he passed the winter of 1845-46."

"But how is this known?" asked Bell, the carpenter.

"By three tombs which the Austin expedition found there in 1850. Three
of Franklin's sailors had been buried there; and, moreover, by a paper
found by Lieutenant Hobson of the _Fox_, dated April 25, 1848. We know
also that, after leaving winter-quarters, the _Erebus_ and _Terror_
ascended Wellington Channel as far as latitude 77 degrees; but instead
of pushing to the north, which they doubtless found impossible, they
returned towards the south--"

"And that was a fatal mistake!" uttered a grave voice. "Safety lay to
the north."

Every one turned round. It was Hatteras, who, leaning on the rail of
the quarter-deck, had just made that solemn remark.

"Without doubt," resumed the doctor, "Franklin intended to make his
way to the American shore; but tempests beset him, and September 12,
1846, the two ships were caught in the ice, a few miles from here, to
the northwest of Cape Felix; they were carried to the north-northwest
of Point Victory; there," said the doctor, pointing out to the sea.
"Now," he added, "the ships were not abandoned till April 22, 1848.
What happened during these nineteen months? What did these poor men
do? Doubtless they explored the surrounding lands, made every effort
to escape, for the admiral was an energetic man; and if he did not
succeed--"

"It's because his men betrayed him," said Hatteras in a deep voice.

The sailors did not dare to lift their eyes; these words made them
feel abashed.

"To be brief, this paper, of which I spoke, tells us, besides, that
Sir John Franklin died, worn out by his sufferings, June 11, 1847. All
honor to his memory!" said the doctor, removing his hat.

The men did the same in silence.

"What became of these poor men, deprived of their leader, during the
next ten months? They remained on board of their ships, and it was not
till April, 1848, that they made up their mind to abandon them; one
hundred and five men survived out of the hundred and thirty-eight.
Thirty-three had died! Then Captains Crozier and Fitz-James erected a
cairn at Point Victory, and left their last paper there. See, my
friends, we are passing by that point. You can see traces of the
cairn, placed, so to speak, at the farthest point reached by John Ross
in 1831! There is Cape Jane Franklin! There Point Franklin! There
Point Le Vesconte! There Erebus Bay, where the launch, made of pieces
of one of th