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Arctic expeditions from British and foreign shores from the earliest times to the expedition of 1875-76

Smith, D. Murray

Glasgow [etc.], 1877

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

Shelf Mark: Rar 2769

Persistent Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-16305

Chapter IV. Search expedition under Captains Austin and Ommanney in the "Resolute" and "Assistance."

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CHAPTER IY .

SEARCH EXPEDITION UNDER CAPTAINS AUSTIN AND OMMANNEY IN THE “ RESOLUTE” AND “ ASSISTANCE.”

Though the Government in 1850 wisely resolved to enlist the knowledge and experience of the chief of the whaling captains of the period in the search for Franklin , Penny ’s expedition in the “ Lady Franklin ” and “ Sophia ” was regarded as merely supplementary to the great naval expedi¬ tion sent out under Captains Austin and Ommanney in the same season. Horatio Thomas Austin entered the navy in 1813, served in the American war under Hardy , and gained fruitful experience of navigation when serving as first in the “ Fury ” ( Hoppner ) in Parry ’s third Arctic voyage in 1824-25. Recommended for Arctic service by his old captain , Sir Edward Parry , Austin was appointed to the command of the great expedition of 1850, consisting of four vessels—the “ Resolute ” and “ Assistance ,” with their tenders , the “ Pioneer ” and “ Intrepid ,” both screw steamers . The “ Resolute ” and “ Assistance ” were sailing ships rigged as barques , the former 410 tons and the latter 430 tons burthen , and each car¬ rying sixty officers and men. The steamers “ Pioneer ” and “ Intrepid ” were sister vessels of 400 tons , with screw propellers of 60 horse -power , and rigged as three -masted schooners . Captain Austin , the commander of the expedition , hoisted his flag in the “ Resolute ,” and was supported by Captain in the “ Assistance ; ” the “ Pioneer ” was commanded by Lieutenant , and the “ Intrepid ” by Lieutenant J . B. Cator . This expedition , the most complete and effective that had ever left the British shores for the Arctic seas, was fully provisioned for three years. The ships sailed from England on the 3d May 1850, passed Cape Wrath on the 15th, and after a prosperous voyage across the Atlantic , reached the Whalefish Islands , to the south of Disco, on the 16th June . Resuming the voyage on the 25th, the ships proceeded northward past Disco and Upper - navik . Writing on the following day, the 26th, Sherard Osborn, com¬ mander of the “ Pioneer ,” thus reports progress : “ In the first watch , the ‘Lady Franklin ’ and ‘Sophia ’ were seen by us fast between loose flat pieces, 518 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH —IMNol . to seaward of which we continued to flirt. The ‘Intrepid ’ and ‘Pioneer ’ were now to be seen trying their bows upon every bit of ice we could get near without getting into a scrape with our commodore, and from the ease with which they cut through the rotten stuff" around our position , I already foresaw a fresh era in Arctic voyaging, and that the fine bows would soon beat the bluffs out of the field.” On the 1st July , Captain Austin signalled the screw steamers to “ take ships in tow.” There was a lane of open water leading northward , “ and ,” says Osborn , “ with a leaping heart we entered the lead, having the ‘Pesolute ’ fast by the nose with a six-inch hawser . What looked impassable at ten miles distance ,” continues the commander of the steamer , “ was an open lead when close to. Difficulties vanish when they are faced, and the very calm which rendered the whalers unable to take advantage of a loose pack was just the thing for steamers . Away we went past berg, past floe, winding in and out quietly yet steadily , and the whalers were soon astern . Penny , the inde¬ fatigable , was seen struggling along the shore with his boats ahead, towing , and every stitch of sail set to catch the slightest cat ’s-paw ; we soon passed him too. The water ahead increased as we advanced , and we found, as is well known to be the case, that the pack-edge is always the tightest part of it.” The neighbourhood of Devil ’s Thumb was reached on the 4th July , and on Sunday the 7th, Lieutenant Osborn entertained Captain Stewart of the whaler “ Joseph Green,” to dinner in the “ Pioneer .” Captain Stewart , father of the commander of the “ Sophia ” in Penny ’s expedition , was a most interesting personage in the eyes of the officers of the “ Pioneer .” His racy sketches of life on board a whaler were in no small degree fascinating to his naval hearers , and it was not without a certain degree of awe that they gazed upon a man who assured them that “ he had not seen corn grow, nor eaten fresh gooseberries , for thirty years ! although he had been at home every winter .” He was now advanced in years, yet he spoke with the enthu¬ siasm of youth about the excitement and the perils of his calling. “ We are the only people ,” he said, “ who follow the whale and kill him in spite of the ice and cold.” Osborn was proud to recognise a brother seaman in such a hardy and gallant old sportsman of the deep. “ This worthy old Scottish fisherman ,” Osborn informs us, “ perished next year off Spitzbergen . His ship was caught between two fields of ice, and as she was sinking , he rushed down to save a sick sailor, and sank with the ship that had so long been his home.” The power and value of steam in ice-navigation was clearly demonstrated for the first time in the expedition under consideration . When the whalers found it impossible to advance , Osborn and Cator, in the “ Pioneer ” and “ Intrepid ,” were always able to make some progress . They charged floes six inches thick , and pushed , without apprehension , into old and decayed ice of PO WER OF STEAM AMONG ICE. 519

