party were actuated by the loftiest sense of duty, and met with calmness and decision the fearful alternative of a last bold struggle for life, rather than perish without effort on board their ships.” Before reaching the _Fox_ M’Clintock was destined to find yet more grim evidence to the fate of the unfortunate explorers. After rounding Cape Crozier, the westernmost point of King William Island, the desolation of which was absolutely beyond description, he came upon a boat which had formed part of the Franklin expedition, and in which lay two skeletons. Hobson had previously discovered the boat, and had left in it a note for his commander to the effect that the most careful search had failed to reveal any journal or other memoranda such as might fill in the details of the story of which they already knew the terrible outline. M’Clintock instantly set about another examination of the boat and its surroundings, in the hope that he might come upon something that had escaped the eyes of his junior officer, but he was unrewarded. The boat itself he found to be of a light build such as would be suitable for the ascent of the Great Fish River, and fitted with sails, a sloping canvas roof, an ice-grapnell and a deep-sea sounding-line, which was probably intended for river work as a track-line. She was, however, mounted on so heavy a sledge that seven men in the best of health would have found dragging her over the ice no easy task. In this boat lay two skeletons, one of them huddled up in the bows, and the other across the afterthwart. Beside them were five watches, two guns, and a number of books, for the most part devotional, but, search as they would, M’Clintock and his men could find no trace of a pocket-book or journal, nor even a scrap of clothing marked with a name which might reveal the identity of the two victims. Pieces of plate and an extraordinary variety of miscellaneous articles, ranging from two rolls of sheet-lead to tacks, were scattered about in the boat, and these M’Clintock describes as “a mere accumulation of dead weight, of little use, and very likely to break down the strength of the sledge-crews. The only provisions we could find,” he continues, “were tea and chocolate. Of the former, very little remained, but there were nearly forty pounds of the latter. These articles alone could never support life in such a climate, and we found neither biscuit nor meat of any kind.”