No tidings of the Erebus and Terror having reached England by the close of 1847, great anxiety was felt as to the whereabouts and fate of the missing ships. The government immediately took measures to outfit three searching parties. The first was to go westward to Behring Strait, and there meet the ships with assistance, should they have been successful in making the object of their voyage, and for this purpose Captain Henry Kellett commanding the Herald and Captain Moore in the ship Plover left England in January, 1848.
The second was to be an overland and boat expedition with its object to explore the coast of the Arctic Sea between the Mackenzie and Coppermine rivers, under the leadership of that faithful companion and friend of Sir John Franklin, Dr. Sir John Richardson, accompanied by Rae, who had but lately returned from his memorable journey of 1846-1847.
The third expedition was under Sir James Clark Ross in the ships Enterprise and Investigator, with instructions to make for Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait, examine all tracks of the missing ships westward and render relief if the ships should be discovered imprisoned in the ice.
Owing to the poor sailing qualities of the Plover and Herald, the ships were unable to reach high latitudes in time to penetrate to the northward that season, and not until the following July, in company with the Nancy Dawson, a pleasure yacht belonging to Robert Sheldon, Esq., did they pursue the main object of their expedition. July 18, 1849, they left Chamisso, and on the 20th they were off Cape Lisburn; five days later they passed Icy Point. Here they despatched the Herald’s pinnace and three other boats, with a party of twenty-five men with three months’ provisions, under command of Lieutenant Pullen, whose instructions were to connect with the Richardson party, one division in two whale-boats to extend the search to the Mackenzie River, ascend that river, and return homeward by Fort Hope and York Factory; the remaining division to return to the rendezvous of the ships at Chamisso Island.
The Herald and Plover cruised northward as far as the ice would permit, then explored the coast-line in detail. On the 7th of August, the Herald sighted new territory. Running close to the island, they found it barren, and for the most part of inaccessible granite cliffs.
The Nancy Dawson and the return boats under Lieutenant Pullen rejoined the Herald by the 24th of August. They had parted company with the two whale-boats at Dease Inlet. They had found no traces of the Franklin expedition, but had left deposits of provisions at intervals along the route.
The following months were spent in winter quarters, and, as soon as the weather permitted, in careful examination of the inlets and coast from Icy Cape to Point Barrow in the hope of finding traces of the missing party. Disappointed at a fruitless voyage, the ships returned to England in October, 1850.
RICHARDSON’S REPORT
In his official report to the Secretary of the Admiralty, Sir John Richardson gives an excellent summary of the results of the second expedition. He says in part:—