Lieut. John Irving, R.N. of H.M.S. “Terror,” in Sir John Franklin’s Last Expedition to the Arctic Regions: A Memorial Sketch with Letters
Chapter VII.
Here the curtain falls, so to speak, and John Irving and all his healthy and hopeful comrades pass out of view, and become virtually silent to their friends and countrymen. The “Erebus” and “Terror” were seen by a single passing whaler after leaving the Whalefish Islands; but after that nothing was seen or heard of them by the civilised world for many long years. They disappeared amid the frost and snow and long winter darkness of the Arctic regions.
Many experienced navigators hoped almost against hope that they, or at least a remnant of the Expedition, might yet appear, for they knew and believed in the experience, the resources, and persistent courage of the man who led the enterprise, and they were confident that all that could be done would be done by adventurous courage under the circumstances. But years passed by without any tidings, and then fresh Expeditions were fitted out, not so much for discovering the desiderated North-West Passage by Behring’s Straits, as for ascertaining the fate of Sir John Franklin and his gallant crews, and of helping them if still within the reach of human aid. These Expeditions, although carefully planned, and carefully carried out with all the bravery and patience so characteristic of our naval service, were uniformly unsuccessful as to the primary object; but great additions were made by all of them towards an accurate knowledge of the Arctic archipelago. It is very interesting and instructive to compare the sketch map of the Arctic regions at the time of Franklin’s last voyage, as given by Sir Leopold M‘Clintock in his narrative, with maps of the same region at the present time. It would seem, that when the long-sought North-West Passage was beginning to lose its attractive power after repeated failure and disappointment, a new stimulus was found to geographical exploration and discovery in the great solicitude felt for Franklin and his brave companions. Doubtless the God of Providence and of Grace has jewels for the Redeemer’s crown even in these inhospitable regions, and they must be brought within hearing of the Gospel through human enterprise and energy. It would be inconsistent with the purpose and scope of this small volume, even were we able, to enter into any detailed account of the accurate and valuable contributions which have been made since 1845, when Sir John Franklin commenced his voyage, by such men as James Ross, Collinson, Maclure, Belcher, Osborn, Browne, Rae, Anderson, M’Clintock, Hobson, and Young. Their works are accessible to all who take a special interest in such matters, and will amply repay a careful perusal. Notwithstanding these accessions to our knowledge of the geography of these Sterile regions, little valuable light was thrown on the fate of Franklin and his companions until Sir Leopold M’Clintock published his “Voyage of the Fox.” Rae, when exploring a part of the Boothia Isthmus in 1854, heard from certain Esquimaux, that some years before, during spring, a party of about forty white men had been seen travelling over the ice, and dragging a boat along the coast of King William Land. It was added, that later in the season of the same year, the bodies of about thirty men were found on the continent and five on an island near the mouth of the Great Fish River. At the same time some relics, believed to be of the Franklin Expedition, were bought from the natives and sent home. These are deposited and preserved in the Naval and Military Museum, London. This information gave an encouraging clew to further inquiry, and led to the Fox Expedition under Captain M’Clintock, who, at the urgent request of Lady Franklin, generouslyundertook the heroic task of making a new search for her husband and his gallant company. He did his work in the most thorough manner, and, after difficulties and perils of a very remarkable kind, succeeded in clearing up the long-hidden story of the Franklin Expedition. During April and May 1859, Captain M’Clintock and Lieutenant Hobson, travelling from their winter quarters in sledges drawn by dogs, examined part of the west coast of Boothia, the whole of the shores of King William Island, the mouth of the Great Fish River, and Montreal Island. M’Clintock also collected information, with great diligence, from the Esquimaux whom he met at various points. The main result of his search, however, was the discovery of a record at Cape Victory, near the north-western comer of King William Land. This record, written between the lines and round the available margin of one of the printed forms usually supplied to discovery ships, contains all the reliable information which we have either about itself or about the history of Sir John Franklin’s Expedition. It was written at two different times. The first portion by Lieutenant Graham Gore, who with Charles des Vœux, mate, and six men, had left the ship four days previously, intending probably, as M‘Clintock suggests, to examine the unknown line of coast of King William Land, betwixt Point Victory and Cape Herschel. It bore date May 28th, 1847. This portion, as we learn from the second portion, had been deposited by Gore and his men, in June 1847, under a cairn supposed to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1831. It had been found in the following spring by our friend Lieutenant John Irving, and the second portion having been added by another hand, the completed document was transferred to a place four miles further south, which they had come to regard as the true position of Sir James Ross’s pillar; and there, in that solitude, the document thus written in instalments, so to speak, remained until discovered by Sir Leopold M’Clintock and his comrades in 1859.
