Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827

by John Franklin; Sir John Richardson

Saturday, 29th.The morning of the 29th opened with heavy rain and fog; the precursors of a strong gale from E.N.E., which brought back the ice we had already passed, and closely packed it along the beach, but we could not perceive that the wind had the slightest effect on the main body at a distance from the shore. This was a very cold, comfortless day, the temperature between 38° and 42°. Sunday, 30th.The following morning a brilliant sun contributed with the gale to the dispersion of the mist which had, for some days past, overhung the Rocky Mountains, and we had the gratification of seeing, for the first time, the whole length of the British Chain of Mountains, which are more peaked and irregular in their outline, and more picturesque than those of the Buckland Range. The following observations were obtained here:—Latitude 69° 38' N.; longitude 140° 51' W.; variation 45° 43' E.; dip 83' 27'. In exploring the bed of a rivulet we found several pieces of quartz, containing pyrites of a very bright colour, which so much attracted the attention of the crews, that they spent several hours in examining every stone, expecting to have their labour rewarded by the discovery of some precious metal.

The gale having abated in the evening, we quickly loaded the boats, and pulled them into a lane of water that we had observed about half a mile from the shore. This, however, extended only a short way to the west, and at the end of a mile and a half inclined towards the beach, the ice beyond it being closely packed. Before the boats could be brought to the land, they received several heavy blows in passing through narrow channels, and over tongues of grounded ice. I walked to the extreme point that we had in view from the tent, and was rejoiced by the sight of a large space of water in the direction of our course; but up to the point the ice was still compact, and heavy. On my way I passed another Esquimaux village, where there were marks of recent visitors.

We witnessed the setting of the sun at eleven p.m.; an unwelcome sight, which the gloomy weather had, till then, spared us; for it forced upon our minds the conviction that the favourable season for our operations was fast passing away, though we had, as yet, made so little progress. This was not the only uncomfortable circumstance that attended us this evening. Our friend Augustus was seized with a shivering fit, in consequence of having imprudently rushed, when in full perspiration, into a lake of cold water, to drag out a rein-deer which he had killed. He was unable to walk on coming out of the water, and the consequence would have been more serious had it not been for the kindness of his companion, Wilson, who deprived himself of his flannels and waistcoat to clothe him. On their arrival at the tent, Augustus was put between blankets, and provided with warm chocolate, and the only inconvenience that he felt next morning was pain in his limbs.

Monday, 31st.We had several showers of rain during the night, with a steady S.W. breeze, and in the morning of the 31st were delighted by perceiving the ice loosening and driving off the land. We were afloat in a few minutes, and enjoyed the novelty of pulling through an uninterrupted channel as far as Point Demarcation, which has been so named from its being situated in longitude 141° W., the boundary between the British and Russian dominions on the northern coast of America. This point seems to be much resorted to by the Esquimaux, as we found here many winter houses, and four large stages. On the latter were deposited several bundles of seal and deer skins, and several pair of snow-shoes. The snow-shoes were netted with cords of deer-skin, and were shaped like those used by the Indians near the Mackenzie. A favourable breeze now sprang up; and having ascertained, by mounting one of the Esquimaux stages, that there was still a channel of open water between a low island and the main shore, we set sail to follow its course. At the end of three miles we found the water gradually to decrease from three fathoms to as many feet, and shortly afterwards the boats repeatedly took the ground. In this situation we were enveloped by a thick fog, which limited our view to a few yards. We, therefore, dragged the boats to the land, until we could see our way; this did not happen before ten in the evening, when it was discovered from the summit of an eminence, about two miles distant, that though the channel was of some extent, it was very shallow, and seemed to be barred by ice to the westward. We also ascertained that it was bounded to the seaward by a long reef. The night proved very stormy, and we were but scantily supplied with drift wood.

August 1st.Though the morning of the 1st of August commenced with a heavy gale from E.N.E., and very foggy weather, we proceeded to the reef, after much fatigue in dragging the boats over the flats, under the supposition that our best chance of getting forward would be by passing on the outside of it. But there finding heavy ice lying aground, and so closely packed as to preclude the possibility of putting the boats into the water, it was determined to examine the channel by walking along the shore of the reef. An outlet to the sea was discovered, but the channel was so flat that gulls were, in most parts, wading across; and there was, therefore, no other course than to await the separation of the ice from the reef. On the dispersion of the fog in the afternoon, we perceived that some of the masses of ice were from twenty to thirty feet high; and we derived little comfort from beholding, from the top of one of them, an unbroken surface of ice to seaward.

Wednesday, 2nd.The gale blew without the least abatement throughout the night, and until noon of the 2nd, when it terminated in a violent gust, which overthrew the tents. The field of ice was broken in the offing, and the pieces put in motion; and in the evening there appeared a large space of open water, but we could not take advantage of these favourable circumstances, in consequence of the ice still closely besetting the reef. We remarked large heaps of gravel, fifteen feet above the surface of the reef, on the largest iceberg, which must have been caused by the pressure of the ice; and from the top of this berg we had the satisfaction of discovering that a large herd of rein-deer were marching in line towards the opposite side of the channel. Our party was instantly on the alert, and the best hunters were sent in the Reliance in chase of them. The boat grounded about midway across, and the eager sportsmen jumped overboard and hastened to the shore; but such was their want of skill, that only three fawns were killed, out of a herd of three or four hundred. The supply, however, was sufficient for our present use, and the circumstances of the chase afforded amusing conversation for the evening. The astronomical observations place our encampment in latitude 69° 43' N.; longitude 141° 30' W. The temperature this day varied from 40° to 42°.

