Though the ice did not break up, yet during the spring (May 24, 1847) Franklin sent a party under the command of Lieutenant Graham Gore to explore King William’s Land. This party reached Cape Herschel, a point on the southern coast of King William’s Land, and in the distance saw the continent of North America.
A navigable passage was known to exist along the northern coast of America from Boothia to Bering strait. Franklin himself and Richardson had discovered and surveyed the greater part of this extent of country.
Franklin had succeeded in reaching King William’s Land by entering the Arctic from the Atlantic. Thus the discovery of the northwest passage was reduced to the finding of a link which should connect these two known waterways. This link was found by Graham Gore, when from Cape Herschel he saw the American coast across a narrow channel of water. So the credit of the discovery of the northwest passage must be given to Franklin. Had it not been for the fact that his ships were beset in the ice, Franklin would, without doubt, have sailed in 1846 from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the northern coast of North America.
As it was, Lieutenant Gore’s discovery connected the two known passages and established the fact that an open waterway existed. Gore wrote a brief record of what his party had accomplished and left it on the island, where it was found years later by men who were searching for Franklin; but neither Franklin nor any of his heroic band lived to tell in person the news of the discovery.
When Gore returned to the Erebus he found Sir John very ill. He probably came in time to inform Franklin that the northwest passage had really been discovered. Let us hope so. Franklin passed peacefully away June 11, 1847. He had lived a good life and left a glorious name behind him.
Captain Crozier of the Terror now took command of the expedition. The prospect of a third winter in the ice made the bravest of the men shrink, but it was too late in the season for them to leave the ships. To do so would have been certain death. It is best not to try to picture the misery of the third winter.
In the spring of 1848 there were one hundred and five men still living. These half-starved creatures decided to leave the ships and travel by sledges to the North American coast, where they hoped to meet some Indians who would give them food and guide them to the Hudson Bay settlements. Their dreadful march has been traced along the western coast of King William’s Land, and perhaps a few of the party reached the southern end of that island.
A number of Eskimos saw and camped with some of them, but would not remain, fearing that there was not sufficient food for all. There is no doubt that food gave out entirely, and that the men died of starvation. Many years later an old Eskimo woman reported having seen a party of white men traveling to the south. She said, “They fell down and died as they walked along.” It is inspiring to think of the heroism of these brave men who discovered the northwest passage. Their patience, perseverance, and devotion to their work deserve our highest admiration.
In 1847, when, after two years of waiting, no news of the Erebus or the Terror came to England, great anxiety was aroused and many searching expeditions were sent out. Lady Franklin offered a reward of £2000 to any one who would bring her news of her husband or his companions. Her courage and her determined efforts to trace the lost vessels aroused the sympathy of the world. Lady Franklin spent her entire private means in the search, and it is largely owing to her efforts that we have any knowledge at all of her husband’s accomplishment and of his final fate.
The English government also offered a large reward to any one who would find the lost ships or crews. In the autumn of 1850 there were fifteen vessels in the Arctic ocean, hunting for Franklin and his ships. America joined England in the search, and as a result the Arctic regions became far better known than ever before.