Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide, In thy most need to go by thy side. (This is Number 447 of Everyman's Library)...

JOHN FRANKLIN, born in 1786. Many naval experiences, including Trafalgar, before heading an expedition across northern Canada in 1819. Elected F.R.S. and knighted after a second expedition. Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land, 1836 to 1843. Last expedition, 1845, was lost, and Franklin died in 1847 near the Arctic. Subsequent investigations have established him as the discoverer of the North-West Passage....

In days of hurried action I have been astonished at the depth of interest which a re-perusal of this wonderful old narrative has held for me. Wonderful it is in its simplicity and its revelation of the simplicity of character and faith of the man who wrote it. It is old only by comparison—scarcely ninety years have elapsed since the adventures it described were enacted—yet such a period has never held a fuller measure of change or more speedily passed current events into the limbo of the past. N

F.W. Beechey: Voyage of Discovery toward the North Pole in H.M. Ships Dorothea and Trent (with summary of earlier attempts to reach the Pacific by the North) 1818. Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819 to 1822, by John Franklin, 1823, 1824. Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea in the Years 1825 to 1827, by John Franklin, 1828. Report of the Committee appointed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to inquire into and report on t

Passage up Hayes, Steel and Hill Rivers. Cross Swampy Lake. Jack River. Knee Lake and Magnetic Islet. Trout River. Holy Lake. Weepinapannis River. Windy Lake. White Fall Lake and River. Echemamis and Sea Rivers. Play Green Lakes. Lake Winnipeg. River Saskatchewan. Cross, Cedar and Pine Island Lakes. Cumberland House....

Dr. Richardson's residence at Cumberland House. His account of the Cree Indians....

Leave Cumberland House. Mode of Travelling in Winter. Arrival at Carlton House. Stone Indians. Visit to a Buffalo Pound. Goitres. Departure from Carlton House. Isle a la Crosse. Arrival at Fort Chipewyan....

Transactions at Fort Chipewyan. Arrival of Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood. Preparations for our Journey to the Northward....

Mr. Hood's Journey to the Basquiau Hill. Sojourns with an Indian Party. His Journey to Chipewyan....

Departure from Chipewyan. Difficulties of the various Navigations of the Rivers and Lakes, and of the Portages. Slave Lake and Fort Providence. Scarcity of Provisions, and Discontent of the Canadian Voyagers. Difficulties with regard to the Indian Guides. Refusal to proceed. Visit of Observation to the upper part of Copper-Mine River. Return to the winter quarters of Fort Enterprise....

Transactions at Fort Enterprise. Mr. Back's Narrative of his Journey to Chipewyan, and Return....

Continuation of Proceedings at Fort Enterprise. Some Account of the Copper Indians. Preparations for the Journey to the Northward....

Departure from Fort Enterprise. Navigation of the Copper-Mine River. Visit to the Copper Mountain. Interview with the Esquimaux. Departure of the Indian Hunters. Arrangements made with them for our Return....

Navigation of the Polar Sea, in two Canoes, as far as Cape Turnagain, to the Eastward, a distance exceeding Five Hundred and Fifty Miles. Observations on the probability of a North-West Passage....

Journey across the barren grounds. Difficulty and delay in crossing Copper-Mine River. Melancholy and Fatal Results thereof. Extreme Misery of the whole Party. Murder of Mr. Hood. Death of several of the Canadians. Desolate State of Fort Enterprise. Distress suffered at that Place. Dr. Richardson's Narrative. Mr. Back's Narrative. Conclusion. …...

His Majesty's Government having determined upon sending an Expedition from the Shores of Hudson's Bay by land to explore the Northern Coast of America from the Mouth of the Copper-Mine River to the eastward, I had the honour to be appointed to this service by Earl Bathurst, on the recommendation of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty; who at the same time nominated Doctor John Richardson, a Surgeon in the Royal Navy, Mr. George Back, and Mr. Robert Hood, two Admiralty Midshipmen, to be join