“At a later date, the same season, but previous to the disruption of the ice, the corpses of some thirty persons and some graves were discovered on the continent, and five dead bodies on an island near it, about a long day’s journey to the northwest of the mouth of a large stream, which can be no other than Back’s Great Fish River (named by the Eskimos Oot-doo-hi-ca-lik), as its description and that of the low shore in the neighborhood of Point Ogle and Montreal Island agree exactly with that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies were in a tent, or tents; others were under the boat, which had been turned over to form a shelter; and some lay scattered about in different directions. Of those seen on the island, it was supposed that one was that of an officer (chief), as he had a telescope strapped over his shoulders, and a double-barrelled gun lay underneath him.
“From the mutilated state of many of the bodies and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the dread alternative of cannibalism as a means of sustaining life. A few of the unfortunate men must have survived until the arrival of the wild-fowl (say until the end of May), as shots were heard, and fresh bones and feathers of geese were noticed near the scene of the sad event.
“There appears to have been an abundant store of ammunition, as the gunpowder was emptied by the natives in a heap on the ground out of the kegs or cases containing it, and a quantity of shot and ball was found below high-water mark, having probably been left on the ice close to the beach before the spring commenced. There must have been a number of telescopes, guns (several of them double-barrelled), watches, compasses, etc., all of which seem to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of these different articles with the natives, and I purchased as many as possible, together with some silver spoons and forks, an Order of Merit in the form of a star, and a small silver plate engraved ‘Sir John Franklin, K.C.B.’”
Following closely upon the return of Dr. Rae to England, a land journey was undertaken by Mr. James Anderson of the Hudson Bay Company to follow up the trail. He descended the Great Fish River in June, 1855, and at the rapids below Lake Franklin, three Eskimo huts were seen and various articles were found which the Eskimos claimed were obtained from a boat owned by white men who had died of starvation. These articles consisted of tent-poles, paddles, copper and sheet-iron boilers, tin soup tureens, and tools of various kinds.
Anderson pushed on to Point Beaufort, and finally reached Montreal Island. There other articles were found, such as chain, hooks, tools, rope, bunting; the name “Mr. Stanley” (surgeon of the Erebus) was rudely carved on a stick, and a piece of board had on it Terror. No signs of human remains were found, however. After a search at Point Ogle, where similar articles were found, Anderson’s party returned home.
Though the British government no longer desired to pursue the search, Lady Franklin, whose remarkable tenacity of purpose and loyal devotion had awakened so much admiration and respect, decided to expend the last remnant of her fortune to outfit the small screw steamer Fox under the able direction of the gallant M’Clintock, aided by Lieutenant Hobson, and send it to solve the mystery that still clung about the fate of her beloved husband.
At first it seemed as if all the elements had conspired to make this expedition a failure, for in the summer of 1857 the Fox found herself drifting at the mercy of the ice off Melville Bay, and after a dreary winter the pack had carried her nearly twelve hundred geographical miles in the Atlantic. Not until April 25, 1858, did the Fox get free, and then, securing such stores and provisions as could be procured at the small Danish settlement of Holstenburg, she sailed into Barrow Strait.
Early the following spring parties under M’Clintock and Lieutenant Hobson undertook two sledge journeys. At Cape Victoria on the southwest coast of Boothia, they fell in with Eskimos, who informed them that some years back a large ship had been crushed in the ice out in the sea west of King William Land.
On April 20, they again met these same Eskimos, who informed them with great reluctance that a second ship had been forced on shore, where they supposed she still remained, but much broken. They added that it was in the fall of the year, that is, August or September, when the ships were destroyed; that all the white people landed safely and went away to the Great Fish River, taking a boat or boats with them. The following year their bones were found upon the trail. M’Clintock and Hobson separated upon reaching Cape Victoria, and the former took up the search of the east coast in a southerly direction, while Hobson made a diligent examination of the western coast.