With this explanation, we are able to understand what had happened. After passing through Lancaster Sound as far as Barrow’s Strait, they ascended Wellington Channel to lat. 77°, 150 miles, and, returning by the west side of Cornwallis Island, wintered at Beechy Island in 1845-6. In the summer of 1846 they sailed to the south-west, and reached within twelve miles of the north extreme of King William Land, where their further progress was arrested by the approaching winter of 1846-7. They had already made real discoveries, for the mere entrance to Wellington Sound had been discovered by Parry; they had ascended it and returned to Barrow’s Strait by Queen Channel, adding to our charts the extensive lands on either side. Thus arrested and beset in the ice, they passed the winter of 1846-7 in lat. 70° 5′ n., long. 98° 23′ w.
On the 24th of May 1847, as already mentioned, the party under Gore started on their exploring route along the coast of King William Land. On the 28th the first part of the record was written, and in June it was deposited where Irving found it many months afterwards. It mentioned that Sir John Franklin was still in command, and ended with a cheerful All well.
A second winter in the ice followed— 1847-8,—and before another summer came, a melancholy change of circumstances had taken place. Another hand, probably that of Fitz-James, now Captain of the “Erebus,” wrote as follows on the paper which Gore had deposited and Irving had found :—
April 25th, 1848.—H.M.S. “Terror” and “Erebus” were deserted on the 22d April, 5 leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since 12th September 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here, in latitude 69° 37′ 42”, long. 98’ 41′ w., and start to-morrow, the 26th, for Back’s Fish River. Sir John Franklin died on the 11th of June 1847, and the total loss by death in the Expedition has been to this date, 9 officers and 15 men.
This was signed by Captain Crozier of the “Terror” and Captain Fitz-James of the “Erebus.”
No mention is made of the return of Graham Gore and his exploring party; but the second portion of the record speaks of him as the late Commander Gore, so that he probably died during the winter of 1847-8, which proved fatal to so many.
A facsimile of this record, so full of interest and so touching, seems worthy of being preserved in this memoir of one who had a good deal to do with it.
