THE FKANKLIN EXPEDITION 467 



considered the works in question. We know that three men 

 belonging to the Franklin ships died at Beechey Island in 

 1846, and their graves are there to this day. From Graham 

 Gore's "' all well" record of 24th May, 1847, I think we may 

 rightly infer that no death had occurred during the previous 

 thirteen months ; hut between that date and the abandonment 

 of the ships, only eleven months later, the Crozier and Fitz- 

 james record of 25th April, 1848, informs us that no less than 

 nine of the twenty-one commissioned ofScers of the expedition, 

 including Sir John Franklin himself on 11th June, 1847, 

 and twelve additional men, had passed away. During these 

 eleven months the ice-beset ships had drifted but some thirty 

 statute miles south of their position on 24th May, 1847, 

 and when they were abandoned on 22nd April they were 

 still five leagues distant from Point Victory, where they 

 landed. Only one undoubted grave, partly opened and sup- 

 posed to contain the already referred to "remains of Lieuten- 

 ant Irving, of the Terror, was found in that vicinity, where 

 he may have died, or on board ship shortly before their 

 departure. 



Both McClintock and Hobson made a close but some- 

 what hurried examination of the west coast of King William 

 Island, and the former devoted some attention to the main- 

 land, from Point Ogle to and on Montreal Island itself, 

 without discovering a single grave. A skeleton in a boat 

 and a few other human relies only were met with. About 

 ten or eleven years subsequently, Schwatka, apart from his. 

 Montreal and other continental operations, conducted a very 

 thorough and systematic examination of King William 

 Island, which resulted in the finding of a considerable quan- 

 tity of human bones over a large area, while I think 

 Irving's grave is the only undoubted one discovered. 

 If there had been anything like an improvised ceme- 

 tery on the island, as would probably have been the case 

 had the remains of the Admiral and his eight officers 

 and twelve additional men been taken there for interment, 



