146 ELISHA KENT KANE. 



placed themselves under the only jurisdiction which 

 there existed, or could exist, not only hy force of 

 law, but also by reason of the natural necessity of 

 self-preservation under which the commander and 

 his men rested. 



Thus matters stood when, in March, 1855, Dr. 

 Kane discovered among his crew the first symptoms 

 of a mutiny. Godfrey and Blake were detected 

 frequently whispering mysteriously together; and 

 after a careful scrutiny of their movements for some 

 days, the commander came to the deliberate con- 

 viction that they were preparing to desert. The 

 event clearly established the truth of this suspicion. 

 On the 20th of March they were actually detected, 

 as they were equipped and about to escape over the 

 eide of the vessel. The accomplishment of their 

 purpose was, for the moment, defeated. They con- 

 fessed their intention, asked for forgiveness, were for- 

 given, and in an hour afterward Godfrey succeeded 

 in deserting. As a matter of course, his leaving 

 without the consent of his commander was a very 

 different act from that of the previous occasion, 

 when Dr. Kane gave his written permission to all who 

 might wish to leave. 



Godfrey immediately proceeded to the nearest 

 Esquimaux settlement, at Etah, ninety miles dis- 

 tant, where he continued to reside for some time. 



