12018-11-07T14:15:54+00:00Christopher R. Maden25dcbfeef668032354e9a64cd632e1c0cac9c477231plain2018-11-07T14:15:54+00:00Christopher R. Maden25dcbfeef668032354e9a64cd632e1c0cac9c477While the number "173" appears circled on the page, it is not in Franklin's hand, and was added by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois many years after the letter was written.
Our companion the transport will probably leave us in the course of this week, on her return home so I will not lose the opportunity of sending you some account of our proceedings thus far. We had a voyage of 21 days across, a heavy gale carrying us round Cape Farewell and leaving us in June weather and smooth water under the high coast of Greenland about 50 miles North of it. From that time which was about the 23rd June we had much calm weather, and made but little way so that we did not arrive here till the 4th as we kept close ashore and had [a] good opportunity
of seeing all the line of coast I did not so much regret the delay, especially as I believe we may still consider that no time has been lost. Nothing can be finer than the scenery along the coast of Greenland. It consists of one continuous range of rugged mountains, rising abruptly from the level of the sea to the height of 4 or 5000 feet, and frequently presenting most remark able peaks and M[oun]t[ai]n forms. When we first saw land it was almost entirely covered with snow, but we have already observed the change which some fine warm weather has caused the black peaks and ridges now showing them- selves, and in many places
Page 3
-3-
the snow being entirely confined to deep clefts and ravines. We have seen a very great quantity of ice in the form of bergs, but no appearance of anything more serious, and by the accounts we can gather here from a few Danish boatsmen we hope to find that the season has been a mild one, & that no great difficulty will offer itself to our getting North. Our na- -turalists have been busily employed ever since we entered the bay, and Goodsir especially has had as much as he could possibly do, in examining the lower marine animals which we have caught in great numbers medusae, crustacea. etc. We dredged several times in depths of from 100 to 240 fathoms And [illegible lines]
found that extensive cod bank[s] exist off the coast in latitude 62° to 66° on which during the calm weather our ships companies got well supplied with fish. The evening before we got up here we saw close to the ships a large herd of walruses, which allowed us to pass nearly over them & gave us good opportunities of observing their strange appearance[s]. These and the 100 icebergs then in sight reminded us forcibly that we were really in Arctic regions, a fact which the seas and sky above us might have led us to forget. These islands are little more than barren rocks, although I must say that amongst the few plants and [---] which do appear [had], some are very beau- -tiful! The anchorage is in a
Notes:
The letter is incomplete, with only four pages (on a single piece of paper) being extant in the collections of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois. If any readers of this edition believe they have information about the location of the missing page(s), they are encouraged to contact us at sourcelabuiuc@gmail.com.
