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Documentary, PBS Nova; Arctic Passage, Prisoners of the Ice
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00:01It was the most ambitious expedition of its day.
00:05One of Britain's most renowned explorers, Sir John Franklin,
00:10and 133 officers and crew set off to conquer the most perilous waterway in the world.
00:18Their mission? To be the first to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific
00:23through Canada's icy Northwest Passage.
00:27It felt as if it was the domain of death,
00:31the far limit of what human beings could do.
00:37This was the holy grail of Arctic exploration,
00:41and it should have been the British Navy's ultimate achievement.
00:49But instead, two great ships, with the best 19th century technology,
00:54headed into the polar ice and seemed to vanish.
01:01For 150 years, the reason for the loss of the Franklin expedition remained a mystery.
01:10Now, a team of investigators has uncovered an extraordinary trail of clues
01:15that raises troubling new questions.
01:21Could it be that the men actually survived the ice, only to turn on each other?
01:28I think this evidence is strongly suggestive of cannibalism among these Franklin crew members.
01:36What was it that wiped out one of the most technologically advanced expeditions
01:41in 300 years of polar exploration?
01:45The story of the Franklin expedition can finally be told.
01:51Arctic Passage, Prisoners of the Ice, right now on NOVA.
02:03At theastora if you will find that others must-
02:09the full editor, the surface of the Japanese expedition may satisfy &other them,
02:16which appear to be unique to the space.
02:26Theיפa lake and the river can again be utilities and inputs.
02:38A spring morning in 1845, at the offices of the British Admiralty, Sir John Franklin,
02:46a seasoned naval captain, receives final orders before setting off on a daring voyage of exploration.
02:54Now, Sir John, this is the plan.
02:56His destination, the Northwest Passage, one of the last unexplored waterways in the world, and perhaps the most perilous.
03:05And then attempt to turn south or southwest into these uncharted waters.
03:12We have every faith in you, Sir John.
03:18At this time, the only way to reach Asia is to make an arduous journey around Cape Horn,
03:24a trip that can take six months.
03:27The British believe that there is a shortcut, a passage through northern Canada that may shave months off the trip.
03:37But after 300 years of trying to penetrate the Arctic ice, no ship has ever sailed all the way through.
03:48It's a puzzle. It's a matrix, like a maze.
03:51The winds are blowing the ice around, the currents are pushing the ice.
04:05This expedition will be the 19th attempt by the British Navy to punch through the passage.
04:16John Franklin is one of Britain's most experienced arctic explorers.
04:21At age 59, he may be too old for such a voyage, but finding the passage has been his life
04:28and dream,
04:29and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin, has given him her blessing.
04:41Colesman, south, southwest, 30 degrees, please.
04:44He and his second, Francis Crozier, another veteran explorer,
04:50will lead the largest and most technologically advanced arctic expedition ever mounted,
04:56134 men, on board the Terror and the Erebus, a pair of modified warships.
05:05Already among the sturdiest in the fleet, each has been radically altered for duty in the Arctic.
05:12Shipwrights reinforced their superstructures and added iron plates to the bow.
05:18They installed a locomotive steam engine, turning a screw-shaped propeller,
05:23a new invention that will allow the ships to power through the ice as never before.
05:32You can sense the extraordinary confidence of people who'd pushed back the frontiers of nature
05:38through the glories of the Industrial Revolution,
05:41this might that they suddenly had at their disposal.
05:44And so they built up this force, and two great ships reinforced by steel,
05:49and this will be their fortress.
05:53Also on board, a new technology designed to eliminate the hunger and sickness
05:58that often plagued long voyages.
06:02A 19th century invention that promised to feed the men as if they were back in London.
06:09Canned food.
06:10We will never starve again.
06:12It will nourish us through winter, spring, and summer.
06:16On an earlier arctic expedition,
06:19Franklin and his crew had to hunt and scavenge for nourishment.
06:22Sir John, don't tell us more.
06:23Eight of them died of starvation, and he himself barely survived.
06:281819.
06:29We scraped lynching off rocks and boiled it up with scrag ends and bits of bones.
06:34Arctic potage.
06:37The story of his brush with death earned him a wry nickname,
06:41the man who ate his boots.
06:43But this time out, he intended to keep his shoe leather on his feet.
06:48So they loaded the ships with more than 30,000 pounds of fresh meat and vegetables,
06:53preserved in cans.
06:55This would be the first expedition to rely so completely on this revolutionary food source.
07:02Each night, Franklin and his officers could look forward to a proper meal,
07:07served at his well-appointed captain's table.
07:11And for the men, solid food and plenty of diversions,
07:15including an organ and a library of more than 1,000 books.
07:21The great quantity of material may have seemed frivolous,
07:24but it was really a matter of survival.
07:26If you didn't give the men something to do,
07:28if you didn't keep them occupied,
07:30there was just no way they were going to survive the rigors of an extended Arctic voyage.
07:35The two ships set sail from London in May of 1845.
07:43According to reports filed by Franklin in July,
07:46both ships made an uneventful crossing
07:48and docked in Greenland to take on additional supplies.
07:53From there, five men returned to England,
07:58and others posted letters home.
08:02A young lieutenant, James Fitzjames,
08:04wrote to his brother's family, praising Franklin.
08:09Sir John, you have no idea how happy we all feel.
08:13We are very fond of Sir John.
08:16He is anything but nervous and fidgety.
08:18He is full of life and energy and kindness.
08:23We will toast his health when we reach the other side.
08:27Everyone believes we will make it through in a season,
08:30though I hope that we are forced to stay at least one winter in the ice.
08:40On July 28th, 1845,
08:43the expedition passed a British whaling ship as they headed into the passage.
08:50The captain of that vessel reported that Franklin's men were in high spirits,
08:55confident that they were about to make history.
09:01In the end, the expedition would be remembered.
09:06Not for its discoveries,
09:08but for the disaster it would become.
09:13When the ship sailed into the polar ice,
09:17never to return.
09:27When the first winter passed with no word from the men,
09:30the admiralty was not worried.
09:34But when the second winter passed,
09:37Lady Jane Franklin began to urge the Royal Navy to send a search party.
09:45Franklin's superiors dismissed her concerns,
09:48believing that the men could survive for at least three years in the ice.
09:54But as the third winter approached,
09:56the Navy's confidence began to waver,
09:59and in 1848,
10:00the first of many search parties left England for the passage.
