7. The ship that ‘died’ twice (New Data).

In 1866 Hall on route to King William Island encountered a group of Inuit (Nourse 1879, p. 255):

‘Kok-lee-arng-nun, their head man, showed two spoons which had been given him by Ag-loo-ka (Crozier), one of them having the initials F.R.M.C. (Francis R. M. Crozier) stamped upon it. His wife Koo-narng, had a silver watch-case. This opened up the way for immediate enquires………………..

‘ The old man and his wife agreed in saying that the ship on board of which they had often seen Too-loo-ark was overwhelmed with heavy ice in the spring of the year. While the ice was slowly crushing it, the men all worked for their lives in getting out provisions, but before they could save much, the ice turned the vessel down on its side, crushing the masts and breaking a hole in her bottom and so overwhelming her that she sank at once, and had never been seen again. Several men at work on her could not get out in time, and were carried down with her and drowned.  ‘On this account Ag-loo-ka’s company had died of starvation, for they had not time to get the provisions out of her.’ Ag-loo-ka and one other white man – the latter called ‘nar-tar’, a pee-ee-tu (steward) – started and went toward Oot-koo-ish-ee-lee (Great Fish or Back’s River) saying they were going there on their way home. That was the last they saw of them, but heard of them some time after from a Kin-na-pa-too, who said he and his people heard shots or reports of guns of strangers somewhere near Chesterfield Inlet’.

The big question is whether Kok-lee-arng-nun camped alongside the ships in 1846-47 before Sir John Franklin died and witnessed the overthrow of Terror in Spring 1847. Alternatively did he camp much later in1850 when the ship was in Terror Bay.  The joint summer caribou hunt would have taken place probably at Terror Bay where the lush summer vegetation attracts the caribou.  In the later scenario, Aglooka would be Captain Crozier. Sir John Franklin was physically dissimilar to the other Arctic explorers particularly with his bald head.  The above testimony suggests that Kok-lee-arng-nun met him before his death on 11th June 1847. At this time both ships were trapped in the ice stream off the north-west coast of King William Island. They were both without the protection of a winter harbour. This is a more likely scenario for the overthrow of the ship by ice movements. It is less likely that Terror was overthrown by ice at the location where she sank deep inside Terror Bay. Roobol (2019) sees the building of the land base at Crozier’s Landing as a direct response to Terror being thrown over in 1847.  This included moving the contents of what was probably the Erebus rope store ashore to make winter accommodation aboard her for two crews.

Kok-lee-arng-nun’s testimony can no longer be rejected. It seems that he may well have met Sir John Franklin and also witnessed the throwing over of ‘Terror’ by the ice movements in 1847. Alternatively he is describing Captain Crozier and the sinking of Terror in Terror Bay probably in 1850. But there is a way of accounting for the three sinkings if Terror was a ship that died twice. Perhaps in 1847 she was thrown over onto her side and her three masts were broken.  Some of her crew were killed while salvaging stores from the hold. But she did not sink. She remained on her side for several years, slowly rafted around the west coast of King William Island by the moving ice flow. During winter 1847-48 she may have been used as a mortuary ship for the many who died that winter. After the 1848 retreat only Erebus was remanned by the half of the crews who returned from the failed 1848 retreat.  Terror with her cargo of dead men was abandoned lying on her side. Eventually the remanned Erebus was worked around the west coast of King William Island to complete the North-West Passage and arrive in the summer open-water channel that runs along the northern margin of the American content.

Possibly within days or at most a few weeks after Captain Crozier took over command of the expedition with the death of Sir John Franklin, Terror was probably ice heaved onto her side and all her masts were broken.  She may have righted herself by the time she reached Cape Crozier – the westernmost point of King William Island.  She was ice rafted there to arrive after Erebus had left the area in 1850.  She was found by the Inuit who cut a window in her hold, so she sank with little recovered.

Captain Crozier appears to have responded strongly to the accident to Terror. His response was to strip Terror of her boats, stores and equipment and transport them to a shore camp on King William Island at a place now known as ‘Crozier’s Landing’. It was probably know either as ‘Victory Point’ or ‘Ross’s Pillar’ by the expedition. Equipment was also taken from Erebus including emptying her rope locker to make extra accommodation for both crews aboard Erebus over winter 1847-48. It was probably the firm handling of this crisis that bound Terror’s crew to Captain Crozier until he died, when the 1850 retreat resulted.

Terror died a second time. This was after she had been rafted in ice for about 155 km into Terror Bay (90 km along the NW coast, 40km south through Alexandra Passage and about 25 km north into Terror Bay). She was found by the Inuit when she was off Cape Crozier (the westernmost point on King William Island). They boarded her, found dead men in the bunks, ate tinned meat and some died.  Some entered the hold and cut a window that let in water.  Later in the summer thaw she sank but was then inside Terror Bay.

The Testimony of ‘the Black Men’ on an occupied ship with one officer in Terror Bay (within sight of the Terror Bay camp) probably does not describe the unoccupied Terror. Rather it refers to the remanned Erebus on her earlier passage to her final resting place in Wilmot and Crampton Bay.

Captain David Woodman has corresponded that he does not believe that Terror could get deep inside Terror Bay without several course changes that would require her to be manned. However  a Google search for wind direction at Gjoa Airport reveals that for 25% of the year the wind is from the south and for another 25% from the west. A combination of these winds could drive a drifting ship along the length of Terror Bay.

QUESTION:  Did HMS Terror die twice? The first time when she was thrown over in the ice stream off north-west King William Island.  The second time when the deserted ship was found by the Inuit near Terror Bay probably after 1850.  They cut through her hull so she sank in Terror Bay before much salvage work could be carried out.

QUESTION:  Was Terror remanned after the 1848 retreat and then sailed to Terror Bay, where she was crushed by ice movements and sank probably in 1850?

QUESTION: The wreck of Terror appears to be locked up with the crews personal possessions removed.  She was rigged for winter quarters with topmasts down and booms rigged along her decks to support canvas awnings when she sank. Was this her abandoned state since 1847?

QUESTION: Was the disproportionally high number of officer’s deaths (9 officers and 15 men, 1848 record) due to HMS Terror being thrown over by ice movements as reported by Kok-lee-arng-nun.