One of history’s greatest mysteries: Behind the deadly quest to conquer the Northwest Passage

In May 1845, 1 of England’s astir storied naval officers, Sir John Franklin, launched an expedition to observe nan Northwest Passage.

Once thought to beryllium ice-free, nan legendary North Pole travel had been mythically described — without immoderate existent grounds — arsenic an earthly paradise pinch thenar trees, dragons, and 4-foot-tall pygmies.

Forget astir blizzards, polar bears, and Arctic typhoons.

But, Franklin and a unit of 128 men ne'er made it retired of nan awesome Northwest.

 And what became known arsenic “the Franklin mystery” has led to much than 175 years of speculation and “spawned generations of devoted ‘Franklinites’ obsessed pinch piecing together nan story,” writes New York Times bestselling writer and adventurer Mark Synnott successful his travelogue-mystery, “Into nan Ice, The Northwest Passage, nan Polar Sun, and a 175-Year-Old Mystery” (Dutton).

Synnott, a seasoned of world climbing expeditions, including successful nan Arctic, Patagonia, nan Himalayas, nan Sahara, and nan Amazon jungle, had go obsessed pinch what really happened to Franklin and his crew.

Thus, he embarked connected his 40-year-old fiberglass boat, Polar Sun, from Maine done nan Northwest Passage successful bid to witnesser what Franklin encountered immoderate astir 2 hundreds of years prior.

His top dream was to find nan celebrated skipper’s records and diaries, perchance connected King William Island successful nan Canadian Arctic Archipelago, wherever Franklin’s 2 ships became stranded successful 1846 and froze successful nan oversea crystal conscionable northbound of nan land that lies betwixt Victoria Island and Boothia Peninsula.

“Nearly each shred of nan Franklin expedition’s recorded history has been mislaid to nan winds of clip and . . . nan communicative of Franklin’s expedition is 1 of cannibalism and chaotic disintegration of bid though 1 mini set whitethorn person survived for years,” writes Synnott who confesses he sewage caught up successful his ain “morbid fascination” pinch what happened to nan skipper who was near stranded successful nan cardinal Arctic. 

Franklin’s tomb and logbooks are still retired there.

Finding them would beryllium for illustration uncovering nan Holy Grail, writes nan author. “I had successful truth climbed Everest, and now present I was apparently going for nan sailing equivalent.”

Synott ne'er recovered Franklin’s stiff resting place, but he learned that he had died connected June 11, 1847, 2 years aft leaving England.

Moreover, immoderate 105 survivors from his unit crossed nan crystal and tundra, dragging their boats and hoping for unfastened water.

“But 1 by one, each azygous sailor must person succumbed to a assortment of maladies including, we tin assume, starvation, tuberculosis, scurvy and trench foot,” writes Synnott arsenic he sat pinch his ain unit members looking complete nan unfastened water and battalion ice.

It was present wherever Franklin’s unit apt deserted their ships and headed disconnected connected a doomed decease march, ignorant of nan vulnerable polar bears that traveled crossed nan treacherous crystal floes.

They apt had moreover little knowledge than nan nomadic Inuit group who had lived successful nan northbound for much than 4,000 miles, walking pinch nan seasons via dogsleds and kayaks  — facts nan British chauvinistically believed they were discovering for nan first time.

The Inuit group knew really to eat “Greenland nutrient — nan seafood, oversea and whale oils, and fatty meats that prevented scurvy erstwhile location were nary fruits and vegetables.” In nan aforesaid locale, members of Franklin’s expedition starved and were forced to eat different unit members.

In 1854, Dr. John Rae of nan Hudson’s Bay Company discovered that Franklin and his ships had go trapped successful crystal since September 1846, and Franklin died astir a twelvemonth later.

The explorers had near notes successful tin containers they buried nether rocks connected King William Island confirming that 24 different unit members died and nan 105 remaining survivors abandoned vessel and headed southbound toward Back’s Great Fish River.

Traversing nan ice-bound oversea lane crossed nan Arctic Ocean connecting nan Atlantic and Pacific Oceans had agelong been a dream of explorers arsenic a shortcut to nan Far East, and for England, this bluish way could break Spain’s colonial-era stronghold connected world trade.

When John Barrow, caput to nan British Admiralty made nan connection successful 1844 of 20,000 pounds sterling — nan balanced of $2.5 cardinal coming — for nan find of “a bluish transition for vessels by oversea betwixt nan Atlantic and Pacific,” Franklin was chosen to lead nan voyage though he was 59 years aged astatine nan clip and retired for 18 years.

Franklin had been to nan Arctic 3 times and was a celebrated and profoundly respected explorer nicknamed “the man who ate his boots” aft half his unit died connected his first expedition and he ate his ain footwear leather to enactment alive.

This time, he group sail pinch stores of 7,000 pounds of tube tobacco, 3,600 gallons of 135-proof West Indian rum, 5,000 gallons of beer, and a regular nutrient allowance for each sailor of 3 pounds of grub. 

Franklin mania consumed nan British public, and expeditions and hunt parties were sent retired only to find mutilated corpses.

In nan end, writes nan author, “The Inuit held nan keys to this kingdom . . . they had agelong agone explored each inlet, strait and land successful this Arctic maze.  All nan explorers had to do was ask.”