520 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH— 18^8-51. 



where the cut was to be made, with tools and gunpowder for blasting, and 

 plenty of short hand-lines and claws. The ' Pioneer ' and ' Intrepid ' then 

 in turn rushed at the floe, breaking their way through it, until the impetus 

 gained in the open water was lost by the resistance of the ice. The word 

 ' Stop her ! Back turn, easy ! ' was then given, and the screw went astern, 

 carrying with her tons of ice, which the blue-jackets, who attended on the 

 forecastle and others on broken pieces of the floe, held on by. As the one 

 vessel went astern the other flew ahead to her work. The operation was, 

 moreover, aided by the explosions of powder ; and altogether the scene was 

 a highly interesting and instructive one. It was a fresh laurel in the screw's 

 wreath. The gallant 'Intrepid' gave a coup-de-grdce to the mass, which 

 sent it ' coach-wheeling ' round, as it is termed ; . . . and we were next morn- 

 ing in the true lead, and our troubles in Melville Bay were at an end." 



It was on the 10th August that Captain Austin's ships succeeded in shaking 

 themselves clear of the ice of MelviUe Bay. The air was now calm, the 

 water smooth, and the " Intrepid " and " Pioneer " steamed away north- 

 ward, with the " Resolute " and " Assistance " in tow. Soon the screws 

 overhauled the " Felix," in which Sir John Eoss had come out to assist in 

 the search for Franklin, and the " Prince Albert " schooner, which had been 

 sent out for the same purpose, under the command of Captain Forsyth. 

 The steamers took the schooners also in tow, and the whole squadron pro- 

 ceeded northward for some time together. On the 13th Cape York was in 

 sight. In this neighbourhood two precious days were lost in investigating 

 the report of the miscreant Adam Beck, who had completely imposed upon 

 Sir John Ross, with the fantastical story of the burning of two English ships, 

 supposed to be the " Erebus " and " Terror," and the massacre of their 

 crews. As already mentioned, the mischievous story proved, on examina- 

 tion, to be wholly unfounded. On the 15th the " Pioneer," with the "Reso- 

 lute " and " Prince Albert " in tow, steered away westward, reached the west 

 water, a wide reach of sea unencumbered with ice, and then made for the 

 mouth of Lancaster Sound. Here the " Prince Albert " was cast off to pro- 

 ceed on its way to Regent Inlet, while the " Resolute " and its tender pro- 

 ceeded to Pond's and Possession Bays, the shores of which they searched 

 unavailingly for cairns or other relics that might have been left by the miss- 

 ing expedition. On the 22d the vessels entered Lancaster Sound.. The 

 great inlet was regarded with intense interest by the young officers of both 

 vessels. Steering for the north shore, the ships reached Croker Bay, between 

 Cape Warrender and Cape Home, on the 25th; thence they steered for 

 Leopold Island. Driven north by a furious gale, they were sailing westward 

 ofi" Cape Hurd on the 27th, and on the evening of the 28th they had pushed 

 into a passage between Cape Ricketts and Beechey Island, when a boat in 

 sight was reported from the mast-head. The boat carried Captain Stewart 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



