volunteered to undertake the survey of the coast to the eastward, while his commander should be occupied in endeavouring to reach Icy Cape. Lieutenant Bushnan, who had served under Captains Ross and Parry, was likewise appointed to accompany Captain Franklin, as assistant-surveyor; but, long before the party was to leave England, he had to lament the premature death of that excellent young officer, who was eminently qualified for the service, by his skill in astronomical observations, surveying, and drawing.[1] “Many naval officers, distinguished for their talent and ability, were desirous of filling the vacancy, but Captain Franklin’s friend and former companion, Lieutenant Back, having returned from the West Indies, the appointment was offered to him^ and accepted with his wonted zeal.”
Previous to his departure from England, a public dinner was given to Lieutenant Back, on which occasion, says the editor of the Stockport paper,
“Captain (now Sir Salusbury Pryce) Humphreys, R.N. was in the chair, and on the right sat the heroic young man, so justly the pride of his fellow-townsmen. When we considered the unprecedented sufferings he had endured, and the unheard-of privations which once reduced his frame to the extremity of weakness, and brought him to the verge of dissolution, it was impossible not to feel a high degree of pleasure at beholding him again in apparent possession of health and vigour. J. Lloyd, Esq., Prothonotary of Chester, performed the office of croupier on this most gratifying occasion.”
During his absence from Great Britain, Lieutenant Back was promoted to the rank of commander, for his services on the first overland expedition, by commission, dated Dec. 30th, 1825. The proceedings and result of the second expedition have been briefly sketched in Vol. III Part I. pp. 50–67.
Our readers will remember that Captain Franklin, after his return from the Arctic Sea, remained at Great Bear Lake until Feb. 20th, 1827, when he set out on foot for Fort Chipewyan, accompanied by five men, for the purpose of hastening home, via Montreal and New York; the other
- ↑ See Annual Obituary and Biography for 1825.