10:06The Royal Navy also offered the staggering sum of 20,000 pounds
10:10for the rescue of the crew.
10:14By now, the apparent failure of the expedition was the talk of London,
10:18and it shocked Victorian England to the core.
10:26In three centuries of polar exploration,
10:29no expedition of this size had ever been lost.
10:33More than any other,
10:35this attempt should have succeeded.
10:38The men had every advantage.
10:41What could have happened?
10:44Were the ships crushed by the ice?
10:48Was the crew struck down by some disease?
10:53The Royal Navy even feared
10:55that the men might have been attacked by the Inuit,
10:57whom they viewed as savages.
11:02For 150 years,
11:04the cause of the disaster remained a mystery.
11:09But a century-old collection of artifacts,
11:13historical weather reports,
11:15and even forensic evidence
11:17are providing new clues.
11:20It's amazing that we can tell this story at all.
11:23It's so fragmentary,
11:25the evidence so scattered.
11:26It's taken a tremendous amount of work,
11:28different people working in different disciplines,
11:30to piece this puzzle together.
11:32And as we have done so,
11:34as the picture of what really happened has begun to emerge,
11:36we've realized what they couldn't,
11:38and that's that they were basically doomed from the start.
11:42The first hint that the Franklin Expedition
11:45carried the seeds of its own destruction
11:47was a discovery made in 1850 on Beachy Island,
11:51a rocky little outcropping just 300 miles into the passage.
11:58Today, there's a tiny Inuit community called Resolute nearby.
12:04But in Franklin's day,
12:05the area was an uninhabited wasteland.
12:09For historian Russell Potter,
12:11Beachy Island remains a vital link to the past
12:14and still holds important clues.
12:20Ever since I first heard the Franklin story
12:22and just grasped the sense of the tragedy there,
12:25Beachy Island has been the magnet for me.
12:28The one place where you could stand
12:30and know that you were standing in Franklin's footsteps.
12:36Today, he's making the long and difficult trip
12:38to the place where the abandoned remains
12:40of a campsite once stood.
12:46They found signs that tents had been erected,
12:49a place where a smithy or anvil had been set up,
12:51even some attempt to build a garden up on the shingle.
12:58As the first winter approached
13:00and the sea turned to ice,
13:02Franklin apparently anchored his ships at Beachy Island.
13:05The men then spread out onto the land,
13:08where they spent at least seven months
13:10waiting for the summer thaw.
13:12Some of the telling items found at Beachy
13:15include hundreds of empty food cans,
13:18a chronometer,
13:20a pair of snow knives,
13:23and a pair of gloves,
13:25left out as if to dry in the sun.
13:29But searchers also found something disturbing,
13:32a row of graves belonging to three men
13:35who were members of Franklin's crew.
13:37Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
13:40consider your ways.
13:47Sitting here with these graves,
13:49we know they were here.
13:52Just a very, very haunting and haunted place.
13:56The original headstones,
13:58which have since been replaced,
13:59did not note the cause of death.
14:01But the most common killer on long voyages
14:04was scurvy,
14:05a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency.
14:09However, the expedition carried
14:119,300 pounds of lemon juice
14:13to ward off the disease,
14:15leaving historians to wonder
14:17if some new killer was at work.
14:20Something that could have caused the loss
14:22not only of these three men,
14:24but of the entire expedition.
14:28At Beachy Island,
14:29you have the remains
14:30of three members of the expedition
14:32and almost certainly preserved remains.
14:34So this opens the possibility
14:36of understanding the medical reasons
14:38behind the disaster.
14:41No modern investigator examined the graves
14:43until 1984,
14:45when the Canadian government
14:47gave permission to a team
14:48of forensic scientists
14:49to exhume the bodies.
14:53The scientists hoped
14:54that the corpses
14:55would be well-preserved by the ice,
14:58but nothing prepared them
14:59for what they uncovered.
15:06It was such a profoundly moving experience
15:09and also one of shock, really,
15:11and amazement
15:12that these sailors
15:13from the last century,
15:14there they were.
15:15You could see their eyelashes,
15:17you could see their eye color,
15:18you can get a sense almost
15:19of the personality
15:20of these characters.
15:22It's as if they had stepped forward
15:24in time to sort of answer
15:25very important questions
15:26that needed to be asked.
15:29At the gravesite,
15:31the forensic team
15:32performed autopsies
15:33and discovered
15:33and discovered
15:34that the men had died
15:34of tuberculosis.
15:38It was a common
15:39and deadly disease of the day,
15:41but not virulent enough
15:42to wipe out the entire crew.
15:49To Franklin,
15:50the loss of these young men
15:51may have been upsetting,
15:53but not necessarily alarming.
15:57For a group of this size
15:58traveling through such harsh conditions,
16:01cut off from civilization,
16:02some loss of life
16:04was nearly inevitable.
16:06If anything,
16:08the large number
16:09of empty food cans
16:10found at the campsite
16:11suggested that most of the men
16:13were surviving
16:14and had made it safely
16:15through that first winter.
16:19But searchers were puzzled
16:21by the number of usable items
16:22left behind.
16:23It suggested that the men
16:25had departed suddenly.
16:29What could have caused them
16:30to abandon the camp
16:31in a hurry?
16:34Perhaps they had no choice.
16:37If there's any explanation
16:39of why Franklin
16:40had to take off so quickly
16:41without leaving
16:41any notes behind,
16:43the ice was maybe
16:44blown tight
16:45against Beachy Island
16:46and he was waiting
16:47and waiting.
16:52And then all of a sudden
16:53the winds turned around
16:54and the ice moved off
16:56to the south.
16:57If he saw that one opening,
16:59he'd want to grab it
16:59right away.
17:00That was his escape.
17:04The ice would have been
17:05their main worry.
17:06So the minute he had
17:07the opportunity,
17:09Franklin would have
17:09hoisted anchor
17:10and headed deeper
17:11into the passage.
17:14And that's where
17:15later expeditions
17:16made a series
17:16of troubling discoveries.
17:19Evidence that Franklin
17:20and his men
17:21had become stuck
17:22once more
17:23in the ice.
17:27John Graves
17:28has a unique window
17:29on the Franklin mystery.
17:31He oversees
17:32a collection
17:33of Franklin artifacts
17:34recovered from the Arctic,
17:35now preserved
17:36at the National Maritime Museum
17:38in London.
17:41This mysterious trail
17:42of personal effects
17:43once lay scattered
17:45over hundreds of miles
17:46of ice and snow
17:47and were recovered
17:48throughout the 1850s.
