The Arctic Ghost Ships Found in a Seattle Paper

In the rooms of the American Geographical Society, on Twenty-ninth street, are collected the last relics of the men who accompanied Sir John Franklin in his Arctic search. Lieutenant Schwatka has carefully preserved the smallest objects in any way connected with that ill-fated expedition, and they are now being carefully labeled, preparatory to being placed on private exhibition, before they are sent to England. For a generation these mementos have been lying in the sand or snow, or have been in the possession of the Esquimaux, and their battered appearance can hardly fail to add to the pathetic interest that envelops them. Some of the earliest discoveries were made at Irving Bay, including a rusty pike bearing the broad arrow of England. Near Lieutenant Irving's grave, explorers picked up a rusty tin box, a prize medal, the object glass of a telescope, brass buttons, and small shoe buckles. The most melancholy interest attaches to a large silk handkerchief, found near the grave, tattered and incrusted with mould. Many wooden articles, wonderfully well-preserved, were brought back, including pieces of a boat, snow-shoes, and a shoe so widely gaped at the seams that its appearance would be ludicrous did one forget its history. From Erebus Bay, a razor was found, the blade half eaten by rust, along with two combs and fish lines. Copper from the ships was turned to a variety of uses by the Esquimaux, including rude fish hooks, crescent-shaped knives, and even a dagger made entirely of bone. These instruments, fashioned by the native population, serve as a final, silent testament to the wreckage of the Erebus and Terror.