Staff appointments—Survey of London—Colour-sergeant Smith—Sergeant Bay—Trigonometrical operations—Opposition to the military survey—Observatory above St. Paul’s; the scaffolding—Privates Pemble and Porteous—Sergeant Steel—Industry and conduct of the Sappers in the Metropolitan survey—Preliminary arrangements of the Arctic expedition—Privates Waddell and Sulter—Corporal Mackie—Expedition starts; corporal McLaren—Coasting journeys and services—Overland march—Winter at Fort Confidence—Party detached to Great Bear Lake—Close of the search for Sir John Franklin and his crews.
Sergeant-major Jenkin Jones was commissioned to be quartermaster to the corps on the 11th January, 1848, vice Hilton retired. These pages amply testify to the merits of Mr. Jones. A more indefatigable non-commissioned officer never served his country, nor one more worthy of the honours conferred upon him. Colour-sergeant Michael Bradford, a good soldier and foreman, succeeded him as sergeant-major at Woolwich.
With a view to establish a system for the sanitary improvement of the drainage of London, a survey of the metropolis, under the auspices of the Commissioners of Sewers, was commenced in January, 1848, and continued with a fluctuating detachment—once as many as forty-three strong, and as few as two men only—until January, 1850. Captain Yolland, R.E., had the direction of the work, and colour-sergeant Joseph Smith[[1]] was first appointed to the executive charge, but he being soon afterwards discharged, it then fell upon sergeant Andrew Bay,[[2]] sergeant Doherty, and others. With this survey was connected the determination of the relative levels of all parts of London.
The great triangulation was the first point attended to. “That wonderful specimen of skill, the scaffolding on and around the cross of St. Paul’s, put up in the spring, was the main station for observations. The summits of Primrose and other hills, the towers,” steeples, “and roofs of churches, the parapets or terraces of public buildings or houses,” were made “available as the sites for signal-staffs, visible from each other and from St. Paul’s.”[[3]] By these observations, “the relative angular positions” of the several points were obtained, from which, as the bases of the work, a detailed survey was made, embracing not only the principal streets and squares, but the minutiæ of alleys and single buildings. Of every street the slope or ascent was ascertained, and also the exact height of every spot above the assumed datum or base-line.[[4]] The benchmarks to show the permanent points of the survey and levels were cut in stone, or on the most prominent objects, by the sappers, who, though not brought up to that work, became very expert in the use of the mallet and chisel. At least twelve parties with twelve-inch instruments were scattered to the most conspicuous places in the metropolis and its vicinage, to complete the observations; and sergeant James Donelan, with the great three-feet instrument, visited some of the old stations celebrated by the labours of General Roy and other officers, to check the smaller triangles formed by the operation of the twelve-inch instruments. Some of those stations were at Hanger’s Hill near Twyford, Banstead Downs, Severndroog Castle on Shooter’s Hill, &c. The survey, including the city, extended to a distance of eight miles in every direction from St. Paul’s.[[5]]
London was unaccustomed to see soldiers employed in so important a work as the metropolitan survey, and much excitement was caused by their unobtrusive and peaceful operations. The jealousy of a class of surveyors was at once called into angry activity, and under the name of the “Associated Civil Surveyors,” they formed themselves into a body, and opposed by meeting, petition, and remonstrance, the continuance of the sappers on the duty.[[6]] The Metropolitan Commissioners did the Association the honour calmly to investigate their grievance; but from the lucid and truthful statements of Mr. Edwin Chadwick and others, the continuance of the sappers on the duty was confirmed and justified, not only on the score of competency, but of policy, from the disciplined experience of the men, and the perfection of the Ordnance system of responsibility and resource.[[7]]
The particular objects which elicited from the public the most attention were the observatories on the summit of the north-west tower of Westminster Abbey, and above the cross of St. Paul’s. The latter, from the dexterity with which the construction of the cradle at that dizzy height was pursued, supported only by the architectural ornaments of the structure, excited much curiosity and wonder. The scaffolding was of rough poles; the stage, ten feet square, formed of planks, which supported the observatory, rested on the golden gallery on the top of the great cone. “The four lower posts, twenty-nine feet long, stood upon short planks bedded on the stone footway; and the top supported the angles of four horizontal planks, each twenty-three feet long, bolted together at the angles. From these planks a screen of boards was erected to prevent materials, &c., from falling. The base of the four upper posts, fifty-three feet long, rested on the angles of the above planks; and the scaffold, in addition to these posts, consisted of four sets of horizontal and four sets of transverse, braces on each of the four sides, the whole being fastened together with spikes and ropes. Fifty-six of the uprights were double poles, placed base and point, and bound together with hoop iron and wedges, and with bolts and hoop iron at the splices. The height from base to floor was eighty-two feet, and to the extreme top of the observatory, ninety-two feet.”