Chapter XXI: Appendix: No. I (1)

A LETTER TO VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, K.G., &c., FROM LADY FRANKLIN.

60, Pall Mall, December 2, 1856.

MY LORD,--

I trust I may be permitted, as the widow of Sir John Franklin, to draw the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the unsettled state of a question which a few months ago was under their consideration, and to express a well-grounded hope that a final effort may be made to ascertain the fate and recover the remains of my husband's expedition.

Your Lordship will allow me to remind you that a Memorial[29] with this object in view (of which I enclose a printed copy) was early in June last presented to, and kindly received by you. It had been signed within forty-eight hours by all the leading men of science then in London who had an opportunity of seeing it, and might have received an indefinite augmentation of worthy names had not the urgency of the question forbidden delay. To the above names were appended those of the Arctic officers who had been personally engaged in the search, and who, though absent, were known to be favorable to another effort for its completion. And though that united application obtained no immediate result, it was felt, and by no one more strongly than myself, that it never could be utterly wasted.

I venture also to allude to a letter of my own addressed to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in April last, and a copy of which accompanied, I believe, the Memorial to your Lordship, wherein I earnestly deprecated any premature adjudication of the reward claimed by Dr. Rae, on the ground that the fate of my husband's expedition was not yet ascertained, and that it was due both to the living and the dead to complete a search which had been hitherto pursued under the greatest disadvantage, for want of the clue which was now for the first time in our hands.

The Memorial above alluded to, and my own letter of earlier date, had not yet received any reply, when, in the month of July, the Lords of the Admiralty caused prompt inquiries to be made as to the possibility of equipping a ship at that advanced season, in time for effective operations in the field of search. The result was that it was pronounced to be too late, and the subject was dismissed for that season.

Upon this I addressed a letter to the Board (of which I take the liberty to enclose a copy), respectfully showing that by this unfortunate delay the opportunity had also been taken from me of sending out a vessel at my own cost, a measure which I had previously felt myself obliged to state to their Lordships would be the alternative of any adverse decision on their part. I pleaded therefore, as the only remedy for the loss of an entire summer season, that the route by Behring Strait was by some of the most competent Arctic officers considered preferable to the eastern route, and that the equipment of a vessel for this direction need not take place before the close of the year.

In reply, their Lordships caused me to be informed that "they had come to the decision not to send any expedition to the Arctic regions in the present year."

This communication, however, was in answer merely to my own letter. The Memorialists had as yet received no reply, and accordingly the President of the Royal Society put a question respecting the Memorial in the House of Lords at the close of the session, which drew from one of Her Majesty's Ministers (Lord Stanley), after some preliminary observations, the assurance that Her Majesty's Government would give the subject their serious consideration during the recess. I may be permitted to add, that, in the conversation which followed, Lord Stanley expressed himself as very favorably disposed towards a proposition made to him by Lord Wrottesley, that, in the event of there being no Government expedition, I should be assisted in fitting out my own expedition; an assurance which Lord Wrottesley had the kindness to communicate to me by letter.

But, my Lord, as nothing has occurred within the last few months to weaken the reasons which induced the Admiralty, early in July last, to contemplate another final effort, and as they put it aside at that time on the sole ground that it was too late to equip a vessel for that season, I trust it will be felt that I am not endeavoring to re-open a closed question, but merely to obtain the settlement of one which has not ceased to be, and is even now, under favorable consideration. The time has arrived, however, when I trust I may be pardoned for pressing your Lordship, with whom I believe the question rests, for a decision, since by further delay even my own efforts may be paralyzed.

I have cherished the hope, in common with others, that we are not waiting in vain. Should, however, that decision unfortunately throw upon me the responsibility and the cost of sending out a vessel myself, I beg to assure your Lordship that I shall not shrink, either from that weighty responsibility, or from the sacrifice of my entire available fortune for the purpose, supported as I am in my convictions by such high authorities as those whose opinions are on record in your Lordship's hands, and by the hearty sympathy of many more.

But before I take upon myself so heavy an obligation, it is my bounden duty to entreat Her Majesty's Government not to disregard the arguments which have led so many competent and honorable men to feel that our country's honor is not satisfied, whilst a mystery which has excited the sympathy of the civilized world, remains uncleared. Nor less would I entreat you to consider what must be the unsatisfactory consequences, if any endeavors should be made to quench all further efforts for this object.

It cannot be that this long-vexed question would thereby be set at rest, for it would still be true that in a certain circumscribed area within the Arctic circle, approachable alike from the east, and from the west, and sure to be attained by a combination of both movements, lies the solution of our unhappy countrymen's fate. While such is the case, the question will never die. I believe that again and again would efforts be made to reach that spot, and that the Government could not look on as unconcerned spectators, nor be relieved in public opinion of the responsibility they had prematurely cast off.

But I refrain from pursuing this argument, though, if any illustration were wanting of its truth, I think it might be found in the events that are passing before our eyes.

It is now about two years ago that one of Her Majesty's Arctic ships was abandoned in the ice. In due time this ship floated away, was picked up by an American whaler, carried into an American port, and (all property in her having been relinquished by the Admiralty) was purchased of her rescuers by the American Government, by whom she has been lavishly re-equipped, and is now on her passage to England, a free gift to the Queen. The 'Resolute' is about to be delivered up in Portsmouth harbor, not merely in evidence of the cordial relation existing between the two countries, but as a lively token of the deep interest and sympathy of the Americans in that great cause of humanity in which they have so nobly borne their part. The resolution of Congress expressly states this motive, and indeed there could be no other, as it is well known that for any purpose but the Arctic service those expensive equipments would be perfectly useless and require removal.

