McCLINTOCK, Captain Francis L

A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin...

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John Murray, London, 1859. Octavo, plates and folding maps; contemporary ownership inscription; extremities a little worn and text a bit shaken, but a good copy in original blue cloth. The search to determine the fate of Franklin's party on board the Erebus and Terror was one of the most extensive in maritime history. In all, twenty-nine separate expeditions were mounted up to and including that of McClintock in the Fox of 1857-9.

This expedition was almost entirely funded by Franklin's wife, Lady Jane Franklin. McClintock, who had served with Ross in the Arctic, succeeded where the others had failed and discovered numerous skeletons and relics from the ships. Most importantly he found an official form, completed by the doomed men, describing the death of Franklin and the loss of ships. McClintock was able to complete the story from the eyewitness accounts of the native people, and to establish beyond doubt that Franklin had indeed been the discoverer of the Northwest Passage.

Sir John Franklin, the cousin of Matthew Flinders, had begun his distinguished naval career as a midshipman on the Investigator, after which he stayed on in Sydney working as an assistant in the small observatory which Flinders had established. After two polar expeditions, and many other noteworthy exploits, Franklin was appointed lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen's Land, a post he held with great distinction for seven years from 1837.
Hill, p. 483.

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