AUCXIC YOYAGES. 
35 
belonging to Franklin or his party, were given or sold to Dr. Bae by the 
Esquimaux, who, in all probability, had either murdered the owners, 
or obtained possession of their spoils by plundering the deserted vessels. 
Hot a line, nor chart, nor memorial of any value, has reached us of that 
gallant band of 135 bold British sailors, who went forth in the Erebus 
and Terror in 1845, on a scientific mission to the Arctic Seas, in obedi¬ 
ence to the orders of the British Government. It is, no doubt, probable 
that they have all perished, and have rendered their account to Him 
who is as near to the sailor in his hour of need as to the landsman; 
but it is equally probable that their vessels have not perished with them, 
and that, in accordance with the practice of Arctic sailors, the records 
of the expedition, or copies of them, exist buried in the neighbourhood 
of the ships. 
We maintain that it was the duty of our Government to search, 
and search again, until successful, for the authentic records and traces 
of these gallant men, who perished as truly in their country’s service, as if 
they had met their fate by the bullet of the Eussian, or the knife of the 
Sepoy. Three expeditions, as our readers are no doubt aware, were 
despatched by the Government in search of Eranklin through Lancaster 
Sound, commanded by Sir James Boss, Captain Austin, and Sir Edward 
Belcher, respectively; while three other parties under CaptainsM‘Clure 
and Collinson by Behring Straits, and Dr. Eae by land, have almost 
exhausted the area of search, and so reduced the limits within which 
the Erebus and Terror must lie, as to render the refusal of the Govern¬ 
ment to look for them quite inexplicable. 
The following brief account of these expeditions was given by Mr. 
Markham, himself an Arctic sailor, to the Dublin Meeting of the British 
Association last summer■ 
t 
“ In 1849, Sir James Ross searched part of the eastern shore of what is now called 
Peel Sound, going over 990 miles. Captain Austin’s expedition, in 1851, carrying on 
its search towards the points to which Franklin’s instructions directed attention, carefully 
examined the whole of the southern shores of the Parry Islands, a considerable tract of 
coast line south-west of Cape Walker, and part of the west coast of Peel Sound—in all, 
6087 miles. In 1853-4 Sir Edward Belcher’s officers completed the search up Wel¬ 
lington Channel and along the northern shores of the Parry Islands; while in Captain 
Kellett’s expedition M‘Clintock and Mecham, in their unrivalled journeys, explored 
the western shores of Melville Island, and the large Islands of Prince Patrick and Eg- 
linton, which, including the journeys of Lieut. Hamilton and Captain Kellett’s other 
officers, makes 9432 miles. From the side of Behring’s Straits Sir Robert M'Clure 
achieved the discovery of the North West Passage, and examined the shores of Banks’ 
Island, and the whole western and north-western coast of Prince Albert’s Land, 2350 
miles; while from the same direction Captain Collinson penetrated along the coast of 
North America to Cambridge Bay, and Dr. Eae previously explored the same coasts in a 
well-directed land journey of 1030 miles. Thus, by unceasing efforts a coast line of 
more than 21,500 miles has been examined, of which upwards of 5780 was previously 
undiscovered land, and the search for traces of the missing expedition has been con¬ 
tracted within that small space bounded by the western shores of Boothia, King William’s 
Land, the southern part of the shores of Peel Sound, the coast near the mouth of the 
Back River; and, above all, the space occupied by a deep inlet, or supposed strait, from 
Osborn and Wynniatt’s Furthest, to Victoria Channel. This little space becomes the 
more deeply interesting, because not only every other possible place has already been 