My Lord, you will not let this rescued and restored ship, emblematic of so many enlightened and generous sentiments, fail, even partially, in her significant mission. I venture to hope that she will be accepted in the spirit in which she is sent. I humbly trust that the American people, and especially that philanthropic citizen who has spent so largely of his private fortune in the search for the lost ships, and to whom was committed by his Government the entire charge of the equipment of the 'Resolute,' will be rewarded for this signal act of sympathy, by seeing her restored to her original vocation, so that she may bring back from the Arctic seas, if not some living remnant of our long-lost countrymen, yet at least the _proofs_ that they have nobly perished.

I need not add that we have as yet no proofs, whatever may be our melancholy forebodings. That such is the fact, in a legal point of view, is shown by a case now or lately pending in the Scotch Courts, in which the right of succession to a considerable property is not admitted, on account of the absence of all but conjectural testimony. In this aspect of the question I have no personal interest, but it is one that may not be deemed unworthy of your Lordship's attention, combined as it must be with the fact that our most experienced Arctic officers are willing to stake their reputation upon the feasibility of reaching the spot where so many secrets lie buried, if only they are supplied with the adequate means.

It would be a waste of words to attempt to refute again the main objections that have been urged against a renewed search, as involving extraordinary danger and risking life. The safe return of our officers and men cannot be denied, neither will it be disputed that each succeeding year diminishes the risk of casualty; and indeed, I feel it would be especially superfluous and unseasonable to argue against this particular objection, or against the financial one which generally accompanies it, at a moment when new expeditions for the glorious interests of science, and which every true lover of science and of his country must rejoice in, are contemplated for the interior of Africa and other parts which are far less favorable to human life than the icy regions of the north.

But with respect to expenditure, I may perhaps be allowed, as I have alluded to that topic, again to call to your Lordship's attention that the 'Resolute' is ready equipped for Arctic service by the munificence of another nation, and to add that other Arctic ships, equally well fitted for the purpose, are lying useless in Her Majesty's dockyards, along with accumulated Arctic stores brought back by the late expeditions, and therefore long since included in the navy estimates, and which, besides, are available only for Arctic service, and, if sold, would be bought at only nominal prices. In addition to the above sources of supply are those already existing on the Arctic shores, which are now studded with depôts of provisions and fuel, left from the last and former expeditions, and fit as ever for use, because of the conservative properties of the climate.

But even were the expenditure greater than can thus reasonably be expected, I submit to your Lordship that this is a case of no ordinary exigency. These 135 men of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' (or perhaps I should rather say the greater part of them, since we do not yet know that there are no survivors) have laid down their lives, after sufferings doubtless of unexampled severity, in the service of their country, as truly as if they had perished by the rifle, the cannon-ball, or the bayonet. Nay more,--by attaining the northern and already-surveyed coast of America, it is clear that they solved the problem which was the object of their labors, or, in the beautiful words of Sir John Richardson, that "they forged the last link of the North-West passage with their lives."

Surely, then, I may plead for such men, that a careful search be made for any possible survivor, that the bones of the dead be sought for and gathered together, that their buried records be unearthed, or recovered from the hands of the Esquimaux, and above all, that their last written words, so precious to their bereaved families and friends, be saved from destruction. A mission so sacred is worthy of a government which has grudged and spared nothing for its heroic soldiers and sailors in other fields of warfare, and will surely be approved by our gracious Queen, who overlooks none of Her loyal subjects suffering and dying for their country's honor.

This final and exhausting search is all I seek in behalf of the first and only martyrs to Arctic discovery in modern times, and it is all I ever intend to ask.

But if, notwithstanding all I have presumed to urge, Her Majesty's Government decline to complete the work they have carried on up to this critical moment, but leave it to private hands to finish, I must then respectfully request that measure of assistance in behalf of my own expedition which I have been led to expect on the authority of Lord Stanley, as communicated to me by Lord Wrottesley, and on that of the First Lord of the Admiralty, as communicated to Colonel Phipps in a letter in my possession.

It is with no desire to avert from myself the sacrifice of my own funds, which I devote without reserve to the object in view, that I plead for a liberal interpretation of those communications, but I owe it to the conscientious and high-minded Arctic officers who have generously offered me their services, that my expedition should be made as efficient as possible, however restricted it may be in extent. The Admiralty, I feel sure, will not deny me what may be necessary for this purpose, since, if I do all I can with my own means, any deficiencies and shortcomings of a private expedition cannot I think be justly laid to my charge.

In conclusion, I would earnestly entreat of Her Majesty's Government, while this subject is still under deliberation, that they would be pleased to obtain the opinions of those persons who, in consequence of their practical knowledge and vast experience, may be considered best qualified to express them in the present emergency. And as it must be in the ranks of those officers who would naturally be selected for command of any final expedition that these qualifications will most assuredly be found, I trust I may be pardoned for directing your Lordship's attention to the names (which I put down in the order of their seniority) of Captains Collinson, Richards, McClintock, Maguire, and Osborn. All these officers have passed winter after winter in Arctic service, have carried out those skilful sledge operations which have added so much to our knowledge of Arctic Geography, and have ever, in the exercise of combined courage and discretion, avoided disaster, and brought home their crews in health and safety.

I commit the prayer of this letter, for the length of which I beg much to apologize, to your Lordship's patient and kind consideration, feeling assured that, however the burden of it may pall upon the ear of some, who apparently judge of it neither by the heart nor by the head, you will not on that, or on any light ground, hastily dismiss it. Rather may you be impelled to feel that the shortest and surest way to set the importunate question at rest, is to submit it to that final investigation which will satisfy the yearnings of surviving relatives and friends, and, what is justly of higher import to your Lordship, the credit and honor of the country.

I have the honor to be, etc.,
JANE FRANKLIN.

The Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, K.G.

FOOTNOTES:

[29] See Appendix II.

No. II.

MEMORIAL TO THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, M.P., G.C.B.

London, June 5th, 1856.

