A Summer Search for John Franklin (Illustrated) E-Book

Commander E.A. . Inglefield, R.N

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

First published in 1853, this work recounts an unsuccessful expedition to find the missing Franklin expedition. Following the disappearance of Sir John Franklin and his crew during a mission to find the North-West Passage, the Admiralty organised numerous searches for the missing men. The naval officer Edward Inglefield (1820–94) sailed to the Arctic in the summer of 1852 in command of the Isabel, a steamer donated by Lady Franklin on the condition that it was used to search for her husband. First published in 1853, Inglefield's account of the voyage is accompanied by a number of illustrations. The work also includes appendices listing the flowering plants and algae of the Arctic region as noted by the botanist George Dickie (1812–82), geographical and meteorological information collected by expedition surgeon Peter Sutherland (1822–1900), and Inglefield's correspondence with the Admiralty.

Leseprobe

Commander E.A. . Inglefield, R.N

A Summer Search for John Franklin (Illustrated)

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Title Page

With

A Peep Into The Polar Basin.

By

Commander E.A. Inglefield, R.N.

With Short Notices,

By Professor Dickie, On The Botany,

And

By Dr. Sutherland, On The Meteorology And Geology;

And A New Chart Of The Arctic Sea.

London :

Thomas Harrison, 59, Pall Mall,

(Late John Ollivier.)

1858.

Dedicated

To Rear admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, K.C.B.

Whose counsel guided.

Whose friendship cheered.

And whose approbation

Was my ambition.

Through hours of toil and hardship.

Introduction.

The Isabel screw schooner, of 149 tons

register, was originally fitted by Mr. Donald

Beatson, for a voyage in search of the

missing ships under Sir John Franklin,

by the route of Behring Strait and along

the north shores of Siberia. But that

expedition, owing to unavoidable difficulties

which prevented the accomplishment of his

project, was reluctantly abandoned by Mr.

Beatson, and thus the Isabel, with five years'

provisions for twelve men, and a small

high pressure engine of sixteen-horse power,

which had been fitted to drive an archi-

median screw, besides having been doubled,

strengthened, and covered as far up as the

bends with galvanized iron, was thrown

back upon the hands of Lady Franklin.

This vessel, so well adapted for Arctic

service, was offered to the Admiralty as a

gift, conditionally that she should be sent

upon the service for which she had been

equipped ; but their Lordships, not wishing

to add to the number of vessels already

employed on the Arctic search, declined

the offer.

A proposal was then made to me on

these terms, viz. : that I should provide a

crew, and what other fitments the vessel

needed, and proceeding to join the Arctic

squadron already in Lancaster Sound, de-

posit with them the provisions I had on

board, and return the same season to

England ; when, in order to defray all those

expenses, the vessel, with all her stores, &c.,

was to become my sole property.

A SUMMER SEARCH

FOR

SIE JOHN FRANKLIN

CHAPTER I.

The crew and officers who formed what the

newspapers called my "little band of spirited

adventurers," numbered seventeen, and consisted

of two ice-masters and a mate, a surgeon, an

engineer, a stoker, who was also a blacksmith,

two carpenters, a cook, and eight able seamen.

For myself, I resolved to have nothing different

from my crew, no servant, and my provisions

the same, and served at the same hours as

theirs ; by these means I hoped to prevent the

possibility of anything like discontent, should

hardships or privations be our lot.

Mr. Abemethy and Mr. Manson, the two

ice-masters, were both well known in the Arctic

B

2 A SUMMER SEARCH

circles," the former having been several times in

government expeditions, and the latter many

voyages in whaling pursuits.

Mr. Bardin, the engineer, had been origin-

ally engaged for the vessel by Captain Beatson,

and having superintended the construction of the

engines I was very glad to obtain his services.

Each of these officers, entering fully with me

into the spirit of our enterprise, agreed to go at

wages much below what they would have

received in the government service ; and to each

I feel my thanks are due for the manner in

which they came forward and offered themselves

unreservedly to me in this perilous undertaking.

Dr. Sutherland, the surgeon, having been

engaged in the previous arctic expedition under

Mr. Penny, and before that in two whaling

voyages, was, from his experience in the meteor-

ology of those climes, an invaluable acquisition

to our numbers.

