On 18th April 1847 Rae had reached a point on Boothia less than 150 miles from Franklin on the other side of it.

Less than two months later, on the 11th June, Franklin died on the _Erebus_.
His ships were only provisioned to July 1848, and remained still beset throughout the whole of 1847.

Crozier, upon whom the command devolved, left the ship with one hundred and five survivors to try and reach Back's Fish River.

They struggled along the west coast of King William Land, but failed to reach their destination; disease, and even starvation, gradually lessened their numbers.
An old Eskimo woman, who had watched the melancholy procession, afterwards told M'Clintock they fell down and died as they walked.
By this time considerable anxiety had been roused by the absence of any news from Franklin's party.

Richardson and Rae were despatched by land in 1848, while two ships were sent on the attempt to reach Franklin through Behring Strait, and two others, the _Investigator_ and the _Enterprise_, under J.C.Ross, through Baffin Bay.