Nov. 14, 1859.] IN SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 11 



distance ; for although late Arctic expeditions had succeeded in traversing great 

 distances, it should be borne in mind that in Franklin's time little if anything 

 was known of modern sledge equipment. It is mainly to Captain M'Clintock 

 that we are indebted for the perfection of our sledge parties in the present day. 

 In 1848, when under Captain Sir James Eoss, he was struck with the necessity 

 and field for improvement, in the equipment of our sledges ; and directly that 

 the present Admiral, Horatio Austin, hoisted his pendant in the Arctic expedi- 

 tion of 1850, Captain M'Clintock called his attention to this fact, and I am 

 bound to say that Admiral Austin gave M'Clintock " full scope and a fair 

 field" for his suggestions; the consequence was a vast improvement, how- 

 ever, upon former sledge journeys : whereas in 1848 Koss, one of the greatest 

 of our Arctic explorers, could only travel 200 miles out, in 1851 the parties 

 under Austin accomplished 500 out and 500 back, or nearly 1000 miles. It 

 was apparent that when Franklin's crews deserted the ships they had no fresh 

 provisions, for at the cairn where the magnetic observations were made, disco- 

 vered by Captain Hobson, not a single tin in which fresh meat or preserved 

 meat would be kept was found, nothing but the bones of salt meat. He could 

 easily understand then how these poor men perished in that sharp winter of 

 1847 and 1848 when, as it was recorded, nine officers and fifteen men died, 

 a thing unheard of in Arctic expeditions. 



Commander Hobson gave some account of the manner in which the records of 

 the Franklin expedition, as detailed in his despatches, had been discovered. 

 His opinion was that the bodies of the men discovered had perished in the 

 endeavour to find their way back to the ship. The two in the boat were either 

 boatkeepers, or men who having found it impossible to reach the ship had 

 returned to the boat and died. He was convinced that there, were none of that 

 unfortunate expedition now living. It was a barren and inhospitable coast. 

 There were few natives, widely scattered, and he thought it impossible for our 

 seamen in the requisite time to have acquired the Esquimaux art of hunting. 

 In a game country they might have trusted to their munition, but here there 

 was no game for them to shoot. Captain M'Clintock stated that his party 

 killed only 100 reindeer, 15 willow grouse, and a hare. During 74 days the 

 party which accompanied him killed only 5 willow grouse and 1 bear. With 

 such scanty resources then it was impossible for any body of men to have 

 existed twelvemonths after abandoning their ships. If they had got as far as 

 Montreal Island they must have arrived too soon, before the river had broken 

 up. From the state of the ice at the mouth they could neither travel over 

 it in sledges nor go through it in boats, and there they must have wasted their 

 energies. He also believed that their supply of preserved meat failed them : 

 it was supplied by Herr Goldner, whose name was too well known to the 

 naval service to be easily forgotten. 



Mr. Parker Snow said he difi'ered in some respects from the gallant 

 officers who had preceded him. On behalf of the 105 men yet unaccounted 

 for, he urged that the search should be renewed until some more positive 

 information of their fate was obtained. These petty officers and men had 

 wives and families as dear to them as the wives and families of the superior 

 officers who had been mentioned. There was certainly no sufficient evidence 

 that they had perished. It had long been his opinion that Sir John Franklin 

 and his companions had either been forced out of their winter quarters at 

 Beechey Island, or else had found a favourable opening to pursue the instruc- 

 tions laid before them to go to the south-west. They would then make instantly 

 for Cape Walker, where he firmly believed that records of the party would yet 

 be found, and would then come upon King William Land. With respect to 

 their alleged fate, the meeting would be pleased to bear in mind that in the 

 first part of the record deposited at Cape Victory it was stated " all is well," 

 though it had been surmised that they had encountered many horrors and much 



