The return of the Fox to England was not accomplished without difficulty, owing to the death of the engineer, which obliged M’Clintock to stand by the engine no less than twenty-four consecutive hours, on one occasion. However, they reached Portsmouth, September 24, 1859.
“The relics we have brought home,” writes Captain M’Clintock, in conclusion, “have been deposited by the Admiralty in the United Service Institution, and now form a national memento—the most simple and most touching—of those heroic men who perished in the path of duty, but not until they had achieved the grand object of their voyage,—the Discovery of the North-West Passage.”
CHAPTER XI
The second Grinnell expedition. Commanded by Dr. Elisha K. Kane.—Winter quarters in Rensseläer Harbour.—Sledging trips.—To the rescue.—Effects of exhaustion and cold.—Dr. Kane’s journey.—Great Glacier of Humboldt.—Return and illness of Dr. Kane.—Second winter in the ice.—Privations and suffering.—Abandonment of the Advance.—Retreat and rescue.
Mention has already been made of the second Grinnell expedition, commanded by Dr. Kane and financed by Mr. Grinnell and Mr. Peabody of London. Dr. Kane’s instructions from the Navy Department at Washington, dated November 27, 1852, read as follows:—
“Sir:—Lady Franklin having urged you to undertake a search for her husband, Sir John Franklin, and his companions, and a vessel, the Advance, having been placed at your disposition by Mr. Grinnell, you are hereby assigned to special duty for the purpose of conducting an overland journey from the upper waters of Baffin’s Bay to the shores of the Polar Seas.
“Relying upon your zeal and discretion, the Department sends you forth upon an undertaking which will be attended with great peril and exposure. Trusting that you will be sustained by the laudable object in view, and wishing you success and a safe return to your friends, I am,
“Respectfully, your obedient servant,
“John P. Kennedy.