Impressed with the belief that Her Majesty's missing ships, the 'Erebus' and 'Terror,' or their remains, are still frozen up at no great distance from the spot whence certain relics of Sir John Franklin and his crews were obtained by Dr. Rae,--we whose names are undersigned, whether men of science and others who have taken a deep interest in Arctic discovery, or explorers who have been employed in the search for our lost countrymen, beg earnestly to impress upon your Lordship the desirableness of sending out an Expedition to satisfy the honor of our country, and clear up a mystery which has excited the sympathy of the civilized world.

This request is supported by many persons well versed in Arctic surveys, who, seeing that the proposed Expedition is to be directed _to one limited area only_, are of opinion that the object is attainable, and with little risk.

We can scarcely believe that the British Government, which to its great credit has made so many efforts in various directions to discover even the route pursued by Franklin, should cease to prosecute research, now that the locality has been clearly indicated where the vessels or their remains must lie,--including, as we hope, records which will throw fresh light on Arctic geography, and dispel the obscurity in which the voyage and fate of our countrymen are still involved.

Although most persons have arrived at the conclusion that there can now be no survivors of Franklin's Expedition, yet there are eminent men in our own country and in America who hold a contrary opinion. Dr. Kane, of the United States, for example, who has distinguished himself by pushing farther to the north in search of Franklin than any other individual, and to whom the Royal Geographical Society has recently awarded its Founders' Gold Medal, thus speaks (in a letter to the benevolent Mr. Grinnell):--"I am really in doubt as to the preservation of human life. I well know how glad I would have been, had my duty to others permitted me, to have taken refuge among the Esquimaux of Smith Strait and Etah Bay. Strange as it may seem to you, we regarded the coarse life of these people with eyes of envy, and did not doubt but that we could have lived in comfort upon their resources. It required all my powers, moral and physical, to prevent my men from deserting to the Walrus Settlements, and it was my final intention to have taken to Esquimaux life had Providence not carried us through in our hazardous escape."

But passing from speculation, and confining ourselves alone to the question of finding the missing ships or their records, we would observe that no land Expedition down the Back River, like that which, with great difficulty, recently reached Montreal Island, can satisfactorily accomplish the end we have in view. The frail birch-bark canoes in which Mr. Anderson conducted his search with so much ability, the dangers of the river, the sterile nature of the tract near its embouchure, and the necessary failure of provisions, prevented the commencement, even, of such a search as can alone be satisfactorily and thoroughly accomplished by the crew of a man-of-war,--to say nothing of the moral influence of a strong armed party remaining in the vicinity of the spot until the confidence of the natives be obtained.

Many Arctic explorers, independent of those whose names are appended, and who are absent on service, have expressed their belief that there are several routes by which a _screw_-vessel could so closely approach the area in question as to clear up all doubt.

In respect to one of these courses, or that by Behring Strait, along the coast of North America, we know that a single sailing vessel passed to Cambridge Bay, within 150 miles of the mouth of the Back River, and returned home unscathed,--its commander having expressed his conviction that the passage in question is so constantly open that ships can navigate it without difficulty in one season. Other routes, whether by Regent Inlet, Peel Sound, or across from Repulse Bay, are preferred by officers whose experience in Arctic matters entitles them to every consideration; whilst in reference to two of these routes it is right to state that vast quantities of provisions have been left in their vicinity.

Without venturing to suggest which of these plans should be adopted, we earnestly beg your Lordship to sanction without delay such an expedition as, in the judgment of a Committee of Arctic Voyagers and Geographers, may be considered best adapted to secure the object.

We would ask your Lordship to reflect upon the great difference between a clearly-defined voyage to a narrow and circumscribed area, within which the missing vessels or their remains must lie, and those formerly necessarily tentative explorations in various directions, the frequent allusions to the difficulty of which, in regions far to the north of the voyage now contemplated, have led persons unacquainted with geography to suppose that such a modified and limited attempt as that which we propose involves farther risk and may call for future researches. The very nature of the former expeditions exposed them, it is true, to risk, since regions had to be traversed which were totally unknown; while the search we ask for is to be directed to a circumscribed area, the confines of which have already been reached without difficulty by one of Her Majesty's vessels.

Now, inasmuch as France, after repeated fruitless efforts to ascertain the fate of La Perouse, no sooner heard of the discovery of some relics of that eminent navigator, than she sent out a Searching Expedition to collect every fragment pertaining to his vessels, so we trust that those Arctic researches which have reflected much honor upon our country may not be abandoned at the very moment when an explanation of the wanderings and fate of our lost navigators seems to be within our grasp.

In conclusion, we further earnestly pray that it may not be left to the efforts of individuals of another and kindred nation, already so distinguished in this cause, nor yet to the noble-minded widow of our lamented friend, to make an endeavor which can be so much more effectively carried out by the British Government.

We have the honor to be, &c.,

F. BEAUFORT, R. I. MURCHISON, F. W. BEECHEY, WROTTESLEY, L. HORNER, W. H. FITTON, LYON PLAYFAIR, T. THORP, E. SABINE, EGERTON ELLESMERE, W. WHEWELL, R. COLLINSON, W. H. SYKES, C. DAUBENY, J. FERGUS, P. E. DE STRZELECKI, W. H. SMYTH, A. MAJENDIE, R. FITZROY, E. GARDINER FISHBOURNE, R. BROWN, G. MACARTNEY, C. WHEATSTONE, W. J. HOOKER, J. D. HOOKER, J. ARROWSMITH, P. LA TROBE, W. A. B. HAMILTON, R. STEPHENSON, J. E. PORTLOCK, C. PIAZZI SMYTH, C. W. PASLEY, G. RENNIE, J. P. GASSIOT, G. B. AIRY, J. F. BURGOYNE.

