On August 19th, 1847 an article about the Franklin expedition appeared in the Intelligenzblatt der Stadt Bern. The writer announced the dispatch of an overland expedition in search of Franklin and his men. The dangers to which Franklin and his men would be exposed were well known, however, Sir John Barrow persisted "with the blind persistence of age" in sending the expedition to the Arctic.
Under the rubric "Mannigfaltiges (Manifold)" the following is said about Sir John Franklin's expedition:
“It is known that two years ago Sir John Franklin was sent on another expedition to find a north-western passage. The expedition was once again nautical. Old Sir J. Barrow is the main promoter of these nautical voyages and persists with them, it must be said, with the blind persistence of age. Dr R. King, who had previously been a member of Captain Back's famous expedition, condemned in a famous letter the sea expedition, since the prospect of obtaining a result was very small, but the danger to which the crew of the ship were exposed was certain and very great. The influence of the old man and his followers prevailed, and Sir J. Franklin left. Since that time, he has not been heard from, and therefore a land expedition is now to go out to seek him, just as Captain Back was once sent out to seek Captain Ross. The reasons why a nautical expedition faces great difficulties are very simple: as little as we know about the land and the seas between the mouth of the Coppermine river and the waterway, it is a foregone conclusion that the sea is dotted with numerous islands, promontories, etc., between which the ice can easily become lodged.The passage will probably be found, and when it is found, and the precise way is known, then it may be possible to cross it without much effort every year; but before it is found, it is far more probable that you will get stuck in the ice. This seems to have been Sir J. Franklin's fate, and so a land expedition is now to set out, which will advance eastward from the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers.”
Presumably, Dr. R. King's letter in the Athenæum served as a source as the merits of his cautionary stands are praised throughout. The "Intelligenzblatt der Stadt Bern" was the most important newspaper reporting mainly local news. It appeared daily from 1841 onwards. It included reports on
political events, official announcements from the city, canton and civic
community (Burgergemeinde), news from clubs and societies, letters to
the editor, obituaries, reports on crimes and much more. Advertisements
also make up a large part of the site; they show which vacancies were
available and which products and services the Bernese businesses
advertised at the time. In this edition, the photographer Mr. H. Edouard and his skill in creating daguerreotypes is praised. He does "the most perfect portraits" with the best procedure. The artist worked at 54 Aarbergergasse. Just opposite the Franklin report, Mr. Charles de Gondrecourt, animal tamer, advertises his shows with wild animals. The menagerie is "the most beautiful, which has been seen in Switzerland for a long time." It consists of lions, Bengal tigers, panthers, polar bears, leopards, hyenas, jaguars and "American tigers".
Why this article appeared in the Intelligenzblatt der Stadt Bern at precisely this time, I can only guess. Whatever the case, it shows how globally Franklins disappereance found reception. It is known that the Burgerbibliothek, an institution of the civic community (Burgergemeinde), also had objects from the North American Arctic in its possession (which are now in the collection of the Bernisches Historisches Museum). These came into their possession through legacies, including the bequest of Samuel Engel. Samuel Engel is represented in an etching without dating.
He was a statesman, economist and philanthropist and lived in Berne from 1702-1784, advocating the hypothesis of a navigable polar sea. His investigations into the controversial northern passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, for which he preferred the northeastern route, prompted the British Admiralty to carry out test voyages. In 1752 he handed over a manuscript to his confidant and intermediary Jean-Rodolphe Vautravers in London. In it Engel took the view that the Northeast Passage was the easier of the two routes, and that the sea between the 70th and 80th latitude was ice-free. Two ships were sent out in the spring of 1754 to check the accuracy of his information. Direct contacts from the city of Bern to England began in 1720 with the creation of the post of Commissary of English Funds in London (Commissarius der englischen Gelder in London), and in 1817 the Swiss Confederation established a consulate in London.
The generally high level of interest in the Franklin Expedition met an interested and educated audience at the Burgergemeinde, whose collections already included not only the writings of scholars like Samuel Engel, but also objects such as kayak miniatures. With the Arctic directly in sight, this may explain the author's detailed report and firm condemnation of Barrow's promotion of unsave expeditions.
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