much greater thickness . After charging an ice-barrier ineffectually, they reversed the engines, drew back a short distance , and then , putting on full steam , rushed forward again to deliver a second blow—often with the desired effect. The whalers were all delighted with the performance of the steam vessels in the ice ; and it was acknowledged that the employment of the screw propeller marked the commencement of a new era in Arctic naviga¬ tion. Captain Penny candidly confessed that he never thought the screw steamers would have answered so well, and regretted that he had not had a steam vessel. “ Our seamen,” says Osborn , on the lltli July , “ fully appreciated the good service the screw had done them ; they had now been eleven days in the ice, during every day of which period they had witnessed it working effectually under every circumstance . They had seen the crews of the whalers labouring at the track -line, at the oar, and in making and shortening sail, both by day and by night , whilst our crews had nothing to do beyond taking the ships in tow and casting them off again.” But the ships referred to, the “ Resolute ” and “ Assistance ,” were wretched sailers. They had been filled up with dead wood—by way of strengthening them against the ice—until they lay like logs on the water , and, even under fairly favourable conditions , could not be dragged by the steamers at a rate much quicker than three knots an hour . Being thus heavily handicapped , Osborn and Cator found that they worked under great disadvantages , and that the whalers , which were handled with the utmost skill and daring by Penny and his fellow captains , made as rapid progress as the captains of the naval squadron . But for being hampered with the “ Resolute ” and “ Assist¬ ance,” the steam vessels might have made a comparatively early passage northward , between the sea and land ice of Melville Bay. As it was, they were continually delayed and exposed to the danger of being nipped in the enclosing ice. Between the 20tli and 31st July , only seven miles had been made in the right direction . Little or no progress was made during the first week in August . At length , on the 9th, Penny ’s squadron having gone on in advance , in a lake of water toward Cape York , the wedge-bow of the “ Pioneer ,” with full steam on, was brought to bear upon the ice. “ In one hour ,” writes Osborn , “ we were past a barrier which had checked our advance for three long weary days. All was joy and excitement ; the steamers themselves seemed to feel and know their work , and exceeded even our sanguine expectations ; and to every one’s delight , we were this evening allowed to carry on a system of ice-breaking , which will doubtless , in future Arctic voyages, be carried out with great success. For instance , a piece of a floe, two or three hundred yards broad , and three feet thick , pre¬ vented our progress ; the weakest and narrowest part of it being ascertained , tiie (sailing) ships were secured as close as possible, without obstructing the steam vessels , the major part of the crews being despatched to the line 520 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH —1848-51. where the cut was to be made , with tools and gunpowder for blasting , and plenty of short hand -lines and claws. The (Pioneer ’ and ‘Intrepid ’ then in turn rushed at the floe, breaking their way through it, until the impetus gained in the open water was lost by the resistance of the ice. .The word ‘Stop her ! Back turn , easy !’ was then given, and the screw went astern , carrying with her tons of ice, which the blue-jackets , who attended on the forecastle and others on broken pieces of the floe, held on by. As the one vessel went astern the other flew ahead to her work . The operation was, moreover, aided by the explosions of powder ; and altogether the scene was a highly interesting and instructive one. It was a fresh laurel in the screw’s wreath . The gallant ‘Intrepid ’ gave a coup-de-grdce to the mass, which sent it ‘coach-wheeling ’ round , as it is termed ; . . . and we were next morn¬ ing in the true lead, and our troubles in Melville Bay were at an end.” It was on the 10th August that Captain Austin ’s ships succeeded in shaking themselves clear of the ice of Melville Bay. The air was now calm, the water smooth , and the “ Intrepid ” and “ Pioneer ” steamed away north¬ ward , with the “ Besolute ” and “ Assistance ” in tow. Soon the screws overhauled the “ Felix ,” in which Sir John Boss had come out to assist in the search for Franklin , and the “ Prince Albert ” schooner , which had been sent out for the same purpose , under the command of Captain Forsyth . The steamers took the schooners also in tow, and the whole squadron pro¬ ceeded northward for some time together . On the 13th Cape York was in sight . In this neighbourhood two precious days were lost in investigating the report of the miscreant Adam Beck, who had completely imposed upon Sir John Boss, with the fantastical story of the burning of two English ships, supposed to be the “ Erebus ” and “ Terror ,” and the massacre of their crews. As already mentioned , the mischievous story proved , on examina¬ tion, to be wholly unfounded . On the 15th the “ Pioneer ,” with the “ Beso¬ lute ” and “ Prince Albert ” in tow, steered away westward , reached the west water , a wide reach of sea unencumbered with ice, and then made for the mouth of Lancaster Sound . Here the “ Prince Albert ” was cast off to pro¬ ceed on its way to Begent Inlet , while the “ Besolute ” and its tender pro¬ ceeded to Pond ’s and Possession Bays, the shores of which they searched unavailingly for cairns or other relics that might have been left by the miss¬ ing expedition . On the 22d the vessels entered Lancaster Sound . The great inlet was regarded with intense interest by the young officers of both vessels. Steering for the north shore, the ships reached Croker Bay, between Cape Warrender and Cape Home , on the 25th ; thence they steered for . Driven north by a furious gale, they were sailing westward off Cape Hurd on the 27th, and on the evening of the 28th they had pushed into a passage between Cape Bicketts and , when a boat in sight was reported from the mast -head . The boat carried Captain Stewart AT BEECHEY ISLAND. 521

