Part 5 (1/2)
After this he had his first taste of Arctic adventure, having received a commission froreat rivers of Canada, which discharges its waters into the Arctic Ocean Down this river sailed Franklin and his companions They encountered rapids and falls, and all kinds of obstacles, and ers and disasters
The first winter they were nearly starved to death They stayed at Fort Enterprise; but, long before the spring returned, they found their food was all but finished, and the nearest place to get more was five hundred miles away, over a trackless desert of snow One of their nuht back food to his starving leader and companions
Next su in canoes he and his followersdriven back by their old dread enemy--starvation
Forto live upon but rock moss, which barely kept them alive They became so worn and ill that they could only cover a few miles a day, and Franklin fainted froht days they waited on the banks of a river which it was necessary to pass, but which they had noOne of the men tried to swim across and was nearly drowned, and despair seized on the party, for they thought the end had co them who could not believe God would leave theathered rock moss in sufficient quantities to preserve their lives; and, hope springing up again, they ht raft on which they passed over to the other side
Then Franklin set off with eight et assistance, whilst others remained to care for the sick He and three companions only arrived at Fort Enterprise They had to endure a fearful journey, during which they ate their very boots to preserve life To their bitter disappointot there they found the place deserted! Then they atteo to the next settlement; but Franklin utterly broke down on the way, and ith difficulty got back to Fort Enterprise Here they were joined by two of the party who had been left behind, the others having perished on the way
The night of their reunion, the six survivors had a grand feast A partridge had been shot, and for the first ti an entireround the fire they had kindled, words of hope and comfort were read froether in prayer and thanksgiving Shortly after, friendly Indians arrived with supplies of food, and Franklin with the survivors of his party returned safely to England
After this, Franklinfame and honour by his explorations, and was for seven years Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania
Then in 1845, when he was in his sixtieth year, he went out in the service of the Adh the Arctic Ocean Leaving England in May, 1845, in command of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, with a body of the most staunch and experienced seamen, he sailed into the Arctic Seas They were last seen by a whaler on the 26th of July that year, and then for years no word of their fate reached Great Britain
Not that England waited all this time before she sent to discover what had befallen thes of Lady Franklin Expedition after expedition left our shores America and France joined in the search Five years later was discovered the place in which the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ had first wintered; but it was left for Dr John Rae to find out from the Esquimaux in 1854 that the shi+ps had been crushed in the ice, and that Franklin and his coue and starvation
The final relics of the Franklin Expedition were discovered by McClintock and a party of volunteers Starting froland in a little vessel called _The Fox_ he and his crew passed through a hundred dangers froth, in April, 1858, they found on King William's Island the record which told plainly and fully the fate of Franklin and his companions
[Illustration: RELICS OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION 1 Loaded Gun 2
Frag Stove 5
Chronometers from _Erebus_ and _Terror_ 6 Medicine Chest 7
Testa Needle]
The docu that Sir John Franklin and all ell; and a second, written in 1848, to say that they had been obliged to abandon the _Erebus_ and _Terror_, that Sir John Franklin had died in June, 1847, and that they had already lost nine officers and fifteen men
Other traces of the sad end which overtook the expedition were also found In a boat were discovered two skeletons; and aes in which were underlined, showing that these gallant men in their last hours had the comfort of God's Word to support them when earthly hopes had passed away
The object for which Sir John Franklin had sailed, viz, the discovery of the North West passage, had been attained, but no single man of the expedition, alas, lived to enjoy the fruits of the discovery
A SAVIOUR OF SIX
THE STORY OF FIREMAN FORD
In the waiting rooade, in Southwark Street, London, is an oak board on which are fixed a nu the names of men who are entitled to a place on this ”Roll of Honour”
Frost these let us take one, and tell briefly what befell hiers which beset the fireman daily in the pursuit of his duty