e floating ice; but he got back safely to the ship.
After this the ship's company sat down in winter quarters until the 10th
of February. Captain McClintock and Lieutenant Young then left the
_Fox_ on searching expeditions. McClintock came back on the 14th with
intelligence concerning some white men who had been seen off the
north-west coast of King William's Land. Young returned early in March,
and was off again on the 18th to Fury Beach. Afterwards three search
parties were formed. Lieutenants Hobson and Young and Captain
McClintock all started. The last resigned to the first-named the most
likely field of discovery in King William's Land. McClintock went
towards the Fish River, and subsequently found the dead man we have
already mentioned, lying face downwards in the snow, near Cape Herschel.
He then came across a boat which Hobson had already found, and left in
it a memorandum to the effect that he had discovered the records of the
_Erebus_ and _Terror_, and had returned to the _Fox_. Along the shore
by Cape Victoria Hobson had searched and found the memorandum left in
the cairn which told of the death of Franklin on the 11th of June, 1847,
and that, after quitting the ships, the one hundred and six survivors,
under Captain Crozier, would start for the Great Fish River. Many
relics were found by Hobson, and near Cape Crozier he discovered a boat
with two skeletons, with matches, spoons, and money, prayer-books,
etcetera.

Further investigation proved that all had perished in the attempt to
make the North-West Passage, an attempt which may be said to have
succeeded, though the poor men themselves never lived to tell of their
success. They came down Franklin Straits, and had found the Passage
they sought. The searchers were satisfied, and the _Fox_ returned home.

Captain McClintock had well accomplished his mission. He found that the
lamented Franklin had reached within ninety miles of success, for just
that distance intervened between him and the place reached by Messrs.
Simpson and Deane in 1838-9. Franklin's men died "in accomplishing
their last great earthly task, and but for the energy and devotion of
the wife of their great leader, it would in all probability never have
been known that they were indeed the first Discoverers of the North-West
Passage."

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.

THE GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN EXPEDITIONS TO THE ARCTIC REGIONS.

The _Germania_ and _Hansa_--They part company--The fate of