From a hill on which he here encamped he saw a broad channel running north-east, which he at first supposed to be a continuation of Brentford Bay. Its great extent however, convinced him that it was a western sea, and that the narrow passage through which he had just traveled was a strait leading out of Prince Regent's Inlet. This being apparently a new discovery, Captain Kennedy called it Bellot Strait, after the second officer of the expedition. This water was afterward discovered to be the northern extremity of Victoria Strait, which Dr. Rae had explored from another direction.

At this point Captain Kennedy determined to proceed in a westward direction, in order to ascertain whether any channel existed there through which Sir John Franklin might have penetrated from Cape Walker.

On the 8th of April he started in pursuance of this purpose. Their progress was slow in consequence of the roughness of the ice. The men became much afflicted with snow-blindness, and were much distressed by the sharp particles of snow drift which were dashed by the furious wind into their eyes. The wide region around them was perfectly level, and Captain Kennedy named it Arrow Smith's Plains. Sometimes the severity of the weather compelled them to remain for several days in their snow-hut. They traveled on for thirteen days without meeting any indications of the approaching sea. This convinced Captain Kennedy that there was no passage by water to the south-west of Cape Walker; and that due north was now the most desirable course to be pursued.

Following this purpose he traveled in that direction for twenty miles over a level plain. On the 24th of April they arrived at the bottom of a deep inlet, which has since been ascertained to be the Ommaney Bay of Captain Austin's expedition. From this point they steered eastward, in order to strike the

channel supposed to be to the eastward of Cape Bunny, and by following it to reach Cape Walker.

After three days they came to Browne's Bay. At length on the 4th of May, they approached the bold headland of Cape Walker, for the attainment of which they had endured so much. Here they confidently hoped to find some traces of Sir John Franklin, had he followed the suggestions contained in his original instructions. Captain Kennedy accordingly searched every spot within three miles on both sides of the cape. They followed the windings of the rough ice outside the beach. They examined the base of the lofty cliffs which stretch away northward from the cape. Not a single vestige of the lost navigator could anywhere be discovered.

Captain Kennedy now determined immediately to return to the ship. He pushed directly across North Somerset toward Batty Bay, intending to follow the coast to Whaler Point. This route was double the distance of the one already followed; but it was hoped that perhaps it might lead to some desirable results. On the first day they encamped about midway between Cape Walker and Limestone Island. They passed by Cunningham Inlet, Cape Gifford, and Cape Rennel. At Cape McClintock they found the small store of provisions which Sir John Ross had left there in 1849. On the 15th of May they reached Whaler Point. On the 27th, they left Whaler Point, to return directly to the Prince Albert, and on the 30th their land journey ended by their safe arrival at the vessel.

Various preparations for their departure now occupied the attention of the seamen. On the 21st of July, these were completed; but they found it impossible to move the ship. The ice had congealed firmly around her. The only possibility of releasing her was by sawing a canal through the ice which still obstructed the bay. After the hard labor of a week, a canal half a mile in length, and sufficiently wide to

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 Bay, 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 Admiralty 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 Strait; 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.

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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 ported 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 prevalence of which he drifted among the icebergs. After 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, heaving, 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