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214
LAND ON FRANKLIN ISLAND.
[Chap. VIII.
1841
Jan. 27. cliffs, and on the only piece of beach we could see as we rowed from one end of the island to the other, as almost to forbid our landing; a mortification not to be endured if possible to be avoided: the Terror's whale boat being more fit for encountering such a surf than the heavy cutter of the Erebus, I got into her, and by the great skill and management of the officers and crew I succeeded, by watching the opportunity when the boat was on the crest of the breakers, in jumping on to the rocks. By means of a rope, some of the officers landed with more facility, but not without getting thoroughly wetted; and one having nearly lost his life in this difficult affair, I was obliged to forbid any more attempting to land, to their very great disappointment. The thermometer being at 22°, every part of the rocks which were washed by the waves was covered with a coating of ice, so that in jumping from the boat, he slipped from them into the water, between her stern and the almost perpendicular rock on which we had landed, and but for the promptitude of those in the boat, in instantly pulling off, he must have been crushed between it and the rocks. It was most mercifully ordered otherwise, and he was taken into the boat without having suffered any other injury than being benumbed with the cold. We proceeded at once therefore to take possession of the island in due form; and to the great satisfaction of every individual in the expedition, I named it "Franklin Island;" in compliment to His Excellency Captain Sir John Franklin of the
Jan. 27. cliffs, and on the only piece of beach we could see as we rowed from one end of the island to the other, as almost to forbid our landing; a mortification not to be endured if possible to be avoided: the Terror's whale boat being more fit for encountering such a surf than the heavy cutter of the Erebus, I got into her, and by the great skill and management of the officers and crew I succeeded, by watching the opportunity when the boat was on the crest of the breakers, in jumping on to the rocks. By means of a rope, some of the officers landed with more facility, but not without getting thoroughly wetted; and one having nearly lost his life in this difficult affair, I was obliged to forbid any more attempting to land, to their very great disappointment. The thermometer being at 22°, every part of the rocks which were washed by the waves was covered with a coating of ice, so that in jumping from the boat, he slipped from them into the water, between her stern and the almost perpendicular rock on which we had landed, and but for the promptitude of those in the boat, in instantly pulling off, he must have been crushed between it and the rocks. It was most mercifully ordered otherwise, and he was taken into the boat without having suffered any other injury than being benumbed with the cold. We proceeded at once therefore to take possession of the island in due form; and to the great satisfaction of every individual in the expedition, I named it "Franklin Island;" in compliment to His Excellency Captain Sir John Franklin of the
