Its too expensive I may leave

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A recent DNA analysis has identified the cannibalized remains of a senior officer from a disastrous 19th-century Arctic expedition, shedding light on the tragic fate of the lost crew. The skeletal remains, identified as those of James Fitzjames, the captain of HMS *Erebus*, offer new insight into the harrowing final days of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated voyage to explore the Northwest Passage. 

 

 

The expedition, which set sail under Franklin’s command, was meant to navigate the treacherous route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. However, by April 1848, three years after leaving England, disaster struck when the ships became trapped in ice, and Franklin, along with 23 other crew members, had perished. Fitzjames assumed a leadership role, guiding the remaining 105 survivors on a desperate retreat overland, pulling boats on sledges in the hopes of finding safety. Tragically, none survived, though the exact circumstances of their deaths remained largely a mystery—until now. 

 

 

 

“It went horribly wrong, horribly quickly,” said Doug Stenton, an archaeologist and adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who led the research. The new findings provide crucial context to the ill-fated expedition, which has long fascinated both British and Canadian historians.

 

Fitzjames’ remains were among 451 bones discovered in 1993 by a different team of researchers on King William Island, located in Canada’s Nunavut territory. The bones were believed to belong to at least 13 of Franklin’s sailors. Local Inuit accounts from the 1850s had suggested that some of the crew resorted to cannibalism to survive. Though these reports were initially dismissed in England, later investigations found clear evidence of cut marks on bones, revealing the desperate acts undertaken during the crew's final days. Stenton’s team confirmed the remains belonged to Fitzjames by comparing DNA extracted from the bones to that of a living relative.

 

The discovery of Fitzjames’ remains makes the tragedy more personal, according to Claire Warrior, an anthropologist and senior content curator at the National Maritime Museum in London, which houses artifacts from the Franklin expedition. “This is a person who had a life and family and whose words we have,” Warrior said, describing Fitzjames as “vivacious, enthusiastic and a joker.” She added that the discovery provides a form of closure for the families involved, bringing a human element to a catastrophe that has long gripped the public imagination.

 

Fitzjames’ remains were found in Erebus Bay, about 50 miles south of Victory Point, where the crew had first come ashore in their attempt to escape the Arctic’s unforgiving ice. The circumstances of his death suggest that Fitzjames succumbed only weeks after departing Victory Point, possibly already weakened by illness. The remains were originally returned to King William Island and buried in a memorial cairn in 1994. However, in 2013, Stenton’s team revisited the site to take DNA samples from the bones, primarily focusing on teeth, where DNA is more likely to be preserved.

 

The identification of Fitzjames, a high-ranking officer, among the cannibalized remains highlights how status became irrelevant in the crew’s desperate struggle for survival. “So we now know that it was an officer because of cut marks on his jawbone,” Warrior explained, emphasizing the severity of the circumstances. “The Navy’s a really hierarchical beast, and this shows how desperate they were.”

 

Though more questions remain about the precise details of the crew’s demise, this latest discovery brings a haunting chapter in Arctic exploration closer to resolution, offering new clarity on the grisly lengths to which the crew was forced to go in their final days.

 

Based on a report from CNN 2024-10-15

 

 

 

[Tug]

What a horrific story I wonder why the Inuit people didn’t help them,perhaps they were insane from the lead poisoning they got from their canned goods and frightened the Inuit people away.