The cairn found empty--Discover Hobson's letter--Discovery of
Crozier's record--The deserted boat--Articles discovered about the
boat--The skeletons and relics--The boat belonged to the
'Erebus'--Conjectures.
{THE CAIRN EMPTY.}
As the Esquimaux of this land, as well as those of Boothia and Pond's
Inlet, have long since given up the practice of building stone
dwellings--passing their winters in snow-huts, and summers in tents--no
other traces of them than those described remain; so that when or in
what numbers they may have been here one cannot form any opinion, the
same câches and hiding-places serving for generations.
I cannot divest myself of the belief that _some record was left here_ by
the retreating crews, and perhaps some most valuable documents which
their slow progress and fast failing strength would have assured them
could not be carried much further. If any such were left they have been
discovered by the natives, and carried off, or thrown away as worthless.
Doubtless the natives, when they ascertained that famine and fatigue had
caused many of the white men "to fall down and die" upon their fearful
march, and heard, as they might have done, of its fatal termination
upon the mainland, lost no time in following up their traces, examining
every spot where they halted, every mark they put up, or stone
displaced.
{APPEARANCE OF CAIRNS.}
It is easy to tell whether a cairn has been put up or touched within a
moderate period of years; if very old, the outer stones have a weathered
appearance, lichens will have grown upon the sheltered portions and moss
in the crevices; but if recently disturbed, even if a single stone is
turned upside down, these appearances are altered. If a cairn has been
recently built it will be evident, because the stones picked up from the
neighborhood would be bleached on top by the exposure of centuries,
whilst underneath they would be colored by the soil in which they were
imbedded. To the eye of the native hunter these marks of a recent cairn
are at once apparent: and unless Simpson's cairn (built in 1839) had
been disturbed by Crozier, I do not think the Esquimaux would have been
at the trouble of pulling it down to plunder the câche; but having
commenced to do so, would not have left any of it standing, _unless they
found what they sought_.
I noticed with great care the appearance of the stones, and came to the
conclusion that the cairn itself was of old date, and had been erected
many years ago, and that it was reduced to the state in which we found
it by people having broken down one side of it; the displaced stones,
from being turned over, looking far more fresh than those in that
portion of the cairn which had been left standing. It was with a feeling
of deep regret and much disappointment that I left this spot without
finding some certain record of those martyrs to their country's fame.
Perhaps in all the wide world there will be few spots more hallowed in
the recollection of English seamen than this cairn on Cape Herschel.
A few miles beyond Cape Herschel the land becomes very low; many islets
and shingle-ridges lie far off the coast; and as we advanced we met with
hummocks of unusually heavy ice, showing plainly that we were now
travelling upon a far more exposed part of the coast-line. We were
approaching a spot where a revelation of intense interest was awaiting
me.
{INTEREST ATTACHING TO THE CAIRN.}
About 12 miles from Cape Herschel I found a small cairn built by
Hobson's party, and containing a note for me. He had reached this his
extreme point, six days previously, without having seen anything of the
wreck, or of natives, but he had found a record--the record so ardently
sought for, of the Franklin Expedition--at Point Victory, on the N.W.
coast of King William's Land.
{DISCOVERY OF GORE'S RECORD.}
That record is indeed a sad and touching relic of our lost friends, and,
to simplify its contents, I will point out separately the double story
it so briefly tells. In the first place, the record paper was one of the
printed forms usually supplied to discovery ships for the purpose of
being enclosed in bottles and thrown overboard at sea, in order to
ascertain the set of the currents, blanks being left for the date and
position; any person finding one of these records is requested to
forward it to the Secretary of the Admiralty, with a note of time and
place; and this request is printed upon it in six different languages.
Upon it was written, apparently by Lieutenant Gore, as follows:--
"28 of May, { H.M. ships 'Erebus' and 'Terror' wintered in the
1847. { ice in lat. 70° 05' N.; long. 98° 23' W.
"Having wintered in 1846-7 at Beechey Island, in lat. 74° 43' 28"
N., long. 91° 39' 15" W., after having ascended Wellington Channel
to lat. 77°, and returned by the west side of Cornwallis Island.
"Sir John Franklin commanding the expedition.
"All well.
"Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left the ships on Monday
24th May, 1847.
"GM. GORE, Lieut.
"CHAS. F. DES V[OE]UX, Mate."
