“Being now satisfied,” he writes, “that Sir James Ross had, in his land journey along the western shore of North Somerset, in 1849, mistaken the very low level land over which we had been travelling for a western sea, I felt no longer justified in continuing a western course. Whatever passage might exist to the south-west of Cape Walker, I felt assured must now be on our north. I determined therefore, from this time forward, to direct our course northward, until we should fall upon some channel which we knew must exist not far from us, in this direction, by which Franklin might have passed to the southwest.”
The channel for which they were in search could not be found. Boisterous gales still pursued them, and the men began to show the effects of exhaustion and exposure in the form of the dreaded scurvy. They, therefore, turned eastward again and, reaching Cape Burney, they made next for Cape Walker, which first loomed in the distance the 4th of May. Their disappointment was great at finding no trace of Franklin’s expedition.
“Wearied and dispirited beyond description,” writes Captain Kennedy, “at the fruitless result of our long and anxious labours, we returned to our encampment, guided through a heavy snow-storm by the report of guns, which I had directed to be fired every fifteen minutes, to make preparation for our return homeward. This could be effected either by pushing directly for Batty Bay, across North Somerset, a distance in a straight line of not more than six days’ journey, or by following the coast round to Whaler Point, and thence to the ship.” The latter route was chosen, though the distance was nearly double that of the other, and after an absence of ninety-seven days and covering about eleven hundred miles, they at last reached the ship May 30. A remarkable journey “for six men and five dogs, dragging for most of the way two thousand pounds’ weight, and sleeping in snowhouses, encamping on frozen seas, and rarely having a fire when they halted to recruit.”
Preparations for the return to England were now commenced. June and July passed without the vessel becoming free from the ice, but by the 6th of August, after sawing and blasting, the little craft was liberated. At Beechey Island, which Captain Kennedy reached the 19th, he found the depot ship North Star, now attached to Sir E. Belcher’s expedition, engaged in sawing into winter quarters. Proceeding in her course, the Prince Albert reached England, after an uneventful voyage, October 7, 1853.
CHAPTER IX
Search for Sir John Franklin continued: Sir Edward Belcher’s squadron.—Inglefield.—Rae’s journey.—Discovery of Northwest Passage by Captain M’Clure.—Death of Bellot.
Interest in the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin was in no wise lessened by the unexpected return to England of the searching squadron in 1851. Dr. Rae’s land journey of over-eight hundred miles, including a thorough examination of the east and north coast of Victoria Land, had thrown no new light on the tragic situation. The American coast had now been diligently examined from the entrance of Behring Strait to the head of Hudson Bay, and it was generally believed that Franklin had never reached so low a latitude.
On April 28, 1852, a thoroughly equipped squadron of five vessels—the Assistance, the Resolute, and the North Star, and two steamers, the Pioneer and Intrepid—sailed from England under the command of Sir Edward Belcher. The Assistance and Pioneer were to sail up Wellington Channel. The Resolute and Intrepid, under command of Captain Kellett, were to proceed to Melville Island, there to deposit provisions for the use of Captain Collinson and Commander M’Clure, should they succeed in making the passage from Behring Strait, for which, as we have seen, they had set sail in January, 1850. The North Star was to remain at Beechey Island as a depot store ship.