Accounting For The 105 Survivors

An estimated 59 Franklin crewmen can be accounted for by counting all known sites except Terror Bay and Starvation Cove. Including the lower estimates for Terror Bay and Starvation Cove the total comes to 95. Using the higher estimates yields a slightly unrealistic total of 109 considering 105 survivors were stated to be alive at Crozier's Landing on April 25, 1848. 

 The list includes crewmen found by the Inuit, crewmen whom were found by searchers such as Schwatka and those found more recently by archaeologists.

In some cases such as the Todd Islets and Booth Point the number has been inferred from physical findings and eyewitness Inuit accounts.

The numbers for Terror Bay and Starvation Cove are estimates.

Lt John Irving   1
Grave presumed to belong to Lieutenant John Irving of HMS Terror.

Gore Point 1
A crude grave containing a skull was found by Schwatka's expedition. Schwatka's Inuit guide Toolooah identified the skull as belonging to a white man.

Near Point Le Vesconte 1
A partially disinterred skeleton from a grave containing blue cloth and gilt buttons.

4 Miles South of Point Le Vesconte 1
A partially disinterred skeleton from a grave containing a belt buckle and percussion caps.

Erebus Bay Boat Places 23
A total of 23 crewmen were spread out over about 2 miles roughly centered on the archaeological site known as NgLj-2.

Terror Bay 30-to-40 (Estimated)
The site of the Terror Bay camp was wiped clean by the sea sometime between the Hall and Schwatka expeditions. The Inuit indicated a large number of dead were found here. Most were cannibalized by the few remaining survivor(s). 

Tee-Ke-Ta told Hall that the tent was longer than 25-ft. Woodman page 155. Assuming 24-inches per crewman a 30-ft tent would hold 30 crewmen and a 40-ft tent would hold 40 crewmen.

Gladman Point 1
The Peglar/Armitage/Gibson skeleton found by McClintock near Gladman Point.

3 Miles Southeast of Gladman Point 1
A grave containing a skeleton and a few buttons was found by Royal Canadian Rangers during the 1973 Northern Quest Exercise.

Douglas Bay 7 
Gibson found 7 skulls here therefore an absolute minimum of 7 crewmen can be accounted for at this location. The total may be higher.

Setumenin 2 
Two graves were found here by the Inuit. The skeleton of Harry Goodsir (originally misidentified as that of Henry Le Vesconte) was found here and retrieved by Hall. 

Booth Point 2
Inuit found 1 crewman in a grave. Beattie found the remains of 1 cannibalized crewman. It seems unlikely to me that these are the same set of remains.

Todd Islets   7
The Inuit described finding 5 crewmen on Todd Island (Keeuna). An additional 2 crewmen were found on nearby Kookar Island. David Woodman discusses how he arrived at this total on pages 159-to-170.

Islet Near Starvation Cove 7
Neninook reported seven skeletons, partially buried in the sand, on an islet about 5 miles northwest of Starvation Cove. These crewmen had boots with nails driven into the souls like the example found in the 1980s.

Tikeraniyou 3
Located 12 to 15 miles northwest of Starvation Cove and near Thunder Cove

Thunder Cove 1
A skull was found at Thunder Cove in 1926.

Starvation Cove 6-to-10 (Estimate)
Schwatka's expedition was the first to visit Starvation Cove and were told that 6-to-10 crewmen were found there. 
An absolute minimum of 4 men can be accounted for here because Learmonth found 3 mandibles (jaw bones) and 1 "whole skull."

South of Starvation Cove 1
Furthest South known crewman. Found 5 miles South of Starvation Cove by the local Inuit who searched the area during Schwatka's expedition. This individual was not in a grave but lying on the surface.

Franklin Expedition Links

A list of online resources, especially books and papers, that would be useful to anyone who is starting to build their own Franklin library.


Books available online:

The Voyage of the Fox, by Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, 1860
McClintock's expedition found the boat in Erebus Bay and the Victory Point note.

Schwatka's search, by William Henry Gilder, New York, 1881
Schwatka's expedition visited Starvation Cove, searched King William Island and interviewed an Inuit man who had been on board HMS Erebus when she was found West of Adelaide peninsula.

