THE GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SEARCHING EXPEDITIONS AFTER SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. THE following is a complete list of the several relief and exploring vessels which have been sent out during the last two years by the British government, by private individuals, and by the American nation : Ships. 1. H. M. S. Enterprise Men 68 Commanders. Capt. Collinson. 2. H. M. S. Investigator - 65 Com. M'Clure. 3. H. M. S. Plover 52 Com. Moore. 68 60 Capt. H. Austin. 30 Lieut. S. Osborn. 38 - 25 Lieut. Cator. Mr. Penny. 13. Mary, (tender to the Felix.) 14. The North Star, Master and Commander Saunders. 15. The Prince Albert - 18 Com. Forsyth. Of these vessels the Enterprise, Investigator, and Plover, are at present engaged on the western branch of search through Behring's Straits. The rest have all proceeded through Baffin's Bay to Lancaster Sound, and the channels branching out from thence, except the last two, which have returned home. VOYAGE OF THE "ENTERPRISE" AND “INVESTIGATOR" UNDER CAPTAIN SIR JAMES C. Ross, 1848-49. In the spring of 1848, Captain Sir James C. Ross was placed in command of a well found and fitted expedition, with means and advantages of unusual extent, and with an object that could not fail to stimulate in the highest degree the energies and perseverance of all embarked in it. With the ever present feeling, too, that the lives of their countrymen and brother sailors depended, (under God's good providence,) upon their unflinching exertions, Captain Ross and his followers went forth in the confident hope that their efforts might be crowned with success. The season was considerably advanced before the whole of the arrangements were completed, for it was not until the 12th of June, 1848, that Captain Ross left England, having under his charge the Enterprise and Investigator, with the following officers and crews :-Enterprise, 540 tons. Captain-Sir James C. Ross. Lieutenants-R. J. L. M'Clure, F. L. McClintock, and W. H. J. Browne. Master W. S. Couldery, (acting.) Total complement, 68. Investigator, 480 tons. Captain-E. J. Bird. Lieutenants-M. G. H. W. Ross, Frederick Robinson and J. J. Barnard. Master-W. Tatham. Surgeon - Robert Anderson. Mates L. J. Moore and S. G. Cresswell. Second Master-John H. Allard. Assistant-Surgeon - E. Adams. Clerk in Charge-James D. Gilpin. The ships reached the Danish settlement of Uppernavick, situated on one of the group of Woman's Islands on the western shore of Baffin's Bay, on the 6th of July Running through this intricate archipelago, thev were made fast, on the 20th, to an iceberg aground off Cape Shackleton. The ships were towed, during the next few days, through loose streams of ice, and on the morning of the 26th were off the three islands of Baffin in latitude 74° N. Calms and light winds so greatly impeded any movement in the pack, that day after day passed away until the season had so far advanced as to preclude every hope of accomplishing much, if any thing, before the setting in of winter. No exertions, however, were spared to take advantage of every opportunity of pushing forward, until, on the 20th of August, during a heavy breeze from the northeast, the ships under all sail bored through a pack of ice of but moderate thickness, but having among it heavy masses, through which it was necessary to drive them at all hazards. The shocks the ships sustained during this severe trial were great, but fortunately without serious damage to them. Getting into clear water in lat. 75 N., and long. 68° W., on the 23d the ships stood in to Pond's Bay, but no traces of Esquimaux or other human beings were discovered, although signals were made and guns fired at repeated intervals. The ships were kept close to the land, and a rigid examination made of the coast to the northward, so that neither people nor boats could have passed without being seen. On the 26th the ships arrived off Possession Bay, and a party was sent on shore to search for any traces of the expedition having touched at this general point of rendezvous. Nothing was found but the paper left there recording the visit of Sir Edward Parry, on the very day (August 30th) in 1819. From this point the examination of the coast was continued with equal care. On the 1st of September they arrived off Cape York, and a boat's crew was sent on shore, to fix a conspicuous mark, and leave information for the guidance of any future party that might touch here. I shall now take up the narrative in Sir James Ross's own words- "We stood over toward northeast cape until we came in with the edge of a pack, too dense for us to penetrate, lying between us and Leopold Island, about fourteen miles broad; we therefore coasted the north shore of Barrow's Strait, to seek a harbor further to the westward, and to examine the numerous inlets of that shore. Maxwell Bay, and several smaller indenta. tions, were thoroughly explored, and, although we got near the entrance of Wellington Channel, the firm barrier of ice which stretched across it, and which had not broken away this season, convinced us all was imprac ticable in that direction. We now stood to the south. west to seek for a harbor near Cape Rennell, but found a heavy body of ice extending from the west of Cornwallis Island in a compact mass to Leopold_Island. Coasting along the pack during stormy and foggy weather, we had difficulty in keeping the ships free during the nights, for I believe so great a quantity of ice was never before seen in Barrow's Strait at this period of the season." Fortunately, after some days of anxious and arduous work, the ships were got through the pack, and secured in the harbor of Port Leopold on the 11th of September. No situation could be better adapted for the purpose than this locality; being at the junction of the four great channels of Barrow's Strait, Lancaster Sound, Prince Regent Inlet, and Wellington Channel, it was hardly possible for any party, after abandoning their ships, to pass along the shores of any of those inlets, without finding indications of the proximity of these ships. The night following the very day of the ships' getting in, the main pack closed with the land, and completely sealed the mouth of the harbor. The long winter was passed in exploring and surveying journeys along the coasts in all directions. During the winter as many as fifty white foxes were taken alive, in traps made of empty casks set for the purpose. As it was well known how large a tract of country these animals traverse in search of food, copper collars, (upon which a notice of the position of the ships and depots of provisions was engraved,) were clinched round their necks, and they were then set free, in the hope that some of these four tooted messengers might be the means of conveying the intelligence to the Erebus and Terror, as the crews of those vessels would naturally be eager for their capture. The months of April and May were occupied by Capt. Ross, Lieut. McClintock, and a party of twelve men, in examining and thoroughly exploring all the inlets and smaller indentations of the northern and western coasts of Boothia peninsula, in which any ships might have found shelter. From the high land in the neighborhood of Cape Bunny, Capt. Ross obtained a very extensive view, and observed that the whole space between it and Cape Walker to the west, and Wellington Strait to the north, was occupied by very heavy hummocky ice. "The examination of the coast," Sir James Ross tells us, was pursued until the 5th of June, when, having consumed more than half our provisions, and the strength of the party being much reduced, I was reluctantly compelled to abandon further operations, as it was, moreover, necessary to give the men a day of rest. But that the time might not wholly be lost, I proceeded with two hands to the extreme south point in sight from our encampment, distant about eight or nine miles." This extreme point is situate in lat. 72° 38′ N., and long. 95° 40′ W., and is the west face of a small high peninsula. The state of the atmosphere being at the time peculiarly favorable for distinctness of vision, land of any great elevation might have been seen at the distance of 100 miles. The highest cape of the coast was not more than fifty miles distant, bearing nearly due south. A very narrow isthmus was found to separate Prince Regent Inlet from the western sea at Cresswell and Brentford Bays. The ice in this quarter proved to be eight feet thick. A large cairn of stones was erected, and on the 6th of June, the return journey was commenced. After encountering a variety of difficulties they reached the ships on the 23d, so completely worn out by fatigue, that every man was, from some cause or other, in the doctor's hands for two or three weeks. During their absence, Mr Matthias, the assistant-surgeon |