The following officers of the Royal Navy, who have been employed in the search after Franklin, and who are now absent from London, have previously expressed themselves to be favorable to the final expedition above recommended:--

Captains Sir JAMES C.
ROSS, and Sir EDWARD
BELCHER;

Commodore KELLETT;

Captains AUSTIN,
BIRD,
OMMANNEY,
Sir ROBERT M'CLURE,
SHERARD OSBORN,
INGLEFIELD,
MAGUIRE,
M'CLINTOCK, and
RICHARDS;

Commanders ALDRICH,
MECHAM,
TROLLOPE, and
CRESSWELL;

Lieutenants HAMILTON and
PIM.

No. III.

LIST OF RELICS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION,

Brought to England in the 'Fox,' by Captain M'Clintock.

Relics brought from the boat found in lat. 69° 08' 43" N., long. 99° 24' 42" W., upon the West Coast of King William Island, May 30, 1859:--

Two double-barrelled guns, one barrel in each is loaded. Found
standing up against the side in the after part of the boat.

A small Prayer Book; cover of a small book of 'Family Prayers;'
'Christian Melodies,' an inscription within the cover to "G. G."
(Graham Gore?); 'Vicar of Wakefield;' a small Bible, interlined in
many places, and with numerous references written in the margin; a
New Testament in the French language.

Two table knives with white handles--one is marked "W. R.;" a
gimlet; an awl; two iron stanchions, 9 inches long, for supporting a
weather cloth, which was round the boat.

26 pieces of silver plate--11 spoons, 11 forks, and 4 teaspoons; 3
pieces of thin elmboard (tingles) for repairing the boat, and
measuring 11 inches by 6 inches, and 3-10ths inch thick.

Piece of canvas:--Bristles for shoemaker's use, bullets, short clay
pipe, roll of waxed twine, a wooden button, small piece of a
port-fire, two charges of shot tied up in the finger of a kid glove,
fragment of a seaman's blue serge frock. Covers of a small Testament
and Prayer Book, part of a grass cigar-case, fragment of a silk
handkerchief, thread-case, piece of scented soap, three shot charges
in kid glove fingers, a belted bullet, a piece of silk pocket
handkerchief. Two pairs of goggles, made of stout leather and wire
gauze, instead of glass; a sailmaker's palm, two small brass pocket
compasses, a snooding line rolled up on a piece of leather, a needle
and thread case, a bayonet scabbard altered into a sheath for a
knife, tin water bottle for the pocket, two shot pouches (full of
shot).

Three spring hooks of sword belts, a gold lace band, a piece of thin
gold twist or cord, a pair of leather goggles with crape instead of
glass; a small green crape veil.

Two small packets of blank cartridge in green paper, part of a
cherry-stick pipe stem, piece of a port-fire, a few copper nails, a
leather bootlace, a seaman's clasp-knife, two small glass stoppered
bottles (full), three glasses of spectacles, part of a broken pair
of silver spectacles, German silver pencil-case, a pair of silver
(?) forceps, such as a naturalist might use for holding or seizing
small insects, etc.; a small pair of scissors rolled up in blank
paper, and to which adheres a printed government paper, such as an
officer's warrant or appointment; a spring hook of a sword belt, a
brass charger for holding two charges of shot.

A small bead purse, piece of red sealing-wax, stopper of a pocket
flask, German silver top and ring, brass matchbox, one of the
glasses of a telescope, a small tin cylinder, probably made to hold
lucifer matches; a linen bag of percussion caps of three sizes, a
very large and old-fashioned kind, stamped "Smith's patent;" a cap
with a flange similar to the present musket caps used by Government,
but smaller; and ordinary sporting caps of the smallest size.

Five watches.

A pair of blue glass spectacles, or goggles, with steel frame, and
wire gauze encircling the glasses, in a tin case.

A pemmican tin, painted lead color, and marked "E." (Erebus) in
black. From its size it must have contained 20 lb. or 22 lb.

Two yellow glass beads, a glass seal with symbol of Freemasonry.

A 4-inch block, strapped, with copper hook and thimble, probably for
the boat's sheet.

Relics seen in lat. 69° 09' N., long. 99° 24' W., not brought away, 30th of May, 1859:--

A large boat, measuring 28 ft. in extreme length, 7 ft. 3 in. in
breadth, 2 ft. 4 in. in depth. The markings on her stem were--"XXI.
W. Con. N61., APr. 184." It appears that the fore part of the stem
has been cut away, probably to reduce weight, and part of the
letters and figures removed. An oak sledge under the boat, 23 ft. 4
in. long, and 2 ft. wide; 6 paddles, about 60 fathoms of deep-sea
lead line, ammunition, 4 cakes of navy chocolate, shoemaker's box
with implements complete, small quantities of tobacco, a small pair
of very stout shooting boots, a pair of very heavy iron-shod knee
boots, carpet boots, sea boots and shoes--in all seven or eight
pairs: two rolls of sheet lead, elm tingles for repairing the boat,
nails of various sizes for boat, and sledge irons, three small axes,
a broken saw, leather cover of a sextant case, a chain-cable punch,
silk handkerchiefs (black, white, and colored), towels, sponge,
tooth-brush, hair comb, a mackintosh, gun cover (marked in paint "A.
12"), twine, files, knives; a small worsted-work slipper, lined with
calf-skin, bound with red riband; a great quantity of clothing, and
a wolf-skin robe; part of a boat's sail of No. 8 canvas, whale-line
rope with yellow mark, and white line with red mark; 24 iron
stanchions, 9-1/2 inches high, for supporting a weather cloth round
the boat; a stanchion for supporting a ridge pole at a height of 3
ft. 9 in. above the gunwale.

Relics found about Ross Cairn, on Point Victory, May and June, 1859, brought away:--

A 6-inch dip circle by Robinson, marked I 22. A case of medicines,
consisting of 25 small bottles, canister of pills, ointment,
plaster, oiled silk, etc. A 2-foot rule, two joints of the cleaning
rod of a gun, and two small copper spindles, probably for dog-vanes
of boats. The circular brass plate broken out of a wooden gun-case,
and engraved "C. H. Osmer, R.N." The field glass and German silver
top of a 2-foot telescope, a coffee canister, a piece of a brass
curtain rod. The record tin and the record, dated 25th of April,
1848. A 6-inch double frame sextant, on which the owner's name is
engraved, "Frederick Hornby, R.N."

