Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/714

 678 ARCTIC DISCOVERY journeys were undertaken. Lieut. Hobson carried out provisions toward the magnetic pole. Capt. Young established a depot on the further side of Franklin strait, and McClmtock and Petersen travelled southward in the hope of gathering some information from the natives. On March 1, 1859, McClintock met a party of Esquimaux near Cape Victoria, and learned from them that several years before a ship had been crushed in the ice and sunk in deep water off the N. W. shore of King William land. Her people went away to a great river, where they all died of starvation, and their bodies were found the next year. It was impossible to obtain any information respecting the num- ber of white men, or the length of time since they left the ship. Another interview with some of the natives in April confirmed these statements, and threw light upon the fate of Franklin's second vessel, which they said drifted ashore at King William land. The skeleton of one man was found on board. Sending Hobson to search for the wreck, Mc- Clintock explored the E. shore of King Wil- liam land, and on May 7 came upon a vil- lage of Esquimaux, from whom he learned that when the white people marched toward the great river " many of them dropped by the way," and their bodies were found the next winter ; some were buried and others were not. Point Ogle, Montreal island in the estu- ary of Back river, and Barrow inlet were searched, with no better success than the dis- covery of a few scraps of iron, tin, and copper ; and McClintock, having now reached the track of Anderson and Stuart (1855), resolved to fol- low the S. and W. coasts of King William land until he met Hobson. The first trace of the long lost crew was found near Cape Herschel, the western limit of Simpson's explorations. It was a bleached skeleton lying at full length on the beach ; fragments of European clothing, a pocketbook, and a few letters were picked up about it. A day's march N. E. of Cape Crozier the party came across a boat fitted to a sledge and apparently prepared for naviga- ting the river. In it were two skeletons, two loaded guns, and various other relics, including Sir John Franklin's silver plate, besides fuel, ammunition, chocolate, tea, and tobacco. Its head was turned toward the abandoned ships, from whose first position it was about 65 m. distant. A record was also found which had been left here five days before by Hobson, who in the mean time had made still more interest- ing discoveries. After separating from McClin- tock he had tracked the N. and W. shores of King William land almost to Cape Herschel. Near Cape Felix, the northermost point of the island, he found a ruined cairn, three tents, and other traces of Franklin's party, but no record ; two smaller cairns were afterward examined, and on May 6 a large one was ob- served at Point Victory, where Sir James Ross had touched in 1830. Lying among some stones which had fallen from the top of the structure was a tin case enclosing a record, the first authentic account ever obtained of the history of the lost expedition. It was written on one of the printed forms used in discovery ships for the purpose of being en- closed in bottles and thrown overboard in order to ascertain the direction of the currents. It read as follows : 28 of May, 1847. H. M. ships Erebus and Terror. Win- tered In the ice in lat. 70* & N., Ion. 98 23> W. Having wintered in 1846-'7 at Beechey island in lat. 74 48> 28" N., Ion. 91 89 / 15" W., after having ascended Wellington chan- nel to lat. 77 and returned by the W. side of Comwallis island. Sir John Franklin commanding the expedition. All well. Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left the ships on Monday, 24th May, 1S47. Win. Gore, Lieut; Chae. F. Des Vu-u.". Mate. Around the margin was written in a different hand: April 25, 1848. H. M. ships Terror and Erebus were de- serted on the 22d April, 5 leagues N. N. W. of this, having been beset since 12th Sept. 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 106 souls, under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in lat 69 SI' 42", Ion. 98 V 16". This paper was found by Lt. Irving under the cairn supposed to have been built by Sir James Ross in 1881, 4 miles to the northward, where it had been deposited by the late Com- mander Gore in June, 1847. Sir James Ross's pillar has not however been found, and the paper has been transferred to this position, which is that in which Sir J. Ross's pillar was erected. Sir John Franklin died on the llth June, 1847, and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has been to this date 9 officers and 16 men.* JAKES FITZ.TAMES. Captain F. R. M. CROZIEB. U. M. 8. Erebus. Captain and senior oflr. and start on to-morrow, 26th, for Back's Fish river. The date 1846-"T given as that of Franklin's wintering at Beechey island is evidently an error; it should be 1845-'6. Vast quantities of clothing and other articles were found here. The wreck was not seen, nor were any more skeletons found; but this indeed was hardly to have been expected, as the route toward Back river was almost all the way over ice which breaks up in summer. Meeting no more of the Esquimaux nor further traces of the lost voyagers, and feeling certain that the whole expedition had perished, McClintock returned to his vessel, June 19, carrying a great number of relics, many of which had been purchased from the natives. Besides solving the problem which had engaged arctic enterprise for 11 years, his expedition had completed the delineation of the N. shore of the American continent; laid down the pre- viously unknown outline of Boothia and the coast of King William land; proved the navigability of Bellot strait, the existence of which was before doubted ; opened a new and capacious channel extending N. W. from Vic- toria strait to Parry or Melville sound, and since named at the suggestion of Lady Frank- lin McClintock channel ; observed many inter- esting facts in terrestrial magnetism; and finally, proved Sir John Franklin to be the dis- coverer of the northwest passage. With the aid of McClintock's narrative we are now able dition 129, whereas it has commonly been stated at 188. It has been ascertained, however, that only 184 actually left England, and 6 of these returned.
 * These figures make the original force of Franklin's expe-