182 VOYAGE AND DEATH OF FRANKLIN 



planned ; many met with failure. It was years before any definite evidence 

 of the fate of Franklin and his men was gleaned from the great frozen 

 mystery. 



In 1849 as niany as eight expeditions, some sent by England, some by the 

 United States, went in search of Franklin. The first to find traces of the dead 

 was that of Capt. Shepherd Osborne, sent by the Hudson Bay Company. On 

 the 23rd of August, 1850, when exploring Beechy Island, he found relics 

 scattered over an area of several miles. They consisted of empty tin cans, 

 the embankment of a house, and, finally, the graves of three men who had 

 been members of the crews of the Erebus and the Terror. 



Aroused by these discoveries five more parties went north in 1852, and as 

 many more in 1853. The results of these were conclusive. In 1854 Dr. Rae 

 met a band of Eskimos who had articles of silverware that had come from 

 the missing ships. By trading with the Eskimos Dr. Rae got possession of 

 a number of these relics. In the meantime a British expedition headed by Capt. 

 McClure, in the Investigator, had been cruising in search during four years and 

 when McClure was rescued from the plight in which his expedition had 

 became caught, it was learned that he had found an Eskimo wearing in his ear 

 a brass button cut from the clothing of one of Franklin's sailors. This led to 

 the belief that the man had been murdered by the natives; but no proof 

 of it was ever forthcoming. 



Very important were the discoveries made by Sir L. F. McClintock, who 

 went north in 1857 at the head of a party organized by the widow of Frank- 

 lin. McClintock went direct to King Williams' Land, and found confirmatory 

 evidence of the death of the Franklin party. 



"On May 25, 1859, McClintock, while walking along a sandy ridge from 

 whence the snow had disappeared, he noticed something white shining through 

 the sand. He stooped to examine it, thinking it to be a round white stone, but 

 closer inspection showed it to be the back of a skull. Upon the sand being 

 removed, the entire skeleton was found, lying face downwards, with frag- 

 ments of blue cloth still adhering to its bleached bones. The man had evi- 

 dently been young, lightly built, and of the average height. Near by were 

 found a small pocket brush and comb, and a pocket-book containing two coins 

 and some scraps of writing. He had evidently fallen forward as he was walk- 

 ing, and never risen. As an old Eskimo woman told Dr. Rae, 'they fell down 

 and died as they walked along,' overcome with cold, hunger and sickness. 



"The explorers were now in the region where all their finds were to be 