The Search For Franklin, A narrative of the American expedition under lieutenant Schwatka. 1899
Schwatka's account of his search expedition.

Narrative of the second Arctic expedition made by Charles F. Hall, by Nourse, Washington, 1879
C. F. Hall's search for Franklin and life with the Inuit. Hall eventually reached the southeast corner of King William Island.

Lieut. John Irving, R.N., of H.M.S. "Terror," in Sir John Franklin's last expedition to the Arctic regions :a memorial sketch with letters. Edinburgh : D. Douglas, 1881. Includes letters written by Lt. Irving sent back from Greenland in 1845. Two sketches drawn by Irving are included. (Thanks to Russell Potter for finding this copy).

The carreer, last voyage and fate, of Captain Sir John Franklin, by Sherard Osborn, London 1860

Famous voyagers and explorers, by Sarah Knowles Bolton, 1893


Articles from past issues of The Beaver:

Sir John Franklin's Last Voyage, by William Gibson, June 1937. Gibson found 7 skulls located on an islet in Douglas Bay (South shore of KWI) along with fragments of oak and pine.

Footnotes to the Franklin Search, Spring 1955. Information and drawings of Halkett inflatable boats. A photograph of Dr John Rae's own Halkett boat is shown. The Inuit described an inflatable Halkett boat to Hall that may have been used by Franklin survivors.

Rae's Franklin Relics, by Robert Kerr, March 1954. A note on artifacts recovered by Dr Rae.

A Further Clue in the Franklin Mystery, by W. G. McKenzie, 1969. Land and sea search of O'Reilly Island.


Articles from Arctic:

The “Boat Place” Burial: New Skeletal Evidence from the 1845 Franklin Expedition (pdf file), Excavation of the remains found at McClintock's Boat Place. "In 2013, a burial feature was excavated at NgLj-3, a Franklin expedition archaeological site on the Erebus Bay coast of King William Island. The feature contained 72 human bones representing a minimum of three individuals" Published 2015.

Notes on Franklin relics (pdf), Learnmonth L. A., Arctic, 1948. This article discusses the discovery of Franklin remains found northwest of Starvation Cove.

The final days of the Franklin expedition : new skeletal evidence (pdf file), Keenleyside, Bertulli and Fricke, 1997. Examination of approximately 400 human bone fragments found in Erebus Bay, King William Island. These remains came from 11 individuals. Curiously one of these is estimated to be between 12 and 15 years old at the time of death. This reports provides definitive evidence of cannibalism amoung Franklin survivors.

The route of Sir John Franklin's third Arctic expedition : an evaluation and test of an alternative hypothesis (pdf file), Hickey, Savelle and Hobson, 1993. An examination of possible routes taken by the Erebus and Terror during the summer of 1846. Notably down McClintock Channel.


Papers From Other Sources:

Identification of the Probable Source of the Lead Poisoning Observed in Members of the Franklin Expedition (pdf file), by William Battersby, Journal of the Hakluyt Society, September 2008. This paper examines the fresh water distillation systems of the Erebus and Terror as a potential source of Lead poisoning. (Other arctic expeditions carried tinned food supplies similar to those used by Franklin's men yet these expeditions did not seem to suffer any ill effects because of this).

Oldest Canned Food In The World? New Scientist, Dr. F. H. Banfield, May 5, 1960, page 1138. Three historic tins of preserved food are opened, examined and eventually tasted. This includes a 7-pound tin of veal manufactured in 1823 for Parry's expedition. Data on lead and metal content is included.


Websites:

Erebus & Terror Files, by Peter Carney. Original research on the details of the ships themselves and other issues such as lead poisoning.

The Fate of Franklin, Russell Potter's extensive website about the Franklin Expedition. The website includes the results of recent searches. Many more interesting links can be found at this website. I have chosen not to repeat them here. Russell appeared in PBS' 2004 Nova episode Arctic Passage.

Visions of the North, Russell Potter's blog site about the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin and other arctic topics. Russell has published a number of very interesting entries on this website. A number of these entries, such as The Mystery of the 'Peglar' Papers, contain rarely seen information.