The Lost Remains Of A Captain Who Died During The Franklin Expedition Were Recovered In The Canadian Arctic, And Bone Analysis Showed Signs Of Cannibalism
In 1845, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror took off from England on an expedition to the Arctic. The expedition was led by Sir John Franklin, an experienced explorer. His goal was to find the Northwest Passage, a shortcut through the Canadian Arctic connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The expedition ended in disaster, with both ships becoming trapped in the ice in the Victoria Strait. Ultimately, Franklin and his men, a crew of 129 members, all perished.
Now, 175 years later, researchers from the University of Waterloo and Lakehead University have located some of the men’s remains in the Canadian Arctic.
They recovered over 450 bones, which are believed to belong to at least 13 members of the Franklin Expedition. In 2021, the team analyzed DNA from a skull and identified it as John Gregory, an engineer on the HMS Erebus.
More recently, they have identified a second crew member: James Fitzjames, a captain on the HMS Erebus. An analysis of the remains of James Fitzjames showed that he met a gruesome fate. His bones showed signs of cannibalism.
Prior evidence suggested that the crew members who survived the initial disaster took off on foot toward Back River. The trek was 250 miles long, and most of them ended up dying on King William Island.
About 30 to 40 crew members reached the northern coast of the Canadian mainland, but they were unable to battle the elements and starvation.
The scientists confirmed Fitzjames’ identity by extracting DNA from a preserved molar that was connected to a jawbone. Then, they compared the DNA with samples of 25 living descendants of the expedition’s crew.
The DNA matched with Nigel Gambier, a second cousin of Fitzjames, five times removed. Cut marks on Fitzjames’ jaw and the bones of many other crew members indicated that their bodies were butchered and eaten after their deaths.
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“On this mandible, they did find cut marks or evidence of cut marks,” said Stephen Fratpietro from Lakehead University.
“So, it looks as though that this individual, or James Fitzjames, he was possibly cannibalized and that was probably his final situation that he was in. It was a dire survival situation, and whoever was with him at the time probably used him to survive.”
Fitzjames must have died while some other sailors were still alive. The finding also suggests that rank and status did not spare dead people from being eaten, highlighting the desperation of the remaining crew members.
The remains of Fitzjames and his fellow sailors have been laid to rest at the site of their discovery on King William Island.
Their burials are marked with a commemorative plaque. Meanwhile, researchers are still trying to see if more DNA samples from relatives of the crew members will result in matches.
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