After a lapse of five months this intrepid young officer returned to Franklin. In the meantime he had travelled one thousand miles in snow-shoes, had no covering at night except a blanket and a deer-skin, the thermometer at 40 degrees to 50 degrees below zero, and on occasions he was for two or three days without food! This was indeed intrepidity, but he knew his friends were waiting for him, and that without some such self-sacrifice they could not have remained in their winter quarters, where, during Mr Back’s absence, they suffered greatly from the climate.
The young voyager brought back with him two interpreters, whose names in English were “Stomach” and “Ear,” but who were called Augustus and Junius, in preference to the British equivalents of their baptismal names. During the winter all played games and wrote out their journals—a favourite occupation with all travellers in their forced idleness. They subsisted on reindeer meat without vegetables, and drank tea or chocolate. The Indians were very kind and friendly all the time. Many instances are related of their good-nature and simplicity.
The 14th of June had come before the travellers considered the icy river navigable. Some difficulties occurred with the hunters as to the procuring of provisions by the way, but when all had been arranged comfortably, a start was made, and the rocky river attempted.
The party arrived at the Copper hills, where the ore was searched for, and then the expedition continued its course, though the Indians would not go on after a while for fear of meeting the Esquimaux; and even the Canadian hunters wanted to go back. The sea was reached on the 18th of July, and the party paddled their own canoes towards the east. For more than five hundred miles they coasted, until, instead of finding themselves in the Arctic Ocean, they were only in an immense bay. So they turned back and went up Hood’s River, with the intention to go as far as possible by water, and then strike overland to Fort Enterprise again.
This was a hazardous attempt, but it was their only chance. They were soon stopped by a waterfall, and then the pilgrimage began. The large canoes were made into two smaller ones, for the crossing of rivers and lakes, and, with only provisions for two days, they started overland.
In three days they encountered quite a wintry climate, and from the 5th to 26th of September they had to march through snow and live on mosses, without any guide, or observation, to show the way, and many days they had no food at all. Frozen, and eventually almost in despair, the Canadians grew impatient. One canoe was disabled, the other lost, and, at length, when they all reached the Coppermine River, they had no means of crossing it.
In this emergency, Doctor Richardson volunteered to swim the hundred and thirty yards of icy water (38 degrees), and carry a line over. He made the attempt, and had almost succeeded when the cold overcame him, and he was dragged back nearly drowned. He was with much difficulty restored to animation. A kind of basket was then rigged up, and in it Saint Germain, an interpreter, paddled over, carrying the line. He managed to reach the opposite bank, and with no more than a wetting the rest all crossed in safety after him.
This was in the beginning of October, and winter was upon them. So Franklin sent on some of the men with Mr Back to find the Indians near Fort Enterprise, and the rest followed. But the lichens disagreed with two men, and though Doctor Richardson went back and endeavoured to cure them and bring them along, he was obliged to abandon them to die in their tracks. Things looked so serious that Richardson and Hood pluckily proposed to remain at the first convenient halting-place with the weaker brethren, and let Franklin push on to the fort, and send back help and food. This was agreed to. Franklin went on, but Hepburn, the English sailor, volunteered to remain with Richardson. This parting took place on the 7th of October, twenty-four miles from the fort. Of the eight men who left with Franklin, four were taken ill and returned to Doctor Richardson, but only one man, the Iroquois Michel, reached the tent in rear.
On the 11th Franklin, with four men, reached the fort, and found it completely empty and deserted—no food, no friends, nothing! After a while a note was found from Mr Back saying he had gone after the Indians, but he was unsuccessful in finding them. Others were sent afterwards, and so for eighteen days Franklin lived miserably on the skins, bones, and remains of the reindeer which had been eaten the previous winter!
On the 29th of October Richardson and Hepburn came in—walking skeletons. Where was poor Hood? Where were the others? A tragic tale had to be told by Doctor Richardson. Here is the account of what happened.