SEARCHING FOR FRANKLIN 183 



quarters at Cornwallis Island, which reached his home 

 North- West Castle, Stranraer, Wigtownshire three 

 thousand miles away, in five days. Lady Franklin's 

 vessel, the Prince Albert, was there, with Captain 

 Forsyth and Parker Snow on board, an old fruit 

 schooner, and therefore the speediest sailing - craft 

 among the crowd. The Grinnell expedition of the 

 two American brigs, Advance and Racer, under De 

 Haven, was also there, to drift afterwards up Welling- 

 ton Channel and down again back into Baffin Bay ; 

 as was a British Government expedition of the two 

 whaling brigs, Lady Franklin and Sophia, under Captain 

 William Penny, who was to discover the sea open north 

 of Wellington Channel. In addition to these was the 

 British squadron under Captain Horatio Austin in 

 H.M.S. Resolute, with H.M.S. Assistance, Captain 

 Erasmus Ommanney, and the old Cattle Conveyance 

 Company's boats known as H.M.S. Intrepid, Lieutenant 

 Cator, and H.M.S. Pioneer, Lieutenant Sherard O shorn, 

 these two being screw steamers used as tenders, which 

 proved of great value as tugs and ice-breakers. 



On the 23rd of August Captain Ommanney found 

 Franklin's winter quarters on Beechey Island, and four 

 days afterwards Captain Penny came upon the grave- 

 stones marking where the three men, two of the 

 Erebus and one of the Terror, had been buried in 

 1846, though nothing was discoverable of the route 

 intended to be taken by the ships. The news was 

 important, and the Prince Albert, acting as despatch 

 vessel, was immediately sent home with it, to return 

 next year with Kennedy and Bellot to make a dis- 

 covery of her own. Soon Captain Austin's four ships 



