boat turned upside down, others
under the remains of a tent; here an officer with his telescope on
his shoulder and a loaded gun at his side, further on a boiler with
the remnants of a horrible meal! When the Admiralty received these
tidings it begged the Hudson's Bay Company to send its most
experienced agents to the scene. They descended Back River to its
mouth. They visited the islands of Montreal, Maconochie, and Ogle
Point. But they discovered nothing. All the poor wretches had died
from misery, suffering, and hunger, whilst trying to prolong their
existence by the dreadful resource of cannibalism. That is what became
of them on the southern route. Well! Do you still wish to march in
their footsteps?"

His trembling voice, his passionate gestures and beaming face,
produced an indescribable effect. The crew, excited by its emotion
before this fatal land, cried out with one voice: "To the north! To
the north!"

"Yes, to the north! Safety and glory lie to the north. Heaven is for
us! The wind is changing; the pass is free!"

So saying, Hatteras gave orders to turn the vessel; the sailors went
to work with alacrity; the ice streams got clear little by little;
the _Forward_, with all steam on, made for McClintock Channel.
Hatteras was right when he counted upon a more open sea; he followed
up the supposed route taken by Franklin, sailing along the western
coast of Prince of Wales's Land, then pretty well known, whilst the
opposite shore is still unknown. It was evident that the breaking
up of the ice had taken place in the eastern locks, for this strait
appeared entirely free; the _Forward_ made up for lost time; she fled
along so quickly that she passed Osborne Bay on the 14th of June,
and the extreme points attained by the expeditions of 1851. Icebergs
were still numerous, but the sea did not threaten to quit the keel
of the _Forward_.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE NORTHERN ROUTE

The crew seemed to have returned to its habits of discipline and
obedience. There was little fatiguing work to do, and they had a good
deal of leisure. The temperature kept above freezing point, and it
seemed as if the thaw had removed the great obstacles to navigation.

Dick, now sociable and familiar, had made great friends with Dr.
Clawbonny. But as in most friendships one friend has to give way to
the other, it must be acknowledged it was not the dog. Dick did what
he liked with the doctor, who obeyed him as if he were the dog. H