{GORE'S RECORD.}
There is an error in the above document, namely, that the 'Erebus' and
'Terror' wintered at Beechey Island in 1846-7,--the correct dates should
have been 1845-6; a glance at the date at the top and bottom of the
record proves this, but in all other respects the tale is told in as few
words as possible of their wonderful success up to that date, May, 1847.
We find that, after the last intelligence of Sir John Franklin was
received by us (bearing date of July, 1845), from the whalers in
Melville Bay, that his Expedition passed on to Lancaster Sound, and
entered Wellington Channel, of which the southern entrance had been
discovered by Sir Edward Parry in 1819. The 'Erebus' and 'Terror' sailed
up that strait for one hundred and fifty miles, and reached in the
autumn of 1845 the same latitude as was attained eight years
subsequently by H.M.S. 'Assistance' and 'Pioneer.' Whether Franklin
intended to pursue this northern course, and was only stopped by ice in
that latitude of 77° north, or purposely relinquished a route which
seemed to lead away from the known seas off the coast of America, must
be a matter of opinion; but this the document assures us of, that Sir
John Franklin's Expedition, having accomplished this examination,
returned southward from latitude 77° north, which is at the head of
Wellington Channel, and re-entered Barrow's Strait by a new channel
between Bathurst and Cornwallis Islands.
Seldom has such an amount of success been accorded to an Arctic
navigator in a single season, and when the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' were
secured at Beechey Island for the coming winter of 1845-6, the results
of their first year's labor must have been most cheering. These results
were the exploration of Wellington and Queen's Channel, and the addition
to our charts of the extensive lands on either hand. In 1846 they
proceeded to the south-west, and eventually reached within twelve miles
of the north extreme of King William's Land, when their progress was
arrested by the approaching winter of 1846-7. That winter appears to
have passed without any serious loss of life; and when in the spring
Lieutenant Gore leaves with a party for some especial purpose, and very
probably to connect the unknown coast-line of King William's Land
between Point Victory and Cape Herschel, those on board the 'Erebus' and
'Terror' were "all well," and the gallant Franklin still commanded.
{DISCOVERY OF CROZIER'S RECORD.}
But, alas! round the margin of the paper upon which Lieutenant Gore in
1847 wrote those words of hope and promise, another hand had
subsequently written the following words:--
"April 25, 1848.--H.M. ships 'Terror' and 'Erebus' were deserted on
the 22nd April, 5 leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since
12th September, 1846. The officers and crews, consisting of 105
souls, under the command of Captain F. R. M. Crozier, landed here in
lat. 69° 37' 42" N., long. 98° 41' W. Sir John Franklin died on the
11th June, 1847; and the total loss by deaths in the expedition has
been to this date 9 officers and 15 men.
(Signed) (Signed)
"F. R. M. CROZIER, "JAMES FITZJAMES,
"Captain and Senior Officer. "Captain H.M.S. Erebus.
"and start (on) to-morrow, 26th,
for Back's Fish River."
{ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION.}
This marginal information was evidently written by Captain Fitzjames,
excepting only the note stating when and where they were going, which
was added by Captain Crozier.
There is some additional marginal information relative to the transfer
of the document to its present position (viz., the site of Sir James
Ross' pillar) from a spot four miles to the northward, near Point
Victory, where it had been originally deposited by the _late_ Commander
Gore. This little word _late_ shows us that he too, within the
twelvemonth had passed away.
In the short space of twelve months how mournful had become the history
of Franklin's expedition; how changed from the cheerful "All well" of
Graham Gore! The spring of 1847 found them within 90 miles of the known
sea off the coast of America; and to men who had already in two seasons
sailed over 500 miles of previously unexplored waters, how confident
must they have felt that that forthcoming navigable season of 1847 would
see their ships pass over so short an intervening space! It was ruled
otherwise. Within a month after Lieutenant Gore placed the record on
Point Victory, the much-loved leader of the expedition, Sir John
Franklin, was dead; and the following spring found Captain Crozier, upon
whom the command had devolved at King William's Land, endeavoring to
save his starving men, 105 souls in all, from a terrible death by
retreating to the Hudson Bay territories up the Back or Great Fish
River.
A sad tale was never told in fewer words. There is something deeply
touching in their extreme simplicity, and they show in the strongest
manner that both the leaders of this retreating party were actuated by
the loftiest sense of duty, and met with calmness and decision the
fearful alternative of a last bold struggle for life, rather than perish
without effort on board their ships; for we well know that the 'Erebus'
and 'Terror' were only provisioned up to July, 1848.
