1853] 



THE ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. 



Ill 



The Arctic ExpciUt'osis. 



We alluded last month to the publication in full of Capt. 

 M'Clure's despatches :— and we return to them now in order to 

 extract a few details of considerable importance, which are neces- 

 sary to the elucidation of that officer's proceedings. 



It will be remembered, that we expressed regret that the, so 

 called, white man's grave, near Point Warren, was not examined. 

 This omission is still to be deplored; — but it appears that Capt. 

 M'Clure did delay his departure from the Point for several hours, 

 for the purpose of examining a house which the Esquimaux told 

 him had been built by the party of white men one of whom had 

 been, murdered. The result will be best related in Capt. M'Clure's 

 own words: — " The interpreter, Dr. Armstrong, and myself 

 went on shore in eager expectation of discovering some clue that 

 would lead to a knowledge of the parties : — but in this we were 

 miserably disappointed. Five huts, indeed, were there, to excite 

 hopes ; but upon approaching them we found the woodwork to 

 be perfectly rotten and of a very old date, without any description 

 of mark to yield the slightest information." — The interpreter, it 

 seems, was of opinion that the transaction alluded to by the 

 Esquimaux is traditionary, — and has in all probability reference 

 to some affray between the natives and the early discoverers. 

 The condition of the huts, as described by Capt. M'Clure, cer- 

 tainly helps to remove the story back from recent years to a dis- 

 tant period. 



When abreast of the Horton river, between Cape Bathurst and 

 Cape Parry, large volumes of smoke were observed, — and the 

 look-out watch reported that he saw several persons moving 

 about dressed in white shirts, and saw white tents in a hollow of 

 the cliff. An examination of the locality confirmed the existence 

 of the smoke, — which proceeded from fifteen small mounds, of 

 volcanic appearance, occupying a space of about fifty yards. The 

 entire ground was strongly impregnated with sulphur; and the 

 land in the neighborhood was intersected by ravines and deep 

 watercourses, varying in elevation from 300 to 500 feet. Marks 

 of reindeer were seen in the vicinity, — and the temperature at the 

 time (September the 6th) was warm. Several whales and seals 

 played around the ship. The mystery of the white shirts and 

 tents was thus satisfactorily explained : — -and it is highly interest- 

 ing in a physical-geography point of view to find these volcanic 

 appearances at so high a latitude. The active volcano discoverd 

 by Sir James Ross in a high latitude in the Antarctic regions 

 will be in the remembrance of our readers. 



Another discovery of great interest was made on the north of 

 Banks Land by shooting parties who had proceeded a short way 

 into the interior in search of game. This consisted of " a range 

 of hills, composed of one ent're mass of wood in every stage from 

 petrification to a log fit for fire-wood. Many large trees were 

 among it; but in endeavouring to exhume them, they were found 

 too much decayed to stand removal." In the vicinity the heads 

 of musk-oxen and the well-picked carcases of deer were frequently 

 met with, and there was every appearance of the country being 

 frequented by large herds of animals. Since the publication of 

 Capt. M'Clure's despatches, an official return, of which the fol- 

 lowing is a copy, has issued from the Admiralty, showing the 

 game killed by Capt. M'Clure's part}-, between the 1st of October 

 1850 and the Sth of April 1853. It is right, however, to state, 

 that the principal part was killed during the spring of this 

 year.— 



Hares.. 169 



Grouse 486 



Ducks 198 



Geese 29 



Wolves 2 



Bears 4 



Musk Oxen. 

 Deer 



Number 

 Killed. 



7 

 110 



Average 



Weight of 



each. 



Total Weight. 



378 lb. 

 70 



1,945 lb. 

 7,716 



not weighed 



1,014 



•Athenaeum. 



Total 1,005 



— It is supposed that this number would have been greatly aug- 

 mented had the shooting parties gone into the interior of the 

 countty. 



Another interesting table has been published, showing the 

 monthly mean height of the barometer and the temperature of 

 the air on board the Investigator from August 1850 to March 

 1853: — from which the following yearly abstract is drawn. — 



Barometer. 1850. 1851. 1852. 1853. 



Maximum 30.650 30.750 31000 30.726 



Minimum 29.1C0 29.030 28.970. 29 180 



Mean 29.828 29931 29.906 29.960 



Air. 



Maximum +3 +52 +52 +17 



Minimum —40 —51 —52 —65 



Mean 4.66 +1.58 +0.05 —35.92 



Those who have perused Capt. M'Clure's voluminous 

 despatches will have observed how triumphantly the Investigator 

 battled with the thick-] ibbed ice, which, according to her Com- 

 mander's account, was constant^ on the point of destroying her. 

 This fact is certainly strong inferential evidence in favour of the 

 opinion entertained by high Arctic authorities, that the Erebus 

 and Terrror — which were quite as strong as the Investigator — 

 have not been crushed by the ice; and when people find the lat- 

 ter ship making a voyage with perfect safety of above 1,000 

 miles in the Arctic seas, continually surrounded, and frequently 

 nipped, by the ice — a voyage which Sir Edward Parry states to 

 be " the most magnificent navigation ever performed in one sea- 

 son, and perfectly marvellous in its nature," adding, that he 

 " believes no man can tell more of the difficulty than he can, — 

 it is not unreasonable to hope that the Erebus and Terror may 

 be still in existence as stout ships. On the occasion of a dinner 

 given lately, at Lynn, to Lieut. Cresswell, Sir E. Parry observed, 

 that " there is that stuff and stamina in 120 Englishmen, that 

 somehow or another they would have maintained themselves as 

 well as a parcel of Esquimaux would." 



A non-official letter from Capt. Kellett to a friend in London, 

 dated from Mellville Island in May last, states, that game was 

 very abundant on the island during the past autumn. He says 

 — " musk oxen remained with us all the winter; one was shot 

 in March. Yon cannot fancy a man wishing for a good tough 

 beefsteak : but after preserved meats there is a great pleasure in 

 getting between your teeth somethiug to bite. The venison eat- 

 ers of England ought to come here for it; nothing can exceed a 

 haunch of good reindeer buck, tender and highly flavoured. 

 Hares were shot in winter, and ptarmigan with full crops and in 

 good condition, a fine cock weighing two pounds-and-a-half." — 

 This account is the more satisfactory when we are told that the 

 winter was very cold, — the thermometer being down to-50 ° and 

 -57 ° , — and for a considerable time the mercury was frozen. 



We see by Capt. Reliefs letter that the great exploring Ex- 

 peditions from his ship started on the 4th of April, in two 

 divisions. Commanders M'Clintock, Hamilton, and two officers 

 proceeded north, — and Lieut. Mecham west. Capt. Kellet 

 accompanied Commander M'Clintock for a short distance, and 

 then returned to his ship. On the preceding Sunday he read 

 prayers, — and addressed the men, hoping that they would leave 



