an Arctic Expedition. 301 



Government, in which there were various persons eminent in 

 science, under the command of Sir John Franklin. 



It consisted of two sailing ships, with auxiliary steam-power 

 of a very imperfect nature, and both in that respect, as well 

 as in their general equipment, stores, and provisioning, they 

 fell far short of what an Arctic expedition of the present day 

 would have at command ; but subsequent events reveal to us 

 that this expedition succeeded in making one of the most 

 remarkable Arctic voyages on record, and that they perished, 

 after abandoning their ships, at a position near the entrance 

 of the Great Fish River, where, had proper foresight been 

 exercised, they could easily have been rescued. Subsequent 

 experience has shown that the fatal omission which led to this 

 catastrophe was the want of proper depots of provisions being 

 arranged so as to cover the escape of the crews, in the event 

 of disaster to the ships — a measure of precaution which, since 

 that disaster, has always been carefully provided for in all 

 subsequent expeditions with signal success. This expedition 

 of Sir John Franklin in 1845 was the last scientific expedition 

 sent by Great Britain into the Arctic regions. In 1848 the 

 search for Franklin's expedition was pressed on the Govern- 

 ment by the public, and frorn that date irp to 1861 — a period 

 of thirteen years — was steadily persevered in, no less than 

 fourteen public and private expeditions having gone and 

 returned during that period. So far as the people in those 

 expeditions were concerned, they all returned in safety, and 

 the proportion of deaths from climate and disease was con- 

 siderably less than the average death-rate of our naval sea- 

 men on any other service ; and this in spite of the extra- 

 ordinarily severe exposure and labour to winch men and 

 officers were subjected, by the novel introduction of sledge- 

 travelling whilst the expeditions were frozen-in in winter 

 quarters. Dr. Donnet, Deputy Inspector-General of fleets 

 and hospitals, shows that at one period, out of 1,878 j^ersons 

 who wintered repeatedly in these expeditious, the death-rate 