Found in a small cairn on the south side of Back Bay:--

A tin record case and record.

Seen about Ross Cairn, Point Victory, not brought away:--

Four sets of boat's cooking apparatus complete, iron hoops, 4 feet
of a copper lightning conductor, hollow brass curtain-rod three
quarters of an inch in diameter, 3 pickaxes, 1 shovel, old canvas, a
pile of warm clothing and blankets 4 feet high, 2 tin canteens
stamped "89 Co., Wm. Hedges," "88 Co., Wm. Heather," and a third one
not marked. A small pannikin, made on board out of a 2 lb.
preserved-meat tin, and marked "W. Mark;" a small deal box for gun
wadding, the heavy iron work of a large boat, part of a canvas tent,
part of an oar sawed longitudinally and a blanket nailed to its flat
side, three boat-hook staves, strips of copper, a 9-inch single
block strapped, a piece of rope and spun yarn. Among the clothing
was found a stocking marked "W," green, and a fragment of one marked
"W. S."

Relics obtained at the Northern Cairn, near Cape Felix, May, 1859:--

Fragments of a boat's ensign, metal lid of a powder-case, two eye
pieces of sextant tubes, brass button; worsted glove, colors red,
white and blue; bung-stave of a marine's water keg or bottle, brass
ornaments to a marine's shako; brass screw for screwing down lid,
also a copper hinge of the lid of powder-case; a few patent wire
cartridges containing large shot; part of a pair of steel
spectacles, glass being replaced by wood, having a narrow slit in
it; two small rib bones, probably out of salt pork; six or eight
packets of needles; small flannel cartridge containing an ounce of
damaged powder; a small, roughly made copper apparatus for cooking;
some brimstone matches. Piece of white paper folded up found in the
North Cairn, two pike-heads, narrow strip of white paper, found
under one of the tent places; their tent places were within a few
yards of the cairn.

Beside a small cairn, about three miles north of Point Victory, was
a pickaxe, with broken handle; brought away an empty tea or coffee
canister.

Articles noticed about the North Cairn, not brought away:--

Fragments of two broken bottles, several pieces of broken basins or
cups, blue and white delftware, hoops of marine's water keg, small
iron hoops, fragments of white line, spun yarn, canvas, and twine;
three small canvas tents, under which lay a bear-skin and fragments
of blankets; two blanket frocks, several old mitts, stockings,
gloves, pilot cloth and box cloth jackets and trousers, large shot,
piece of tobacco and broken pipe, metal part of powder-case, top of
tin canister, marked "cheese," preserved-potato tin, feathers of
ptarmigan, and salt-meat bones.

Seen near Cape Maria Louisa:--

Part of a drift tree, white spruce fir, 18 feet long, 10 inches in
diameter; it appeared to have but recently (_i.e._, since thrown on
the coast) been sawed longitudinally down the centre, and one-half
of it removed.

Relics obtained from the Boothian Esquimaux, near the Magnetic Pole, in March and April, 1859:--

Seven knives made by the natives out of materials obtained from the
last expedition, one knife without a handle, one spear-head and
staff (the latter has broken off), two files; a large spoon or
scoop, the handle of pine or bone, the bowl of musk-ox horn; six
silver spoons and forks, the property of Sir John Franklin,
Lieutenants H. D. Vesconte and Fairholme, A. M'Donald,
Assistant-Surgeon, and Lieutenant E. Couch (supposed from the
initial letter T and crest a lion's head); a small portion of a gold
watch-chain, a broken piece of ornamental work apparently silver
gilt, a few small naval and other metal buttons, a silver medal
obtained by Mr. M'Donald as a prize for superior attainments at a
medical examination in Edinburgh April, 1838: some bows and arrows,
in which wood, iron, or copper has been used in the construction--of
no other interest.

_Remarks upon these Articles._

The spear-staff measures 6 feet 3 inches in length, and appears to
have been part of a light boat's gunwale: it measured (before being
partially rounded to adapt it to its present use) about 1-1/2 by
1-3/8 inches, is made of English oak, and upon the side has been
painted white over green. The spear-head is of steel, riveted to two
pieces of hoop, with bone between, and lashed on to the staff. The
rivets are of copper nails. The native who sold it said he himself
got it from the boat in the Fish River. Another spear of the same
kind was seen. The knives are made either of iron or steel, riveted
to two strips of hoop, between which the handle of wood is inserted,
and rivets passed through, securing them together.

The rivets are almost all made out of copper nails, such as would be
found in a copper-fastened boat, but those which have been examined
do not bear the Government mark. It is probable that most of the
boats of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' were built by contract, and
therefore would not have the broad arrow stamped upon their iron and
copper work. One small knife appears to have been a surgical
instrument. A large knife obtained in April bears some marking, such
as a sword or a cutlass might have. The man who sold it said he
bought it from another, who picked it up on the land where the ship
was driven ashore by the ice, and where the white people had thrown
it away; it was then about as long as his arm. This was the first
information he received of one of the ships having drifted on shore.
One knife and one file are stamped with the broad arrow. The handles
are variously composed of oak, ash, pine, mahogany, elm, and bone.
The spoons and forks were readily sold for a few needles each, also
the buttons, which they wore as ornaments on their dresses. Bows and
arrows were readily exchanged for knives. Previously to the
stranding on the neighboring shore of the last expedition these
people must have been almost destitute of wood or iron. Some of them
had even got only bone knives and spear-points. Some of their
sledges were seen, consisting of two rolls of seal-skin, flattened
and frozen, to serve as runners, and connected together by cross
bars of bones. Many more knives, bows and buttons, similar to those
brought away, might have been obtained, but no personal or important
relics.

