CHAPTER XX.

THE MAGNETIC POLE—A LAND JOURNEY TO THE POLAR SEA. Sir John Ross and the _Victory_—First Steam Vessel Employed in 186 the Arctic—Discovery of the Magnetic Pole—The British Flag Waving over it—Franklin and Richardson’s Journeys to the Polar Sea—The Coppermine River—Sea voyage in Birch-bark Canoes—Return Journey—Terrible Sufferings—Starvation and Utter Exhaustion—Deaths by the Way—A Brave Feat—Relieved at Length—Journey to the Mouth of the Mackenzie—Fracas with the Esquimaux—Peace Restored