152 REAR-ADMIRAL F. W. BEECHEY'S ADDRESS. [May 26, 185G, 



bearing testimony to the great accuracy with which the distinguished 

 navigator, from whom it derives its name, had described and laid 

 down the features of that dangerous river. Among much valuable 

 information which Mr. Anderson collected, will be found the deeply 

 interesting fact of his having discovered upon Montreal Island the 

 remains of a boat, upon part of which was cut the word ' Terror,' and 

 upon the frame of a snow shoe the name of ' Stanley,' the surgeon 

 of the ' Erebus,' leaving no doubt as to the fate of those unfortunate 

 vessels, viz. that they had either been wrecked or inextricably fixed and 

 abandoned ; and confirming in all essential particulars the informa- 

 tion brought home by Dr. Eae.* The great interest which attaches 

 to this journey of Mr. Anderson, intimately connected as it is with 

 the fate of our countrymen, the sufferings and privations endured b}^ 

 himself and his party, will render this volume of our Journal of 

 deep and general interest. 



Scarcely had the breath of novelty passed over this sad but too 

 certain history, when the announcement of the return of our medallist, 

 Dr. Kane, completed the page of past adventure in search of our 

 missing countrymen. The important discoveries of this gallant 

 officer consist of an elongation of Smith Sound to a higher northern 

 latitude than that of any other known land in the Arctic regions, 

 and to a higher parallel than had ever been reached by any navi- 

 gator, except Parry ; and of the discovery of a vast ocean beyond, 

 apparently free from ice, with which it commmiicated. The patient 

 endurance under hardship, sickness, and privation, the zeal dis- 

 played in the execution of this arduous service, and important disco- 

 veries in those inhospitable regions, have earned for Dr. Kane the 

 unqualified approbation of this country ; and the highest honour 

 this Society has to bestow, has been awarded to him ; while the mo- 

 desty with which he has related his perilous adventures, and the 

 merit he bestows upon all his party, will place his narrative amongst 

 the most fascinating papers in our Journal. 



Contemporaneously with the notice of Dr. Kane we announced 

 the return of Commodore Rogers of the United States Navy from 

 the seas to the northward of Behring Strait. He records having 

 ascended Herald Island, from which he could see no land whatever ; 

 and having sailed over Plover Island, which he removes from the 

 chart ; as also the islands reported to have been seen to the north of 



* Dr. Rae and his companions have now received the award of 10,000/. offered 

 I'y the Admiiuilty for the first clue to the remains of the expedition. 