[[8]] A railing, roughly but securely put up, surrounded the “crow’s-nest.” “The ascent was by the inside of the tower or lantern to the circular openings, then to the outside of the foot-ladders set at the north-east corner, parallel to the north-east principal post inside the scaffold. The whole of the materials were drawn up from the floor by a permanent windlass erected in the tower, to the golden gallery, and thence passed to the outside, horizontally, through an aperture thirty-two inches wide, and finally were drawn up and put into position by purchase erected for the purpose.”[[9]] The whole construction weighed about five tons, and though designed by sergeant James Steel, was erected by sergeant James Beaton, the most successful builder of these aerial fabrics, assisted by privates Richard Pemble and John Porteous,[[10]] and some civil labourers, under the direction of Captain Yolland.[[11]] The time occupied in going up the ladder was about seven minutes, but the descent required only four or five.[[12]] On the 2nd November the last piece of the scaffolding was removed and carted away. In the hazardous and intricate operations of building and dismantling it, not the slightest accident to human life or limb—not even the breaking of a single pane of glass—occurred.[[13]]
The observations were taken by sergeant James Steel with an eighteen-inch theodolite, both at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s. When not prevented by haze, the sergeant attended to his duty, frequently when the breeze shook his small location to a perilous degree, with a coolness, perseverance, and accuracy that were highly praiseworthy. Sometimes he and his assistant sapper—private John Wotherspoon[[14]]—ascended to the observatory at St. Paul’s as often as three times a-day, and this carried through a period of four months—between the 17th June and 16th October—with unflinching resolution and assiduity, made the sergeant and the sappers objects of much interest and of curious and anxious inquiry. The observations taken from this height comprised between 8,000 and 10,000. In many instances the same subject was gone over as many as six times, none less than three or four, and the utmost distance obtained was twenty-six miles.[[15]] The points thus trigonometrically fixed were 2,140, a vast number being church towers, spires, conspicuous public buildings, and manufactories.
To carry on the survey during the day in crowded streets, with an unbroken stream of vehicles in double transit, was an extremely difficult and irksome operation; but to be free as much as possible from this interruption, the sappers went to work every morning as soon as day broke, and pushed the survey while the metropolis was still at rest. The survey was completed in January, 1850, and the mapping finished at Southampton. For the merit and talent with which the work was conducted, the periodical press frequently expressed its admiration; and Sir Henry de la Beche and Mr. Edwin Chadwick—two of the Commissioners of the highest authority—praised the survey as being one of extreme success.[[16]] At another time the former gentleman observed at a special court of the Commissioners, that “the Ordnance undertook the work of the surface. A triangulation of no common order, but such as they might have expected from that distinguished service, was undertaken and executed; and upon that triangulation was founded a block plan of extreme efficiency and completeness; and it was also no common map, for it always had reference to that great triangulation to which he had already referred.”[[17]]
The arctic expedition, which halted in October, 1847, for the winter, detached in the spring of 1848 a party of sappers to Cedar Lake to repair the boats, first cutting the wood for the purpose. When this preliminary service was accomplished, six of the party were selected to drag three planks each to Cedar Lake. Each man took with him ten days’ provisions; but from the weary labour and fatigue of carrying such heavy burdens, and the snow-blindness that affected the men, the journey was not completed under sixteen days. The party consequently suffered great privation. After the boats were made thoroughly seaworthy, the sappers brought them and the stores up to Cumberland House on the first opening of the Saskatchewan.[[18]]
Privates James Waddell and John Sulter afterwards started from Cumberland House without a guide, considering the half-disclosed tracts of a previous party to be sufficient for their purpose. They were going to Cedar Lake. At Point Partridge, however, the snow having fallen heavily, the track was missed and they lost their way. For several days they continued to travel, and were wholly without food for more than seventy-two hours. Hunger pressed them to resort to expedients to mitigate their cravings. In this extremity Waddell, who had a spare pair of mocassins and a morsel of buffalo grease, consigned both to the canteen. When boiled, the old boots were speedily devoured, and the soup equally divided among the famished adventurers, formed a novel but refreshing repast. Onwards the party went, winding through the woods and trending through the deep snow, when after a journey of about four miles they gained an Indian encampment, where the natives provided them with musk-rats to eat, and one of their number guided them to the lake.