17:52It was this succession
17:54of search expeditions
17:55that went out
17:56to the Arctic
17:56looking for Franklin
17:57and his crew.
17:58Little by little,
18:00they started to bring back
18:02some of the artifacts
18:03you see here.
18:04And basically,
18:05it's all we have really
18:07to try and piece together
18:08what happened
18:08to Franklin
18:09and his men.
18:14The first group
18:15of items
18:15in the collection
18:16were discovered
18:17by Dr. John Ray
18:18in 1854.
18:19He was a Scottish explorer
18:21on a surveying mission.
18:25Traveling overland,
18:26he encountered
18:26a group of Inuit
18:27who had in their possession
18:28several small objects
18:30that Ray realized
18:31must have belonged
18:32to the missing expedition.
18:35They include
18:36these two pieces
18:37from a telescope.
18:39this small wooden container,
18:42this brass match case,
18:45a pocket knife
18:46with a bone handle,
18:47and this small
18:49leatherworking tool.
18:52This wasn't
18:53cast-off garbage
18:54like most of the debris
18:55found at Beachy Island.
18:57These were personal items
18:59that Franklin's men
19:00would not have
19:00discarded willingly.
19:02These items
19:04recovered from the Inuit
19:05was the first hint
19:07that something terrible
19:08had happened to them.
19:09in the Franklin expedition.
19:12The Inuit told Ray
19:14that they had seen
19:15ships trapped in the ice
19:16and white men on foot
19:18walking south.
19:22But Ray couldn't figure out
19:24where they'd seen the men.
19:26They had no maps
19:27and their directions
19:28seemed vague.
19:31But that wasn't
19:32the worst of it.
19:34The Inuit also told Ray
19:36that some of the men
19:37had turned to what they called
19:38the last resource.
19:42Cannibalism.
19:45In Britain,
19:46the report was not well received.
19:49The Abortee, frankly,
19:51refused to believe
19:52the Inuit testimony.
19:55It was thinking
19:56the unthinkable,
19:57basically.
19:58And so,
19:59subsequent search expeditions
20:01were dispatched
20:02to try and uncover
20:03the truth.
20:05By the time of Ray's discovery,
20:08almost ten years
20:09had passed
20:09since Franklin
20:10left England.
20:12The Admiralty
20:13had privately concluded
20:14that there was no hope
20:15of ever finding survivors.
20:20But Lady Jane Franklin
20:22remained determined
20:23and she financed
20:25search parties
20:25of her own.
20:29Then, in 1858,
20:31Leopold McClintock,
20:33one of the men
20:33she hired
20:34to search for her husband,
20:36landed on
20:37King William Island,
20:38where he and his men
20:40made two important discoveries.
20:46The first,
20:47an abandoned boat.
20:49The boat
20:50had been mounted
20:50on a sled
20:51and was rigged
20:52with harnesses
20:53for pulling
20:53by the men.
20:57It was loaded
20:58with equipment
20:59and personal effects
21:01and a pair
21:02of skeletons.
21:06The second find
21:08lay 20 miles
21:09farther up the coast
21:10of the island,
21:10a written note
21:12protected by a metal can
21:14and placed inside
21:16a carefully constructed
21:17pile of stones
21:18called a cairn.
21:21A single page
21:23that gave haunting testimony
21:24as to the fate
21:25of the men.
21:30It began
21:31with the standard
21:32Admiralty form
21:33and the message
21:34All Well,
21:35Sir John Franklin
21:36commanding.
21:38It was dated
21:39May of 1847
21:41and it noted
21:42that the ships
21:43had been stuck
21:44in the ice
21:44since September
21:45of 1846.
21:48The current position
21:49was given
21:50as 70 degrees north,
21:5198 degrees west.
21:54The northern tip
21:55of King William Island.
21:57Apparently,
21:58this is where
21:59the expedition
21:59had ground
22:00to a halt.
22:03Franklin had probably
22:04sailed west
22:05from Beechy
22:06for about 75 miles
22:07before turning south
22:09into a channel
22:10called Peel Sound
22:12which led
22:13to King William Island.
22:18For Franklin,
22:19these were uncharted waters
22:21but he and the Royal Navy
22:23believed that this route
22:24to the south
22:24was the key
22:25to the passage.
22:30Peel Sound opens
22:32into a network
22:32of channels
22:33that eventually
22:34leads all the way
22:35to the Bering Strait
22:36and the Pacific Ocean.
22:41To Franklin,
22:43that would have been
22:44a very, very tempting
22:45route to take
22:46particularly
22:46if it was open
22:47free of ice.
22:49And Peel Sound
22:50we know today
22:51is very, very changeable
22:53from year to year.
22:54One year
22:54it can be completely
22:55wide open
22:55another year
22:56it can be choked up
22:57with ice
22:57so that it's impassable
22:59even by modern ships.
23:02What Franklin
23:03didn't know
23:04is that polar ice
23:05funnels down
23:06from the north
23:07through what is now
23:07called McClintock Channel
23:09eventually piling up
23:11at the southern end
23:11of Peel Sound.
23:14Franklin couldn't see
23:15that icy impasse
23:17when he turned south
23:18but once he ran into it
23:20he may have been
23:21unable to escape.
23:24At the bottom end
23:25at the south end
23:26of Peel Sound
23:26is where he runs
23:27into that huge stream
23:29of arctic ocean
23:30polar ice
23:31that is probably
23:33where he met
23:33his demise.
23:36At the south end
23:37of Peel Sound
23:38the ice may simply
23:40have outflanked
23:41the Erebus
23:41and the Terror.
23:43At least
23:44that's what
23:45an addition
23:45to the note
23:46found on
23:46King William Island
23:47indicated.
23:49Around that
23:50message
23:51in the margins
23:52was written
23:52a second
23:52far more
23:54disturbing message.
23:56dated 1848
23:58more than a year
23:59after the original
24:00note was written
24:01Francis Crozier
24:03the captain
24:03of the Terror
24:04added in the margin
24:05that the ships
24:06were still
24:06trapped in the ice
24:08in the same location.
24:10They hadn't moved
24:12in nearly two years.
24:17What had gone wrong?
24:20Usually the polar ice
24:21melts during the summer.
24:24could it be
24:24that this time
24:25the ice
24:26simply didn't melt?
24:31The nightmare scenario
24:32was that
24:33I'm never going
24:33to get out
24:34of this ice.
