Don's Blog Beechey Island IV

Admiral Edward Belcher left England in 1852 with five ships to rescue Sir John Franklin. His five ships were:

Assistance (Belcher), Resolute (Kellett), Pioneer (Osborn), Intrepid (Leopold McClintock), and the depot ship North Star (Pullen). Over the the next several years four of Belchers ships were lost to the ice and in July of 1854, helped by two other ships that showed up at Beechey Island (Phoenix and Breadalbane) the admiral and his remaining crews returned to England. 
We did not ascend the 732 foot cliff to see Franklin's Cairn which
was made by the two crews in 1846. It included a large pile of stones surmounted by wood barrels and metal containers enclosing a pole. 

Behind Northumberland House is a terrace that houses various memorials.  These memorials cover a wide area looking out to the bay.

 

In the center is an octagonal wooden pole with a round ball on top.  This is a cenotaph or a memorial where no bodies are buried. Cenotaph is from the Greek for empty tomb.  Although called Franklin's Cenotaph it was built in 1854 by Admiral Edward Belcher. Each of the eight sides originally had a lead plate stamped with the names of those who had died on the expeditions. None of the original plates are still attached although there are a few plates there. On the back is a vertical sign, "Post Office", which Belcher intended for future ships to be able to leave messages.

 

In front of the cenotaph is a marble slab to honor Lieutenant Rene Bellot of the Royal French Navy who died in 1853 on the expedition. On the way to find Admiral Belcher's party up Wellington Channel Bellot was stranded with two others on an ice flow. On a morning he stepped out of his tent and disappeared  apparently having gone into the water. His body was not found. The marble slab was sent from England on the Phoenix as a tribute by the Admiralty's John Barrow. This plaque leans on the cenotaph above the marble monument. 

 

Further in front of the Bellot marble is a cross made out of what appear to be empty expedition tin cans.

On either side of the cenotaph are six more modern memorials, three on each side. These are not felt to be of historical significance but are definitely interesting. This  one is called the Ship Visit Pyramid and like all the others needs restoration.

 

They are all in various states of disrepair.

These memorials are pathetic tributes to the brave heroes and have been laid low by the elements and wild animals. Their physical condition is deplorably sad. I was reminded of the last verse of Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias', "Look at my works, ye mighty and despair".

In the years to follow, Beechey Island continued to be an important stopover for travelers. The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen 
aboard the ship Gjoa stopped at Beechey Island in 1903

during his epic Northwest Passage journey.

As for us, after a spectacular day, we headed south between Cape Riley and Cape Riddle as had Franklin and his men 161 years before us.

Note: If you are reading the trip consecutively please go to the Blog
Heading South - Prince Leopold Island on 1-12-18

Don's Blog Beechey Island III

The fourth grave was for Seaman Thomas Morgan from Commander Robert McClure's ship, the Investigator. On one of the Franklin rescue missions, the Investigator had left England and gone around Cape Horn through the Straits of Magellan and up by the Hawaiian Islands to Alaska. From Alaska McClure had approached the Northwest Passage from the west, sailed by the Smoking Hills of western Canada and become icebound near Melville Island. From there McClure's party was forced to come over land finally arriving at Beechey Island. Morgan was mortally ill and died aboard the depot ship North Star  at Beechey in1854. He was buried beside Franklin's three men. When looking at the four grave boards from the waters edge they memorialize Morgan, Blaine, Hartnell, and finally Torrington in that order. We were unable to read the boards as they were covered with snow.

After feeling an almost sacred  sense of history at the graves we marveled at the thought of what these explorers  had experienced living here for the winter of 1845.

Despite the stark surroundings the weather was invigorating as we hiked through the fresh snow south to Northumberland House.

In 1852 Admiral Edward Belcher had left England in search of Sir John Franklin's party with five ships. He placed the North Star under Commander Pullen at Beechey Island as a supply ship and had Northumberland House built to more permanently store supplies for future needs. It was built using the wooden masts and spars of the wrecked whaling vessel the McClellan. Also the remains of the 12 ton yacht Mary were hauled by the men of the North Star for use at Northumberland House. They built a dwelling, a store , and a smithy. The remains   stand proudly in the snow (foreground left).

Northumberland House from the terrace above.

In front is the mast of the Mary.

The stone foundation and remaining wood structure is surrounded by barrel staves and rings. The memorials are on a level terrace above to the right.

Don's Blog Beechey Island II

 Beechey Island was the site of great activity during the age of British Northwest Passage exploration. It was chosen by Sir John Franklin with his 2 ships, the Erebus and the Terror, as a safe place to overwinter in 1845.

Beechey  Island (left) is peninsula connected to the coast of Devon Island (right) by a narrow gravel isthmus separating Erebus and Terror Bay from Union Bay. The isthmus is covered at high tide.

During the winter of 1845-6 three of Franklin's men died and were buried near the shore on the northern coast of the island. The dead included Petty Officer John Torrington (20) of the Terror, and Royal Marine Private William Baine (25)  and Able Seaman John Hartnell  (32) of the Erebus. The graves are near the tip of the island near the Devon Island mainland.

The graves are the most famous archeological site in Arctic Canada. They are currently marked with replica boards instead of the original timber boards. In the 1980's the bodies were exhumed.  Autopsies showed that the men succumbed to inanition, lung disease, and lead poisoning. The day we visited was perfect in its stark desolation and bleakness.

Don's Blog Beechey Island I

On Le Boreal  after exploring and hiking on several southern areas of Devon Island we headed west toward Beechey Island, located off the south western edge of Devon near the confluence of Lancaster sound, Wellington Channel, and Barrow Strait.

