II. SIR JOHN FRANKLIN1818
Sir John Franklin was one of the greatest explorers the world has ever known. We owe to him most of our knowledge of the northern coast of America and of the far North.
Sir John Franklin.
Sir John Franklin.
Sir John Franklin.
Franklin was born in 1786 at Spilsby, a small town in Lincolnshire, England, about ten miles from the coast. As a boy, he one day visited the seaside, which so delighted him that he then and there made up his mind to be a sailor.
Franklin’s parents wished him to become a clergyman, and in the hope of curing him of his new passion, they sent him on a trial voyage. This plan did not succeed, for the young man learned to love the sea so much that at last the father yielded to his son’s desire, and obtained a position for him in the Royal Navy. While in the navy, John Franklin took part in several of the hardest naval battles the English ever fought. He made a brilliant record as a fearless sailor and a wise and determined leader.
After the wars were over, Franklin began the study of science. But land life was dull for him, and he longed for the dangers and excitement of the sea. When word came that he had been chosen by the government to go in search of the North Pole, he was unspeakably happy. Soon two strong vessels were ready for the voyage. The command of theDorotheawas given to Captain Buchan, while Franklin, with the rank of lieutenant, was put in command of theTrent. Their orders were to proceed northward between the islands of Spitzbergen and Greenland, and if they found the sea free from ice, to push ahead directly for the North Pole. Should they succeed in finding the pole, they were, if possible, to return by way of Bering strait, and thus prove the existence of a northwest passage.
Glacier, English Bay, Spitzbergen.
Glacier, English Bay, Spitzbergen.
Glacier, English Bay, Spitzbergen.
The ships sailed out of the Thames river April 25, 1818. On May 10 they crossed the Arctic circle, and Franklinbeheld for the first time the grand spectacle of the midnight sun. Shortly after the ships had crossed the circle, a terrible gale arose. The weather was bitterly cold, the snow came down fast, blinding the eyes of the sailors, and ice covered the brigs from bow to stern. Every time the bows came up out of the water a fresh layer of ice was formed upon them, and the vessels became so heavy that the sailors were obliged to chop the ice away with axes. The ropes also were frozen over, and in order to keep them ready for instant use, the sailors had continually to beat off the ice with sticks. The ice pack extended on all sides as far as the eye could reach, and little by little it closed around the ships.
A Ship in the Ice Pack.
A Ship in the Ice Pack.
A Ship in the Ice Pack.
Notwithstanding this, they managed to enter a bay on the coast of Spitzbergen, where Captain Buchan decided to remain until the pack should break up. Neither officers nor men were idle while at anchor in this bay. Some surveyedthe harbor and made a map of it, while others measured the depth of the water with instruments which they had brought for that purpose. The magnetic needle was closely watched, and all its changes noted. Many went hunting and supplied the crew with meat of the seal and walrus. Meantime a close watch was kept upon the ice pack.
Franklin learned to like the rugged Arctic scenery. Close to the shores of Spitzbergen were long, snow-covered valleys and high mountains, and between the mountains stood immense glaciers, glistening in the bright sunlight which had so little power to melt their surfaces.
One day Buchan and Franklin were in a small boat at the foot of a glacier. Suddenly they heard a noise like the report of a great cannon, and looking up, they saw a portion of the glacier sliding down the mountain side. This great mass of ice made a grinding noise as it went, and streams of water flowed after it. At length it plunged into the sea and disappeared from view. The water was greatly disturbed and covered with foam. In a few moments the huge piece of ice rose to the surface and surged up to a great height above the sea. Then Franklin and his companion knew how icebergs are formed. This one was a quarter of a mile around, and rose sixty feet above the water. It must have weighed millions of tons.
Icebergs in the Polar Sea.
Icebergs in the Polar Sea.
Icebergs in the Polar Sea.
Franklin was now more anxious than ever to get to the pole. He knew that thousands of years ago a part of America and Europe was covered with ice just as the Arctic regions now are, and he felt sure that if he remained long enough in this land he would be able to explain many things heretofore unknown, in regard to climate, soil, tides, and winds.
Soon the ships, headed toward the north, put to seaagain, but a furious gale arose, and they were once more caught in the ice pack. When the wind went down, theDorotheawas so badly damaged as to be almost unseaworthy, and Captain Buchan decided to turn back. TheTrentalso had been injured, but Franklin tried hard to induce Captain Buchan to allow him to go northward alone. Captain Buchan refused, and both vessels accordingly returned to England, where they arrived safely on October 12, 1818. We must not regard this expedition as a failure, even though the pole remained undiscovered, for Franklin had gained the experience which later enabled him to accomplish valuable geographical work in the Arctic regions.