24:34I'm facing
24:35another long winter
24:37it's going
24:38to get dark
24:38it's going
24:39to get very cold
24:39and here I am
24:41out on the ice
24:41that's still moving around
24:42I don't know
24:42where this ice
24:43is carrying me.
24:46No previous
24:47polar expedition
24:48had ever reported
24:49a summer so cold
24:50that the ice
24:51didn't break up.
24:55that anomaly
24:56puzzled polar scientist
24:57Roy Koerner
25:00recently he set out
25:01to learn
25:01just what kind
25:02of weather
25:02Franklin had to
25:03contend with
25:04during that
25:05fateful year.
25:09Koerner and his team
25:10regularly drilled
25:11down into the
25:11Arctic ice cap
25:12retrieving samples
25:14that they can use
25:15to understand
25:15temperature patterns
25:16from other eras.
25:19at most latitudes
25:21ice is impermanent
25:23but north
25:23of the Arctic
25:24circle
25:24it tends
25:25to hang around
25:28even for
25:29thousands of years.
25:32Koerner retrieved
25:33a sample
25:33from more than
25:34100 meters
25:35below the surface
25:38by counting ice layers
25:40and by analyzing
25:41the chemical content
25:42of the core
25:43he zeroed in
25:44on a section
25:44that he could date
25:45back to the late
25:471840s.
25:49He hoped it might
25:50be able to tell him
25:50more about the
25:51conditions that
25:52Franklin's men faced.
25:56The reason ice cores
25:57give the history
25:58of the climate
25:59in the past
26:00is that everything
26:01that happens
26:01in the surface
26:02is preserved
26:03as the ice
26:04gets buried.
26:05If the surface
26:07of the snow melts
26:08the water percolates
26:08down and it forms
26:09these ice layers
26:11the more it melts
26:13the more ice layers
26:14and the thicker
26:15the ice layers.
26:17Koerner found
26:18that within the
26:191840s ice core
26:20there was simply
26:21no sign
26:22of the transparent
26:23ice layers
26:24that form
26:24when snow melts.
26:28Koerner had once
26:29before seen
26:30another ice core
26:31like this
26:32dated from
26:33the early 1970s.
26:38In that case
26:39he had actual
26:40weather reports
26:41to compare it to
26:42and he learned
26:43that the ice
26:43from the 70s
26:44had formed
26:45during a very
26:46cold period
26:46of almost
26:47permanent winter.
26:53the point
26:54to make
26:54on this core
26:55is the absolute
26:56near absence
26:58of any signs
26:59of melting
27:00whatsoever
27:00none of those
27:01clear layers
27:02at all
27:02just bubbly ice
27:04that is formed
27:05from compression
27:05of snow
27:06that doesn't melt
27:07in the summer.
27:10the finding
27:11convinced him
27:12that Franklin
27:12faced similar
27:13conditions
27:14when much
27:15of the sea ice
27:16had not
27:16melted at all.
27:19For an expedition
27:20hoping to sail
27:21the passage
27:22with 19th century
27:23technology
27:24the conditions
27:25would have been
27:25deadly.
27:28If it's a cold
27:29summer
27:29that ice
27:30isn't going
27:31to go out
27:32and open up
27:32the channels
27:33are ice infested
27:34still
27:35the ships
27:36that they used
27:37in those days
27:37they don't have
27:38the power
27:39to get through
27:40even the modest ice.
27:43Kerner's evidence
27:44confirmed that
27:45Franklin and his men
27:46had encountered
27:47freak weather conditions
27:48more severe
27:50than previous
27:50explorers had reported.
27:54Worse than that
27:55Kerner's ice core
27:57showed that this
27:57period of extreme cold
27:59likely lasted
28:00for five long years.
28:04This terrible run
28:05of bad luck
28:06trapped the men
28:07in the wilderness.
28:10But there was
28:11even worse news.
28:14Also written
28:15in the margin
28:16of the note
28:17another entry read
28:20Sir John Franklin
28:21died
28:22on the 11th of June
28:251847.
28:27It continued
28:28The total loss
28:30by deaths
28:30in the expedition
28:31has been
28:32to this date
28:32nine officers
28:34and fifteen men.
28:38They were still
28:39living on their ships
28:40and probably
28:41had plenty of food
28:42but a mysterious
28:44killer now
28:45stalked their ranks.
28:53they that go down
28:54to the sea
28:55and ships
28:56that do business
28:58in great waters
29:01these see
29:02the works
29:03of the Lord
29:04and his wonders
29:05in the deep
29:08for he commandeth
29:10and raiseth
29:11and raiseth
29:12the stormy wind
29:13which lifteth up
29:15the waves
29:15thereof
29:18they mount up
29:19to their heaven
29:20they go down
29:21again to the depths
29:22their soul
29:25melteth away
29:26because of trouble
29:29they reel
29:30to and fro
29:32and stagger
29:33like a drunken man
29:35it's clear
29:36from everything
29:36we know
29:37he was a beloved
29:37commander
29:38he'd been in the Arctic
29:39before and only one
29:40other officer had
29:42I think that his presence
29:44is a tremendous
29:45reassurance to everyone
29:46there and his loss
29:47would have been
29:47a terrific blow
29:48so that the waves
29:50thereof are still
29:54then are they glad
29:56because they are quiet
29:59Sir John Franklin
30:01died even before
30:02the first search
30:03expeditions
30:03left England
30:06in that year
30:07Lady Jane
30:08continued to write
30:09poignant letters
30:09to her missing husband
30:11unaware that she
30:12was already
30:13a widow
30:15I desire nothing
30:17but to cherish
30:18the remainder
30:19of your days
30:20however injured
30:21and broken
30:22your health may be
30:23I live in you
30:25my dearest
30:32three years
30:33after the expedition
30:34left England
30:34the commander
30:36and 20%
30:37of the 128 man
30:38crew
30:39lay dead
30:41already it was
30:42one of the
30:42deadliest disasters
30:43in the history
30:44of polar exploration
