Franklin's lost expedition
THE MYSTERY OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION
Many years ago, explorers wanted to find a way by sea from Europe to China, via Alaska. In 1845, John Franklin left England with 134 men to look for a route through the Arctic.
Franklin´s ships had everything they needed. They had enough food in tins for three years and thousands of litres of lemon juice to stop disease and many other things as books, maps, scientific and musical instruments and even a camera.
The British Government became very worried because they heard nothing about Franklin for a long time, they sent expeditions to look for him and offered a 20,000 Pounds reward for any news. Nobody returned with information.
Then in 1850 some sailors found some signs of the Franklin expedition on Devon Island: some tins, old food, papers and... the graves of three young men died in January 1846. Why did they die so soon? and where were the ships and the other sailors? THE MYSTERY WAS GROWING STRONGER...
In England, many people wanted to know what had happened. Jane Franklin, the captain´s wife, sent a new expedition to the Arctic in July, 1857. One year later they found one of the Franklin´s sailors lying on a boat at the edge of the sea...DEAD. But they found an interesting note too: the last message from the Franklin expedition.
They told that 25men were dying because the ships were trapped in the ice, they could not move. Captain John Franklin died on June 11th 1847, they had left the ships and the only chance was to walk to survive.... All the men died in the ice.
But was this mystery solved? No, not yet. Many questions without any answers: Why were there so many sailors dying when they left the ships? Why did they choose the wrong route?
In 1984 Dr. Beattie, a scientist at a university in Canada went to Baffin Bay with a team, there they opened the graves of the three sailors. Because of the extreme cold and ice the bodies were in perfect conditions. He took some samples from the hair and skin and returned to the university for their study.
Beattie made an incredible discovery: these three young men died from lead poisoning. They had nearly 100 times more lead (plomo) in their bodies than normal.
Modern researchers noted that the food tins were poorly soldered with lead, (plomo) which had come in direct contact with the food.
The photos of the buried men whose bodies were well preserved by permafrost in the tundra were called the Franklin´s mummies and led to wide media coverage and renewed interest in the lost Franklin expedition.
Recent research has suggested that another potential source for the lead may have been the ships' fresh-water systems rather than the tinned food. The ships were fitted with converted railway locomotive engines for auxiliary propulsion which required an estimated one tonne of fresh water per hour when steaming. It is highly probable that it was for this reason that the ships were fitted with a unique water distillation system which, given the materials in use at the time, would have produced large quantities of water with a very high lead content. Lead also affects the brain and makes it difficult to think clearly so now we can understan why John Franklin made so many wrong decissions.
Scientific conclusions
The excavations and exhumations spanned more than 10 years. The results of this study from King William Island and Beechey Island artefacts and human remains showed that the Beechey Island crew had most likely died of pneumonia and perhaps tuberculosis. Toxicological reports pointed to lead poisoning as a likely contributing factor. Blade cut marks found on bones from some of the crew were seen as signs of cannibalism.Evidence suggested that a combination of cold, starvation and disease including scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis, all made worse by lead poisoning, killed everyone in the Franklin expedition
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