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This journey primarily takes them to the south and east coast of Victoria Island after passing Kent Peninsula (southside Dease Strait). July 27th, 1851 Rae dutifully heads north, instead of east; thus, misses finding the Franklin party's remains on the western shore of King William Island. p.140 On south coast, names: Anderson Bay, Parker Bay, Stromness and Jenny Island and Taylor Island; he goes north to Albert Edward Bay p.142 and crosses Albert Edward Bay and there names Halkett Point p.143 Rae tries heading east but is stopped by wind and rough seas p.144 August 15, wind and drifting pack-ice prevent Rae from finding fate of Franklin; they head overland north to name Pelly Point (after Sir J. H. Pelly, governor HBC) p.143 This is the latitude the Erebus and Terror are beset. Rae looks longingly east to where he cannot go.
By August 29, he's crosses back over Coronation Gulf to the mouth of the Coppermine River and returns to Fort Confidence by September 10, 1851 - p.147 Afterp.148 With eight men, Rae snowshoes to Red River and Fort Garry, arriving Fort Garry, January 10, 1852. Rae's party heads south by sledge to St. Paul, Chicago, Windsor and Hamilton (Rae visits his brothers who by now formed their own company-- Rae Brothers & Co.) arriving in New York, March8, 1852 - p.149 Rae steams to London March 10, to arrive London April 3rd, 1852 - p.150 He receives much publicity as by now, Rae is quite famous. Rae meets with many high-ranking officials from the Admiralty and the HBC Company. They discuss searches for Franklin -- of which England is obsessed Actually, Lady Franklin receives a report of a mystical experience whereby a man's dead daughter visits him in a dream and tells exactly where Franklin's crew and remains can be found - on the western shores of King William Island. Dr. Richard King -- who accompanied Sir George Back down the Great Fish River in 1833-35, was always a vocal opponent of Franklin leading any further expeditions. Before Franklin's last expedition, the irascible doctor was reported to have said: " . . . Franklin is departing to form the nucleus of another iceberg." p.151 p.153 Rae receives a prestigious citation -- Founders Gold Medal --and award [equal to $90,000 in contemporary terms p.157) from the Royal Geographical Society for his exemplary explorations of Boothia Peninsula in 1848 and his recent mapping of Woolaston Land and Victoria Island. Rae was not present to receive the award as he went to visit his ailing widowed mother in Orkney (Rae travels to Orkney in June 1852); Sir George Back, accepted the award for him. Before the summer of 1852 passed, Rae was back in London and reports said: " . . . he was seen walking down Piccadilly with a good looking girl on his arm." Rae hobnobs in Scotland and even goes to Paris; by Christmas, he is back in Orkney with his mother p.159 Rae returns to London in January 1853. He meets with Company leaders to plot a strategy for the Boothia Expedition. p.155 Rae steams to New York aboard Europa in March 1853; then, takes the steamer from New York to Montreal and on to Hamilton by train.John Rae does not know it now, but he is embarking on his most successful Arctic expedition and arguably the most successful expedition in Arctic history. Rae visits Sir George Simpson at Lachine and stops in to visit with his brothers in Hamilton - p.160 While he's in Montreal, McGill University confers upon him an honorary degree as doctor of medicine. May 6, 1853 - p.161 By canoe, he travels from Sault St. Marie to Thunder Bay [then called Fort William] From Fort William to Fort Alexander by canoe, up Lake Winnipeg to Norway House; with 12 men, they travel on to York Factory - p.163 June 24, 1853, it's York to Churchill where Rae had two boats built and waiting; soon, they pull out of York to a seven-gun salute. The only alcohol on board is for fuel.July 11, 1853, they arrive at Churchill. Rae starts out without interpreter and here Rae goes up the wrong river but shoots a Muskox and preserves it for shipment to England p.168 Churchill to Repulse Bay arriving August 15, 1853. Rae just about freezes in an igloo by himself; he overlooked the fact natives share body heat when they are in igloos.January 1854, Rae starts preparing for looming journey. No Inuit can be found in the region so sled dogs could not be bought. p.181The men travelled Inuit style