On the headstones of the three graves resting in that bleak and desolate shore were the following inscriptions:—
Sacred
to the
Memory
of
W. Braine, R. M.
H. M. S. Erebus,
Died April 3rd, 1846,
Aged 32 years.
“Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.”
Joshua, ch. XXIV. 15.
Sacred to the Memory of
John Hartwell, A. B. of H. M. S.
Erebus,
Aged 23 years.
“Thus saith the Lord, consider your ways.”
Haggai, I. 7.
Sacred
to
The Memory
of
John Torrington,
Who departed this life,
January 1st, A.D., 1846,
On board of
H. M.’s Ship Terror,
Aged 20 years.
No other written record was found. The lost expedition had seemingly folded its tents, in the mysterious gloom of the Arctic night, and silently crept away.
Now, just as the searchers had struck the trail, and were hot upon the scent, the icy clutch of the long winter arrested their endeavours, imperiously demanded of them patience, courage, endurance, and enforced upon them the weariness of months of waiting. Thus the squadron took up winter quarters at the southern extremity of Cornwallis Land; the Grinnell expedition, following its instruction, made an attempt to return home; but was soon shut up in Wellington Channel, where the Advance and Rescue drifted backward and forward at the mercy of the ice. Of their attempts to escape being ice-bound for the winter, Dr. Kane draws a lively picture.
“September 13.
“The navigation is certainly exciting. I have never seen a description in my Arctic readings of anything like this. We are literally running for our lives, surrounded by the imminent hazards of sudden consolidation in an open sea. All minor perils, nips, bumps, and sunken bergs are discarded; we are staggering along under all sail, forcing our way while we can. One thump, received since I commenced writing, jerked the time-keeper from our binnacle down the cabin hatch, and, but for our strong bows, seven and a half solid feet, would have stove us in. Another time, we cleared a tongue of the main jack by riding it down at eight knots.”