He had left these papers behind him in a cairn, where, among other
things, some silver spoons had since been found. In the winter of 1876,
while the captain was with the bark 'A. Houghton' before Marble
Island, another set of Esquimaux visited him, and while looking at his
logbook said that the great white man who had been among them many
years before had kept a similar book, and having told him this one of
them gave him a spoon engraved with the word "Franklin."
This was enough to arrest the attention and stir the adventurous spirit
of Lieutenant Schwatka. He became eager to organize a search party and
find the cairn where the papers were supposed to be still buried. He
obtained leave of absence, went to New York, and proposed to Judge
Daly, of the Geographical Society, to take charge of an expedition.
After listening to the lieutenant's offer, Judge Daly gave him all the
information in his possession concerning the whereabouts of the
supposed cairn, so far as its site could be ascertained from the
history of the relics already said to be found, and commended him to
General Sherman, indorsing his application to be detailed to command
the exploring party. The lieutenant also conferred with Messrs.
Morrison & Brown, the shipping merchants of South Street, New York, who
owned the whaling vessel on which the supposed clew was brought home,
and they readily accepted his offer, and with the help of private
subscriptions fitted out the 'Eothen'.
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