permit the vessel to pass was cut through. This channel was then cleared of the ice by the use of Copeland's blasting cylinders.

On the 6th of August Captain Kennedy and his crew joyfully bade farewell to Batty Eay, where the Prince Albert had remained three hundred and thirty days. In Elwin Bay they were detained a whole week by the compact masses of ice which still obstructed the sea. On the 17th, the ice suddenly cleared away, and they then steered for Beechey Island. At this point they met the "North Star," from England, commanded by Captain Pullen, which had been despatched by the British Admiralty, to pursue the search after Sir John Franklin.

Having completed the object of the expedition, as far as had been in his power, though without any very satisfactory results, Captain Kennedy on the 24th of August bore away for England, leaving the North Star preparing to winter at Beechey Island, and carrying with him the latest dispatches for the Admiraity from Commander Pullen. He wished to touch on his voyage at Navy Board Inlet, hoping to be able to ascertain the state of the stores which had been placed there. Two unsuccessful attempts to accomplish this purpose were defeated, and Captain Kennedy was then compelled by stress of weather, to relinquish that design. On the 21st of September the Prince Albert reached Cape Farewell; and on the 7th of October, she anchored in Aberdeen Harbor. Six weeks had elapsed since the commencement of her homeward-bound voyage. The entire expedition had occupied the period altogether of fifteen months. During their winter stay at Whaler Point, many of the men had traveled two thousand miles in excursions in various directions. The expedition settled the point, that Sir John Franklin could not have advanced by Cape Walker, but had taken the northern route through Queen Channel and Penny trait; and that traces of his fate could alone be

found from the westward or Behring's Straits. Yet there too, other researches, equally sagacious, persevering and thorough, have all unfortunately proved equally unsuccessful!

ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS; THE SECOND GRINNELL EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN IN 1853, '54, '55, BY DR. E. K. KANE, IN THE BRIG "ADVANCE."

IN December, 1852, Dr. Kane received his orders from the Navy Department at Washington, to conduct an expedition into the Arctic regions in search of the great English navigator. The ship "Advance," in which he had formerly sailed, was placed under his command. He immediately proceeded to select his crew, to equip the vessel, and to make the other preparations which were necessary. His party numbered seventeen picked men, all of whom had volunteered to try with him the perilous vicissitudes of his daring venture. The brig sailed from the port of New York, on the 30th of May, 1853; and in eighteen days arrived at St. Johns, New Foundland. After providing themselves at this place with an additional stock of fresh meat, and a valuable team of Newfoundland dogs, they steered for the coast of Greenland.

The avowed purpose of this second Arctic journey of Dr. Kane was, to explore what he believed to be the probable extension of the northern promontory of the peninsula of Greenland. He also thought that the extreme northern headland of this frozen region undoubtedly contained and would exhibit traces of the lost navigators. He supposed that the chain of the great land-masses of Greenland might extend very far toward the North Pole; that Sir John Franklin might also have been attracted by this theory, and might have pursued this route; and that by a thorough search in that direction, the utmost limits of which had not yet been invaded or explored by his

bold and adventurous predecessors, some light might not only be obtained to solve the great enigma which still engrossed the wonder of men, but also new and independent discoveries might be made in that unknown region.