and Dr Sutherland of the “ Sophia,” and these gentlemen were the first to communicate to Captain Austin and Lieutenant Osborn the stirring intelli¬ gence of the traces found on Cape Riley and Becchey Island . We have been hitherto following the fortunes of the commodore’s ship and tender . It is now necessary to revert for a moment to the “ Assist¬ ance ” and “ Intrepid .” These vessels, after having visited Wolstenholme Sound, entered Lancaster Sound on the 18th August , and passing Cape Warrender , landed at, and named , Dundas Harbour . On the 23d, the “ Assistance ” and “ Intrepid ” reached Cape Riley . A boat ’s crew was sent on shore to erect a cairn on the cape, “ and,” writes Clements R. Mark¬ ham, midshipman under Ommanney in the “ Assistance ,” “ at this point the first traces of Sir were found. Pieces of rope, preserved meat tins , and other remains were strewn upon the beach, while higher up the cliff was a cairn of stones and a few charges of shot strewn about . All this created the greatest excitement , and conjecture was rife as to whence these remains had come ; but at length the discovery of the name ‘Goldner ’ marked upon the meat tins —the contractor who had supplied Sir John Franklin with provisions — proved to a certainty that a party from the £Erebus ’ and ‘ Terror ’ had been at Cape Riley.” A cairn was afterwards seen on Beechey Island , and a boat from the “ Intrepid ” was sent away to examine it. It was soon torn down, every stone of it turned over, and the ground in the neighbourhood dug up, but without result . Ho record or document of any kind was found . A lead of water now opening up in the direction of , Captain Ommanney resolved to take advan¬ tage of it and proceed westward . His discoveries on Cape Riley were barren as far as he or his officers were concerned . He regarded them as merely the traces of a shipwrecked or retreating party from the “ Erebus ” and “ Terror .” Meantime , the clue thus lightly picked up and as lightly let go again was eagerly seized by Captain Penny , who exclaimed that he “ would take up the search from Cape Riley like a bloodhound .” With what success he prosecuted this search has already been stated in our narrative of the gallant captain ’s voyage in the “ Lady Franklin ” and “ Sophia.” He was, however , materially assisted in his investigations by the officers of Captain Austin ’s ex¬ pedition , with the achievements of which we are at present chiefly concerned . After receiving from Captain Stewart the news of the discoveries on Eeecliey Island , Lieutenant Osborn steered for Union Bay, where the “ Resolute ” and “ Pioneer ” arrived on the 28th August . On the following day Osborn , with a searching party , went ashore to examine Franklin ’s first Winter quarters . He discovered the remains of a garden , oval in shape , and ■With a border carefully formed of moss, lichen, poppies, and anemones , and afterwards came on the foundation of a storehouse . Still later , he noted an °ld water -course, now frozen up, and knew from the tubs by its banks that this 10 3 u 522 THE FRANKLIN SEARCH —1848-51. was the wasliing-place of Franklin ’s men. He picked up a pair of cashmere gloves lying on a patch of level ground , with a small stone upon the palm of each to prevent its being blown away. They had been put out to dry, and had remained as they had been placed for four years . He afterwards inspected the three graves already mentioned , and, walking to the east extremity of the island , he came to where “ a very neatly -paved piece of ground denoted a tent place .” In a gully near it “ a shooting -gallery had been established , the ranges marked off by stones placed at proper distances , and a large tin marked ‘Soup and Bouilli,’ perforated with balls, had served for a target .” He walked out with Captain Penny to examine some sledge marks that had been reported , and found that some ran towards Cape Riley, others swept northward through a ravine towards the interior , “ whilst the remainder pointed to Caswell’s Tower, a remarkable mass of limestone , which, isolated at the bottom of Radstock Bay, forms a conspicuous object to a vessel approaching this neighbourhood from the eastward or westward .” The vicinity of this rocky monument was subsequently examined ; but though several cairns had been erected here , no document was discovered . It was agreed that this spot had been one of the stations for shooting wild¬ fowl and hares . After mentioning these reliquary localities , Osborn says : “ I have now enumerated all the important traces left by Sir John Franklin ’s squadron in its first wintering place . To them at all hours of the day and night parties from the eight vessels in our company were constantly wending their way. Every one felt that there was something so inexplicable in the non-discovery of any record , some written evidence of the intentions of Franklin and Crozier on leaving this spot , that each of us kept on returning to again search over the ground , in the hope that it had been merely over¬ looked in the feverish haste of the first discovery of the cairns by Captain Ommanney and Captain Penny . One great good, however , resulted from the discovery of these traces —the safe passage of Franklin across the dangers of was no longer a question . This was a certainty , and it only re¬ mained for us to ascertain which route he had taken , and then to follow him.” At this stage of the search , many of the officers of the different expedi¬ tions regarded Wellington Channel as being the passage into which Sir John carried his ships after leaving Erebus and , between Beechey Island and the mainland , in which they had undoubtedly been moored during the winter of 1845-46. We have seen that Captain Ommanney had already steered for this channel in the “ Assistance ” and “ Intrepid ,” and had left the search at Beechey Island to be prosecuted by Penny and Austin . It was in the beginning of September that Ommanney left Cape Riley , and commenced to push westward for the mouth of the channel , at the middle of which he soon arrived , only, however , to be hemmed in by ice. There was every likelihood of the “ Assistance ” being here crushed to pieces. WINTER QUARTERS REACHED. 523

