Glasgow Daily Mail, Friday, August 12, 1870, p. 3, col. 8

LADY FRANKLIN IN CINCINNATI.

On Saturday, says the Cincinnati Enquirer of the 25th, after a weary journey from the Pacific slope, there came to Cincinnati one whose very presence does the city honour, for she is one of the noblest women of modern times, not because the best blood of England flows in her veins—though that we scorn not—but because of a long life spent in a heroic effort to complete a task, the selection and unswerving pursuit of which has made her name beloved among the admirers of true womanhood the wide world over. Lady Franklin, relict of Sir John Franklin, of England, accompanied by her niece, Miss Cracroft, arrived at half-past six A.M., and were met at the depot by Captain C. F. Hall, and were escorted to the Burnet House, where she spent the day in retirement, resting from the fatigues of her long journey. No intelligent man forgets the romantic and tragic story of Sir John Franklin, who, in 1844, for the sake of his goddess science, and for the glory that would fall upon his name and upon his beloved country by the discovery of the Northwest Passage, the dream of many modern Columbus, sailed away into the icebound and dangerous seas that wash the North Pole, and never returned again to wife, to home, to England.

Familiar as is that story, more familiar still is that which tells of Lady Franklin’s wifely devotion. When the long months of legitimate absence had passed slowly away and many far more anxious ones succeeded, until it became certain that all was not well with the bold explorer and his devoted comrades, Lady Franklin at once devoted her private fortune to fitting out an expedition in search of her husband. When private resources were exhausted she appealed to the governments of England and the United States, and both responded. For long years search was fruitless, but still the noble woman persevered. At length, in the spring of 1849, five years after the day of her departure from English waters, Sir John’s vessel was found by Ook-goo-lik natives, near O’Reily Island, latitude 68 degrees, 30 minutes north, longitude 90 degrees 8 minutes west, it being frozen in the midst of a smooth and unbroken flow of ice of only one winter’s formation. Expeditions of discovery since then have added to the store of information obtained concerning the fate of the lost voyagers, and search for the records of their venture and discoveries has continued to be a great object with every explorer under the midnight sun. Of these Capt. Hall, of this city, is one of the latest and most successful, having made two journeys into the lands of eternal cold. In the latter part of March, 1869, the journey to King William’s Land was made, and on the 20th of June he returned, after many severe trials. The expedition went by way of Am-i-toke, Dog-lik Isle, Ig-loo-lik, &c., in the hope and expectation of rescuing alive some of Sir John Franklin’s last companions. The result was the finding of a tenting place of a few white men, and a stone pillar they had erected close by it, at the bottom of Parry Bay, which is some fifty miles south of the western outlet of Fury and Hecla straits, and the visiting of several places where white men and their traces had been seen by the natives of Ig-loo-lik and vicinity in or about the years 1866-7. Much information was gained from the natives of Ig-loo-lik, North Oogtit Isle and thereabouts. It is not believed that any of Sir John’s companions ever reached or died on Montreal Island. To gain anything like a fair insight of the matter, which has so long been an uncertainty, Captain Hall think a full summer must be spent in King William’s Land with a considerable party, whose only business should be to make searches for records which, beyond doubt, were buried on the island.

Search along the coast has already been made by the Esquimaux for anything or everything remaining from the Franklin party. From information given by natives, Captain Hall has reason to believe that a summer spent as proposed would result in the finding of the whole of the manuscript records that had accumulated in that great expedition and had been deposited in a vault a little way inland or eastward of Cape Victory. On his last voyage the Captain was unable to induce his comrades to remain in the dangerous region during the summer. It will be remembered that Congress before adjournment voted an appropriation of 50,000 dols. to enable Captain Hall to make a third journey of thirty months. The expedition will be planned and executed solely with a view to the promotion of science and general knowledge. From the present time until late in April, 1871, preparations will be made, and early in May the new expedition will move. Explorations will be extended from the eighty-second parallel of latitude to as near the pole as possible. Hall has spent ten years among the natives of the frozen regions, has learned to adapt himself to their habits, and, therefore, to withstand the climate. He is of indomitable energy, of true courage and great nerve, and moreover is sanguine of success.

It was to meet and thank this man that Lady Franklin was hastening from California to New York, and changed her direction and came here. She is now nearly eighty, and her hair has long since silvered; but she is upright and of a strong constitution—the result of an active, nobly spent life. She no longer hopes, of course, to meet Sir John in this world, the advanced age to which he would have attained forbidding that dream to a heart never so fond and hopeful, but it may be that ere her long life closes she may read the hard history of her lord and his last message, written as the dark cold world was closing in upon him, shutting out for ever visions that till then comforted him, of wife, of home, of friends and merry England. On Saturday Lady Franklin was waited upon by the officers of the city, of the Chamber of Commerce, and by citizens generally, all of whom, despite her advanced age, she received with an ease that marked her as a lady born. Before dark she was driven to Clifton in company with Captain Hall and Miss Cracroft and was entertained by Mr Henry Probasco.

Yesterday (Sunday) after church, Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft, under the escort of Captain C. F. Hall and Mr J. W. Caldwell, were driven to Spring Grove, which Lady Franklin enthusiastically said was finer than any city of the dead in England—the most beautiful cemetery, in fact, she had ever seen. She was surprised, too, at the evidences of wealth and culture afforded by the countless monuments. The party next visited Avondale, and before returning stopped and were entertained at the residence of Miles Greenwood. The homeward route was via Clifton, the carriage halting at Rowler’s place for one more look at the glorious panorama of the Mill Creek Valley, which, as seen from that lovely spot, is one of the fairest in all the world. During the drive, and during her stay in Cincinnati, Lady Franklin has learned from the lips of Captain Hall facts of priceless value to her, and of which no other living man could so well have told her. Her visit on this account, and in every way, has been an interesting one, and she will remember the Queen City kindly. In conformity to a widely expressed wish, Lady Franklin remains with us until to-night, and this afternoon, between the hours of three and four o’clock, will receive her friends and citizens anxious to pay their respects in the parlour of the Burnet House. On Tuesday morning the party leave for New York via Niagara Falls. The venerable lady has been a great traveller, visiting nearly every part of the attainable world. When we saw her, though she was travel-worn, having journeyed almost constantly from Alaska, via California, her years appeared to sit lightly upon her.

Citation: Glasgow Daily Mail, “Lady Franklin in Cincinnati,” Friday, August 12, 1870, p. 3, col. 8. Source: newspapers.com image 806062459.