CHAPTER XXIII.

THE FRANKLIN SEARCH. The Franklin Expedition—The First Relics—Dr. Rae’s 215 Discoveries—The Government Tired of the Search—Noble Lady Franklin—The Voyage of the _Fox_—Beset in the Ice for Eight Months—Enormous Icebergs—Seal and Bear Hunts—Unearthly Noises under the Floes—Guy Fawkes in the Arctic—The Fiftieth Seal Shot—A Funeral—A Merry Christmas—New Year’s Celebration—Winter Gales—Their Miraculous Escape—Experience of a Whaler—Breakfast and Ship Lost together