Midshipman Markham tells us that every one on board was told off to one or other of the ship’s boats , that the provisions were had up on deck, and every preparation made for getting on the ice and deserting the “ Assist¬ ance ” when the last crash should take place . The amenities of the situation were not improved by the presence of a number of bears that now came, prowling about the ship on the look-out for seals. Of the sagacity and courage of these animals, Mr Markham was not too much overwhelmed by the peril of his situation to note instances . “ On one occasion,” he says, “ I saw a bear swimming across a lane of water , and pushing a large piece of ice before him. Landing on the floe, he advanced stealthily toward a couple of seals, which were basking in the sun at some little distance , still holding the ice in front to hide his black muzzle ; but this most sagacious of bears was for once outwitted , for the seals dived into a pool of water before he could get within reach . On another occasion a female Bruin having been shot from the deck of the ‘Intrepid ,’ her affectionate cub (an animal about the size of a large Newfoundland dog) remained resolutely by the side of its mother , and on the approach of the commander of the ‘In¬ trepid ’ with part of his crew, a sort of tournament ensued , in which the youthful bear , although belaboured most savagely, showed a gallant resist¬ ance, and at length rushing between the legs of the corporal of marines , laid him prostrate on the ice, floored another man who had seized hold of his tail , and effected his escape.” After several days of great peril and anxiety the wind changed , the ice slacked off, and the “ Assistance ” advanced along the southern shore of Wellington Channel . “ The land we now entered upon,” says Markham , “ was entirely new . Parry indeed had sighted it ; but no human being was ever before known to have landed on any part of the coast between Cape Riley and . There was therefore all the novelty of a new discovery, as we coasted along the southern shores of Cornwallis Island , and came upon a fine bay which was named Assistance Harbour . “ Proceeding to the westward , our progress was stopped by a solid barrier of ice, reaching from Griffith Island to Cape Walker ; and here we were joined by the ‘Resolute ,’ ‘Pioneer ,’ the American expedition , and Mr Penny ’s brigs . The season for work, however, was nearly at an end ; the cold was becoming intense , and it was soon found necessary to seek for safe winter quarters . Mr Penny succeeded in reaching Assistance Harbour , where he wintered with Sir John Ross ; and our squadron was secured to a field of ice between Cornwallis and Griffith Islands . Thus concluded the Working season of 1850. We were now destined to pass the winter further West than any vessel since 1819, and there to prepare for those great efforts for the discovery of Sir John Franklin which were developed during the following spring.”