His mate, Mr. Oyston, was formerly a

whaling master, and had been several voyages

FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 3

very extensive personal accommodation. My

cabin was not more than six feet square, having

a skylight at the top of a kind of trunk, which

passed through a store-room, built on the middle

of the quarter-deck. My bunk or sleeping

berth, was on the starboard side, four feet above

the deck, and could only be approached through

an aperture in a kind of wooden screen; and

certain convenient book shelves and lockers

were fitted in all the comers and angles, which

none but those accustomed to a seafaring life

could have sa ingeniously appropriated. A table,

two feet by two and a half, was fixed against

the bulk-head which separated ''the doctor's

cabin " from the captain's " state-room ;" the

former something smaller than the latter, the

bunk the same size, but arranged as the sleeping

berths of the doctor and Mr. Manson. The

engineer's cabin and Mr. Abemethy's occupied

positions on either side of the engine-room

hatch, so that, when the steam was up, they

enjoyed a temperature of a hundred Fahrenheit.

The boiler which was placed as low in the

bottom of the vessel as was practicable, lay fore

B 2

4 A SUMMER SEARCH

and aft, and was separated from the half-deck by

moveable hatches; and the engine, which was

composed of two direct action cylinders, on dia-

gonal beams placed like a V, occupied a very

small space immediately before the after-cabin,

and drove the screw shaft which passed beneath

it, by a circular plate carrying crank pins for the

connection of the drag-links, with a kind of ex-

pansive gearing, which worked by a lever, at.

once served to set the engine a-head or astern,

or by a more contracted scope to cut off a por-

tion of the steam, and thus virtually wire-draw-

ing it. Nothing can be more simple or do

better for a high pressure-engine, working con-

tinually at forty pounds on the square inch.

The half-deck contained on one side the mess

place for the officers, and on the other, the pro-

vision store, armoury, and the seamen's library.

From the mainmast, as far for'ward as the

foremast, the deck was filled with provisions of

every description, a bulk-heading of patent fuel

separating them from the men's mess place.

The water in tanks was stowed in the square of

the main hatchway.

FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 5

Upwards of forty-five tons of fuel occupied

the hold, and the upper deck was paved with

the same material, which completed our stock

to about ninety-seven tons.

A large space, forward, was bulk-headed off

for the magazine and sail room ; and a store of

bread and salt provisions was kept continually

on deck for an emergency, ready at a moment's

warning to be put over the side, should the

destruction of the vessel seem inevitable, either.

ftom the irresistible pressure of the ice, or from

striking on some sunken rock off the coast;

and the tackles of the long-boat were always

kept up and hooked ready for use at the shortest

notice.

Fearing light winds in the Pentland Firth,

we stood to the northward, and passing through

the Roost (as it is termed), took a departure

from Fair Island, of which we. lost sight at six

P.M. on the 12th of July, 1852.

A long swell from the N.W. seemed to indi-

cate that a gale had been blowing from that

quarter.

Baffing winds kept us from making much

A SUMMER SEARCH

progress, and on the 14th steam was got up,

to urge us forward, though it was most reluc-

tantly that I decided upon attacking our all-

important store of fuel ; moreover, deep as we

were I could not expect it to add much to her

speed, and indeed we only succeeded during a

stark calm, in going a-head three knots.

From the 15th to the 17th we spent in

struggling against light and adverse breezes,

occasionally resorting to the engine.

On Sunday the 18th, I gave out to the

people the Bibles and Prayer Books, which had

been generously supplied by the Society for the

Promotion of Christian Knowledge. Divine

service was performed in the forenoon, and it

was most satisfactory to see the attention of all

the crew to this important duty.

The 19th, we exchanged colours with an

English barque bound to the eastward, and on

the 20th two more sails were observed working

in the same direction. Our observations at

noon placed us in 58, 4' N. and 19, 44' W.,

leaving 796 miles yet to run to Cape Farewell.

25th. — Being Sunday, the crew were mus-

FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 7

tered, the lower deck inspected, and divine

service performed, after which I read to the men

one of those excellent discourses written for the

use of seamen by the Rev. Samuel Maddock.

