Heaven grant to each and all of our care-worn travellers by sea and land a speedy deliverance from the perils which environ them, and a safe return to their friends and native country,—a wish to which all my readers will, I am sure, most heartily respond "So mote it be!" 66 Thy footsteps have returned again, thou wanderer of the wild, "Thou hast battled with the dangers of the iceberg and the flood, And amid the crystal desert a conqueror hast stood; 46 Thou hast triumphed o'er the perils of the glacier and the main, Long had we mourn'd with sorrowing, and plaintive dirges sung, For fate a wild mysterious veil around thy name had flung; “And Rumour, with her hundred tongues, her vague and blighting breath, Had whispered tidings sad and drear, dark tales of blood and death Till tortured fancy ceased to hope, and all despairing gave Thy name a hallowed memory-thy bones a Polar grave. "But, no! that proud intrepid heart still held its purpose high, "Oft amid famine, danger, death, when meaner spirits quail'd, "And oft e'en that brave heart of thine has sadden'd to despair, “Proud man! in after ages the story shall be told, Of that advent'rous voyager, the generous, the bold, Who scorning hope of selfish gain, disdaining soft repose, Went forth to trace a pathway through unyielding ice and snows." 5, Barge-yard, City, March, 1851. P. L. SIMMONDS. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. Two years have elapsed since this work was first sent to press, yet the mystery attending the fate of Sir John Franklin and his followers remains undetermined, and still the search is energetically prosecuted by public and private enterprise. The rapid sale of two editions, and the call for a third, has induced the publishers to reproduce the book at even a more moderate cost than the very low price at which it was originally issued, that it may be placed within the reach of all classes, and its contents be studied alike at the cottage fireside, or by those who will be able more fully to appreciate the hardships and powers of endurance recorded therein; the hardy seamen of our Royal navy, and of the British and American mercantile marine. The circumstance of the book having been republished by an American firm, in a very costly form, and ten thousand copies sold within a few days, at the high price of one pound, is an evidence of the wide-spread interest awakened for Arctic discovery and intelligence of the longlost voyagers; coupled, too, with the commendatory notices of the work which I have received from all the Arctic voyagers, who are so well able to judge of the fidelity and honesty of the narrative; these facts may be taken as proofs that I have acquitted myself fairly and faithfully as a chronicler. Many valuable and elaborated journals of the land journeys and searching voyages of the past few years have recently appeared, which may be consulted with advantage by those interested in following minutely the discoveries and route of each separate expedition. My purpose having been merely to enable the reader to keep pace with the general progress of research up to the present time, I have in the present edition re-written and condensed the account of all the private and public expeditions sent in search of Sir John Franklin's ships, so as to bring the details within a reasonable compass. I have been blamed by many, and among others even by naval officers, for still enunciating the hope that any of the party, who have now been absent from England eight years, can possibly be still in existence. It is at least satisfactory to know that I am not singular in these views, remote as the probability becomes day by day. Many who have carefully studied the matter, and have had great personal experience in the Arctic regions, have not yet abandoned the idea of the probable safety of some at least of the large missing party. Dr. Rae, Dr. Scoresby, Lieut. Kane, of the American navy, Mr. Penny, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Peterman, and others, entertain ideas in accordance with my own. If I am too sanguine, it is at least an excusable fault on the side of humanity. I have also a firm reliance upon the national honour, and British duty, in behalf of their zealous and deserving servants, and glad am I to find that the Govern ment, nothing daunted, still nobly pursues the search. It might, it is true, have been carried on more continuously and perseveringly, than by cooping up the energies of about 300 men and ten vessels in one locality for a twelvemonth, instead of employing them by different routes, but this is not the place to criticize the course of operations that has been followed; and the multitude of councillors, each with varying suggestions and conflicting opinions, may well have embarrassed any Admiralty Board. I have endeavoured, from time to time, to diffuse |