Thursday, 3rd.On the morning of the 3rd a strong breeze set in from the east, which we were rejoiced to find caused a higher flood in the channel than we had yet seen, and the hope of effecting a passage by its course was revived; as the ice was still fast to the reef, and likely to continue so, it was considered better to occupy ourselves in dragging the boats through the mud, than to continue longer in this irksome spot, where the wood was already scarce, and the water indifferent. The boats, therefore, proceeded with four men in each, while the rest of the crew walked along the shore, and rendered assistance wherever it was necessary, to drag them over the shallow parts. After four hours' labour, we reached the eastern part of the bay, which I have had the pleasure of naming after my friend Captain Beaufort, R.N., and which was then covered with ice. We had also the happiness of finding a channel that led to seaward, which enabled us to get on the outside of the reef; but as we pushed as close as we could to the border of the packed ice, our situation, for the next four hours, was attended with no little anxiety. The appearance of the clouds bespoke the return of fog, and we were sailing with a strong breeze through narrow channels, between heavy pieces of drift ice, on the outside of a chain of reefs that stretched across Beaufort Bay, which we knew could not be approached within a mile, owing to the shallowness of the water.

Beyond Point Humphrys, the water being deep close to the coast, we travelled in more security, though the ice was less open than before. We halted to sup on a gravel reef that extends from the main shore to Point Griffin, having run twenty-eight miles, the greatest distance we had made on one day since our departure from the Mackenzie.

A black whale, and several seals, having been seen just before we landed, the water now decidedly salt, and the ice driving with great rapidity to the westward, were circumstances that we hailed with heartfelt joy; as affording the prospect of getting speedily forward, and in the evening we lost sight of Mount Conybeare, which had been visible since the 9th of July. There were several huts on the reef, and one large tent, capable of holding forty persons, which appeared to have been lately occupied, besides eighteen sledges, that we supposed to have been left by the men who had gone from Herschel Island, to exchange their furs with the western Esquimaux. Among the baggage we found a spoon, made out of the musk ox horn, like those used by the Canadian voyagers. At six this evening we passed the termination of the British Chain of Mountains, and had now arrived opposite the commencement of another range, which I named after the late Count Romanzoff, Chancellor of the Russian Empire, as a tribute of respect to the memory of that distinguished patron and promoter of discovery and science.

Having taken the precaution of supplying ourselves with fresh water, we quitted the reef, to proceed on our voyage under sail, but shortly afterwards arrived at very heavy ice, apparently packed. We found, however, a narrow passage, and by forcing the boats through it, reached a more open channel, where the oars could be used. This extended along a reef, so that we could pursue our course with safety, being ready to land in the event of the ice drifting upon us. Friday, 4th.The sun set this evening at half past ten p.m.; and the temperature of the air during its disappearance was 38°. Between the reefs and the low main land the water was entirely free from ice. After passing Point Sir Henry Martin, we were tempted, by the appearance of a bay, to steer within the reefs, as we could then use the sails, and make a more direct course than by winding among the ice. The water proved so shallow that the boats took the ground, at the distance of three miles from the shore, which caused us to alter our plan, and follow the line of drift ice near the border of the pack. The breeze died away; and in proceeding under oars beyond Point Manning, we descried a collection of tents planted on a low island, with many oomiaks, kaiyacks, and dogs around them. The Esquimaux being fast asleep, Augustus was desired to hail them, and after two or three loud calls, a female appeared in a state of nudity; after a few seconds she called out to her husband, who awoke at the first sound of her voice, and shouting out that strangers were close at hand, the whole space between the tents and the water was, in a few minutes, covered with armed, though naked, people. Their consternation on being thus suddenly roused by strangers, of whose existence they had never heard, can be better imagined than described. We drew near the shore, to let Augustus inform them who we were, and of the purpose of our visit, which produced a burst of acclamation, and an immediate invitation to land. This we declined doing, having counted fifty-four grown persons, and knowing that we had not the means of furnishing such a number with the articles they might crave. Besides, it was evident, from their hurried manner, that they were in a state of high excitement, and might then, perhaps, have been disposed to seize upon everything within their grasp. Four of the kaiyacks being launched, after we had receded to a proper distance from the island, we allowed them to come alongside; and presents were given to the men. We then learned that these were the people who had conveyed the furs, &c., from Herschel Island, and that the exchange with the Esquimaux had been made at the place where they were encamped, only a few days before. They intended to commence their return this day to Herschel Island, where the iron and beads would be distributed among their relations, according to the furs, &c. they had supplied. The Esquimaux saluted us at parting with many vociferations of teyma, and we continued our journey for five miles; at the end of which, the wind setting in strongly against us, we landed at the western part of Barter Island, to refresh the crew. We then found that a rapid tide was running to the eastward, and at eleven the water had risen one foot, from the time of our landing. The tents were scarcely pitched before we saw two kaiyacks coming towards us from the westward, and the man in the headmost accepted, without hesitation, our invitation to land. His companion was asleep, and his canoe was driving with the wind and tide; but when awaked by the voice of Augustus, he also came. These were young men returning from hunting to the tents that we had passed; and being much fatigued, they made but a short stay. The only information collected from them was, that the coast before us was similar to that along which we had been travelling, and that the ice was broken from the shore. The latitude 70° 5' N.; longitude 143° 55' W.; variation 45° 36' E.; were observed.