{DISCREPANCY IN THE RECORD.}
Another discrepancy exists in the second part of the record written by
Fitzjames. The original number composing the expedition was 138
souls,[21] and the record states the total loss by deaths to have been 9
officers and 15 men, consequently that 114 officers and men remained;
but it also states that 105 only landed under Captain Crozier's command,
so that 9 individuals are unaccounted for.
Lieutenant Hobson's note told me that he found quantities of clothing
and articles of all kinds lying about the cairn, as if these men, aware
that they were retreating for their lives, had there abandoned
everything which they considered superfluous.
Hobson had experienced extremely bad weather--constant gales and
fogs--and thought he might have passed the wreck without seeing her; he
hoped to be more successful upon his return journey.
Encouraged by this important news, we exerted our utmost vigilance in
order that no trace should escape us.
Our provisions were running very short, therefore the three remaining
puppies were of necessity shot, and their sledge used for fuel. We were
also enabled to lengthen our journeys, as we had very smooth ice to
travel over, the off-lying islets keeping the rough pack from pressing
in upon the shore.
{CAPE CROZIER.}
Upon the 29th of May we reached the western extreme of King William's
Island, in lat. 69° 08' N., and long. 100° 08' W. I named it after
Captain Crozier of the 'Terror,' the gallant leader of that "Forlorn
Hope" of which we now just obtained tidings. The coast we marched along
was extremely low--a mere series of ridges of limestone shingle, almost
destitute of fossils. The only tracks of animals seen were those of a
bear and a few foxes--the only living creatures a few willow-grouse.
Traces even of the wandering Esquimaux became much less frequent after
leaving Cape Herschel. Here were found only a few circles of stones, the
sites of tenting-places, but so moss-grown as to be of great age. The
prospect to seaward was not less forbidding--a rugged surface of
crushed-up pack, including much heavy ice. In these shallow ice-covered
seas, seals are but seldom found: and it is highly probable that all
animal life in them is as scarce as upon the land.
{DESERTED BOAT.}
From Cape Crozier the coast-line was found to turn sharply away to the
eastward; and early in the morning of the 30th May we encamped alongside
a large boat--another melancholy relic which Hobson had found and
examined a few days before, as his note left here informed me; but he
had failed to discover record, journal, pocket-book, or memorandum of
any description.
A vast quantity of tattered clothing was lying in her, and this we first
examined. Not a single article bore the name of its former owner. The
boat was cleared out and carefully swept that nothing might escape us.
The snow was then removed from about her, but nothing whatever was
found.
{ARTICLES FOUND NEAR HER.}
This boat measured 28 feet long, and 7 feet 3 inches wide; she was built
with a view to lightness and light draught of water, and evidently
equipped with the utmost care for the ascent of the Great Fish River;
she had neither oars nor rudder, paddles supplying their place, and as a
large remnant of light canvas, commonly known as No. 8, was found, and
also a small block for reeving a sheet through, I suppose she had been
provided with a sail. A sloping canvas roof or rain-awning had also
formed part of her equipment. She was fitted with a weather-cloth 9
inches high, battened down all round the gunwale, and supported by 24
iron stanchions, so placed as to serve likewise for rowing thowels.
There were 50 fathoms of deep-sea sounding-line near her, as well as an
ice grapnel. She appeared to have been originally "carvel" built; but
for the purpose of reducing weight, very thin fir planks had been
substituted for her seven upper strakes, and put on "clincher" fashion.
{DESCRIPTION OF THE BOAT.}
The weight of the boat alone was about 700 or 800 lbs. only, but she was
mounted upon a sledge of unusual weight and strength. It was constructed
of two oak planks 23 feet 4 inches in length, 8 inches in width, and
with an average thickness of 2-1/2 inches. These planks formed the sides
or runners of the sledge; they were connected by five cross-bars of oak,
each 4 feet long, and 4 inches by 3-1/2 inches thick, and bolted down to
the runners; the underneath parts of the latter were shod with iron.
Upon the cross-bars five saddles or supporting chocks for the boat were
lashed, and the drag-ropes by which the crew moved this massive sledge,
and the weights upon it, consisted of 2-3/4 inch whale-line.
