TRACES OF FRANKLIN. 315 



cue was still further to the east, considerably in-shore, 

 and apparently beset. All these vessels were among 

 heavy ice. The Advance could not be seen, but was 

 supposed to be behind one of the points of land ; and 

 she was afterwards spoken in the vicinity of Cape Riley, 

 close in-shore, fast to an iceberg. The Intrepid, too, 

 was not then visible, but had been seen in the morning. 

 All Wellington Channel, as far as the eye could reach, 

 was filled with one solid pack, broken only here and 

 there by a small lane. Some high land, appearing dim 

 and filmy from haze and distance, was seen toward 

 Cape Bowden, trending apparently to the north-west. 

 One heavy pack extended athwart all the south-west, 

 and seemed to be impenetrable. The only clear water 

 visible lay immediately around the Prince Albert, and 

 backward along the way by which she had come. 



On the same day, soon after the Prince Albert had 

 turned her bow homeward, a flag-staff, like a signal- 

 post, was observed on Cape Riley. The officers, sup- 

 posing this to have been set up by a party from some 

 one of the exploration ships, sent a boat ashore to 

 ascertain what it meant. A cylinder was found at the 

 flag-staff, containing a notice that the officers of the 

 Assistance and the Intrepid had landed on Cape Riley 

 on the 23d ; that they had collected there distinct 

 traces of an encampment by some party belonging to 

 the royal navy of Britain ; that they had found traces 

 of the same party on Beechey Island, and that they 

 purposed to proceed thence to Cape Hotham and Cape 

 Walker, in search of further traces. 



The little boat-party from the Prince Albert were too 

 zealous to be satisfied with this mere notice. They 

 looked eagerly around, and soon observed five spots 

 on which tents seemed to have been fixed, and also 

 obtained a piece of navy rope, a piece of canvas, a chip 



