The young explorer was still standing with his gun in his hand, and Bruce and the younger Legros, fearing, apparently, that they might share the fate of their comrades, mounted their horses and rode back to find another and larger body of travellers whom they had left on the previous day, and who were encamped a few miles back. On reaching their friends they gave the alarm, and having been joined by five men they returned to the scene of the murders. As they reached the cart near which Simpson had been standing, they called him by name. The only answer that they received was the report of a gun and the whistle of a bullet. That Simpson had shot himself was the inevitable conclusion, but, with a view to frightening him if he should be still alive, they fired their guns as they approached the cart. The precaution was unnecessary, however, for, on drawing nearer, they found that Simpson had shot himself through the head. The bodies of the three men, Simpson, Legros, and Bird, were there and then buried in the same grave. Such is the story as told by Bruce, but it is impossible to vouch for its truth as there was no corroborative evidence, the younger Legros never having been examined. Having regard to the state of Simpson’s health at the time, it is more than probable that he really believed that he was only acting in his own defence in shooting Bird and Legros. But whether he died by his own hand, or whether he was shot by Bruce or one of the party who returned with him, it is impossible to say. CHAPTER XII FRANKLIN’S LAST VOYAGE The failure of Back’s expedition in the _Terror_ to accomplish anything of importance proved so discouraging to the Government that, for a while, they desisted from any further attempts to discover the North-West Passage, and turned their attention to the Antarctic instead. The brilliant success of Dease and Simpson’s journey along the shores of the Polar Sea, however, had the effect of giving a fresh impetus to the public interest in Arctic exploration; so, when the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ returned from their voyage to the Antarctic, the authorities listened favourably to the representations of the Royal Geographical Society and of a number of men of science who were interested in the work, and decided to fit them out again for an expedition to the Polar seas.