Some people thought that Franklin ought not to go again to the northern land. These people told him that he had already done enough for his country, having risked his life three times, and made more discoveries in that region than any other man. They reminded him that he was now sixty years of age, and ought to be willing to remain at home and let a younger man undertake this hard and dangerous journey. But Franklin rejoiced at the thought of seeing the far North again. He declared that he was only fifty-nine years of age, and that the discovery of the northwest passage was the object nearest his heart. Two ships, called the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_, were given Franklin for this voyage. These ships, propelled by steam screws, were the first vessels of the kind ever used in the Arctic seas. It was thought that the use of the steam screw instead of the paddle wheel would prove of great value to navigators in seas where ice packs and heavy gales were constantly to be feared. Great results, then, were expected from the expedition fitted out in this improved manner. Franklin himself took command of the _Erebus_, while Captain Crozier was given command of the _Terror_. Sufficient provisions were put aboard the vessels to provide for an absence of three years, and nothing was left undone that promised to insure the safety and success of the expedition, or to promote the health and comfort of the explorers. The ships sailed from England on May 19, 1845. The men were in good spirits and hopeful. They sailed north toward Lancaster sound, and on the 26th of July, 1845, a whaling vessel, called the _Prince of Wales_, sighted them in Melville bay, stuck fast in the ice. The captain of the whaler received a visit from some of the exploring party, and was invited to dine with Franklin, but a breeze sprang up suddenly, and the ships parted company. That was the last time the _Erebus_ and the _Terror_, or any of the men aboard those vessels, were ever seen. They appeared to have dropped off the face of the earth. When the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ had been absent two years, and no news of them had been heard, many expeditions were sent out to hunt for them. Some traces of the ships were discovered, and it is believed that the vessels sailed northward through Lancaster sound to Beechey island, where they wintered (1845–1846). On this island were found the graves of two seamen marked with headboards showing the date of their death. [Illustration: IN WINTER QUARTERS.] It is thought that when spring came, the ships were released from the ice and proceeded southward toward King William’s Land. While near to King William’s Land the vessels were probably again caught in the pack. The second winter, with its long, dark night, bitter cold, and absence of proper food, must have been a gloomy one for these poor men.