Intrepid June 22^nd/52
off Cape Shackleton
Closed

My dear Sir James.

As we have not yet  come up with the whalers I hope  we shall have the opportunity of writing by them; & purpose giving  you a short account of our progress hitherto— We had the usually amount  of stormy weather in crossing the Atlantic the Northstar lost 2 boats, & her spare  topsail yard stowing in the chains  was badly sprung by a heavy Sea— reached the Whale Islands on 30^th May; found them looking rather dreary at this early season, very little snow having thawed off & not many birds arrived. Spent a week in refitting &c.  then spent 4 days at Lievely, our business there was to obtain sealskins for making boots, & dogs. 100 sealskins & 8 dogs were obtained.

We then visited the SE point of disco in search of Coal which exists  there. that part of the island is of sandstone with a low shore & sandy  beach. only enough specimens of an inferior sort were obtained. a fresh north wind prevented our passing thro’ the waigat, we therefore passed outside of Disco. met with a good deal of  light sailing ice off Hare Island, & passed thro’ a stream 3 or 4 miles  wide. when onshore searching for coal I shot 9 ptarmigan, the males were all in  winter plumage, but females were brown—

reached uppernavik early on the  morning of the 19^th June, having been  working up all night. when working  in our Chief made the Signal “negative Anchor” but soon after he was seen to Anchor. it began to blow strong from SW, Bar^r very low. the Resolute & Pioneer made fast to  a bay & after some hours beating  about Northstar and Intrepid came to an Anchor. Wind increased with thick  snow falling. Resolute’s berg turned  round & floated off, Resolute carried  away her own jibboom & Pioneers fore  Topmast, both these vessels stood out  to sea. the rest of us held on with 2 anchors down & works to the rocks on afternoon of 13^th light wind & foggy Weighed the squadron reunited & after 24 running through the Islands we found ourselves off Parry Island, in the evening we passed Buchan Island, & are now about 15 miles west of C Shackelton there is  a good deal of loose sailing ice insight[sic]; it is all very light & seems to have been formed in the Spring, as yet we have seen no pack. very light airs from west, dull gloomy cold day, with mist over the high land. I am sure you can imagine all this. The North- star is the fastest Sailor amongst us, & Resolute the slowest. The Steamers have an advantage in a wind, & since we have got up our main Topsails’ can always manage to keep station. We have not used any coal for Steaming since the towing steamers left, we are very deep. Intrepid has still 21 tons of coal on deck I had also 53 Casks of provisions to get along the deck we had to walk over them & I have often seen so much water on our deck that the casks  & boats were only prevented from floating & washing about, by the  lashings. This vessel is 158 feet long & her deck was not 4 feet out of water. we lived in sea boats & tarpaulins all the way out.

We are on a rather limited scale of provisions at present, the biscuit, preserved wheat is issued.

I believe the Resolute & Intrepid  form the Melville Island division I hope we shall be so fortunate as to reach Winter Harbour. From it our travelling parties could cross to its north shore & search a considerable extent of coast line, — also westward of Cape Dundas, & complete  Bank’s Land to Capt Ommanney’s furthest, to the SE & Rae’s to the SW.

Should it be remarkably favorable, & time will admit, I should much like of try for a passage northward thru the Byam Martin Channel — 30^th June Lat 76° 54′ Long. 60° 30′. Since the 22^nd we have been almost constantly steaming, taking advantage of  every opening of the ice. We have lost the land floe so our progress is uncertain. two whales are insight. We are now employed in wrecking the Regalia w^h vessel we found filled & lying on her broadside alongside a floe when we suppose she was nipped, but some parts of her have been burnt. every thing of value had been removed before our arrival, as we can only get her rigging, & spars for firewood. The Resolute has had a very severe nip,, she was inclined over to [X] & her rudder splintered into fragments. her keel has been wrenched on one side so that the lower pintle of the rudder will not enter the brace.

all the other ships had time to cut into dock. The want of experience is very evident in our chiefs & Sir Ed. will not be told anything & has made himself unpopular in a variety of ways already.

The Pioneer & Intrepid each cut into dock in 2 ½ hours, with their new crew, 30 men  only, & I expended 35 lb of powder in blasting the  ice cut round by the saws, out, so as to save making any diagonal cuts. The Assistance aided by the Resolutes Ships C^o, in all  120 persons, 4 ½ hours forming their dock in the same floe and expended 230 lbs of powder! 1st July. yesterday we exploded a 20lb charge in the wreck which detached much of our deck & sunk the hull, our boats (19) were nearly 2 hours in picking up the pieces  for firewood. In the evening we came up with the whalers lying in their docks & cut in also. They are very doubtful whether this can be the land floe but have come along way along its edge. Lat 75.8 Long 61.23. some  of them have been a fortnight here. Parker is here in the Truelove. M^r Couldrey has the Lord Gambier. 5^th Nothing has occurred since, except that we have advanced  about 5 miles, & that I have shot a bear.

Our steam is kept constantly ready, & we tow when opportunity offers, yet the whalers invariably keep the lead. I do not  like this expenditure of coals. all our letters go by the Truelove. Parker intends persevering for another week, but thinks he will be obliged to go south again. Hoping this scribble will not be uninteresting to you I remain
yours very sincerely
F. L. M:Clintock

To/ Captain Sir Ja^s C. Ross
RN. &^c
&