194 THE SEA. 



partridge on the way, and the sixth part of this was the first morsel of flesh Franklin 

 and his three companions had tasted for thirty-one days. At length the lono-- expected 

 relief from Back arrived by three Indians, but not till two of the Canadians had succumbed. 

 Back himself, in spite of his splendid constitution, had suffered privations hardly second 

 to those recorded above. But from this period no great difficulties were encountered on 

 the return to Fort York, and Franklin and his brave companions, poor Hood excepted, 

 eventually reached England in safety. 



Many would have been content to rest on their laurels; not so Franklin, Richard- 

 son, or Back, who almost immediately afterwards volunteered to again dare the 

 perils of these same regions. The ' ' second expedition to the shores of the Polar Sea " 

 was not marked by those disasters which had befallen the previous one, but was none 

 the less remarkable and daring. It was, however, much better provided. Three light 

 beats were built at Woolwich specially for this expedition, and a fourth, covered with 

 india-rubber canvas, called the Walnut Shell, was taken for the purpose of crossing rivers 

 and for easy transportation. 



Passing over all previous matters, suffice it to say that Franklin and his party 

 successfully reached the mouth of the great Mackenzie River, where, on Garry Island, 

 says Franklin's narrative, " the men had pitched the tent on the beach, and I caused 

 the silk union flag to be hoisted which my deeply-lamented wife* had made and pre- 

 sented to me as a parting gift, under the express injunction that it was not to be 

 unfurled before the expedition reached the sea. I will not attempt to describe my 

 emotions as it expanded to the breeze; however natural, and, for the moment, irre- 

 sistible, I felt that it was my duty to suppress them, and that I had no right, by an 

 indulgence of my own sorrows, to cloud the animated countenances of my companions. 

 Joining, therefore, with the best grace that I could command, in the general excite- 

 ment, I endeavoured to return, with corresponding cheerfulness, their warm congratula- 

 tions on having thus planted the British flag on this remote island of the Polar Sea. 



" Some spirits which had been saved for the occasion were issued to the men, and 

 with three fervent cheers they drank to the health of our beloved monarch and to the 

 continued success of our enterprise. Mr. Kendall and I had also reserved a little of our 

 brandy in order to celebrate this interesting event ; but Baptisto, in his delight at 

 beholding the sea, had set before us some salt water, which, having been mixed with the 

 brandy before the mistake was discovered, we were reluctantly obliged to forego the in- 

 tended draught, and to use it in the more classical form of a libation poured on the ground." 



Severe weather compelled them to return up the river to their station at Fort 

 Franklin on this occasion, but they returned to the mouth of the Mackenzie in the following 

 season, where they nearly had a serious difficulty with the natives. Franklin had been 

 ashore, and had noted on one of the islands a number of tents, with Esquimaux strolling 

 about. He hastened back to the boats to prepare presents for them. Some seventy-three 

 canoes and five large skin boats were soon seen approaching, with perhaps three hundred 

 persons on board. They speedily showed a great desire to trade. Augustus, the inter- 



* Sir John Franklin's first wife died on the day after the departure of the expedition from England. 



