“‘Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left the ships on Monday, 24th May, 1847.
“‘Gm. Gore, Lieut.
”‘Chas. F. Des Vœux, Mate.’
“There is an error in the above document, namely, that the Erebus and Terror wintered at Beechey Island in 1846-7, the correct dates should have been 1845-6; a glance at the date at the top and bottom of the record proves this, but in all other respects the tale is told in as few words as possible, of their wonderful success up to that date, May, 1847.
“We find that after the last intelligence of Sir John Franklin was received by us (bearing date of July, 1845), from the whalers in Melville Bay, that his expedition passed on to Lancaster Sound, and entered Wellington Channel, of which the southern entrance had been discovered by Sir Edward Parry in 1819. The Erebus and Terror sailed up that strait for one hundred and fifty miles, and reached in the autumn of 1845 the same latitude as was attained eight years subsequently by H. M. S. Assistance and Pioneer. Whether Franklin intended to pursue this northern course, and was only stopped by ice in that latitude of 77° north, or purposely relinquished a route which seemed to lead away from the known seas off the coast of America, must be a matter of opinion; but this document assures us that Sir John Franklin’s expedition, having accomplished this examination, returned southward from latitude 77° north, which is at the head of Wellington Channel, and re-entered Barrow’s Strait by a new channel between Bathhurst and Cornwallis Islands.
“Seldom has such success been accorded to an Arctic navigator in a single season, and when the Erebus and Terror were secured at Beechey Island for the coming winter of 1845-6, the results of their first year’s labor must have been most cheering. These results were the exploration of Wellington and Queen’s Channel, and the addition to our charts of the extensive lands on either hand. In 1846, they proceeded to the southwest, and eventually reached within twelve miles of the north extreme of King William Land, when their progress was arrested by the approaching winter of 1846-7. That winter appears to have passed without any serious loss of life, and when in the spring, Lieutenant Gore leaves with a party for some especial purpose, and very probably to connect the unknown coast-line of King William Land between Point Victory and Cape Herschel, those on board the Erebus and Terror were ‘all well,’ and the gallant Franklin still commanded.
Transcriber’s Note: image is clickable for a larger version
Sir John Franklin’s Record