We refer our readers to McClintock’s interesting narrative for other details which will assist them to realise more fully the probable history of the Expedition. But the record, the contents of which have been already explained, affords all the exact and reliable information that we possess or can now look for. Mr. C. R. Markham, C.B., Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, in the Proceedings for November 1880, while giving an account of the recent expedition of Lieutenant Schwatka, confirms this remark so forcibly that we have much pleasure in quoting what he says:—
There is nothing else but conjecture, based on the vague and unreliable stories of the Esquimaux, and inference derived from relics and their positions. With these as a means of illustrating the facts of the record, M’Clintock pieced together the sad but heroic story. The ground at Cape Victory was strewn with great quantities of clothes and stores, pointing to the probability that the survivors had overrated their strength, and were obliged to lighten the boats which they were dragging on heavy sledges. The discovery of Lieutenant Hornby’s sextant made it probable that he was among those who landed. Farther on, in Erebus Bay, one of the boats was found on a sledge, with two bodies in it, and many relics of various kinds. Among them was a Bible, The Vicar of Wakefield, and a little volume of private devotions which Sir George Back had presented to his old friend, Graham Gore. Perhaps it was the thoughtful act of some messmate to bring away the little book for the relations of the deceased officer. The boat’s head was pointed back to the ships, indicating that a portion of the retreating crews had broken down, and that an attempt was made to return to the ships and bring back fresh supplies of food. The rest pushed on, and M‘Clintock found a skeleton beyond Cape Herschel, proving that they discovered the North-West Passage. But the great majority of the bodies probably fell through the ice on which they walked, when the thaw came, and found a last resting-place in the great deep. The information carefully collected from Esquimaux by Mr. Petersen, McClintock’s interpreter, was to the effect that many of the white men dropped by the way as they went to the Great Fish River; that some were buried, and some were not, a fact discovered by the Esquimaux during the following winter, and corroborated by the position of the skeleton which M‘Clintock found beyond Cape Herschel. It was also ascertained that one ship had been seen to sink in deep water, and that the other was forced on shore by the ice. On board the latter the body of a tall man was found, but there was little then left of the wreck, the position of which was indicated. At one time the natives had seen many books and papers, but they had all been thrown away or destroyed long before. It was clear that the record at Cape Victory would furnish the only certain intelligence we should ever receive.
While this is substantially the case, Captain Hall and Lieutenant Schwatka of America, with commendable zeal and good feeling, have succeeded, after much personal exertion, in adding some illustrative details to the sad story of the Franklin Expedition.
Captain Hall [says Mr. Markham], in May 1869 just touched the line of retreat at Todd’s Island and Peffer River. He heard that seven bodies were buried at these places, and he brought home bones supposed to have been those of Lieutenant Le Vescomte of H.M.S. “Erebus.” He heard the story of the wreck of the ship and the body of a tall man having been found on board, and he was also told that a boat and tent full of bodies were seen by the Esquimaux in Terror Bay, some miles south of the position in which McClintock and Hobson found the boat. There is nothing improbable in the latter story, but it is not corroborated by Lieutenant Schwatka, who carefully searched the spot. This, however, does not disprove it, as all traces might easily have been obliterated in the long lapse of time. Captain Hall also heard that the boat with the last survivors did not reach Montreal Island, but an inlet on the west side of the promontory which terminates at Point Richardson. Lieutenant Schwatka (ten years later) confirms the accuracy of Hall’s information on this last point. The natives told him that a boat and a number of skeletons were seen near the water-line in this inlet, and that books and papers were scattered among the rocks and long since lost. The boat was turned over and the skeletons beneath it. One body, perhaps that of the last survivor (not an officer) was found five miles inland. An old woman also told Lieutenant Schwatka that she saw the retreating party dragging a sledge with a boat on it, and she described the personal appearance of three of the officers. One seems to have been a doctor. She also alleged that she saw the tent and dead bodies of which Hall heard at the head of Terror Bay.
Lieutenant Schwatka’s personal search along the west coast of King William Island was not rewarded by any important discovery. The work of McClintock and Hobson had been done too thoroughly. Two of his companions, however, found the grave of an officer near Cape Victory. It was that of Lieutenant Irving of H.M.S. “Terror,” as a silver medal was picked up close to it which proved to be a mathematical prize won by that officer at the Royal Naval College in 1830. The grave of another officer was found near Point le Vescomte, and some bones of five other different individuals. They were collected and buried. Near Cape Felix two cairns were met with, probably erected for taking bearings by parties which landed during the year before the ships were abandoned.
We already know enough. We knew that our gallant countrymen died in discovering the North-West Passage, and that they fell in the performance of their duty. In Sherard Osborn’s charming memoir, and in the admirable narrative of Sir Leopold McClintock, the heroic story of the fate of Franklin will be read with unfailing interest by generation after generation. And Englishmen will, at the same time, always cherish a feeling of gratitude for the kindly deed of the brave Americans who tenderly collected and buried some of the bones of our heroes, and brought away the remains of one of them, a task which we well know entailed no small amount of peril and hardship.