Seen in a Snow-Hut in lat. 70-1/2° deg. N., 20th of April, 1859, not brought away:--

Two wooden shovels, one of them made of mahogany board, some
spear-handles and a bow of English wood, a deal case which might
have served for a telescope or barometer. Its external dimensions
were:--length, 3 ft. 1 in.; depth, 3-1/2 in.; width, 9 in.; two
brass hinges remained attached to it.

Relics obtained from the Esquimaux near Cape Norton, upon the East Coast of King William Island, in May, 1859:--

Two tablespoons; upon one is scratched "W. W.," on the other "W.
G.;" these bear the Franklin crest; two table forks, one bearing the
Franklin crest; the other is also crested, probably Captain
Crozier's; silversmith's name is "I. West;" two teaspoons, one
engraved "A. M. D." (A. M'Donald), the other bears the Fairholme
crest and motto; handle of a dessert knife, into which had been
inserted a razor (since broken off) by Milliken, Strand; buttons,
wood and iron, were here in abundance, but as enough of these had
already been obtained no more were purchased.

Taken out of some deserted snow-huts near here, some scraps of
different kinds of wood, such as could not be obtained from a
boat--teak or African oak.

Found lying about the skeleton, 9 miles eastward of Cape Herschel,
May, 1859:--The tie of black silk neckerchief; fragments of a
double-breasted blue cloth waistcoat, with covered silk buttons, and
edged with braid; a scrap of a colored cotton shirt, silk covered
buttons of blue cloth great-coat, a small clothes-brush, a horn
pocket-comb, a leathern pocket-book, which fell to pieces when
thawed and dried; it contained 9 or 10 letters, a few leaves
apparently blank; a sixpence, date 1831; and a half-sovereign, dated
1844.

Articles seen among the natives at Cape Norton, not purchased,--Bows
made of wood, knives, uniform and plain buttons, a sledge made of
two long pieces of hard wood.

From beside an Esquimaux stone-mark, on the east side of Montreal
Island:--Part of a preserved-meat tin, painted red; part of the rim
of some strong copper case or vessel; pieces of iron hoop, two
pieces of flat iron, an iron hook bolt, a piece of sheet copper.

Articles seen about a snow-hut near Point Booth, not
purchased:--Eight or 10 fir poles, varying from 5 feet to 10 feet in
length, the stoutest being 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Two wooden snow
shovels about 3-1/2 feet long, and made of pieces of plank painted
white or pale yellow; it occurred to me that the pieces of plank
might have been the bottom boards of a boat. There was abundance of
wood fashioned into smaller articles.

Contents of Boat's Medicine Chest:--

One bottle labelled as zinzib. R. pulv., full; ditto, spirit. rect.,
empty; ditto, mur. hydrarg. seven-eighths full; ditto, ol.
caryphyll., one-fifth full; ditto, ipec. P. co., full; ditto, ol.
menth. pip., empty; ditto, liq. ammon. fort., three-quarters full;
ditto, ol. olivac., full; ditto, tinct. opii. camph., three-quarters
full; ditto, vin. sem. colch., full; ditto, quarter full; ditto,
calomel, full (broken); ditto, hydrarg. hit. oxyd., full; ditto,
pulv. gregor, full (broken); ditto, magnes. carb., full; ditto,
camphor, full; two bottles tinc. tolut., each quarter full; one
bottle ipec. R. pulv., full; ditto, jalap R. pulv., full; ditto,
scammon. pulv., full; ditto, quinac bisulph., empty; ditto (not
labelled), tinct. opii., three-quarters full; one box (apparently)
purgative pills, full; ditto, ointment, shrunk; ditto, emp.
adhesiv., full; one probang, one pen wrapped up in lint, one lead
pencil, one pewter syringe, two small tubes (test) wrapped up in
lint, one farthing, bandages, oil silk, lint, thread.

No. IV.

GEOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC ARCHIPELAGO,

DRAWN UP PRINCIPALLY FROM THE SPECIMENS COLLECTED BY

CAPTAIN F. L. M'CLINTOCK, R.N.,

From 1849 to 1859.

BY THE REV. SAMUEL HAUGHTON, F.R.S.,

Fellow of Trinity College, Professor of Geology in the University of Dublin, and President of the Geological Society of Dublin.

The map which accompanies this geological description is arranged from the specimens brought home by Captain F. L. M'Clintock, R.N., from the four Arctic Expeditions in which he served from 1848 to 1859. These specimens are all deposited in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, and form a more extensive and better collection of Arctic rocks and fossils than is to be found in any other museum in Europe.

It will be most convenient to describe the geology of the Arctic Islands by the formations which are to be found there, which are the following:--

1. The Granitic and Granitoid Rocks.
2. The Upper Silurian Rocks.
3. The Carboniferous Rocks.
4. The Lias Rocks.
5. The Superficial Deposits.

I shall describe these successive formations briefly, and add a few remarks of a theoretical character, to indicate the important inferences which may be drawn from the facts respecting them made known to us by M'Clintock's discoveries.

I.--_The Granitic and Granitoid Rocks._

These rocks form a considerable part of North Greenland, on the east side of Baffin's Bay, and constitute the rock of the country at the east side of the island of North Devon, which forms a portion of the coast-line of the west of Baffin's Bay, and the north side of the entrance into Lancaster Sound.

1. _Whale Fish Islands_, lat. 69° N., are composed of a very fine-grained, flaggy, black mica schist, composed of black mica in very small plates, occasionally putting on a hornblendic lustre, and minute grains of quartz interstratified with the mica. The softer varieties are cut by the natives into grissets and cooking utensils of various shapes, some of which resemble the cambstones found in Ireland, which are made from a kind of potstone, abundant in parts of the County Donegal.

