352 FIRST GRINNELL EXPEDITION. 



north-west, and on the 25th reached Cape Riley, anothei 

 amorphous mass, not so regular and precipitate as 

 Leopold Island, but more lofty. Here a strong tide, 

 setting in to the shore, drifted the Advance toward the 

 beach, where she stranded. Around her were small 

 bergs and large masses of floating ice, all under the 

 influence of the strong current. It was about two 

 o'clock in the afternoon when she struck. By diligent 

 labor in removing everything from her deck to a small 

 floe, she was so lightened, that at four o'clock the next 

 morning she floated, and soon everything was properly 

 replaced. 



Near Cape Riley the Americans fell in with a portion 

 of an English expedition ; and there also the Rescue, 

 left behind in the gale in Lancaster Sound, overtook the 

 Advance. There was Captain Penny, with the Sophia 

 and Lady Franklin ; the veteran Sir John Ross, with 

 the Felix, and Commodore Austin, with his flag-ship 

 the Resolute. Together the navigators of both nations 

 explored the coast at and near Cape Riley, and on the 

 27th they saw in a cove on the shore of Beechey Island, 

 or Beechey Cape, on the east side of the entrance to 

 Wellington Channel, unmistakable evidence that Sir 

 John Franklin and his companions were there in April, 

 1846. There they found the articles known to belong 

 to Franklin's ships, as described in the preceding chap- 

 ter. They also visited the graves, the inscriptions on 

 which we have already given. 



How much later than April 3d (the date upon one of 

 the head-boards) Franklin remained at Beechey, cannot 

 be determined. There were evidences of his having 

 gone northward, for sledge-tracks in that direction wem 

 visible. It was the opinion of Dr. Kane that, on the 

 breaking up of the ice in the spring, Sir John Franklin 

 passed northward with his ships through Wellington 