The relatives and friends of John Irving, in compliance with whose desire this small volume has been compiled, enter warmly into these sentiments, so eloquently expressed by Mr. Markham; and they will have much pleasure in seeing introduced at this place part of the narrative which he has recorded in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, of the Expedition of Lieutenant Schwatka to King William Land. The plan of the Expedition was novel. The scenes were new; and although the results did not add much to our knowledge of Sir John Franklin’s fate, it seems both natural and fitting that the procedure by which they were attained should find a place in this memorial of one of his officers.
The party consisted of four white men, namely, Lieutenant Schwatka, Colonel W. H. Gilder (the author of the narrative), Henry Klutschek, and Frank Milnes. They wintered at Camp Daly, near the entrance of Chesterfield Inlet, on the west shore of Hudson’s Bay, adapting themselves to the mode of life of the Esquimaux (or Inuit, as Colonel Gilder more correctly calls them), and making preliminary reconnoitring journeys.
It was Lieutenant Schwatka’s intention to effect his purpose with the aid of natives and their dogs, and his plan was to march across the unknown land between Chesterfield Inlet and the estuary of the Back River, and thence to examine the western side of King William Island—a formidable enterprise, which would certainly occupy many months.
The expedition left Camp Daly on the 1st of April 1879, with three sledges and a load of 5000 lbs. drawn by forty-two dogs. Besides walrus meat, the provisions consisted of biscuit, corn-starch, pork, compressed corned beef, cheese, tea, and molasses. But these supplies were not calculated to last more than a fraction of the time, being one month’s provisions for the whole party. The main reliance was upon the game afforded by the region to be traversed. The party was entirely deprived of vegetable food; they took no lime-juice, and there was no scurvy; which is one more stubborn fact for the English Scurvy Committee. Besides the four white men, the party consisted of Joe the Esquimaux interpreter, and his wife; a splendid hunter and dog-driver named Too-loo-ah, and his wife and child; two other Inuit men, with their wives and a child each, and two lads: altogether thirteen Inuit men, women, and children.
During the months of April and May the party marched across a high country of rolling hills, with much snow and occasional deep drifts. The thermometer was above freezing, and the sun insufferably hot. Plenty of reindeer were seen nearly every day, the herds being often chased by wolves, which also prowled round the camp. The game indeed was so abundant, that besides bears, and seals, and four musk-oxen, the party obtained during the journeys out and home no less than 522 reindeer.
The landscape, though sombre and forbidding, was grand, and occasionally presented scenes of great beauty. In the first week of May they crossed the Arctic Circle, and soon afterwards came upon a branch of the Back River, which they followed for ninety miles. It flows through a gorge with dark hills rising to 800 or 1000 feet on either side. On the 22d of May they reached the estuary of the Back River, having travelled all the way through a country filled with game, and having seen two or three large herds of reindeer every day. The river, which led them to the Back estuary, was named after the President of the United States.
Lieutenant Schwatka visited Montreal Island, and then crossed the land to an inlet west of Richardson Point, collecting many stories from the Esquimaux. In June he crossed over to Cape Herschel, on King William Island, and examined the western shore, with the greatest care, for relics of the Franklin Expedition, as far as Cape Felix, the northern extremity of the island.
We have already mentioned the results of this Expedition, in which much labour was put forth, and innumerable difficulties and inconveniences encountered.
The achievement of Lieutenant Schwatka and his companions is most remarkable, and in some respects his journey is without a parallel. It reflects the highest credit on the commander and on those who served under him so admirably; and it is certain the work could not have been done without natural qualities of a very high order, combined with careful training and the most thoughtful adaptation of the best attainable means to the end in view. The English nation, and more especially its naval service and its geographers, have received the news of this noble effort to obtain more complete intelligence of our lost heroes with feelings of warm gratitude to Lieutenant Schwatka and his gallant companions, as well as to those who generously supplied the means and gave the instructions under which the explorers acted.