The ascent of the Coppermine was difficult, as winter had now set in, and the ice on the rocks afforded very poor foothold to the men who were towing the boats. The journey was, however, accomplished in safety, and on September 25 they reached Fort Confidence. Thence they passed on to Fort Simpson, where the leader of the expedition proposed to spend the next few weeks in writing up the account of his voyages and discoveries. These were completed by December 2, on which date he set out for his own station at Red River Settlement, which he reached on February 2, having travelled 1900 miles on foot in those sixty-one days.
This was destined to be the last journey which the indefatigable young traveller undertook, for within a few months he was lying in his grave. The exact circumstances which led to the tragic death of one of the most brilliant and enthusiastic explorers England ever possessed have never been properly ascertained, and no one ever knew whether he was murdered or whether he committed suicide.
Briefly put, the story is as follows: The Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company at that time was a relation of the explorer, who was not, however, too well disposed towards him. Though the expedition had accomplished great things, it seems that Governor Simpson thought that it ought to have accomplished more; and in one of his letters to its leader he expressed his regret that the party was not prepared to spend another year in the Arctic regions, with a view to pushing its discoveries on in the direction of Fury and Hecla Strait. As the younger Simpson had already told him in one of his letters that his men were utterly worn out and his provisions exhausted, the tone adopted by the Governor seems to have been distinctly unreasonable. That his relative was perfectly prepared to prosecute his researches still further was obvious from an offer which he made to lead another expedition north in the following year, with a view to surveying Boothia Felix, and, if possible, to passing through Fury and Hecla Strait, and so making his way to Hudson’s Bay. This offer was, however, entirely ignored by Governor Simpson, who, indeed, gave the young explorer to understand that, if another expedition were fitted out, the command would be given to someone else.
Simpson was very much hurt by the Governor’s attitude, and wrote him a somewhat strong letter upon the subject, with the result that he was ordered to repair to England immediately. The controversy seems to have affected the explorer’s health very seriously indeed, and it is obvious from some of the letters that he wrote to the Governor that he was suffering from great mental excitement. Had he but known it, there was every prospect of his continuing his excellent work as an explorer, for a letter which he had written to the directors of the Hudson’s Bay Company suggesting a fresh voyage of discovery through the Gulf of Boothia had been very favourably considered by them, and they wrote him a formal reply appointing him to the command of a fresh expedition within a few days of the date on which he set out on his homeward journey from the Red River Settlement.
He took leave of his friends on June 6, 1840, and started off in the direction of St Peters with a party which consisted of James Bruce of the Red River Settlement, a father and son of the name of Legros, and John Bird. Bruce’s sworn testimony as to the events which took place on the journey is to the following effect. On June 14 Simpson seemed to be restless and ill. He frequently expressed a desire to return to the Red River Settlement, and urged the others to go with him. He did not appear to be suffering from any particular complaint, but he wished, nevertheless, to consult a physician, and told his companions that he feared that he could not live much longer. Towards the evening Bruce, Bird, and the elder Legros were engaged in pitching the tent, standing with their backs to their leader. Suddenly Bruce heard the report of a gun, and looking round, he saw that Simpson had shot Bird, who fell dead upon the spot. Simpson then turned his gun upon the elder Legros and fired at him, wounding him mortally, though death did not ensue immediately. When they were sufficiently recovered from their horror and amazement, Bruce and the younger Legros approached Simpson, who told them that it had come to his knowledge that Bird and Legros had formed a plot to kill him during the night for his papers, and that he had only acted in self-defence. Before he died Legros denied the existence of any such plot, and to this day it is not known whether or not Simpson had any ground for his suspicions.
The young explorer was still standing with his gun in his hand, and Bruce and the younger Legros, fearing, apparently, that they might share the fate of their comrades, mounted their horses and rode back to find another and larger body of travellers whom they had left on the previous day, and who were encamped a few miles back. On reaching their friends they gave the alarm, and having been joined by five men they returned to the scene of the murders. As they reached the cart near which Simpson had been standing, they called him by name. The only answer that they received was the report of a gun and the whistle of a bullet. That Simpson had shot himself was the inevitable conclusion, but, with a view to frightening him if he should be still alive, they fired their guns as they approached the cart. The precaution was unnecessary, however, for, on drawing nearer, they found that Simpson had shot himself through the head. The bodies of the three men, Simpson, Legros, and Bird, were there and then buried in the same grave.
Such is the story as told by Bruce, but it is impossible to vouch for its truth as there was no corroborative evidence, the younger Legros never having been examined. Having regard to the state of Simpson’s health at the time, it is more than probable that he really believed that he was only acting in his own defence in shooting Bird and Legros. But whether he died by his own hand, or whether he was shot by Bruce or one of the party who returned with him, it is impossible to say.
CHAPTER XII
FRANKLIN’S LAST VOYAGE
The failure of Back’s expedition in the Terror to accomplish anything of importance proved so discouraging to the Government that, for a while, they desisted from any further attempts to discover the North-West Passage, and turned their attention to the Antarctic instead. The brilliant success of Dease and Simpson’s journey along the shores of the Polar Sea, however, had the effect of giving a fresh impetus to the public interest in Arctic exploration; so, when the Erebus and Terror returned from their voyage to the Antarctic, the authorities listened favourably to the representations of the Royal Geographical Society and of a number of men of science who were interested in the work, and decided to fit them out again for an expedition to the Polar seas.
For the last seven years Franklin had been acting as Governor of Tasmania, but he returned at about the time when the new expedition was under discussion, and it was naturally felt that, as senior Arctic explorer, he ought to be given the command. Lord Haddington, then first Lord of the Admiralty, was at first rather chary of offering it to him, thinking that, after his long and brilliant career, he might well wish to spend the rest of his days in peace at home. “I might find a good excuse for not letting you go, Sir John,” he said, “in the rumour that tells me you are sixty years of age.” “No, no, my lord,” exclaimed Franklin, “I am only fifty-nine!” So to everyone’s delight the appointment was duly made.