We awoke to see the southern shore of Devon Island covered with snow on August 31.

Although small (1.5 miles across), Beechey Island is a prominent landmark as its slopes rise to a flat plateau 732 feet high. Sir John Franklin's exploration party spent the winter of 1845-46 here. Its sheltered harbor is  named Erebus and Terror Bay for Franklin's ships. The island was named in 1819 by Lieutenant Frederick William Beechey of the HMS Hecla under Commander William Edward Parry, after his father , the artist William Beechey. From the bay the harbor is bounded by Cape Riley on the east,

and around the island corner by Cape Riddle on the west.

Flower for Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. This amaryllis was a birthday present from Jan

and has bloomed right on time. Its rich velvet red should warm your heart.

Don's Blog A December Adventure in the Country 12-4-17

It was a beautiful early December day. My son Chris and I were up for an adventure as we drove west along the Missouri River to Hermann and turned north. About half way to Highway 70 at Big Spring we turned west to a  gravel road and drove on three low water bridges over Hollow Creek to our destination, The Missouri Vortex. The first bridge was blocked by a downed sycamore and in the center of the by-pass  was a large black bull. As we approached he  grudgingly moved over.

When arrived at the closed gate to The Vortex I had to take my coat off to squeeze through on the left so that the barbed wire would not rip it. 

We have arrived at The Vortex which is an "underground" DIY skatepark that defies description. It began

on a private farm in 2008 as Hermann's Hole created from nothing by J P Kraus and his skateboarder friends.

It is a swimming pool surrounded by three bowls and multiple structures and is still a work in progress. Recently it was re-named The Missouri Vortex because of its cosmic activity.  It's a place where strange things happen. Today Chris and I were here alone but then we could feel the presence of others.

We could hear skate board wheels and decks grinding.

Complete with lights and far out decor it is hard to describe the experience of being in The Vortex.

There are many small enclosed and open air rooms filled with treasures.

The attention to detail is amazing. There are always tools at the ready if needed.

And no place in outstate Missouri is complete without a shooting range.

What better to do on a gorgeous December day in the country than to go to The Vortex?

Don's Blog The Smoking Hills IV

 But lets get back to the Smoking Hills from the Franklin Bay side this summer. The weather that day precluded our going ashore. Initially we could hardly see the shore.

The weather cleared and we could see the spectacle.

The wonders went on for miles.

Don's Blog The Smoking Hills III 11-9-17

On our canoe expedition on the Horton as the river came close to Franklin Bay just northof the Smoking Hills we were able to climb up and see the bay.

Around 1800 the Horton River meander broke through the shoreline to Franklin Bay. This rare natural phenomenon created a new delta about 60 miles south of the previous one. The Old Horton riverbed 

can be seen on the map.

This image shows an area of the river with the bay behind. It appears that the waves from the bay were 

the most probable cause of the breakthrough.

Don's Blog The Smoking Hills II 11-8-17

The water behind the Smoking Hills is the Horton River which I canoed in 1993. The river starts in a small lake and runs north through a wild canyon and then through tundra to Franklin Bay.

After the canyon the river settles down to a mostly gentle flow with broad expanses of tundra with squirrels, caribou, wolves, and musk ox.

The river parallels the Smoking Hills in several places allowing for lose inspection.

We were able to climb up to these areas which had a strong odor of sulfur.

Don's Blog The Smoking Hills I 11-7-17

Going west from Desalis Bay on the southeast corner of Banks Island we crossed Amundsen Gulf just south of the Beaufort Sea heading for the Smoking Hills in the Northwest Territories.  This amazing natural phenomenon is on the western side of Franklin Bay between Cape Bathurst and Cape Parry.

The Smoking Hills are smoking cliffs to the east of the Mackenzie River delta (below) and near the delta of the Horton River. They are about 37 miles in length.

The Smoking Hills were named by Robert McClure in 1850. McClure, on the ship Investigator, was searching for the  Franklin Expedition sailing  from the west approach to the presumed Northwest Passage. Seeing smoke arising from crevices in the cliffs McClure sent his men to check. He departed believing that the smoke was volcanic in origin )below).

Some sources have indicated that John Franklin named the Smoking Hills during his land expedition

of 1825 and 1826. This would not have been possible. During Franklin's third overland expedition to the "polar sea" Franklin and John Richardson descended the Mackenzie River to the sea from Great Bear Lake.The parties separated on July 4, 1826. Franklin's group with officer-artist George Back in the Lion and Reliance

went west to map the shoreline. Richardson's group, in the Dolphin and Union went east to survey the coast between the MacKenzie and Coppermine Rivers. Only Richardson would have seen the Smoking Hills since they are east of the Mackenzie River.

On the day of our visit the waters of Franklin Bay were too rough for us to go ashore.

We were able to see the smoke coming from the cliffs.

The smoke comes from the spontaneous combustion of mud stones which creates boccanes or fire baked rock. The mud stones originated in the Cretaceous period,the age of the dinosaurs (Mesozoic), about 145 million years ago.They contain pirite and lignite. Pirite is iron sulfate (FeS2) also known as fools gold. Lignite or brown coal, is a soft combustible sedimentary rock

formed from naturally compressed peat. The landslide strata of these mud stones are exposed to atmospheric oxygen with resultant oxidation that results in the high temperature required for the autoignition and spontaneous combustion of the coal. This is facilitated by the fine particle size and large surface area  of the pirite. As specific areas burn out new areas begin burning. This has been going on for hundreds of years. It results in bleaching and reddening of the stone.