being drawn backwards and forwards in succession till all had crossed. It was then determined that Franklin, with eight of the party, should push on and endeavour to send back assistance. Four of these were so utterly broken down, that after vainly attempting to keep up, they could not proceed. Of these four, but one returned to the encampment in charge of Dr. Richardson; the other three were no more heard of. Arrived at Fort Enterprise they found no provisions and no inhabitants. They had on the way eaten a part of their boots: at the house they found some deer-skins and bones, which they softened and cooked. Franklin determined to push on to the next fort, but found that after six hours' travel he could only make four miles, and the day after he fell exhausted among some rocks. He let two of the Canadians proceed, while he returned to the miserable house. Here he passed eighteen days with the three men, when Dr. Richardson and Hepburn arrived, bringing the intelligence that Mr. Hood and Michel, one of the Indians, were dead. Their terrible sufferings had culminated in a tragedy. Michel, the Iroquois Indian, had been noticed to be in strong health and spirits, while the rest were famishing, and he had refused to assist them. The doctor and Hepburn were therefore obliged to go in search of tripe de roche, leaving poor Hood by the fire. When

they returned, Hood was lying lifeless, with a bullet through his head. All the circumstances (detailed at full in the narrative) pointed to Michel as his murderer, and Dr. Richardson, thoroughly convinced of the fact, shot him dead as he approached. It further transpired that the Indian must have murdered the exhausted men who were returning from Franklin's party, and have eaten part of their remains.

"The loss of a young officer, of such distinguished and varied talents and application, may be felt and duly appreciated by the eminent characters under whose command he had served; but the calmness with which he contemplated the probable termination of a life of uncommon promise, and the patience and fortitude with which he sustained, I may venture to say, unparalleled bodily sufferings, can only be known to the companions of his distresses. Bickersteth's 'Scripture Help' was lying open beside the body, as if it had fallen from his hand, and it was probable that he was reading it at the instant of his death."

"The emaciated countenances of the doctor and Hepburn," says the narrative, "gave evidence of their debilitated state. The doctor particularly remarked the sepulchral tones of our voices, which he requested of us to make more cheerful, if possible, unconscious that his own partook of the same

Piety and Resignation.

117

key." A partridge which Hepburn had shot was held to the fire, and then divided into six portions. "I and my three companions," says Franklin, ravenously devoured our shares, as it was the first morsel of flesh any of us had tasted for thirtyone days, unless, indeed, the small gristly particles which we found occasionally adhering to the pounded bones may be termed flesh." Piety and resignation under calamity are characteristics of the naval profession; and on the present occasion of distress we are told, "the doctor having brought with him his Prayer-Book and Testament, some prayers and psalms, and portions of Scripture appropriate to our situation, were read, and we retired to bed."

After a long time Back forwarded supplies by friendly Indians, having himself suffered hardships scarcely second to those recorded above. The party at length reached Fort Chipewyan, where their worst troubles were over.

English pluck is proverbial, nevertheless one would have supposed that Franklin and his party had dared enough in the sterile regions bordering on the Arctic to have entitled them to a long rest. We find, however, that nothing could subdue their love of adventure in the cause of science, and during 1825-26 and 27, Franklin (just knighted), Dr. Richardson, and Back again left England for the

118 Other Land and Water Expeditions.

northernmost parts of the Hudson's Bay Company's territory. On this expedition Franklin, after wintering in 1825-26 on Great Bear Lake, descended the Mackenzie River into the Arctic, and surveyed the coast as far as Return Reef, more than 1,000 miles of travel each way. In connection with the same survey, Captain Beechey, of the Blossom, had entered Bering's Straits, and had in boats explored the coast beyond Captain Cook's Icy Cape, as far as Point Barrow, the extreme N.W. cape of America. Meantime Dr. Richardson and Lieut. Kendall were exploring eastward of the Mackenzie. These expeditions, albeit requiring much personal bravery and endurance, were not marked by any of the painful circumstances attending the former ones. Several later expeditions in which Rae, Ross (James Clarke), Dease, Simpson, and others took part, do not come within the scope of the present work.

CHAPTER XII.

Sir John Franklin's Last Expedition-The Last Letters-Alarm felt in England Searching Expeditions organised-Dr. Rae's Discoveries-The First Relics-Appeal to the Government-Noble Lady Franklin-M'Clintock's Voyage-The Fox in the Pack-Eight Months in the Ice-Winter Searches-Hobson and M'Clintock's Discoveries-The Wrecked Ships-Relics obtained-The Skeleton on the Beach.

IN 1845 a new expedition was organised by the Admiralty to make one more attempt at the north-west passage. Cap

tain Sir John Franklin, who had been acting for the previous five years as LieutenantGovernor of Tasmania, was placed in command, with Captain Crozier, Commander Fitzjames, Lieutenant Fairholme, and other officers of experience as his subordinates. The two vessels, Erebus and Terror, had been much strengthened, auxiliary screws, engines, and fuel provided, and they were provisioned for three years. The expedition sailed on May 19th, and reached a point near Disco, Greenland, early in July. There a transport, which had accompanied them with stores, was despatched with letters-the last letters-from the officers and