30:48the final entry
30:49on the note
30:50said that the men
30:51had abandoned
30:51the safety of their
30:52ships
30:52and were now
30:53walking south
30:59in that brief note
31:01second in command
31:02Francis Crozier
31:03testified to a
31:03terrible truth
31:06the expedition
31:07lay in ruins
31:10and the chances
31:11of anyone
31:11getting out alive
31:12were rapidly fading
31:16the whole
31:17plan for traversing
31:18the Northwest Passage
31:19depended on being
31:20able to sail
31:22through it
31:22they didn't have
31:23a plan for getting
31:24away
31:24except by
31:26sailing out
31:27they didn't have
31:29for example
31:30lightweight sledges
31:31adapted to the terrain
31:32all they had
31:34was what was on
31:34the ship
31:35that lavish factory
31:36full of Victorian
31:37contrivances
31:38and good ideas
31:41the boat
31:42they'd converted
31:43into a sled
31:43was filled
31:44with the crew's
31:45personal possessions
31:46as it was later
31:48found by a search
31:49party led by
31:49Leopold McClintock
31:51it's estimated
31:52to have weighed
31:52a staggering
31:531400 pounds
31:57after three years
31:58marooned in the
31:59Arctic
31:59dying one by one
32:01their overland
32:03escape attempt
32:03must have been
32:04an act of desperation
32:11the nearest outpost
32:13lay 600 miles
32:14to the south
32:16a daunting distance
32:17to travel by foot
32:19especially with so much
32:20gear in tow
32:24this boatload
32:25of strange relics
32:27of Victorian culture
32:28the Vicar of Wakefield
32:29prayer books
32:30New Testament
32:31in French
32:31carpet slippers
32:32chocolate
32:33tea
32:33button polishers
32:35buttons
32:35silver plate
32:36and utensils
32:37all of the detritus
32:38of this
32:39you know
32:40inner culture
32:41of the ships
32:42ships that they try
32:43to take with them
32:48you can imagine
32:48these people
32:49desperately
32:50wanting to carry
32:51their precious world
32:52with them
32:52that everything
32:53they trusted
32:54was now going to
32:55become
32:55not an advantage
32:56but a problem
32:57so that
32:58they were burdened
32:59now by their numbers
33:00they were burdened
33:01now by the weight
33:02of their stores
33:04and above all
33:05burdened
33:06by the fact
33:06that they didn't
33:07know what to do
33:08with the land
33:09that they were
33:09now suddenly
33:10totally dependent on
33:15it would have been
33:16murderously difficult
33:17to haul such a heavy
33:18load through the snow
33:22at some point
33:23they apparently
33:24abandoned it
33:24on the west coast
33:25of King William Island
33:28and it's there
33:29that the trail
33:29of clues
33:30runs out
33:35based on this
33:36trail of evidence
33:36the admiralty decided
33:37that Franklin's men
33:38had simply starved
33:40to death
33:40trying to walk
33:41out of the wilderness
33:41and for more than
33:42a century
33:43that was the
33:43official narrative
33:45but there were
33:46eyewitnesses
33:46as it turns out
33:47people who actually
33:48saw Franklin's men
33:49in this last extremity
33:50and their story
33:51is quite different
33:52from the official
33:53admiralty version
33:57in 1869
33:58an American journalist
34:00Charles Francis Hall
34:01found these eyewitnesses
34:03when he spent
34:04five years
34:04in the Canadian Arctic
34:05often living
34:06with Inuit families
34:10did you ask him
34:11where these people
34:12came from
34:13what direction
34:13they were walking from
34:16he met dozens
34:17of indigenous people
34:18who retained
34:19detailed memories
34:20of Franklin's crew
34:21and their ships
34:23and their ships
34:25and their ships
34:26and their ships
34:27Hall carefully
34:27recorded their testimony
34:29but once again
34:30it was discounted
34:31by the British
34:33who considered
34:34the Inuit
34:35to be unreliable
34:40Russell Potter
34:41has made a new study
34:42of Hall's notebooks
34:44digging them out
34:45of an archive
34:45at the Smithsonian
34:46where they'd been
34:47hidden away
34:47for more than
34:48100 years
34:51Hall was just
34:52a very diligent man
34:54he trusted the Inuit
34:55he believed
34:56in their stories
34:57he carefully corroborated
34:59one story with another
35:00to try to see
35:00how accurate
35:01that was likely to be
35:03it matches
35:04very well
35:05with the physical evidence
35:06we have
35:06it really is
35:07a highly accurate
35:08and amazingly
35:09well preserved
35:10oral tradition
35:13the Inuit
35:14told of an abandoned
35:15camp
35:15a tent place
35:17as Hall
35:18translated it
35:21and it was
35:22a grisly sight
35:24and they gave him
35:25a very vivid
35:26description
35:26of this place
35:27they had seen
35:28tents on the land
35:29bodies inside
35:30the tents
35:31abandoned equipment
35:35the Inuit
35:35placed the location
35:36of the camp
35:37somewhere on
35:38King William Island
35:38the same island
35:40where the abandoned
35:41boat and the note
35:42had been discovered
35:45they described
35:46the bodies
35:47they saw there
35:49they said
35:49that the faces
35:50were black
35:51a symptom
35:52of frostbite
35:54they also said
35:56that the insides
35:57of the men's mouths
35:58were black as well
35:59and that could only
36:01mean one thing
36:03three years
36:04into their arctic
36:05journey
36:06scurvy
36:07was ravaging
36:08the men
36:11the British navy
36:13had long known
36:13that lemon juice
36:14could stave off
36:15the disease
36:16but what they
36:17didn't know
36:18is that the active
36:19ingredient
36:19vitamin C
36:20loses its potency
36:22over time
36:23by 1848
36:25the men would have
36:26begun to suffer
36:27the terrible effects
36:28of the disease
36:29the first symptoms
36:30of scurvy
