rs. Almost all ships that adventure in these seas stop there.
Franklin wintered there for the first time before getting into
Wellington Strait, and Creswell, with Lieutenant McClure, after
having cleared 170 miles on the ice, rejoined the _Phoenix_ and
returned to England. The last ship which anchored at Beechey Island
before the _Forward_ was the _Fox_; McClintock revictualled there
the 11th of August, 1858, and repaired the habitations and magazines;
only two years had elapsed since then, and Hatteras knew all these
details. The boatswain's heart beat with emotion at the sight of this
island; when he had visited it he was quartermaster on board the
_Phoenix_; Hatteras questioned him about the coast line, the
facilities for anchoring, how far they could go inland, &c.; the
weather was magnificent, and the temperature kept at 57 degrees.

"Well, Johnson," said the captain, "do you know where you are?"

"Yes, sir, that is Beechey Island; only you must let us get further
north--the coast is more easy of access."

"But where are the habitations and the magazines?" said Hatteras.

"Oh, you can't see them till you land; they are sheltered behind those
little hills you see yonder."

"And is that where you transported a considerable quantity of
provisions?"

"Yes, sir; the Admiralty sent us here in 1853, under the command of
Captain Inglefield, with the steamer _Phoenix_ and a transport ship,
the _Breadalbane_, loaded with provisions; we brought enough with
us to revictual a whole expedition."

"But the commander of the _Fox_ took a lot of them in 1858," said
Hatteras.

"That doesn't matter, sir; there'll be plenty left for you; the cold
preserves them wonderfully, and we shall find them as fresh and in
as good a state of preservation as the first day."

"What I want is coal," said Hatteras; "I have enough provisions for
several years."

"We left more than a thousand tons there, so you can make your mind
easy."

"Are we getting near?" said Hatteras, who, telescope in hand, was
watching the coast.

"You see that point?" continued Johnson. "When we have doubled it
we shall be very near where we drop anchor. It was from that place
that we started for England with Lieutenant Creswell and the twelve
invalids from the _Investigator_. We were fortunate enough to bring
back McClure's lieutenant, but the officer Bellot, who accompanied
us on board the _Phoenix_, never saw his country again! It is a painful
thing to thi