ROMANCE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 205, 23 May 1908, Page 10

ROMANCE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

—fr— . RIP VAN WINKLE AND THE NAVY. A STORY Or AN'ABANDONED SHIP. A story of the greatest interest is told by the "Daily Telegraph" concerning tlio reappearance of the' long-lost-H.M.S. Investigator.,. " In the autiinm of 1851 her Majesty's ship Investigator was frozen in. the ico in. "TIIO Bay; of God's Mercy," in the Far North, whilo endeavouring to find traces of Sir John Franklin and his : courageous companions, says.tlio "Telegraph." Now all the .monies riea of those, anxious, heroic times,have been onco moro revived by tho report that whalers have found-'tho ..and liopo it may bo possiblo'to free h'er from tho icegrip; after the. lapse'of fifty-six' years. Our New York correspondent has., suggested that the old man-of-war inay oven be sufficiently sound to bo navigated across the Atlantic to her old homo country. • ■ ' PACKED IN THE FROZEN NORTH., , Packed away in tho frozen North,'she has been practically in a refrigerator, maintaining hor youth and the stout, heart of her vonorablo' timbers,. whilo. in. less frigid zones tho world,has been getting.older and older; sails havo been superseded ,by steam; wood has been replaced by stool; the, old salt of Captain Marryatt's hovels has- had to make way, for tho modern sailor-mechanic.; In tho loro of,tho sea everything haschanged since hor Majesty's ship Investigator',began her loiig rest in the ice. If sho is.'realiy .rcscued, she--will bo .tho Rip Van ,W.irikl<}\ of tho lyorld's, fleets..' Sho will, need to bo '.'refitted, of course, at somo. Canadian or other British port on tho other side of .tho Atlantic, and thon, under sail, with the, White Ensign'arid tho Union Jack, Ijattling! with the breeze, sho should niak'o her furrow onco moro across tho wator to her long-lost home. Practically all who sailed in her have gone, though Admiral Sir Vesey Hamilton, who was the mato of the companion ship Assistance, is still alive to tell tho story of tho struggle with tho elements over fifty ! years ago. Tho Investigator was commanded by one of the heroes of Arctic exploration—tholate Vice-Admiral Sir Robert John, Lo:Mosurier M'Gluro,' who •.vas born at Wexford fifteen months after the battle, of .Trafalgar. ;/ /">■' IN'SEARCH,OF FRANKLIN. , , Inlß4B .ho was offered and; accepted an. appointment as first lieutenant in her Majesty's ship Investigator—tho Rip Van Winkle of tho .British' fleet. •' She had been purchased fronv : tho- merchant - service,' and was I 'about : to leave England to; make tho first of,'many efforts to pierco the' voil which hid from the world's view all traces of Sir John Franklin and his' companions.' England at tho moment was.in a fever of nervous ex-. citement'jVall eyes. wore, on the pathbtic but courageous, figuro ;of Lady Franklin,- hoping against hope',.and.prepared'ttf risk'her'-all on thq faint cna.nce of rescuing hor.husband and his, daring party from death, at least finding somo traces of them. Sir 'James Clark Ross was tho captain of her-Majesty's sliip Investigator.' This officer, his- first lieutenant, and Admiral Sir Leopold M'.Clintock, on 6 of his most .'daring assistants, have , all passed away. The Investigator, in company Wit-lv tho Enterprise, wont'out by .way of-Lan-caster. Sound, and .wintered,, at, Leopold Island, near tho north-east point-of-North Devon. Tho two ships made a fruitless search, and in the following year, came back. LAST .VOYAGE TO THE NORTH. By this - time the Government and the whole nation were in a condition of reckless determination to solve tlio mystery ;> it had to be solved.,. Plans .for ..a renewed .effort were immediately settled." Captain ' Collirison, was given tho command,, with the Enterprise as the senior officer's ship, and M'Clure, who had shown himself well fitted for the post by. his resourcefulness and energy, was- given, the command of- 'the com-, 'panioii : vessel';, tho old Investigator. uThe,; expedition ' alsri.-Hncluded tihe Assistance,inl which Admiral •• Hamilton -.serydd, and;-: tlio'' iVesolute; but tho lattor ships had,-a moro, or less independent .-'commission, 1 ufider Captain Austin; they wcro to search the Barrow Strait. Our', concern is with M'Clure and the ■ Investigator and Enterprise. Tho vessels sailed from Plymouth oil January 20, 1850, and since that eventful day no one in England has cast eyes on the former little man-of-war—she is only of 500 or 000 tons displacement.' f ; ' '■ gf 3 I ■> ;OF-;GOD'S' MERCY.

> Ultimately the':' Investigatory was forced into What proved to be half a century's banishment in an inlet on the northern shore of Banks' Land.' M'Clure had been so buffeted about that lie accepted, this fate with some amount, of satisfaction, because his lot might have been worse; In the feeling of relief lie named tho inlet " the Bay of God's Mercy," and there the Investigator , has lain, absolutely, frozen up, undergoing a' process of refrigeration for upwards of half a century. f'rom September, 1851, until the following... summer,-. thp, frozen-in ship waj M'Cluro's headquarters. At last tho situation began to assume a gravo aspect. Food was running short, and tho' crew wero suffering from illness; Thero was no prospect of-.relief:.; M'Clure,. at. :length: decided that he had no ;eourso: but to abandon the,little vessol j tb her fate,-and-'.seek-;safety for himself :.and -his companions, if such.-were to be found anywhere in:thoso silent;wilds. - ■

RESCUED! ... Hb ; had come to this , determination when Lieutenant Bedford Pirn appeared on the Scene by chance. Ho had come'across from the Resolute, which ,by.: this time had, got into Melville Sound. M'Clure found all his doubts .cojno to life, once.more, His hopes were centred-on-waiting to save. the -Inv.es-. tigator, .and lie thought of getting stores from the Resolute, and seeing tho incident but to, a finish. ;-Before coming to a final decision, ho went across to. tho Resolute, wliere lie Captain Kellett.- .By. this time \tho .illncgs; among his men had increased, and he- had no alterna-tive-but to., leave; the'lnvestigator to her fate, and convey his men across, the ice to the;.'"Resolute. ■ Thus it came, about that'tho InvestigfitSr- was.' loft in the rice,"pack, while hei'^cagtain/and; crew 'took passage in -the ll(M6Uite:li"-.-They were afterwards-transferred ;t6 ;thb v N6rth;'Star 3 and reachedJEngland. on .Septohiher '. 1854, . after ; - of.'four- years and' eight months; ' It was an eventful voyage, and now tho home-coming of the Investigator, after half a century, will prove an appropriate sequel to the discovery of the North-West Passage.