102 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 
ter sound and in regent inlet; Captain Austen traced 6,087 
miles; Sir Edward Belcher and Captain Kellett, 9,432 
miles; Sir Robert M'Clure, 2,350 miles; Captain Collison in 
his voyage to Cambridge bay, and Dr. Rae on the same coasts, 
1,030 miles, making in all, 21,500 miles of coast-line examined, 
of which 5,780 miles were previously unknown. From this 
summary the search of the American expeditions is omitted, as 
well as those of Lady Franklin's private expeditions, all of 
which would add greatly to the total. Admiral Sir F. L. 
M'Clintock has estimated the amount of money expended 
by the British government on Arctic research, including the 
outfitting of the Erebus and Terror, at 272,000, and on the 
relief and search expeditions, 675,000; to this must be added 
the money subscribed for private expeditions, amounting to 
35,000. The expeditions fitted out in the United States, mostly 
by private subscriptions, cost over $250,000. Admiral m'clin- 
tock has further estimated that the number of miles traversed by 
sled expeditions only, over ice and land, is about 43,000 miles. 
His views as regards the economic and scientific value of the 
Arctic explorations are as follows : ' The benefits, doubtless, have 
been very great; to whaling commerce it has opened up all to the 
north and west of Davis strait and Hudson strait; also to the 
north of Bering strait. The value of these fisheries alone 
amounts to very many millions sterling into the pockets of Eng- 
lish and American traders. The scientific results are very 
varied, and ample in almost every department, and peculiarly so 
in magnetism, meteorology, the tides, geographical discoveries, 
geology, botany and zoology, as shown by the general advance in 
each branch. Upon naval impulse the influence has been truly 
great; we could man an expedition with English naval officers.' 
The exploration of Smith sound, the northern inlet to Baffin 
bay, was commenced during the search for Franklin. In 1852, 
Captain Inglefield left England, in the screw schooner Isabel, 
with the intention of searching the deep northern inlets of Baffin 
