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The north-west passage and the plans for the search for Sir John Franklin
The northwest passage and the plans for the search for Sir John Franklin Author:John Brown Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. Attempts To Get To The Nobth Of Hudson's Bay—Knight, BabLow, And Vaughan—Scbogos, Middleton—Heabne, Mackenzie, Phipps, To Beach The Pole—Cook And ... more »Clebke, To Get N.e. Fbom Behbing's Stbaits—Pickebsoill And Young To Meet Them By Datis' Stbaits—New Facts—Bbeak-up Of The Sea On The East Coast Of Gbeenland—Sib John Babbow—CapTain 8cobesby—Batch Of Abctic Heboes. Sevebal years now intervene, and the attempts made were desultory, and occur at irregular intervals, yet the question of a passage West by the North had not lost its interest. The representation of the enterprising Grosseliez, a Frenchman, now (1688) led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company, and Capt. Z. G-illam was despatched by them to Rupert's River to take possession. This Company, in 1719, sent an expedition to the northern part of Hudson's Bay, under Knight, Barlow, and Yaughan, to search for a copper mine as reported by the Esquimaux, all of whom perished, it is supposed, on Marble Island. One John Scroggs was sent in search of them, but the richness of the copper mine seems to have had more influence over his actions than the salvation of his fellow men. The results were unsatisfactory, but sufficient information was elicited upon which to found strong arguments in favour of the existence of a North-West Passage; and Mr. Dobbs unceasingly solicited the Hudson's Bay Company to make an attempt. This, at last, was done under their captain, Christopher Middleton. The result of this voyage never transpired, but it appears to have been most unsatisfactory to Mr. Dobbs, who openly charged the Hudson's Bay Company with "intentionally preventing the discovery." In the end, Mr. Dobbs prevailed on the Admiralty to renew the attempt; and two ships were fitted out (1741), under Captain Middleton and Mr. Wil...« less