At noon the latitude was found to be only 59° 18' N. and the longitude 28° 26' W.

Unsettled cloudy weather on the 26th and 27th precluded all observations, but we tried for

soundings with ninety fathoms— no bottom. 28th. — At noon by the sun's altitude we had

reached to 59° 23' N. and by chronometer to 36° 43' W.

The 29th, a succession of sudden squalls with

thick weather during the day, increased to a

heavy gale towards midnight, accompanied by

a heavy tumbling sea, during which a studding

sail boom was carried away and the sail nearly

lost in recovering the wreck.

The morning of the 30th broke with a perfect

hurricane of wind from E.S.E., the sea washing

our decks fore and aft, threatening our top

hamper, and washing away some planks and

spars that were ill secured on the quarters. At

two, the sea had risen so high and the vessel

8 A SUMMER SEARCH

laboured so much  that I deemed it advisable to

heave her to ; the water pouring down the hatch-

ways and flooding the lower deck warned us

of the proximity of the Foul Weather Cape, as

Gape Farewell is termed, vessels seldom passing

it without encountering a gale.

• At noon the weather moderated, and we stood

away to the northward, my reckoning and

observation determined the ship's position to

be in lat. 58° 52', and long, by chronometer.

No. 2186 of Arnold, 43° IT; or sixty miles

to the S.E. of Cape Farewell At two, p.m.,

land was reported from aloft, as seen on the

starboard-bow, and going upwards of eight knots

through the water, we soon rose it on the deck,

when every eye was eagerly bent to catch the

first glimpse of the snow-capped mountains.

Towards sunset we were well in with the land.

Bold, rugged, and tempest riven, the coast

seemed to partake the character given by

Greenland sailors to the weather always ex-

perienced off its inhospitable shores. A

stormy Petrel flying on board was easily cap-

tured, the poor little creature had lost one leg.

FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 9

and though the stump was perfectly healed, I

doubt not the want of it occasioned its capture,

as these birds use {heir feet as a rudder to

guide them in their flight.

By eight p.m., we had sighted several icebergs,

the smoothness of the water, and its low tem-

perature, 33°, now warned us of the proximity

of ice in considerable quantity.

Ere midnight we were surrounded by bergs

and floe pieces, the Isabel, however, elbowed

her way on, pushing rudely aside those pieces

which she could not make it convenient to

avoid, and occasionally striking some sturdy one

with which she had not carefully measured her

strength, and these blows, as we were passing

through the water at the rate of seven knots,

making her tremble from stem to stem ; still

on she went, and seemed like myself glad to

have really got amongst her work.

I felt at first extremely solicitous about the

screw, dreading that some of the floe pieces

which had long projecting tongues under water

would catch it. I soon however perceived, that

when the bow struck a piece of ice, it either

•J

10 A SUMMER SEARCH

received a whirling motion, which would assist

in clearing itself from anything that it might

encounter abaft; or on the other hand, that

bounding off to a respectable distance, if not

large, it was set by the ripple from the bow,

away on the vessel's quarter ; to make all sure

however, I had the screw disconnected, and thus

left free to accommodate itself to any pressure

it might receive from external causes. To have

raised it would only have endangered it the

more, as it could not have been lifted high

enough to clear the water, deep as we were.

I could not help remarking how singularly

different the character and formation of these

bergs were, to those I had seen off Cape Horn.

The latter being so much more ice-like, and

these appearing as if made out of snow pressed

into unwieldly masses.

About one a.m., Mr. Manson, who was on the

foretopsail yard, reported that we seemed to be

running into a bight in the pack, out of which,

had it once fairly entrapped us, would have cost

hours to beat. He advised that we should

wear round some loose pieces on our lee beam.

FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 11

and thus head her off the way we came in —

the hands were speedily turned up, and the wind

leading her away to the S.W. soon brought us

into clear water.

This was my first introduction to the ice, and'

glad I was when I found that we had fairly

cleared the stream that had stopped our onward

progress.

The 31st was fine and the sun shining brightly,

we eagerly seized the opportunity of drying the

bedding and clothes which had been drenched

by the gale of the 29th. Two corona were

observed this morning through the thick fog

that enveloped us till the sun had acquired

strength sufficient to disperse it— the outer one

of purple; the inner of a brilliant orange.

