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[1824-5] Salix Arctica [Arctic Willow] Port Bowen |
Observation no. 1. Parry
had personally known Crozier since 1821, and they spent three winters
together in the Arctic. Additionally, in 1845, as the Admiralty's
comptroller of steam, Parry was involved in outfitting the Erebus and Terror with their engines.
Parry writing on Sep 10 1839, after seeing off Ross and Crozier's Antarctic expedition
I took dear Ted [Parry's son] down to Chatham last Thursday to see Ross’s ships before they go, and my old North Polar Companions, now going towards the South. (MS 438/26/398)
Note:
Ann Parry incorrectly quotes from this letter as "my old North Polar Companion [sic]" (p. 212).
However,
after the 1845 disaster, he seemingly avoids any mention of his officer
Crozier. Parry’s speech at Lynn regarding the Franklin expedition, 1853
But,
while we are rejoicing over the return of our friend [Lt. Cresswell],
and anticipating the triumph that is awaiting his companions, we cannot
but turn to that which is not a matter of rejoicing, but rather of deep
sorrow and regret, that there has not been found a single token of our
dear long-lost Franklin, and his companions. My dear friend Franklin was
sixty years old when he left this country, and I shall never forget the
zeal, the almost youthful enthusiasm, with which he entered on that
expedition. Lord Haddington, who was then First Lord of the Admiralty,
sent for me, and said, ‘I see, by looking at the list, that Franklin is
sixty years old. Do you think that we ought to let him go?’ I said, 'He
is a fitter man to go than any I know; and if you don’t let him go, the
man will die of disappointment!’ He did go, and has now been gone eight
years. In the whole course of my life, I have never known a man like
Franklin. I do not say it because we believe him to be dead, on the
principle de mortuis nil nisi bonum, but because I never knew a man in
whom different qualities were so remarkably combined. With all the
tenderness of heart of a simple child, there was all the greatness and
magnanimity of a hero. It is told of him, that he would not even kill a
mosquito that was stinging him, and, whether that be true or not, it is a
true type of the tenderness of that man’s heart. (E. Parry, p. 329)
Notes:
• When
James Ross declined to command the 1845 expedition, “Three alternative
names came up. Sir John Barrow wanted Commander James Fitzjames […] Lord
Haddington, the first Lord, wanted Crozier. Finally, Sir John Franklin,
on his return from Tasmania, put in a claim.” (M.J. Ross, p.
247) More precisely, "Captain Crozier was privately offered, by Lord
Haddington, then first Lord of the Admiralty, the chief command, but
this he declined" (Ross, p. 4).
• Parry had been friends with
Franklin since the simultaneous outfitting of their vessels at Deptford
in 1818 (when John Ross and Parry were headed for the NW passage, and
Buchan and Franklin towards the North Pole).
Observation no. 2. Parry's
personal life was full of mostly self-inflicted tragedy (exceeding the
usual travails of that period). It's perhaps interesting that one of the
examples that illustrates his fairly typical 19th c. character concerns
the Irish: He felt compelled to organise relief for the suffering
Ireland (E. Parry, p. 285), and he was also known
for his memorable impression of an Irishman at charades (ibid, p. 307).
Crozier meantime, as The Polar
Museum's blog puts it, was thought by some to be "too poor, too
Presbyterian and too Irish" (source).
Worse, one could say he fell somewhere between the accustomed type suitable for charades and
the ideal. While not of independent means or an admiral's heir, he
wasn't a farmer's boy either – his family was connected and relatively
prosperous.
Speaking of Ireland, here's an eyebrow-raising report by Mogg from Port Bowen, 1825
Mar.
17th. St Patrick's day, which is usually celebrated by those of the
crew who were from Erin's Green Isle. Out of a company of 120 persons,
two only were found to claim that honour. It was also curious that a
batch of puppies should have been produced on this day, each of which
had real Irish names given to them, six in number. (Mogg, p. 25)
And
finally a modern-day take: "From the perspective of the British
imperialist mind of its time, attitudes to the Irish for example, were
never, and could never be, about a people who were equal, had a
different culture, or could be trusted in a civilised discourse of
equals." (Michael D Higgins, source)
Observation no. 3. Another
issue is religion. Parry was not just "pious" (as Ann Parry notes, p.
10, and then deftly avoids the subject), he more or less became a
fundamentalist as he aged – his religion was of the Old Testament
flavour (everyone is a sinner and should beg for god's forgiveness), and
he never shied from demonstrating it. Crozier's religion, on the other hand, was human-centric (a person
should do their best and hope for god's support). One is bound to
remember the church anecdote where the local noblesse surged to the
prestigious front pews, while Crozier declared that he's perfectly happy
sitting "aft" – "among the labourers and mechanics" (Rev. Pratt,
writing a mini version of Parry's 1857 hagiography for Crozier).
One
way or the other there's no record of any professional dissatisfaction.
Parry had his protege, the high-flying James Clark Ross – and few could
emulate him. In 1845 Crozier
still held his first Arctic captain in highest regard (MS 248/364/21), proclaiming
Parry the only other commander he'd gladly accompany as a second, beside
Ross and Franklin.
Sources:
- Mogg, William, The Arctic wintering of HMS Hecla and Fury in Prince Regent Inlet, 1824–25, in: Polar Record, Volume 12, Issue 76, January 1964, pp. 11-28
- Parry, Ann, Parry of the Arctic, 1963
- Parry, Edward, Memoirs of Rear-Admiral Sir W. Edward Parry, 1857 (read)
- Parry, William Edward, Letter to Emmeline Stanley (sister-in-law), 10 September 1839, MS 438/26/398;D, SPRI – thank you Olga Kimmins
- Pratt, Charles O'Neil, letter, in: The Macclesfield Courier and Herald, Sat Oct 22 1859
- [Ross, James Clark], A Memoir of the late Captain Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier, R.N., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., of H.M.S. Terror, 1859 (PDF; read)
- Ross, M.J., Ross in the Antarctic, 1982