Hobson landed at Cape Felix on King William Island and found the remains of an encampment which had been hastily abandoned, for tents and clothes were left behind. Marching onwards he came to the large cairn with a quantity of gear strewn round it, and a tin cylinder containing the famous document written by Fitzjames, which announced the fate of Franklin and the expedition. Hobson, stricken with scurvy, felt unable to carry out the rest of his instructions, but two of his men went on and discovered a large boat. The return journey was then commenced and the _Fox_ was reached on June 14th after an absence of 74 days. Latterly Hobson had to be carried on the sledge. He left in a cairn for M’Clintock a report and lists of all the articles seen. M’Clintock continued his advance to the south, obtaining from the natives several spoons and articles of plate belonging to officers, and other relics. They said that many white men had dropped by the way as they marched, and that some had been buried and others not. On the 15th May M’Clintock reached Montreal Island. It was thoroughly searched, but nothing of importance was found. On the 24th M’Clintock again crossed the frozen sea to King William Island and followed the shore along which the retreating crews must have marched. On the 25th a human skeleton, with some fragments of clothing which were those of an officer’s steward, was found on a gravel ridge. The pockets had contained a brush, a comb, and a pocket-book. The shroud of snow no doubt concealed many other skeletons. On reaching Cape Herschel M’Clintock was full of hope that Simpson’s cairn might contain a record, but there was nothing. On May 29th he reached the extreme western point of King William Island (69° 8′ N. and 100° 8′ W.) which he named Cape Crozier. M’Clintock had now arrived on Hobson’s tracks. The coast was a series of limestone ridges, and to seaward there was a rugged surface of crushed-up pack. On the 30th May the camp was formed alongside the boat found by Hobson about 50 miles from Point Victory. M’Clintock has given a most interesting account of it and its contents. It contained two skeletons and was full of relics of all kinds[133]. On June 2nd M’Clintock reached the cairn at Point Victory, and realised the whole sad story. “All the coast-line,” he wrote, “along which the retreating crews performed their fearful march must be sacred to their names alone.”