Shortly after noon the wind fell, when the

steam was got up and we screwed our way

midst the drifting ice and heavy bergs which

intercepted our path.

Doctor Sutherland busied himself with his

towing-net and found abundance of animal life.

The forms he particularly observed were the

Cetochilus Arcticus and the Sagita. Medusm

12' A SUMMER SEARCH

were very abundant and so completely clogged

the net that in a few minutes it was with diffi-

culty it could be drawn in.

August the 1st dawned upon us with strong

breezes from N.W. and thick drizzling mist.

Whilst working to windward, shortly before

noon, we suddenly found the little Isabel run-

ning stem on, and within a few fathoms of a

gigantic berg ; there was no time to wear, and

had not she been very ready at stays, a few

moments would have sufficed to send us to our

long home, as neither the precipitous base of

this enormous ice island, nor its inhospitable

front, showed a single crevice or projection by

which one man could have been saved.

We were, however, mercifully spared from

such an awful death, and a short tack to wind-

ward enabled us to clear it when we next stayed.

Midst this uncertain weather and dangerous

navigation, I was compelled to give up our

meeting for divine service in the forenoon, and

strong breezes, which obliged us to reef the top-

sails, kept us all on the alert during the rest of

the day.

FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. 13

In the evening, I sent to invite any of the

officers and men who were so disposed, to come

to my cabin for prayers, and I was glad to find

it soon so crowded that it would contain no

more; for the future, therefore, I determined,

when the weather permitted, to have a regular

Sunday evening service on the lower deck.

On the 2nd, the wind becoming lighter, the

steam was got up, and we soon found it a great

advantage, in plying to windward, to keep our

screw at work. The wind gradually freshening,

the fires were banked up, and we pressed her on

with all the sail that she could carry. The

thick weather of the last two days had prevented

our getting observations, and it was, therefore,

charming to learn from the pole star, and from

the moon, on the morning of the 3rd, that we

had advanced to the latitude, of 60° 21,

An Aurora Borealis was observed at midnight

of the 4th, which illumined the whole of the

southern sky with its variegated coruscations of

brilliant light. During the following day we

stood in to within eight miles of the shore, and

it was supposed that we were off Omenarsuk.

14 A SUMMER SEARCH

We obtained soundings in thirty-five fathoms—

sand and broken shells.

Mr. Abemethy, having received a hurt from

a tank falling on his leg, I kept the morning

watch, and was well repaid by the sight of as

glorious a sunrise as ever gladdened the face of

nature; the yellow tints of the golden orb

shedding their refulgence on the rude and

grotesque masses of ice scattered here and there ;

and the land just tipped on its snow-capped

heights by his beams seemed to hail the warmth

which would soon send the melting torrents

down its steep glaciers, or hurl its frozen masses

on the deep, there to be slowly carried to the

mild Atlantic, to be dissolved, and to drop their

burdens — huge lumps of rock and earth — ,to the

bottom, thus performing nature's endless work

of decay and renovation. To no one whose

mind is not wholly engrossed by the world and

its busy matters can a sunrise fail to lead his

thoughts heavenward, and when that is amidst

the most glorious and stupendous of Nature's

works, how must the reflective man turn his

thoughts to the All Wise Creator, whose foot-

FOR  JOHN FRANKLIN 15.

stool is the earth, and who " measureth out the

waters in the hollow of his hand." What in-

significant beings we become even in our own

estimation, when we reflect on His Majesty, His

Wisdom, and His Power,

Such thoughts involuntarily presented them-

selves to me, and I rejoiced in the chance which

had led me to the contemplation of such a noble

scene, as that I now beheld ; heightened as it

occasionally was by the hoarse surge of the

waters as they rolled into the caverns of some

mountain of ice, or by the roar of some other

berg while rent in twain with the noise of a

park of a thousand artillery, and scattered over

the water in showers of fragments for miles

around.

Stormy weather on the 5th and 6th pre-

vented our making much progress, and the beat

thing that we could do was to keep plenty of

sea-room ; but all anxiously looking forward

to a change of weather, as the lateness of the

season rendered it most desirable we should lose

no time in getting on our searching ground.