On the 1st of July Dr. Kane entered the harbor of Fiskernoes, one of the Danish settlements of Greenland. This obscure and lonely community is supported by their trade in codfish. The strangers were received with simple hospitality by Mr. Lazzen, the superintendent of the colony. Some fresh provisions were here also obtained, and an Esquimaux hunter of superior skill was enlisted in the service of the party. Proceeding on from this point, the other Danish settlements of Greenland were successively visitedLichtenfels, Sukkertoppen, Proven, Upernavick, at the last of which places the first Grinnell expedition of 1851 had rested after its winter drift. At length they reached Yotlik, the most northern point in Greenland inhabited by human beings. Beyond this the coast may be regarded as having been until that period, unexplored. From Yotlik, Dr. Kane steered northward toward Baffin's Islands, which he found then clear of ice; and passing by Duck Island, bore away for Wilcox Point. As he approached Melville Bay he was enveloped in a thick fog, during the preva lence of which he drifted among the icebergs. Af ter a hard day's work with the boats, they towed the brig away from these unpleasant and dangerous neighbors. He then determined to stand westward, and double Melville Bay by an outside passage, unless prevented and intercepted by the pack. In executing this purpose he concluded, in order to avoid the drifting floes, to anchor to an ice-berg. Eight hours were spent in the severe labor of warping, heav ing, and planting the anchors. But scarcely had this task been finished, when the attention of the crew was attracted by a loud crackling sound aloft. Small fragments of ice began to descend. The ship became in

imminent peril from the falling fragments of the dissolving mountain. Scarcely had she cast off from the ice-berg, when the face of it descended in ruins upon the sea, crashing and roaring with a thunder not unlike that of artillery.

On the 5th of August they passed the "Crimson Cliffs," so called, from the appearance usually presented by their snow-clad summits. Next day they reached Hakluyt Island; which is surmounted by a tall spire springing six hundred feet into the heavens above the level of the water. They soon passed Capes Alexander and Isabella, and thus entered Smith's Sound. Having reached Littleton Island, Dr. Kane determined to deposit here a supply of provisions, and some permanent traces of his route, to be used in case it should be necessary afterward to send an exploring party to discover the fate of his own. The life-boat was accordingly buried here, containing a supply of pemmican, blankets, and India rubber cloth. They endeavored to fortify the precious deposit from the claws of the Polar bear. And here on this lonely spot, the party were surprised to find the traces of Esquimaux life. The ruins of stone huts, and even the frozen corpses of the dead were discovered; and so singular had been the action of the intense cold upon the dead bodies, that though they had probably occupied their cheerless homes for a century, they were still not decomposed.

The 20th of August still found the brig and her gallant crew navigating the dangerous and ice-ladened waters of Smith's Sound. At this date they encountered a storm of extraordinary fury; and made one of those narrow escapes from destruction, which sometimes give an air more of romance than of reality to the adventures of Arctic explorers. In a terrific gale their three hawsers were broken, and the brig drifted with fearful rapidity under the furious pressure of the storm. Only by the utmost heroism and skill was the Advance kept from being dashed to

pieces against the mountains of ice which tossed, rolled, and surged around her in the deep. The greatest danger of all was after the storm had partly Iulled, when the bergs continued to thump against the floe-ice; and the certainty of being crushed between the two, stared the voyagers in the face. A sudden means of escape presented itself, and with admirable dexterity and promptitude the crew availed themselves of it. A low, water-washed berg at that moment came driving along past the Advance. An anchor was instantly planted in its side and held fast by a whale line. Carried along with fearful rapidity by this gigantic tow-horse, the little brig was drifted out of danger, and once more escaped the impending ruin. She had a close shave of it nevertheless, and would have lost her port quarter-boat had it not been taken in from the davits.

The navigators continued their northern route by tracking along the ice-belt which hugs the frozen shore. On the 23d of August they had reached 78° 41' north latitude. This placed them further north than any of their predecessors had been, except Captain Parry. During the progress of the journey, the whole coast had been inspected carefully; yet no traces of Sir John Franklin had been discovered. On the 28th of August Dr. Kane determined to send out an expedition from the vessel to make further search, as the condition of the ice prevented the Advance from being brought near to the shore. The whaleboat was chosen for this adventure. They took with them a sledge and a supply of pemmican. The party consisted of seven persons selected from the crew. The vessel was placed under the temporary control of Mr. Ohlsen. The adventurers were provided with buffalo robes, and other necessary means of protec tion against the extreme cold. Their progress however was slow, not making more than seven miles per day, in consequence of the obstructions of the ice along the shore. Very soon they were compelled to