2. _Upernivik_, lat. 72° N., Greenland.--This district is famous for the occurrence of large quantities of plumbago, which is found in a metamorphic rock of the following character. Fine-grained, amorphous, granitoid rock, composed of minute particles of grey quartz; a honey-colored felspar of waxy lustre, of unknown composition; minute particles of red semitransparent garnet, of conchoidal fracture; and small particles, with occasional large nests, of plumbago. The plumbago occurs both amorphous, and in long acicular crystals. Sometimes the rock becomes of coarser texture and more crystalline, and the yellow color of the felspar gives place to a greenish tinge; and it sometimes also becomes a felspar of perfect cleavage, semitransparent, and white. The dodecahedral crystals of garnet reach the diameter of one inch.

The general character of the rocks near Upernivik is different from that of the rock in which the plumbago is found; they consist of a fine-grained black mica schist, with very little felspar or quartz, and intersected by thin veins of elvan composed of quartz and white felspar. The cooking utensils of the natives are made from this fine schist, in preference to any other description of rock.

3. _Woman's Islands._--These islands, off the west coast of Greenland, are composed of a garnetiferous mica slate, formed of black mica in layers, with alternating plates, composed of white felspar and quartz, and filled with fine garnets, rose-colored, vitreous in fracture, and transparent.

4. _Cape York_, lat. 76° N., Greenland.--This cape is composed of a fine-grained granite, consisting of quartz, white felspar, with minute specks of a black mineral, of pitchy lustre, composition not yet determined.

5. _Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds_, lat. 77° N., Greenland.--At Wolstenholme Sound the granitoid rocks of Greenland become converted into mica slate and actinolite slate of a remarkable character. The mica slate is composed of large plates of an intimate mixture of black and white mica, the chemical examination of which will doubtless prove of interest. These plates of mica are separated by bands of pure white felspar. The actinolite slate is dark green, and formed by an almost insensible gradation from the mica slate. In the low ground between Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds, the granitic rocks cease, and are covered by deposits of fine red gritty sandstone, of a banded structure, and a remarkable coarse white conglomerate. The boundary between these formations is also marked by the development of masses of dolerite and clayey basalt.

6. _Carey's Islands_, 76° 40' N., Greenland, lie to the westward of Wolstenholme Sound, and are composed of a remarkable gneissose mica schist, formed of successive thin layers of quartz granules, containing scarcely any felspar, and layers of jet black mica, with occasional facets of white mica. This mica schist passes into a white gneiss, composed of quartz, white felspar, and black mica, penetrated by veins, coarsely crystallised, of the same minerals. Yellow and white sandstones are also found in small quantity on the islands, reposing upon the granitoid rocks.

7. _Capes Osborn and Warrender_, lat. 74° 30' N., North Devon.--The granitoid rocks between these two capes are composed of graphic granite, consisting of quartz (grey) and white felspar; this graphic granite passes into a laminated gneiss, consisting of layers of black mica and white translucent felspar, sparingly mixed with quartz: with the gneiss are interstratified beds of garnetiferous mica slate, consisting of quartz, pale greenish white felspar, black and white mica in minute spangles, and crystals of garnet, rose-colored, disseminated regularly through the mass. Quartziferous bands of epidotic hornstone occur with the foregoing beds; and the whole series is overlaid by red sandstones, of banded structure, which bear a striking resemblance to those that overlie the granitoid beds of Wolstenholme Sound.

8. _North Somerset._--The granitoid rocks are found again on the west side of the island of North Somerset, where they form the eastern boundary of Peel Sound. Boulders of granite are found at a considerable distance (100 miles) to the north-eastward of the rock _in situ_, as at Port Leopold, Cape Rennell, etc. The general character of the granitic rocks in the north and west of North Somerset are thus described by Captain M'Clintock:--

"Near Cape Rennell we passed a very remarkable rounded boulder of gneiss or granite; it was 6 yards in circumference, and stood near the beach, and some 15 or 20 yards above it; one or two masses of rounded gneiss, although very much smaller, had arrested our attention at Port Leopold, as then we knew of no such formation nearer than Cape Warrender, 130 miles to the north-east; subsequently we found it to commence _in situ_ at Cape Granite, nearly 100 miles to the south-west of Port Leopold.

"The granite of Cape Warrender differs considerably from that of North Somerset; the former being a graphic granite, composed of grey quartz and white felspar, the quartz predominating; while the latter, or North Somerset granite, is composed of grey quartz, red felspar, and green chloritic mica, the latter in large flakes; both the granite and gneiss of North Somerset are remarkable for their soapy feel."[30]

To the east of Cape Bunny, where the Silurian limestone ceases, and south of which the granite commences, is a remarkable valley called Transition Valley, from the junction of sandstone and limestone that takes place there. The sandstone is red, and of the same general character as that which rests upon the granitoid rocks at Cape Warrender and at Wolstenholme Sound. Owing to the mode of travelling, by sledge on the ice, round the coast, no information was obtained of the geology of the interior of the country, but it appears highly probable that the granite of North Somerset, as well as that of the other localities mentioned, is overlaid by a group of sandstones and conglomerates, on which the Upper Silurian limestones repose directly. A low, sandy beach marks the termination of the valley northwards, and on this beach were found numerous pebbles, washed from the hills of the interior, composed of quartzose sandstone, carnelian, and Silurian limestone. The accompanying sketch was made by Captain M'Clintock, on the spot, in 1849, and afterwards finished by Lieutenant Browne. It represents the island called Cape Bunny, which forms the eastern headland of the entrance of the now famous Peel Sound, down which the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' sailed, three years before it was visited by Sir James C. Ross and Lieutenant M'Clintock, in their first sledge journey on the ice. Cape Granite is the northern boundary of the granite, which retains the same character as far as Howe Harbor. It is composed of quartz, red felspar, and dark green chlorite; and is accompanied with gneiss of the same composition. I have in my possession a specimen of this granite, found as a pebble at Graham Moore Bay, Bathurst Island, S.W., a locality 135 knots distant from Cape Granite, to the N.W.

