The H.M.S. Investigator spent the years 1850 4 in the Western Arctic engaged in a search for the lost expedition of the explorer Sir John Franklin. In this 1857 publication Alexander Armstrong (1818 99), surgeon and naturalist to the ship, gives a first-hand account of life on board during the voyage, as testimony to the 'heroism, devotion, and endurance' of his shipmates. He describes the harsh conditions that the crew had to endure, and argues convincingly that no travel 'more thoroughly tests man's powers of endurance, both morally and physically' than travelling in the Arctic. He also...