ille Island; but he nearly lost his ships,
and being caught in the ice he was carried, against his will, to
Baffin's Bay."

"Carried," said Hatteras, frowning,--"carried against his will!"

"He had discovered nothing," resumed the doctor; "it was only after
1850 that English ships were always exploring there, when a reward of
twenty thousand pounds was offered to any one who should discover the
crews of the _Erebus_ and _Terror_. Already, in 1848, Captains Kellet
and Moore, in command of the _Herald_ and the _Plover_, tried to make
their way through by Behring Strait. I ought to say that the winter of
1850-51, Captain Austin passed at Cornwallis Island; Captain Penny,
with the _Assistance_ and _Resolute_, explored Wellington Channel; old
John Ross, who discovered the magnetic pole, started in his yacht, the
_Felix_, in search of his friend; the brig _Prince Albert_ made her
first voyage at the expense of Lady Franklin; and, finally, two
American ships, sent out by Grinnell, under Captain Haven, carried
beyond Wellington Channel, were cast into Lancaster Sound. It was
during this year that MacClintock, Austin's lieutenant, pushed on to
Melville Island and to Cape Dundas, the extreme points reached by
Parry in 1819, and on Beechey Island were found traces of Franklin's
wintering there in 1845."

"Yes," answered Hatteras, "three of his sailors were buried there,
three fortunate men!"

"From 1851 to 1852," continued the doctor, with a gesture of
agreement, "we find the _Prince Albert_ making a second attempt with
the French lieutenant, Bellot; he winters at Batty Bay in Prince
Regent's Sound, explores the southwest of Somerset, and reconnoitres
the coast as far as Cape Walker. Meanwhile, the _Enterprise_ and
_Investigator_, having returned to England, came under the command of
Collinson and MacClure, and they rejoined Kellet and Moore at Behring
Strait; while Collinson returned to winter at Hong-Kong, MacClure went
on, and after three winters, 1850-51, 1851-52, and 1852-53, he
discovered the Northwest Passage without finding any traces of
Franklin. From 1852 to 1853, a new expedition, consisting of three
sailing-vessels, the _Assistance_, the _Resolute_, the _North Star_,
and two steam-vessels, the _Pioneer_ and the _Intrepid_, started out
under the orders of Sir Edward Belcher, with Captain Kellet second in
command; Sir Edward visited Wellington Channel, wintered in
Northumberland Bay, and explored the coast, while Ke