36:31are a sort of
36:32a general
36:33lassitude
36:33and a weakness
36:34and it mainly
36:35affects the gums
36:36they become swollen
36:37they become purple
36:38the slightest touch
36:40means they bleed
36:40very very easily
36:41as it develops
36:42the bleeding
36:43goes on everywhere
36:44you can get bleeding
36:45into your eyes
36:45you get bleeding
36:46into your muscles
36:47and this is particularly
36:48painful
36:49the main muscle
36:51the main muscle
36:51that you're using
36:51to try and pull
36:52this sledge
36:53through the snow
36:53and you've got
36:54this agonizing bleeding
36:55into the muscles
36:56and into the joints
36:57so it would have just
36:58slowly but horrendously
37:00killed them
37:03the men would have
37:04recognized the symptoms
37:05of scurvy
37:07but they wouldn't have
37:08recognized the symptoms
37:09of an even more
37:10insidious illness
37:11that may have been
37:12affecting them
37:16while performing
37:17autopsies
37:18on the three young sailors
37:19buried on Beachy Island
37:20the investigators
37:21also removed
37:23hair and bone tissue
37:24for later analysis
37:27in a Canadian laboratory
37:29scientists found
37:30something surprising
37:31in those samples
37:32levels of lead
37:34six to ten times
37:36higher than normal
37:39enough to cause
37:40severe lead poisoning
37:45where did it come from
37:49some suggested
37:50that the lead levels
37:51could have been caused
37:52by the industrial air
37:53pollution of Victorian England
37:57but Anne Keenleyside
37:59a Canadian anthropologist
38:00decided to examine
38:01the evidence
38:02from a new angle
38:07first Keenleyside's test
38:08confirmed the extraordinary
38:09levels of lead
38:10in the bodies
38:12they were so high
38:14that these individuals
38:15would have
38:15almost certainly
38:16been suffering
38:17from serious
38:18physiological
38:19and neurological
38:19problems
38:22then using a process
38:24called x-ray fluorescence
38:25she discovered
38:26the lead concentration
38:28was higher
38:28in soft spongy bones
38:30than in other places
38:31in the body
38:33it was a vital clue
38:35because soft bones
38:37like the vertebrae
38:38regenerate themselves
38:39every few years
38:42these individuals
38:43were exposed
38:44to this lead
38:44over a fairly recent
38:46period of time
38:47before their death
38:48so this was short-term
38:49exposure
38:50from some source
38:51on the expedition
38:56based on her finding
38:58researchers took
38:59another look
39:00at the clues
39:00found at beachy
39:03they found
39:03that the food cans
39:04had been sealed
39:05with solder
39:06a soft metal compound
39:08that contains lead
39:11chemical analysis
39:12showed that the lead
39:13in the cans
39:13matched the lead
39:15found in the bodies
39:18there's like a fingerprint
39:19that was found
39:20in the bodies
39:21in the organs
39:22in the tissues
39:22in the bone
39:23and that was
39:24the smoking gun
39:28apparently the lead
39:30had contaminated
39:31the food
39:31causing lead poisoning
39:33a deadly illness
39:36symptoms include
39:37fatigue
39:38confusion
39:38and paranoia
39:41not enough by itself
39:42to cause death
39:43but if the men
39:44were weakened
39:45by illness
39:46the poison
39:47would have been
39:47a devastating
39:48complication
39:50when you combine
39:52lead and
39:53scurvy
39:53you suddenly have
39:55this tag team
39:56undermining
39:57the health
39:57of the crewmen
39:58it really was a recipe
40:00for a mass disaster
40:04and the key ingredient
40:06in that recipe
40:07the very technology
40:09that was meant
40:10to keep them alive
40:11we will never starve again
40:13it will nourish us
40:14through winter
40:15spring and summer
40:21in the autumn
40:22of 1848
40:23the fourth winter
40:25in the arctic
40:26the window
40:27for escape
40:27was rapidly closing
40:31as the men
40:32became weakened
40:33by hunger
40:33and disease
40:34the bonds
40:35between them
40:36began to unravel
40:39it's clear
40:40from the Inuit
40:41testimony
40:41that at this point
40:42the traditional
40:43discipline
40:43is beginning
40:44to break down
40:44the men
40:45are separating
40:46to different groups
40:47possibly hostile
40:48to one another
40:48some are heading
40:49back to the ships
40:50some camped
40:51on the land
40:52some walking
40:52out by their
40:53own directions
40:54none of them
40:55under the traditional
40:56central command
40:57that the navy
40:57would expect
40:58it's really
40:59the beginning
40:59of the end
41:00for them
41:00everyone is trying
41:31to find their
41:31own solution
41:33the Inuit
41:35went to the ship
41:36all alone
41:37he said
41:38there were men
41:39there
41:40he said
41:41they had black
41:42faces
41:43black hands
41:44black clothes
41:46on
41:46were black
41:47all over
41:58this Inuit
41:59was very
42:00alarmed
42:01because they
42:01would not
42:02let him
42:02get away
42:04then a captain
42:05came out
42:06of the cabin
42:06and put a stop
42:08to it
42:11leave him
42:17then they
42:18the captain
42:19took this Inuit
42:20down with him
42:21into his cabin
42:23he told him
42:24to look over
42:25to the land
42:25where there are
42:26men living
42:27in a big tent
42:28he said
42:29neither the Inuit
42:30nor any of his
42:31people must
42:32ever go there
42:33you must not
42:34go there
42:36you must go
42:38go
42:40go
42:41not come here
42:52the Inuit
42:53were not told
42:53why some
42:54of the men
42:54were living
42:55separately
43:00but in
43:001994
43:01human bone
43:03fragments
43:03discovered
43:04on King
43:04William
43:05Island
43:05suggested
43:06one
43:07chilling
43:07possibility
43:11Ann Keenly
43:12side
43:12tested
