2 TKAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



times have been undertaken with the view of dis- 

 covering the North-east or North-west Passages have 

 been for exclusively scientific purposes. 



The North-west Passage has been principally ex- 

 plored by Englishmen. The reason of this has been 

 that Franklin, who, in 1845, left England with two 

 vessels, the Erebus and Terror, to pursue that route, 

 was never again heard of ; and in consequence, nu- 

 merous expeditions (for the most part organised by 

 Franklin's widow, Lady Franklin) were sent out 

 from England with the object of discovering the fate 

 of the missing explorer and his companions. As all 

 are aware, the present Admiral Sir F. L. M'Clintock, 

 commander of the steam-yacht Fox, brought home in 

 1859 indisputable proofs of his countrymen's sad end. 



Undoubtedly no vessel has yet passed from the 

 North Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, or round the 

 north coast of America ; but, nevertheless, the dis- 

 covery of this passage has been attributed to Sir R. 

 M'Clure, captain in the English navy. In command 

 of the ship Investigator he took his course through 

 Behring Strait, and followed the American coast 

 until his progress was arrested by ice in long. W. 

 115. After spending three winters there, he learned 

 that some English vessels (belonging to Belcher's ex- 

 pedition, which from the east had endeavoured to 

 penetrate the North-west Passage) were lying some 

 hundreds of miles from him. With all his crew, 

 which had suffered considerably during the three 