9. _Bellot Strait_, lat. 72° N., separate North Somerset from Boothia Felix. The 'Fox' Expedition wintered here in 1858, and had abundant means of ascertaining the geological structure of the neighborhood. The junction of the granitoid and Silurian rocks occurs in these straits, the low ground to the east being horizontal beds of Silurian limestone, while on the west the granite hills of West Somerset rise to a height of 1600 feet above the narrow straits. The granite here is of three varieties.

[alpha]. Blackish grey, fine grained, gneissose granite, composed of quartz, white felspar, and large quantities of fine grains and flakes of hornblende, passing into black mica. The gneissose beds of this granite dip 13° S.E.

[beta]. A red granite, graphic texture, composed of quartz and red felspar, coarse grained.

[gamma]. Syenite, composed of honey-yellow felspar and hornblende, in very large crystals, the felspar passing into red and pink, and the whole rock mass penetrated by veins of the same material, but fine grained. This variety of igneous rock was met with principally at Pemmican Rock, western inlet of Bellot Strait. Large quantities of hornblende are also met with at Levesque Harbor, Bellot Strait, composed of facetted crystals agglutinated together into large masses, forming a crystalline hornblendic gneiss.

10. _Pond's Bay_, _Baffin's Bay_, lat. 72° 40' N.--In this locality a quartziferous black mica schist underlies the Silurian limestone, and is interstratified with gneiss and garnetiferous quartz rock, all in beds, inclined 38° W.S.W. (true).

11. _Montreal Island_, mouth of the Fish River, lat. 67° 45' N.--The granitoid rocks, which everywhere, in the Arctic Archipelago, underlie the Silurian limestone, appear at Montreal Island as a gneiss, composed of bands of felspar (pink) and quartz (1/4 inch thick), separated by thin plates composed altogether of black mica; the whole rock exhibiting the phenomena of foliation in a marked degree.

The east side of King William's Island, though composed of Silurian limestone like the rest of the island, is strewed with boulders of black and red micaceous gneiss, like that of Montreal Island, and black metamorphic clay slate, in which the crystals of mica (qu. Ottrelite) are just commencing to be developed. It is probable that the granitoid rocks appear at the surface somewhat to the eastward of this locality.

12. _Prince of Wales' Island_, west of Peel Sound.--The granitoid rocks extend across Peel Sound into Prince of Wales' Island, in the form of a dark syenite composed of quartz, greenish white felspar passing into yellow, and hornblende. This rock is massive and eruptive at Cape M'Clure, lat. 72° 52' N., and occasionally gneissose, as at lat. 72° 13' N. Between these two points, at lat. 72° 37' N., a limestone bluff occurs containing the characteristic Silurian fossils, and is succeeded at 72° 40' by a ferruginous limestone, bright red, and a few beds of fine red sandstone, like those observed by M'Clintock at Transition Valley, North Somerset. The entire western portion of Prince of Wales' Land is composed of Silurian limestone, which in the extreme west, at Cape Acworth, becomes chalky in character and non-fossiliferous, resembling the peculiar Silurian limestone found on the west side of Boothia Felix.

II.--_The Silurian Rocks._

The Silurian rocks of the Arctic Archipelago rest everywhere directly on the granitoid rocks, with a remarkable red sandstone, passing into coarse grit, for their base. This sandstone is succeeded by ferruginous limestone, containing rounded particles of quartz, which rapidly pass into a fine greyish green earthy limestone, abounding in fossils, and occasionally into a chalky limestone, of a cream color, for the most part devoid of fossils. The average dip of the Silurian limestone varies from 0° to 5° N.N.W., and it forms occasionally high cliffs, and occasionally low flat plains, terraced by the action of the ice as the ground rose from beneath the sea. The general appearance of the rocks is similar to the Dudley limestone, and would strike even an observer who was not a geologist. This resemblance to the Upper Silurian beds extends to the structure of the rocks on the large scale. Alternations of hard limestone and soft shale, so characteristic of the Upper Silurian beds of England and America, arranged in horizontal layers, give to the cliffs around Port Leopold the peculiar appearance which has been described by different Polar navigators as "buttress-like," "castellated;" this appearance is produced by the unequal weathering of the cliff, which causes the hard limestone to stand out in bands. Excellent sketches of this remarkable appearance, drawn by Lieutenant Beechey, are figured at page 35 of Parry's First Voyage, 'Hecla' and 'Griper,' 1819-20. The Western side of King William's Island (now, alas! invested with so sad an interest) is a good example of the low terraced form which the limestone rocks assume at times.

The following lists contain the names of the principal fossils brought home by Captain M'Clintock:--

No. I. GARNIER BAY (Lat. 74° N.; Long. 92° W.)

1. _Cyathophyllum helianthoides_, several specimens.
2. _Heliolites porosa_. Garnier Bay. Another specimen from near
Cape Bunny.
3. Specimens of carnelian, gneiss, chalcedony, etc., etc., from the
shingle near Cape Bunny.
4. _Cromus Arcticus_, several specimens.
5. _Atrypa phoca_ (Salter).
6. _Atrypa reticularis._
7. Brachiopoda on slab (various).
8. Cyathophyllum.
9. _Columnaria Sutherlandi_ (Salter). Several specimens.

No. II. PORT LEOPOLD (Lat. 73° 50' N.; Long. 90° 15' W.).

1. Limestone containing numerous fossils of the Upper Silurian type:
_Calamopora Gothlandica_, Goldf. _Rhynchonella cuneata_? Dalm.
_Cyathophyllum_, sp.
2. Dark earthy limestone, containing multitudes of the _Loxonema
M'Clintocki_, as casts--1100 feet above sea-level on North-east
Cape.
3. Fine specimens of selenite from shaly beds in cliff.
4. Fibrous gypsum from same.

No. III. GRIFFITH'S ISLAND (Lat. 74° 35' N.; Long. 95° 30' W.).