ch. xxvij The Franklin Expedition 
241 
each ship should have a small auxiliary engine and screw, 
to propel them a few knots during calms. This was the 
first time a screw steamer was used in Arctic service. 
Crowds of visitors came to see the ships before they 
left Woolwich. On the 18th of May Sir John Franklin 
performed divine service for the first time, off Greenhithe, 
and on the 19th the expedition started with the brightest 
prospects. 
Franklin's instructions were to make for the coast of 
North America by passing west of Cape Walker, high 
land seen by Parry at a distance, to the south of Barrow's 
Strait. He was also authorized to try a route by Wel- 
lington Channel, if he found it free of ice. 
At the Whale Fish Islands the observatory for 
magnetic observations was set up on the same little 
island where Parry had done similar work in his third 
voyage. From here they sailed away to battle with 
the ice. The Erebus and Terror were last seen by the 
Prince of Wales whaler, Captain Dannett, in 74 0 48' N., 
66° 13' W. All were well and in remarkable spirits. 
The expedition reached Lancaster Sound. Wellington 
Channel was found to be clear of ice, and Sir John 
Franklin was persuaded to try that route. Passing 
Cape Riley, Fitzjames must have noticed the excellent 
winter quarters formed by Beechey Island. Reid, the 
Greenland pilot of the Erebus, and Blanky of the Terror, 
who had served with Ross, were in their respective crow's 
nests, reporting "Water ahead! large water I" So the 
ships sailed gaily up the channel for a hundred miles, 
reaching 77 0 N. There they were stopped by impene- 
trable floes of heavy ice. The ships' heads were ac- 
cordingly turned to the south and they sailed down 
a strait which they discovered between Cornwallis and 
Bathurst Islands, finally taking up winter quarters in 
the snug harbour formed by Beechey Island. Great 
discoveries had been made, and no expedition had ever 
accomplished so much in a first season. 
The winter at Beechey Island was no doubt passed 
happily. There was scientific work, and such a genial 
commander as Fitzjames would be sure to have provided 
plenty of amusement for officers and men. In the spring 
a workshop and an observatory were built on shore, and 
M.I. 16 
