The next year the British government again decided to send two ships northward. One of these ships was put in command of Lieutenant Parry and was ordered to Lancaster sound. From this place Parry was told to sail westward and seek the northwest passage. He did not find the northwest passage, but he succeeded in sailing inside of the Arctic circle farther west than any one had gone before. For this achievement he received a prize of £5000 from the government and on his return to England was highly honored.

The other expedition was put in command of Sir John Franklin, who, together with four companions, was to proceed to Hudson bay on one of the ships belonging to the Hudson Bay Company. From Hudson bay, Franklin was to make a land journey by means of sledges and canoes across the northern part of North America, to the mouth of the Coppermine river. From this point, he was to turn and follow the coast of North America east. The latitude and longitude of various places were to be noted, maps to be drawn, and capes, bays, and rivers located and surveyed.

At this time that part of North America which borders on the Arctic ocean had never been explored. Only two white men, employees of the Hudson Bay Company, had ever looked upon this ocean from the continent of North America. The first, Samuel Hearne, traveled northward with the Indians in 1770, and reached the mouth of a large river which was named the Coppermine, because the Indians said that large mines of copper were to be found along its banks.

The second explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, in 1789 traced to its mouth the river which now bears his name. With the exception of these two river mouths, the entire northern coast of North America was unknown. The map which is to-day covered with names of places, was then a blank.

This was the region which Franklin was to explore. Many men would dread such a journey, but Franklin liked it because of the very dangers involved. Dr. John Richardson, midshipmen Robert Hood and George Back, and a seaman, John Hepburn, were selected to go with Franklin on this trip; they were well chosen, for they were worthy companions of the young leader. On May 23, 1819, he and his men sailed on the Prince of Wales for the Arctic land. The voyage was long and stormy; several times it seemed likely that the Prince of Wales would never touch land again, but at the end of three months she anchored off York Factory, on the southern shore of Hudson bay, one of the posts built by the Hudson Bay Company for the purpose of trading in furs with the Indians.

The people at York Factory received Franklin and his companions kindly and helped them all they could. They gave Franklin a boat for his journey through the lakes and rivers on his way to the sea. The same sort of boat is still in use in that region and is called a York boat. It is forty feet in length, narrow, light, and sharp at both ends. About ten men can manage it. When on lakes or traveling down streams the men use oars, but when traveling against the current of a river they run alongshore and drag the boat after them. This long and narrow boat is well suited for shooting rapids, through which it is guided by means of long poles. Sometimes the rapids are so swift that they cannot be navigated, and falls are often encountered. Then the cargoes are taken out of the boats and carried around the rapids or falls, and afterward the boats also are carried around. Such a place is called a portage.

The officers of the Hudson Bay Company, besides giving Franklin a boat, sent word to other trading posts throughout the country, to look out for him and to help him. The party, having secured boats and stores, started from York Factory to continue their journey. After traveling seven hundred miles, they reached another post called Cumberland House, where Franklin expected to find guides and hunters, but every one refused to undertake a journey so full of peril.

Franklin, though disappointed, was not discouraged. He left two men at Cumberland House to wait for supplies and to bring them on. Then, with Back and Hepburn, he started out with dog sledges for another trading post on Lake Athabasca. This journey was begun on January 18, 1820, in the middle of an Arctic winter of prolonged darkness. The suffering of these three explorers cannot be described. The temperature fell as low as 38° below zero, blizzards were common, and the party nearly perished. On some days the mercury froze in the thermometers, and the tea froze in the tin pots before it could be drunk.

At Lake Athabasca Franklin was joined by the men he had left at Cumberland House. They had secured some provisions, and now the entire party proceeded down the Slave river to Great Slave lake. They reached Fort Providence, on the northern end of the lake, during the latter part of July, and in a few days the little company departed in four canoes, steering northward into a country which had never before been visited by white men.

Soon Franklin met seventeen canoes filled with Indians, who had promised to go part of the way with him and hunt game for his party. They all proceeded together through a chain of lakes to Winter lake, where they decided to pass the winter. Here they built a house which they called Fort Enterprise, and from this place they made short trips to explore the country northward. One of the exploring parties reached the source of the Coppermine river.

At first game was plentiful at Fort Enterprise, but as winter advanced the reindeer left the place, provisions became scarce, and ammunition was very low. Back offered to return to Lake Athabasca for supplies, and Franklin allowed him to go. He left the party in November, and they did not see him again until March. He had made a journey of eleven hundred miles on snowshoes, sleeping in the shelter of drifts, wrapped in a blanket and a deerskin, and had sometimes been forced to go without food for two or three days. But he had saved the party.

When spring came, Franklin and his company started northward again with two large canoes and several sledges. They must have “made a record” for slow travel, for each man had to carry or drag a load of one hundred and eighty pounds, probably more than the weight of any one of them. At the Coppermine they launched their canoes, and were soon shooting dangerous rapids, and carrying their boats over the portages. Franklin did not stop to search for copper; he had other aims.

On July 18, 1821, the party reached the mouth of the Coppermine and camped on the shore of the Arctic ocean. It was a cold place for a camp, but the men were so delighted to reach this point that they did not complain of the temperature.

Franklin here paid a tribute to famous travelers, and to some of his old friends, by naming the capes and bays after them. This might be called a cold compliment, but doubtless the favored ones appreciated it.

The great ocean must have seemed to these men the end of their journey, yet it was only the beginning. On July 21 the canoes were launched and one of the most daring voyages of exploration was begun that has ever been attempted. Canoes built for use only on lakes and rivers had now to battle with rough waters filled with ice. For several weeks Franklin kept on his perilous way eastward, discovering new islands, bays, and capes.

As freezing weather had already set in, and the provisions showed signs of giving out, Franklin decided to return to Fort Enterprise and spend the winter there, hoping to continue his work along the coast the next summer.

He named the place where he decided to return Point Turnagain. The distance from the Coppermine to Point Turnagain is five hundred and fifty miles, and all that length of coast was traversed and charted by Franklin’s company.

It was decided to go back to Fort Enterprise by way of the Hood river, because that route was thought easier than the other; it proved to be more difficult. Much of the journey had to be made on foot over a stony country. The men were loaded down with boats, tents, and blankets, and, worst of all, the provisions gave out. All that the adventurers could find to eat was a kind of lichen, which grew like moss on the rocks. Often the men were wet to their waists from having to ford streams and tramp through swamps.

After a time they became so weak and footsore that they could scarcely walk, and when at last they reached Fort Enterprise they found it deserted. The Indians who had promised Franklin to remain and stock the place with food for him, had abandoned the fort. This was a terrible blow. Those of the party who were able to walk, started out to search for the Indians, while the rest remained in the hut, expecting death every moment. While these men sat waiting, they saw a herd of reindeer pass close to the hut. Not a man was strong enough to stand and shoot, and the deer passed undisturbed. At last some Indians arrived. They brought plenty of venison with them, and they stayed with the white men and nursed them back to health.

When the sick men were able to travel, the party started again for Hudson bay. They succeeded in reaching Moose Deer island, and there, under the care of the Hudson bay officials, Franklin and his followers grew well and strong.

When they came again to York Factory, Franklin and his men had traveled 5550 geographical miles and explored thousands of miles of country never before visited by civilized men. This journey is one of the most remarkable in history. Only men of the highest courage and the strongest determination could have accomplished it.

When Franklin reached England his countrymen bestowed upon him honors of all sorts. He was promoted to the rank of captain, and made Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.