TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 131 



discovery, and the return of Belcher's expedition, may be said to terminate the 

 Franklin search, which had been earned on by this Government since 1847. The 

 exploration produced valuable results for geographers, which are seen at a glance 

 by comparing the Arctic chart of 1845 with that of the year 1854. 



The ' Enterprise,' under Captain Collinson, returned to Behring Straits in 1851, 

 and followed closely on the discovery of Prince-of- Wales Straits by McClure in 1850, 

 and the researches of Dr. Rae upon Wollaston and Victoria Lands, collecting much. 

 valuable geographical and hydrographical information of great interest, spending 

 three winters in the Arctic Sea. The first winter was passed in Prince-of- Wales 

 Straits, and he communicated with Melville Island. Frustrated, like McClure, in 

 passing through this Strait to the north-east, Collinson made for the Dolphin and 

 Union Strait, and coasted eastward to Cambridge Bay, where he passed the second 

 winter. In the spring of 1853 he attained the lat. of 70° 25' N. on Victoria Land, 

 and thus, like Rae, was actually within a few miles of the last resting-place of 

 Franklin's ships. With exhausted supplies, and seeing no prospect of advance to 

 King William's Land, he had to .return to Behring Straits by the same route ; but, 

 unfortunately, before he reached the Strait the ship was again beset in ice for a 

 third winter, which was passed in Camden Bay ; and in August 1854 he effected 

 his escape by Behring Straits, and reopened communication with the civilized world 

 after an interval of 1,126 days. 



An expedition was generously provided by the United States Government for the 

 search of Franklin through Smith Sound, under the command of Dr. Kane, in a vessel 

 of 120 tons. A winter station was gained the first summer in lat. 78° 37' N., long. 

 70° 40' W., on the Greenland coast. Many interesting discoveries and scientific 

 observations collected were of great value. The coast of Greenland was traced to 

 lat. 81° 22' N., and on the American side of Kennedy Channel to 82° 30' N. Open 

 water was Been in the Polar Sea. The lands discovered north of the 80th parallel 

 were named Grinnell on the American side of the Strait leading to the Polar Sea, 

 and Washington Land on the Greenland side. In this highest latitude ever wintered 

 in, the sun was 120 days below the horizon. The lowest temperature observed in- 

 dicated -70° F. 



The geological structure of the lands was fully described by Dr. Kane, together 

 with the natural history and botany of these regions : the stupendous Humboldt 

 glacier and smaller glaciers were grand features, and afforded evidence as being the 

 source of iceberg supply. Moreover, life exists in this locality in the shape of a tribe 

 of Esquimaux isolated from the rest of the world. 



The heavy floe-ice never cleared out of Smith's Sound; and, after the second 

 winter, the vessel was abandoned ; Kane with his followers escaped in boats after a 

 perilous voyage to Upernavik. 



A few years subsequently (1860-61) another Polar expedition left the United 

 States, under Hayes, for these regions ; but such was the condition of Smith's 

 Sound then, which was choked with ice, that Hayes could not effect an entrance 

 into it with his sailing schooner, so had to winter at Port Foulke. 



After all that was done in the searching between 1847 and 1855, beyond the 

 relics and graves found at Beechey Island by me in 1850, and the relics recovered 

 by Rae, no authentic records of the ill-fated expedition had come to light through- 

 out the vast extent of coast explored under so many highly gifted and zealous 

 leaders. 



There still remained a strong feeling on the part of the public and the relatives 

 of Franklin's Expedition to clear away the mystery connected with the discovery 

 of Rae ; though it was evident that the ships had been abandoned, yet no records 

 or documents had yet been foimd. The limited area for search lay south of Peel 

 Inlet. 



Lady Franklin, supported by Sir Roderick Murchison, Allen Young, and other 

 eminent names, contributed largely towards a " final search " for the ' Erebus ' and 

 ' Terror.' The yacht ' Fox ' was purchased, and the command fell into the able hands 

 of Captain F. Leopold McClintock, already distinguished for his remarkable feats 

 of ice sledge-travelling and explorations; Lieutenant W. R. Hobson, R.N., and 

 Captain Allen Young came forward and served under him. Well furnished with 

 all requisites, the 'Fox' left Aberdeen the 1st July, 1857. On her outward voyage she 



