438 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH— 18i8-51. 



o'clock the wind was all gone, and at 9.30 I was received on board the 

 ' Herald,' and made my report of an unsuccessful search to Captain Kellett, 

 and thence proceeded to the ' Plover,' and communicated the same intel- 

 ligence to Captain Moore." 



Mr Pullen's actual work, however, did not commence till the 25th July ; 

 when, the boats being fully equipped and provisioned, he received his final 

 orders from Commander Moore, and shoved off a short time before midnight. 

 " We left the vessels under sail," says Mr PuUen, "with a light breeze coming 

 from the land, and we soon saw them get under way and follow us. My 

 small expedition consisted of four boats, viz., the ' Herald's ' decked boat, 

 called the 'Owen,' after Captain (now Admiral) William Fitz- William 

 Owen, one of my most valued friends ; the ' Plover's ' pinnace, and two 

 whale-boats. Three ofl&cers, Mr W. Hooper, acting mate, Mr H. Martin, 

 second master, and Mr J. Abernethy, acting second master, etc., and 

 twenty men, one of whom was an interpreter, brought from Petropaulovski 

 by the 'Herald.' The deduction of so many men from the 'Plover's' 

 complement left her but few remaining hands ; the ' Herald,' however, 

 supplied her with ten from her number. After taking our whale-boats in 

 tow, arranging signals with Mr Martin, who was in the pinnace, and 

 setting the watch, I retired to such small accommodation as we possessed, 

 with hope and trust that the great God, whom we all serve, would vouch- 

 safe unto us His protection, and grant us success in the service in which we 

 were engaged. 



" On the 26th the fog closed round us at 5.30 a.m., with wind moderate 

 from the north-north-east. We were still on the starboard tack, having our 

 consorts about one mile distant on our weather quarter, and the ' Herald ' 

 and ' Plover ' to leeward. This was the last time we saw either of them. At 

 ten o'clock we observed, through a break in the fog, the yacht passing just 

 to windward of us, and also got sight of the pinnace for a short time. We 

 immediately signalled to her to close, and henceforward kept together as 

 long as the fog lasted, never at any time being separated by more than 

 a distance of one hundred feet. When it cleared at eleven o'clock, we 

 tacked, and stood in for the land, and at noon were in lat. 71° 11' N., and 

 long. 159° 10' W. Of our two sailing boats, the ' Owen ' was decidedly the 

 fastest ; the pinnace was a little more weatherly, but so little that it was 

 barely perceptible ; the former was rather leaky from long exposure to warm 

 weather, without having been in the water. The whale-boats were in good 

 condition, but could not proceed as rapidly as the large ones under sail, 

 consequently they were kept in tow, with their sails set, and with crews 

 constantly in them. . . . 



"At 11.30 at night the fog cleared away altogether, and disclosed to us 

 the sun slowly circling the western heavens in an orbit of a blood-red colour. 



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