I have calculated the weight of this sledge to be 650 lbs.; it could not
have been less, and may have been considerably more. The total weight of
boat and sledge may be taken at 1400 lbs., which amounts to a heavy
load for seven strong healthy men.
[Illustration]
The only markings about the boat were those upon her stem, by which we
learned that she was built by contract, was received into Woolwich
Dockyard in April, 184 ,[22] and was numbered 61. There may have been a
fourth figure to the right hand, as the stem had been reduced in order
to lighten the boat. The ground the sledge rested upon was the usual
limestone shingle, perfectly flat, and probably overflowed at times
every summer, as the stones were embedded in ice.
The boat was partially out of her cradle upon the sledge, and lying in
such a position as to lead me to suppose it the effect of a violent
north-west gale. She was barely, if at all, above the reach of
occasional tides.
One hundred yards from her, upon the land side, lay the stump of a
fir-tree 12 feet long, and 16 inches in diameter at 3 feet above the
roots. Although the ice had used it roughly during its drift to this
shore, and rubbed off every vestige of bark, yet the wood was perfectly
sound. It may have been and probably has been lying there for twenty or
thirty years, and during such a period would suffer less decay in this
region of frost than in one-sixth of the time at home. Within two yards
of it I noticed a few scanty tufts of grass.
{SKELETONS AND RELICS.}
[Illustration]
But all these were after observations; there was that in the boat which
transfixed us with awe. It was portions of two human skeletons. One was
that of a slight young person; the other of a large, strongly-made,
middle-aged man. The former was found in the bow of the boat, but in too
much disturbed a state to enable Hobson to judge whether the sufferer
had died there; large and powerful animals, probably wolves, had
destroyed much of this skeleton, which may have been that of an officer.
Near it we found the fragment of a pair of worked slippers, of which I
give the pattern, as they may possibly be identified. The lines were
white, with a black margin; the spaces white, red, and yellow. They had
originally been 11 inches long, lined with calf-skin with the hair left
on, and the edges bound with red silk ribbon. Besides these slippers
there were a pair of small strong shooting half-boots. The other
skeleton was in a somewhat more perfect state,[23] and was enveloped
with clothes and furs; it lay across the boat, under the after-thwart.
Close beside it were found five watches; and there were two
double-barrelled guns--one barrel in each loaded and cocked--standing
muzzle upwards against the boat's side. It may be imagined with what
deep interest these sad relics were scrutinised, and how anxiously every
fragment of clothing was turned over in search of pockets and
pocket-books, journals, or even names. Five or six small books were
found, all of them scriptural or devotional works, except the 'Vicar of
Wakefield.' One little book, 'Christian Melodies,' bore an inscription
upon the title page from the donor to G. G. (Graham Gore?) A small Bible
contained numerous marginal notes, and whole passages underlined.
Besides these books, the covers of a New Testament and Prayerbook were
found.
{RELICS ABOUT THE BOAT.}
Amongst an amazing quantity of clothing there were seven or eight
pairs of boots of various kinds--cloth winter boots, sea boots,
heavy ankle boots, and strong shoes. I noted that there were silk
handkerchiefs--black, white, and figured--towels, soap, sponge,
tooth-brush, and hair-combs; mackintosh gun-cover, marked outside with
paint A 12, and lined with black cloth. Besides these articles we found
twine, nails, saws, files, bristles, wax-ends, sailmakers' palms,
powder, bullets, shot, cartridges, wads, leather cartridge-case,
knives--clasp and dinner ones--needle and thread cases, slow-match,
several bayonet-scabbards cut down into knife-sheaths, two rolls of
sheet-lead, and, in short, a quantity of articles of one description and
another truly astonishing in variety, and such as, for the most part,
modern sledge-travellers in these regions would consider a mere
accumulation of dead weight, but slightly useful, and very likely to
break down the strength of the sledge-crews.
The only provisions we could find were tea and chocolate; of the former
very little remained, but there were nearly 40 pounds of the latter.
These articles alone could never support life in such a climate, and we
found neither biscuit nor meat of any kind. A portion of tobacco and an
empty pemmican-tin, capable of containing 22 pounds weight, were
discovered. The tin was marked with an E; it had probably belonged to
the 'Erebus.' None of the fuel originally brought from the ships
remained in or about the boat, but there was no lack of it, for a
drift-tree was lying on the beach close at hand, and had the party been
in need of fuel they would have used the paddles and bottom-boards of
the boat.
