Beechy Island & Radstock Bay, Devon Island
Early this morning the National Geographic Explorer dropped anchor in the sheltered waters just off Beechy Island. Looking toward shore we could just barely discern the now famous headstones, lonely sentinels atop a raised shingle beach. The three men laid to rest in the ground of this desolate island had been members of the ill fated expedition commanded by Sir John Franklin in the mid nineteenth century. On the quest of the illusive North West Passage, Franklin and 129 officers and men on two ships, Terror and Erbus, had set sail from Portsmouth, England in May 1845. They were last spotted by a whaler in the Baffin Sea. Not a single man returned. Beechy is a small rocky island lying off the southwest coast of Devon Island located on the north side of Lancaster Sound. Joined to its much larger neighbor by a regularly exposed low sandy bar this is a wind scoured, desolate place which in many ways epitomizes human tenacity, shatter hopes and lost lives. In the winter of 1845 Franklin had sought refuge here. At the beginning of the following year three of his seamen had died and were committed to its frozen ground. The two ships sailed away that spring and just under two years later the tragic conclusion to this expedition was played out in the area of King William Island to the southwest when the last surviving members of the expedition finally succumbed to the indifferent harshness of the Arctic environment. Many search parties were organized to look for Franklin and his men including the Belcher Expedition which constructed ‘Northumberland House’ in 1854 on Beechy, leaving large supplies of food and materials for the use of Franklin’s men should they return. As we now know they never did. Arriving on shore we visited the graves and paid homage to the three sailors. A light sleet had begun to fall, the swirling frozen flakes an apt reminder of the challenging conditions under which these men must have lived. This was a humbling experience. We then made our way to ‘Northumberland House’, now a shattered, wind despoiled ruin a mile or so to the south of the graves, a man-built intrusive edifice slowly melting into the landscape. Scattered around are the remnants of barrels and tins which once held food. A number of memorials to explorers of this inhospitable region have been constructed on a shingle ridge close by.
In the afternoon we went ashore at Radstock Bay on the south coast of Devon Island. Here a number of Thule house ruins are located. The structures are made of a combination of local rock and also bowhead whale bones including ribs, jaws and skulls. The Thule people were highly sophisticated hunters who exploited the rich marine resources of the area over 500 years ago. These houses were used as winter dwellings and were entered via a low, lintelled roofed passage leading into the interior. As we were exploring the ruins a collared lemming poked its head out from under a fragment of whale jawbone and posed for photos much to the delight of all. A group of guests had gone for a long leg stretch on the 650 foot climb to the summit of Caswell Tower from which spectacular vistas were the reward for the effort expended.
Early this morning the National Geographic Explorer dropped anchor in the sheltered waters just off Beechy Island. Looking toward shore we could just barely discern the now famous headstones, lonely sentinels atop a raised shingle beach. The three men laid to rest in the ground of this desolate island had been members of the ill fated expedition commanded by Sir John Franklin in the mid nineteenth century. On the quest of the illusive North West Passage, Franklin and 129 officers and men on two ships, Terror and Erbus, had set sail from Portsmouth, England in May 1845. They were last spotted by a whaler in the Baffin Sea. Not a single man returned. Beechy is a small rocky island lying off the southwest coast of Devon Island located on the north side of Lancaster Sound. Joined to its much larger neighbor by a regularly exposed low sandy bar this is a wind scoured, desolate place which in many ways epitomizes human tenacity, shatter hopes and lost lives. In the winter of 1845 Franklin had sought refuge here. At the beginning of the following year three of his seamen had died and were committed to its frozen ground. The two ships sailed away that spring and just under two years later the tragic conclusion to this expedition was played out in the area of King William Island to the southwest when the last surviving members of the expedition finally succumbed to the indifferent harshness of the Arctic environment. Many search parties were organized to look for Franklin and his men including the Belcher Expedition which constructed ‘Northumberland House’ in 1854 on Beechy, leaving large supplies of food and materials for the use of Franklin’s men should they return. As we now know they never did. Arriving on shore we visited the graves and paid homage to the three sailors. A light sleet had begun to fall, the swirling frozen flakes an apt reminder of the challenging conditions under which these men must have lived. This was a humbling experience. We then made our way to ‘Northumberland House’, now a shattered, wind despoiled ruin a mile or so to the south of the graves, a man-built intrusive edifice slowly melting into the landscape. Scattered around are the remnants of barrels and tins which once held food. A number of memorials to explorers of this inhospitable region have been constructed on a shingle ridge close by.
In the afternoon we went ashore at Radstock Bay on the south coast of Devon Island. Here a number of Thule house ruins are located. The structures are made of a combination of local rock and also bowhead whale bones including ribs, jaws and skulls. The Thule people were highly sophisticated hunters who exploited the rich marine resources of the area over 500 years ago. These houses were used as winter dwellings and were entered via a low, lintelled roofed passage leading into the interior. As we were exploring the ruins a collared lemming poked its head out from under a fragment of whale jawbone and posed for photos much to the delight of all. A group of guests had gone for a long leg stretch on the 650 foot climb to the summit of Caswell Tower from which spectacular vistas were the reward for the effort expended.