43:13these
43:13bones
43:14as well
43:14and found
43:15that they
43:15also
43:16contained
43:16lead
43:17from the
43:17food supply
43:19linking
43:20them
43:20to the
43:20Franklin
43:20expedition
43:22then
43:23she examined
43:24the surface
43:24of the bones
43:25under a
43:26powerful
43:26electron
43:27microscope
43:29we saw
43:30very distinct
43:31cut marks
43:31these were
43:32quite different
43:33from animal
43:34tooth marks
43:34these looked
43:35like very
43:36definite cut
43:37marks
43:37as if they
43:37were made
43:38by some
43:38kind of
43:39a knife
43:39or metal
43:39blade
43:45keenly
43:45side
43:45then
43:46plotted
43:46the
43:46pattern
43:47of the
43:47cut
43:47marks
43:47on a
43:48skeleton
43:49a lot
43:50of the
43:50cuts
43:50were
43:51located
43:51in the
43:52vicinity
43:52of the
43:52joints
43:53some
43:54of the
43:54bones
43:55that
43:55would
43:55have
43:55been
43:55covered
43:55by a
43:56lot
43:56of
43:56flesh
43:56or
43:57soft
43:57tissue
43:57we
43:58also
43:58found
43:59cuts
43:59interestingly
44:00in the
44:00bones
44:01of the
44:01hands
44:01and feet
44:02and the
44:02hands
44:03and feet
44:03are
44:03very
44:03probably
44:04the
44:04most
44:04human
44:05aspects
44:05of the
44:06body
44:06apart
44:06from
44:06the
44:06face
44:07and the
44:08fact
44:08that we
44:08were
44:09finding
44:09cuts
44:09in those
44:10locations
44:10suggested
44:11to me
44:11that
44:11perhaps
44:12these
44:13individuals
44:13were
44:13intentionally
44:14removing
44:14those
44:15more
44:16human
44:16aspects
44:17of the
44:17body
44:19I think
44:20this
44:20evidence
44:20is strongly
44:21suggestive
44:21of cannibalism
44:22among these
44:23Franklin crew
44:23members
44:25I don't
44:26see any
44:26other possible
44:27explanation
44:28that would
44:28account for
44:29those
44:29cut marks
44:32can
44:33Keenly
44:33side
44:33tests
44:34finally
44:34corroborated
44:35the
44:35Inuit
44:36accounts
44:36of
44:36cannibalism
44:37recorded
44:38both
44:38by the
44:38Scottish
44:39surveyor
44:39John
44:40Ray
44:40and the
44:41American
44:41journalist
44:41Charles
44:42Hall
44:44the
44:45same
44:45testimony
44:46despised
44:46and
44:47discounted
44:47by the
44:48British
44:48for over
44:49a
44:49century
44:53according
44:54to other
44:54Inuit
44:55eyewitnesses
44:56not all
44:56of the
44:57men
44:57stayed
44:57on
44:57or near
45:05the
45:06ships
45:06in
45:07Hall's
45:07records
45:08are the
45:08words
45:08of
45:09two
45:09elderly
45:09Inuit
45:10called
45:10Takita
45:11and
45:11Owa
45:11who
45:12described
45:12an
45:13encounter
45:13with
45:13a
45:13small
45:14band
45:14of
45:14men
45:14walking
45:15south
45:15on
45:16the
45:16polar
45:16ice
45:18we
45:19were
45:19out
45:19sealing
45:20when
45:20we
45:21saw
45:21something
45:21on
45:22the
45:22ice
45:23as
45:24they
45:24drew
45:24nearer
45:25we
45:25realized
45:26it
45:27was
45:27white
45:27men
45:28they
45:29asked
45:29us
45:29for
45:29food
45:33can
45:34you
45:34help
45:34us
45:34we
45:35we
45:36need
45:36food
45:37yes
45:38we
45:39the
45:40officer
45:40also
45:41signaled
45:41that
45:42two
45:42ships
45:43lay
45:43in
45:43the
45:43ice
45:44to
45:44the
45:44north
45:45we
45:46have
45:46two
45:46ships
45:47he
45:47made
45:47a
45:47motion
45:48of
45:48falling
45:49sideways
45:50whistling
45:51and
45:51blowing
45:52it
45:53was
45:53the
45:53sound
45:54of
45:54a
45:54ship
45:54being
45:55crushed
45:55in
45:55the
45:55ice
45:56they
45:56are
45:56broken
45:57we
45:58are
45:58very
45:58hungry
45:59they
45:59are
45:59broken
46:00they
46:00they
46:01are
46:01hungry
46:02they
46:02are
46:07hungry
46:09they
46:09stayed for
46:10the night
46:10and gave
46:10the men
46:11some seal
46:11meat
46:12but they
46:13were on a
46:13hunting expedition
46:14and had
46:15to leave
46:15the next
46:16day
46:26early
46:26early
46:29next
46:30morning
46:30we
46:30set
46:31off
46:31the
46:32leader
46:32tried
46:32to
46:32make
46:33us
46:33stop
46:33but
46:34we
46:34were
46:35in
46:35a
46:35hurry
46:35and
46:36did
46:36not
46:36know
46:37the
46:37man
46:37was
46:38starving
46:38stop
46:40stop
46:45inuit
46:46simply
46:46packed
46:46up
46:47and left
46:48and
46:48when you
46:49think
46:49about
46:49it
46:49that
46:49seems
46:50like
46:50a
46:50terrible
46:50thing
46:51but
46:51it's
46:51really
46:51an
46:51act
46:52of
46:52self
46:52preservation
46:53there's
46:54no
46:54way
46:54that
46:54a
46:54small
46:55band
46:55of
46:55inuit
46:55even
46:56the
46:56most
46:56skilled
46:56hunters
46:57could
46:57have
46:57kept
46:57alive
46:5730
46:58starving
46:58men
46:59in
46:59the
46:59middle
47:00of
47:00that
47:00landscape
47:00there
47:01just
47:01wasn't
47:02enough
47:02food
47:02even
47:02for
47:02their
47:02own
47:03families
47:03they
47:04didn't
47:04really
47:04have
47:04any
47:05choice
47:16in
47:16recent
47:17years
47:17a
47:17few
47:17skeletal
47:18remains
47:19have
47:19turned
47:19up
47:19along
47:20a
47:2030
47:20mile
47:20stretch
47:21of
47:21King
47:21William
47:21Island
47:28these
47:29bones
47:29tell
47:30the
47:30grim
47:30tale
47:30of
47:31what
47:31may
47:31have
47:31happened
47:31to
47:32those
47:32who
47:32never
47:32gave
47:33up
47:33trying
47:33to
47:33walk
47:34to
47:34safety
47:37at
47:37first
47:38they
47:38buried
47:38their
47:38dead
47:39in
47:39makeshift
47:39graves
47:40but
47:41then
47:41weakened
47:42by
47:42cold
47:42and
47:42hunger
47:43the
47:43rest
47:44simply
47:44died
47:44and
47:45were
47:45found
47:45where
47:45they
47:46fell
47:50after
47:50such
47:51a long
47:51struggle
47:51when
47:52death
47:52finally
47:53came
47:53it
47:54may
47:54have
47:54felt
47:54like
47:54a
47:55welcome
47:55release
48:02in
48:02the
48:02Arctic
48:03you