In the after part of the boat we discovered eleven large spoons, eleven
forks, and four teaspoons, all of silver; of these twenty-six pieces of
plate, eight bore Sir John Franklin's crest, the remainder had the
crests or initials of nine different officers, with the exception of a
single fork which was not marked; of these nine officers, five belonged
to the 'Erebus,'--Gore, Le Vesconte, Fairholme, Couch, and Goodsir.
Three others belonged to the 'Terror,'--Crozier, (a teaspoon only),
Hornby, and Thomas. I do not know to whom the three articles with an owl
engraved on them belonged, nor who was the owner of the unmarked fork,
but of the owners of those we can identify, the majority belonged to the
'Erebus.' One of the watches bore the crest of Mr. Couch, of the
'Erebus,' and as the pemmican tin also came from that ship, I am
inclined to think the boat did also; the authorities at Woolwich could
tell (by her number) to which ship she was supplied; and as one of the
pocket chronometers found in the boat was marked, "Parkinson and
Frodsham 980," and the other "Arnold 2020," it could also be ascertained
to which ship they had been issued.[24]
{CONJECTURES.}
Sir John Franklin's plate perhaps was issued to the men for their use,
as the only means of saving it; and it seems probable that the officers
generally did the same, as not a single iron spoon, such as sailors
always use, has been found. Of the many men, probably twenty or thirty,
who were attached to this boat, it seemed most strange that the remains
of only two individuals were found, nor were there any graves upon the
neighboring flat land; indeed, bearing in mind the season at which these
poor fellows left their ships, it should be remembered that the soil was
then frozen hard, and the labor of _cutting_ a grave very great indeed.
I was astonished to find that the sledge was directed to the N.E.,
exactly for the next point of land for which we ourselves were
travelling!
The position of this abandoned boat is about 50 miles--as a sledge would
travel--from Point Victory, and therefore 65 miles from the position of
the ships; also it is 70 miles from the skeleton of the steward, and 150
miles from Montreal Island; it is moreover in the depth of a wide bay,
where, by crossing over 10 or 12 miles of very low land, a great saving
of distance would be effected, the route by the coast-line being about
40 miles.
A little reflection led me to satisfy my own mind at least, that the
boat was returning to the ships: and in no other way can I account for
two men having been left in her, than by supposing the party were unable
to drag the boat further, and that these two men, not being able to keep
pace with their shipmates, were therefore left by them supplied with
such provisions as could be spared to last until the return of the
others from the ship with a fresh stock.
Whether it was the intention of the retroceding party to await the
result of another season in the ships, or to follow the track of the
main body to the Great Fish River, is now a matter of conjecture. It
seems highly probable that they had purposed revisiting the boat, not
only on account of the two men left in charge of it, but also to obtain
the chocolate, the five watches, and many other articles which would
otherwise scarcely have been left in her.
The same reasons which may be assigned for the return of this detachment
from the main body, will also serve to account for their not having come
back to their boat. In both instances they appear to have greatly
overrated their strength, and the distance they could travel in a given
time.
Taking this view of the case, we can understand why their provisions
would not last them for anything like the distance they required to
travel; and why they would be obliged to send back to the ships for
more, first taking from the detached party all provisions they could
possibly spare. Whether all or any of the remainder of this detached
party ever reached their ships is uncertain; all we know is, that they
did not revisit the boat, and which accounts for the absence of more
skeletons in its neighborhood; and the Esquimaux report that there was
no one alive in the ship when she drifted on shore, and that but one
human body was found by them on board of her.
{POINT FRANKLIN.}
After leaving the boat we followed an irregular coast-line to the N. and
N.W., up to a very prominent cape, which is probably the extreme of land
seen from Point Victory by Sir James Ross, and named by him Point
Franklin, which name, as a cape, it still retains.
I need hardly say that throughout the whole of my journey along the
shores of King William's Land I caused a most vigilant look-out to be
kept to seaward for any appearance of the stranded ship spoken of by the
natives; our search was however fruitless in that respect.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] See Conclusion, p. 317.
[22] Only the first three figures of the date upon her stem remained,
thus--184 .
[23] No part of the skull of either skeleton was found, with the
exception only of the lower jaw of each.
[24] These chronometers, according to the receipts in office, were
supplied one to each ship in 1845; but it is impossible to tell to which
ship the boat belonged, as the number is imperfect.