In the autumn of 1852, Captain M’Clure had made known his intentions of sending to England, the following spring, half of the officers and crew _via_ Baffin Bay (taking the boat from Cape Spencer) and the Mackenzie. The remainder of the crew were to stand by the ship in the hope of releasing her in the summer of 1853, should they fail in this they would proceed with sledges in 1854 by Port Leopold, “our provisions admitting of no other arrangement.” In the despatch prepared by Captain M’Clure which he sent home by the land party in 1853, occurs the following passage:— “Should any of her Majesty’s ships be sent for our relief, and we have quitted Port Leopold, a notice containing information of our route will be left on the door of the house at Whaler’s Point, or on some conspicuous position. If, however, no intimation should be found of our having been there, it may at once be surmised that some fatal catastrophe has happened, either from our being carried into the Polar Sea, or smashed in Barrow’s Strait, and no survivors left. If such be the case,—which, however, I will not anticipate,—it will then be quite unnecessary to penetrate further to the westward for our relief, as, by the period that any vessel could reach that port, we must, from want of provisions, all have perished. In such a case, I would submit that the officers may be directed to return, and by no means incur the danger of losing other lives in quest of those who will then be no more.” The thrilling adventures in the American wilderness told by Franklin, Richardson, Back, and others, foretold that this sledge journey proposed by M’Clure would be long and hazardous in the extreme. The weaker ones were to undertake it, thirty of the healthiest men being retained to stand by the ships with the captain. The curse of scurvy had long since stricken many of the crew; these could not hope to brave another Arctic winter, and their only chance was to penetrate the wilderness to civilization, however difficult and dangerous the undertaking. But while M’Clure and his gallant comrades were making every preparation for this last attempt to communicate with England, relief came unexpectedly to hand. [Sidenote: _CAPTAIN KELLET_] It will be remembered that Captain Kellett of Sir Edward Belcher’s squadron had sailed the previous August to Melville Island with relief supplies for the _Investigator_ and _Enterprise_, in case these vessels or members of their crews should have succeeded in making their way from Behring Strait to that place. Upon reaching Winter Harbour, they at once discovered a notice deposited there the beginning of the year by Captain M’Clure, conveying the assurance of the safety of the _Investigator_ and its crew in Mercy Bay. It may be imagined with what enthusiasm such news was received by Captain Kellett and his crew, and immediately preparations were made for an expedition to let them know that aid was at hand.