48:04feel
48:04like
48:04the
48:04elements
48:05are
48:05not
48:05passive
48:06you
48:06feel
48:06like
48:06you're
48:07involved
48:07in
48:08some
48:08malevolent
48:08force
48:10when
48:11you
48:11experience
48:12extreme
48:12cold
48:13for the
48:13first
48:13time
48:14it's
48:16like
48:16a
48:16glove
48:17closing
48:18around
48:18you
48:19you
48:19feel
48:19like
48:19you
48:20don't
48:20want
48:21to
48:21fight
48:21you
48:21want
48:21to
48:22give
48:22in
48:22you
48:22want
48:22to
48:23close
48:23down
48:23your
48:23senses
48:28after
48:29time
48:29it's
48:30almost
48:30as if
48:31the
48:31cold
48:31has
48:31seeped
48:32through
48:32to
48:32your
48:32heart
48:33and
48:33I
48:33don't
48:33mean
48:33your
48:33physical
48:34heart
48:34I
48:34mean
48:34your
48:35soul
48:36your
48:36very
48:37being
48:37because
48:38you
48:38feel
48:38like
48:39no
48:39longer
48:39fighting
48:45and
48:46once
48:46you've
48:46given
48:46up
48:46that
48:47fight
48:47and
48:48you
48:48just
48:48want
48:48to
48:48sleep
48:48you
48:49just
48:49want
48:49to
48:49become
48:49part
48:50of
48:50that
48:50oblivion
49:00the
49:01final
49:01report
49:01in
49:01Hall's
49:02notes
49:02came
49:03from
49:03an
49:03Inuit
49:03hunter
49:04who
49:04claimed
49:04to
49:04have
49:04found
49:05four
49:05white
49:05men
49:06half
49:06dead
49:06on
49:07the
49:07ice
49:07sometime
49:08around
49:081851
49:14he
49:14sheltered
49:15them
49:15for
49:15the
49:15winter
49:16when
49:17the
49:17spring
49:17came
49:18they
49:18gave
49:18him
49:18an
49:18officer's
49:19sword
49:19as
49:20a
49:20gesture
49:20of
49:20thanks
49:23then
49:24they
49:24said
49:24goodbye
49:24and
49:25headed
49:25for
49:25home
49:27never
49:28to be
49:28seen
49:28again
49:40peace
49:41piece
49:41by
49:41peace
49:41throughout
49:42the
49:421850s
49:43news
49:44of the
49:44relics
49:44uncovered
49:45by the
49:45search
49:45parties
49:46made
49:46its
49:46way
49:46back
49:47to
49:47Britain
49:50in
49:501859
49:5114 years
49:52after
49:53Franklin
49:53left
49:54England
49:54the
49:55search
49:55was
49:55officially
49:56called
49:56off
49:59Lady
50:00Franklin
50:00never
50:01gave
50:01up
50:01her
50:01hope
50:02that
50:02some
50:02members
50:02of
50:03the
50:03expedition
50:03may
50:03have
50:04survived
50:05even
50:05though
50:05she
50:06had
50:06learned
50:06from
50:06the
50:06note
50:07that
50:07her
50:07husband
50:08was
50:08dead
50:13what
50:14secrets
50:14may
50:14be
50:15hidden
50:15within
50:15those
50:16wrecked
50:16or
50:16stranded
50:17ships
50:17we
50:18know
50:18not
50:19what
50:20may
50:20be
50:20buried
50:20in
50:21the
50:21graves
50:21of
50:21our
50:21unhappy
50:22countrymen
50:23or
50:23in
50:24caches
50:24not
50:24yet
50:24discovered
50:25we
50:26have
50:26yet
50:26to
50:26learn
50:27and
50:28thus
50:28left
50:28in
50:29ignorance
50:29and
50:30darkness
50:30with
50:31so
50:31little
50:31obtained
50:33can
50:34it
50:34be
50:34fitting
50:34to
50:35pronounce
50:36that
50:37the
50:37fate
50:37of
50:37the
50:37expedition
50:38has
50:39been
50:40ascertained
50:45for
50:46years
50:46historians
50:47and
50:48scientists
50:48have
50:48searched
50:49for
50:49clues
50:49to
50:50the
50:50fate
50:50of
50:50the
50:50Franklin
50:51expedition
50:51and
50:52at
50:53last
50:53their
50:53evidence
50:53taken
50:54together
50:54offers
50:55a
50:55plausible
50:55answer
50:56to
50:56this
50:56enduring
50:57mystery
51:01after
51:02sailing
51:02south
51:03through
51:03Peel
51:03Sound
51:04Franklin's
51:05men
51:05became
51:05trapped
51:06in
51:06the
51:06ice
51:06off
51:07King
51:07William
51:07Island
51:10They
51:10tried
51:11to walk
51:11south
51:11to
51:12safety
51:12but
51:13exposure
51:13lead
51:14poisoning
51:14and scurvy
51:15crippled
51:16them
51:18Those
51:18who
51:18could
51:19made it
51:19back
51:19to the
51:20ships
51:20to wait
51:20for
51:20rescue
51:21that never
51:21came
51:24Another
51:25group
51:25camped
51:25nearby
51:27possibly
51:27ostracized
51:28from their
51:29brethren
51:29for having
51:29resorted
51:30to
51:30canadism
51:33canadism
51:33Two years
51:34later
51:35some
51:35Inuit
51:35encountered
51:36a group
51:36of 30
51:37men
51:37walking
51:37south
51:40These
51:41men
51:41died
51:41one by
51:42one
51:42along
51:43the
51:43coast
51:43of
51:43King
51:43William
51:44Island
51:48Finally
51:49after six
51:50years
51:50lost in the
51:51Arctic
51:52four men
51:53were still
51:53trying to
51:54make it
51:54home
51:54when they
51:55encountered
51:55a group
51:56of Inuit
51:58I think
51:58it's fairly
51:59clear that
51:59this expedition
52:00just wasn't
52:01prepared for
52:01some of the
52:02things that
52:02could happen
52:03They hadn't
52:04planned to
52:04hunt or live
52:05off the land
52:05They didn't
52:06have any
52:06provision for
52:07doing so
52:08They had
52:09made a lot
52:09of assumptions
52:09about what
52:10would work
52:10and how
52:11they would
52:11get through
52:11and they
52:12were extraordinarily
52:12optimistic
52:13assumptions
52:14as it's
52:14turned out
52:17I think
52:17that's what
52:18makes it
52:18so tragic
52:22Britain's
52:22hopes of
52:23being first
52:23to sail
52:24all the way
52:24through the
52:25polar ice
52:26died with
52:26Sir John
52:27Franklin
52:27and his
52:28crew
52:30But the
52:30lost expedition
52:31did help
52:32to complete
52:33the map
52:33of the
52:33Arctic
52:35Franklin's
52:36trail led
52:36search parties
52:37into uncharted
52:38waters
52:38that turned
52:39out to be
52:40the long
52:40sought link
52:41between
52:42the Atlantic
52:42and the
52:43Pacific
52:45finally proving
52:47the existence
52:48of the
52:48Northwest
52:49Passage
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