Kevin Gane

September 10th, 2012

Dr. Kevin Pry

FYS: To the Ends of the Earth

The Mystery of Boat Place

A journey into the Arctic, two lost ships, and 128 men missing in service.

These are a few of the mysteries surround the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin.

Scott Cookman tells his version of what happened to the expedition in the book Ice

Blink. One of the many mysteries in this tale is the discovery of a small boat that

belonged to one of the two ships used in the expedition. In the boat was an

assortment of items ranging from silverware to two skeletons. Why was the boat

facing the opposite direction?, what was the significance of the items found in the

boat? And what happened to the skeletons?, are just some of the questions

surrounding “Boat place”.

In May of 1859, an expedition team, led by Royal Navy Lieutenant William

Hobson, was searching the Arctic for any trace of the lost expedition. While

searching they came across a number of items from the lost ships. Among the items

found was a note that said, “ April 25th, 1848 – HM’s Ships Terror and Erebus were

deserted on 22nd April….. Sir John Franklin died on 11th June 1847 – James Fitzjames,

Captain HMS Erebus, F.R.M. Crozier, Captain and Senior Officer; And start tomorrow,

26th, for Back’s Fish River.” (Cookman 9) Hobson started out on the route that the

surviving members of the expedition traveled along in hopes of getting back home.

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Walking along the trail, Hobson discovered a boat that belonged to one of the ships

used in the Franklin Expedition.

When found, the boat, which had been placed on a sled so it could be pulled

over the ice, was facing the opposite direction that the survivors were traveling. In

the boat were provisions including: twenty-six pieces of silverware bearing the

crests of Franklin and nine other officers, tea and chocolate, heavy wool and canvas

clothing, eight pairs of boots, a pair of hand-worked slippers, silk seamen’s

handkerchiefs, towels, bits of soap, combs, a toothbrush, boat stores such as nails

and sheet metal, five Bibles and a copy of The Vicar of Wakefield. (Cookman 11) Also

in the boat were two skeletons both at separate ends. One skeleton was intact and

clothed well while the other one was mangled and shoved into the front of the boat.

Years later, the bones of fourteen men were found in the ice right below the boat.

The bones were found to have been, “scoured with parallel knife marks, clear signs

that the flesh on them had been meticulously carved away.” (Cookman 13) Just how

did this boat come to be in this position will always be a mystery, but thoughts on

how it happened could be developed. Suppose it happen this way:

Sir John Franklin had been dead for a year now. 104 members of the original

crew remained and hopes of survival were slim to none. The Terror and the Erebus

were abandoned three days ago. The men packed what they believed they needed to

survive into one of the small boats from the ships. They packed tea and chocolate

for food. Personal belongings were packed including brushes, combs, soap, and

toothbrushes. To repair the boat if needed, saws, files, nails, twine, and sheet lead

were brought along. Powder shot cartridges and double-barreled shotguns were for

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security. Other miscellaneous items were brought such as gold watches and

silverware (Cookman 11). Most of the items in the boat could be justified as to why

they were brought along, but what about the other items such as the silverware and

the Bibles. Cookman describes the silverware as having the crests of the officers

such as Franklin (Cookman 11). The crew might have taken these along to bring

them back to the officer’s families as a memorial to the lost. With the silverware

being inscribed, many of the other items, like the Bibles and the gold watches, could

have had names in them and where being brought along for the same reason.

The remaining members started off towards Back Fish River in hopes of

escaping the harsh conditions of the Arctic. While traveling for a good amount of

time, some members lost hope of finding a way out. They believed that their only

chance of survival was to go back to the where they left the note and wait for their

rescue. Not all members of the crew agreed with this decision so Captain James

Fitzjames command the group to split up. The stronger men continued forward,

while the weak pulled the boat back along the path.

While traveling back the crew lost the path and was now wandering though

the Arctic with no sense of direction. Having no idea which way to go from there,

they set up camp. Days passed and soon men started to become stricken with

hunger from the lack of food and become ill with scurvy. Men began to die and their

bodies left to rot on the surface. To ease the hunger of the crew, the deceased were

taken and stripped of their meat and given to the crew. This routine continued until

there were only two men left. Cannibalism can be speculated because of the

discovery of the bones of 14 men, which were covered with parallel knife marks

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(Cookman 13). It was a survival of the fittest. The two remaining men fought to

wear the extra warm clothing that was brought with the boat. The other huddled for

warmth in the front of the boat. The only thing to do after that was to wait; wait to

die; wait to be rescued. Which one of them knew what was going to happen?

Eventually the man without the extra clothing died. The lone survivor took

the clothing off the corpse and wore it himself. He cut off the man’s flesh and ate the

last fresh food source and left the skeleton mangled at the front of the boat. Then sat

there and waited for a rescue that would never come. Eventually the man died, his

flesh rotted over time ay and all that remained were the skeletons.

This is just one of the many scenarios that could of happened to the boat and

its crew. Today, the boat place serves as a monument to the lost souls of the

Franklin expedition. No one will ever know what really happened to the expedition

except the people whose lives were lost. The tragic fate of the Sir John Franklin

Expedition will continue to spark curiosity in the minds of people as to what really

happened and keep the memory of the crew alive and well.

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