Second Grinnell expedition
While failing to determine the fate of Sir John Franklin, the expedition set a new record for northward penetration, delineated 960 miles (1,540 km) of unexplored coastline north of 82° latitude, and discovered the long-sought open Polar Sea.
The vessels returned without resolving the mystery, although, in coordination with an expedition led by Captain William Penny,[2] they discovered Franklin's first wintering camp (and three graves) at Beechey Island[1] on August 24, 1850.
[3] Undeterred, Grinnel equipped the 144-ton brig Advance for a second voyage under Dr. Kane on behalf of the U.S. Navy to search for Franklin north of Beechey Island and a likely open summer Polar sea.
By July 1853, the Advance had reached the northern Danish settlements at Fiskenaesset and Upernavik Greenland, and there acquired additional provisions, interpreter Karl Petersen,[2] and a 19-year-old Kalaallit hunter and dog handler named Hans Hendrik.
Navigation of the sea ice through Melville Bay in early August was facilitated by tethering the vessel to northeast-bound icebergs, with Kane leaving a cairn on Littleton Island.
Several sled trips were made inland to Greenland to establish supply depots and make observations, reaching 78° 52′, before the Advance was set for winter in Rensselaer Harbor on September 10.
[1] During the dark winter, a small stone observatory was established ashore, and several overland trips by dog sled were undertaken, arranging additional supply depots and performing geographical observation, reaching as far as 79° 50′ north.
Late on March 30, three of the party (Sonntag, Ohlsen and Petersen) returned to the Advance in a weakened state, requesting the immediate rescue of the remaining four, Brooks, Baker, Wilson, and Pierre.
Ohlsen was brought to guide them back, but ultimately Hans tracked the frozen men's sledge trail after an unbroken march of 21 hours.
On April 26, after trading with a group of Inuit hunters at the brig, teams under Kane, McGary and Godfrey set out with fresh dogs for the Humboldt Glacier, hoping to reach the American side[clarification needed] via their earlier cache depots.
Despite crossing Marshall Bay, scurvy and poor travelling conditions slowed their progress until May 4, when they discovered that polar bears had spoiled their advanced supply depots.
On June 3, McGary and Morton set out on coastal expeditions along the Kennedy Channel (reaching as far as 81 degrees north, at Morris Bay), returning later that month, having been troubled by polar bears, bear-destroyed supply caches and melting ice.
As temperatures continued to rise, the remaining crews made several short trips of observation, noting the migratory birds and employing the returning vegetation as a cure for their persisting scurvy.
Hoarding their remaining bread, beef and pork before full darkness came, they extended their winter rations with occasional polar bear, fox, hares and ultimately rats, the latter of which they shot aboard ship with bow and arrow to pass the time.
Kane set out soon after to obtain walrus meat from the Inuit near Cape Alexander to address the worst cases of scurvy, at best a 22-hour-journey amid high temperatures of −54 °F (−48 °C).
The two dried out cypress whaleboats Faith and Hope were strengthened where possible with oak, fit with collapsible masts, and covered by stretched canvas.
On May 20, 1855, When the Advance was finally left for good, the crew gathered aboard the empty brig, offered prayer, and quietly packed away a portrait of Sir John Franklin.
Knowing the trials and hardships which are before us, and feeling the necessity of union, harmony, and discipline, we have determined to abide faithfully by the expedition and our sick comrades, and to do all that we can, as true men, to advance the objects in view.
The abandoned Inuit dwelling at Annoatok served as a forward hospital while the man-haulers remained close, and additional supplies had been cached nearby.
Kane ferried supplies and invalids forward by dogsled and even returned to the brig to secure additional provisions and bake fresh bread on the book-fueled stove.
While attempting to reach the Inuit settlement of Etah near Littleton Island, fierce storms held Kane's dogsled party down, forcing them to burrow into the snow before retreating.
On June 6, after raising sails on the boat-sledges, the men took advantage of steady winds to help drive them eight miles (13 km) across the ice towards their supply cache at Littleton Island.
After bidding the gathered natives farewell and offering gifts, including most of the remaining dogs, Kane and the survivors launched their three boats on June 19, having been delayed by another storm.
The dried, weather-beaten wooden boats began leaking, and the Red Eric was nearly lost, as they made for the protection of the pack ice inlets.
Making ground on an ice shelf as the storm returned, they found that they were in the midst of an eider hatchery, and the birds and raw eggs restored their strength.
On September 6, they crew secured passage aboard the Danish vessel Mariana[2] to the Shetland Islands, bringing the Faith along as a relic of their ordeal.
[3] Although his specimens were lost, his notes provided extensive information on the flora and fauna, and the magnetic, meteorological, tidal and glacial aspects of the extreme region of western Greenland.
Kane's party enhanced their survival through adaptation of Inuit techniques, including dogsleds, hunting, shelter, and by developing a close relation with the local natives.
Said Kane When trouble came to us and to them, and we bent ourselves to their habits, – when we looked to them to procure us fresh meat, and they found at our poor Oomiak-soak shelter and protection during their wild bear-hunts, – then we were so blended in our interests as well as modes of life that every trace of enmity wore away.Franklin experienced several Inuit attacks in his 1826 overland expedition,[2] which would have informed any later decisions regarding alliances with local natives.
Franklin's expedition relied on the tinned foods (prepared in haste by Goldner), the poor soldering of which resulted in consistently high lead levels in the remains found to date.
