Works of Jules Verne/Adventures of Captain Hatteras/The English at the North Pole/Chapter 16
CHAPTER XVI
THE STORY OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN
The Forward succeeded in cutting right across the James Ross's Strait, but it was only done by dint of saws and petards, and at the cost of great fatigue to the crew. Fortunately the temperature was bearable, 30° higher than James Ross had found it at the same time of the year. The thermometer stood at 34°.
On Saturday, Cape Felix was doubled, at the extreme point of King William's Island. The sight of this island made a deep impression on the minds of the men, and they gazed with mournful interest at the coast as they sailed along. This was the theater of one of the most terrible tragedies the world has ever seen, for, only a few miles to the west, the Erebus and Terror were lost.
Johnson and the Doctor were going over the particulars of the sad catastrophe as the vessel fled swiftly on, and bays and promontories passed before the eye like some vast panorama. Several of the sailors, overhearing the subject of conversation, drew nearer to listen, and before long the Doctor had the whole crew round him. Seeing their eager curiosity, and knowing what an impression the recital would make in such circumstances, the Doctor recommenced his narrative
"You know, I suppose, my good fellows," he said, "the early history of Franklin. He was a cabin-boy, like Cook and Nelson, and, after serving during his youth in several great expeditions, he determined, in 1845, to prosecute a search for the North-West Passage. He was in command of the Erebus and Terror, two ships that had been previously employed in an Arctic expedition undertaken by James Ross. The Erebus carried seventy sailors, including the officers, with Fitz-James as captain; Gore and Vesconte as lieutenants; Des Vœux, Sargent, and Couch as quartermasters; and Stanley as surgeon. The Terror numbered sixty-eight men. Her captain was Crozier; the lieutenants, Little, Hodgson, and Irving; quartermasters, Horesby and Thomas; and surgeon, Peddie. Not one of these ill-fated individuals ever returned to their native land, but you may read nearly all their names on the different bays, and capes, and straits, and points, and channels, and islands that are met with in this region. There were 138 men altogether. The last letters received from Franklin were dated July 12th, 1845, and written from Isle Disko. 'I hope,' he wrote, 'to weight anchor to-night for Lancaster Sound.' What has happened since his departure from Disko? The last time the ships were seen was in Melville Bay, by the captains of the Prince of Wales and the Enterprise, two whalers; and since then there has been no word of them. We are able to follow Franklin, however, in some of his subsequent movements. He went to the west, and up Barrow's Strait and Lancaster Sound, as far as Isle Beechey, where he spent the winter of 1845."
"But how was that ascertained?" asked Bell, the carpenter.
"By three graves discovered by the Austin expedition in 1850, in which three of Franklin's sailors were interred; and also by a document found by Lieutenant Hobson, of the Fox, which is dated 1848. From this we learn that, at the close of the winter, the Erebus and Terror went up Wellington Channel as far as the 77th parallel; but, instead of continuing their route to the north, which was doubtless found to be impracticable, they returned south."
"And it was their ruin," said a grave voice. "Salvation was in the north.
Everyone turned to see who was the speaker. It was Hatteras, leaning against the railing of the poop, who made his home-thrust at the crew.
"There is no doubt," continued the Doctor, "that Franklin's intention was to reach the American coast; but he was overtaken by furious tempests, and both ships got caught in the ice a few miles from this, and were dragged N. N. E. of Point Victory. But the ships were not abandoned till the 22nd April, 1848. What happened during those nineteen months, who knows? What did the poor fellows do with themselves all that time? No doubt they explored the country, and tried their utmost to reach a place of safety, for Franklin was a man of great energy, and if his measures were unsuccessful———"
"It was, perhaps, his crew who proved false to him?" again interrupted Hatteras, in a hollow voice.
No one dared to look up, for the cap fitted. The Doctor resumed his narrative, and said:
"The document I have mentioned gives the additional information of the death of Sir John Franklin. He sank under his fatigues on the 11th of June, 1847. Honor to his memory," he added, baring his head respectfully.
All the men silently followed his example. After a pause, Doctor Clawbonny went on to say:
"What became of the men after their admiral's death? Ten months elapsed before they forsook the ship, and the survivors then numbered one hundred and five men. Thirty-three were dead! A cairn was erected on Point Victory by order of the captains, Crozier and Fitz-James, and in it this their last document was deposited. See, we are just passing the very place. You can still see the remains of this cairn on the very extremity of the point. And there is Cape Jane Franklin, and there is Point Franklin, and there is Point le Vesconte, and there is Erebus Bay, where they found the sloop made out of pieces of one of the ships and laid on a sledge. They also discovered silver spoons there, and tea and chocolate, besides religious books and provisions in abundance. For the hundred and five survivors, under the guidance of Captain Crozier, set out for the great Fish River. How far did they get? Did they reach Hudson's Bay? Do any of them still survive? Who can say what has become of them all now?"
"I can say what has become of them," replied John Hatteras, in loud, ringing tones. "Yes, they did reach Hudson's Bay, and divided into several parties. Yes, they took the route south, and in 1850 a letter of Dr. Rae mentioned the fact that on this very island before us, the Esquimaux fell in with a detachment of forty men hunting seals over the ice, dragging a boat with them, and looking pale and haggard, worn out with suffering and fatigue. And subsequently thirty corpses were found on the mainland, and five on an adjacent isle, some half buried, and some lying quite exposed; others under a boat turned upside down, and others still under the remains of a tent; here an officer, with his telescope on his shoulder and his loaded gun beside him, and not far off cauldrons with the fragments of a ghastly sickening meal.
"On the receipt of this intelligence, the Admiralty requested the Hudson's Bay Company to dispatch experienced men to search the entire region. They explored the whole of the Black River to its mouth. They visited the islands of Montreal, Maconochie, and Point Ogle. But it was all in vain! Everyone of the hapless company was dead! Dead from starvation, and pain and misery, after making a horrible attempt to prolong their wretched lives by cannibalism! This is what has become of them. The route south is strewed with their mangled remains! Do you still desire to walk in their footsteps?"
The thrilling voice and impassioned gestures and earnest face of Hatteras produced an indescribable effect on the men, and, carried away by their emotion, they shouted with one accord:
"To the North! To the North!"
"To the North, then, we'll go, my men! Safety and glory lie there! Heaven is on our side; the wind has shifted! The channel is open, turn about the ship!"
The sailors rushed to their posts, the Forward was soon making at full speed for the McClintock Channel.
Hatteras was right, the ice had given way, and the ship found her passage almost unobstructed. On the 14th of June she had gone beyond Osborn Bay, and farther than any of the expeditions of 1851. The ice-packs were still numerous, but she never lacked water below her keel.