108 NOTES ON THE ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. [June 23, 1856. 



Island immediately. After a day's chase I caught them, having had the 

 honour at any rate of being the last to leave the search to the N.W. Captain 

 Eichards's journey back from Bridport Inlet had been a marvellous one — his 

 average daily journeys had been 15 miles in straight lines, and at a season of 

 the year when the labour of wading through snow water and sludge was ex- 

 cessive. In crossing the head of liyam Martin Channel, his position must 

 have been most trying. The Strait is nearly 36 miles wide at that point, and 

 that covered with melted snow, varying from 1 to 3 feet in depth, a ripple 

 over its surface giving it quite the appearance of open sea, whilst the hum- 

 mocks, which stood up through it, might be taken for loose driving pack. 



It required some confidence and nerve to push on under such circumstances ; 

 but foreseeing this, or even an early disruption of the ice, we had taken a boat 

 all the way to Melville Sound ; it only weighed 300 lbs. com]3lete, and gave 

 some assurance of safety in case of need. 



The chart shows the result of the united labours of our division of sledges. 



AVith respect to what took place to the N.E., I am as ignorant now as the 

 public generally must be. A ravine was found, giving promise to a future 

 traveller of being able to reach the Northern Sea easily out of Alfred Bay in 

 Wellington Channel. Such ravines are common throughout those Arctic 

 lands. Water was seen as early as the 28th May, extending to the N.E. 

 This Sir Edward Belcher, I fancy, believes to be Jones Sound or Strait — it 

 very probably is so. Bringing back his boat and a large quantity of provisions, 

 all the N.E. division returned after a 52 days' journey. 



North Cornwall had not been revisited by his parties, and I therefore feel 

 myself at liberty to carry its western coast into 100° long., where, from the 

 Sisters, I distinctly saw some land bearing N. (true). Of its eastern shore all 

 I could glean was from Dr. Lyall, who went with Sir Edward Belcher to his 

 extreme N., an island then called after the Duke of Buckingham. He con- 

 firmed what I had imagined from my view of it in 1852, that it extended 

 away to the N.E. far beyond our ken. 



I have now brought up our labours to the commencement of a retrograde 

 movement ; and although after that we had many long months of suffering 

 and hard work, it was, I may say, more in connexion with preserving the 

 centralisation of our squadron and certain postal arrangements, than that of 

 the search for Franklin's squadron. 



Whilst vre completed the work from Queen Channel to Hecla and Fury 

 Gulf, Captain Kellett's crews were working admirably to the W. and N.W. of 

 the last meridian. Commander M'Clintock and Lieutenant Mecham each 

 made enormous journeys of about 1100 or 1200 miles. They explored the 

 shores of two islands, Eglinton and Prince Patrick, the terminal ones of the 

 Parry group, and thus set at rest any questions as to the ' Erebus ' or ' Terror ' 

 being anywhere upon those shores ; whilst upon the western coast, ice of such 

 extraordinary thickness was found as to hold out no prospect of a navigable 

 sea in those latitudes. 



In 1852 Captain Kellett's squadron, then falling back with the crew of the 

 ' Investigator ' as passengers, was caught by the winter, and spent a season in 

 the pack, driving with it about 80 miles nearer home before it became perma- 

 nently fixed. In 1853 Captain Kellett, keeping in view the service he went 

 to execute, sent off his available officers and men to leave infoi-mation for 

 Captain Collinson of Captain M'Clure's safety. That summer, after one of 

 the most rapid sledge journeys upon record, we learned from Lieutenant Mecham 

 the intelligence of Captain Collinson's having, a year after M'Clure, visited 

 Prince of Wales Land, and that he had gone on to the eastward by Dolphin 

 and Union Strait. 



Of the rest of our achievements I refrain from speaking, and beg now to 

 touch upon the results of our labours, as affecting that science to which this 

 Society is devoted. 