using snow shelters and eating only pemican. Here in April, the temperature dipped to minus 62 degrees F. They reached Committee Bay travelling by compass. The group passes Pelly Bay & crossed Boothia Peninsula where they meet 17 Inuit. Rae encounters an Inuit man wearing a gold capband on his head; when asked, he said he got it from " . . . where the dead white men are." Here, the man reports, are 30-40 bodies of dead Kabloonas (a moniker for whites). Rae bought the artifact but doubted it was from Franklin's men - p.186Rae finds the cabin remnants built by Thomas Simpson in 1839. They travel N.W., along the Boothia Peninsula coastline and King William Island to Bellot Strait. Here, Rae names Shepherd Bay, Cape Colvile and Stanley Island. Rae names Matheson Point and Point de la Guiche and also discovers King William is an island; Rae's other findings confirm those Ross reported in 1830 - p.189
North West Passage - p.190 After carefully weighing all the available evidence from those who went before, Rae deduced this channel between Boothia Peninsula and King William Island to be the final link in the N.W.P. Amundsen first sailed the NWP aboard the Gjoa, from east to west in 1903-06. The Inuit show Rae a spoon engraved (scratched) with the initials F.R.M.C - p.192 Rae does not believe these artifacts are from the Franklin expedition. Inuit in the party from Yellowknife, reported seeing Kabloonas hauling boats on the western shores of King William Island, in 1851. Other Inuit report finding corpses and evidence of cannibalism - p.193 These reports were of mutilated bodies and human remains in cooking pots. There was further reported evidence Franklin's men burnt their sledges - p.196Rae was in a quandary about returning to the western shores of King William Island or taking his men back to Repulse Bay; many of his men were fatigued and some suffered from frostbite (one even losing a large toe). Rae decides to head his party south for Repulse Bay, where the arrived May 26, 1854 - pp.196-97 Rae writes a letter to the London Times regarding these latest reports from the natives and his conclusions regarding them. August 4, 1854, Rae sails out of Repulse Bay with the relics and heads south where he eventually returns to England.Rae is about to face the most difficult ordeal of his life:
Perspective: By now, the Admiralty is being distracted from its Arctic ventures by the Crimean War. The country has spent over 600,000£ looking for Franklin; this includes no less than 55 searches. The fact of the matter is: the Admiralty is willing to let Rae take the heat from lady Franklin while it concentrates on the Crimean War.According to McGoogan's book, it would not be overstating the case that Lady Franklin embarked on a program to ruin one Dr. John Rae for allegedly slandering her late husband and defaming his reputation. p.211 The meeting between Rae and Lady Franklin does not go well. The newspapers back Lady Franklin and many letters-to-the-editor berate Rae for receiving -- and making public -- unconfirmed reports from a bunch of savages. Lady Franklin, now enlists the help of Charles Dickens who writes and publishes many articles discounting Rae's conclusions about Sir John Franklin's men's alleged cannibalism - now the central issue in this debate. December 2, 1854, Dickens publishes his "The Lost Arctic Voyagers" in which, Dickens slams the Admiralty & the Times for publishing unedited reports sent by Rae. Dickens does not, however, attack Rae on the performance of his duty nor his responsibility to report events as he believed them to have transpired. Dickens does question Rae's judgment in believing the Esquimaux savages' reports. Dickens claims it was savages who killed Sir John Franklin's men and made up the cannibalism story to cover their deeds.P.227 Rae goes to Orkney for the Christmas of 1854 where he writes Dickens a rebuttal letter.McGoogan concludes Canadian Forensic Anthropologist, Owen Beattie in 1989, exhumed & photographed three bodies at Beechy Island, concluding the first Franklin casualties died from lead poisoning. Beattie and others -- based upon recent examinations -- state Dickens was wrong in his assumptions regarding Rae's reports of cannibalism among Franklin's men before they died. Modern forensic science has proved beyond doubt Rea's reports were correct. In mid-1990, archaeologist, Margaret Bartulli and physical anthropologist Anne Keenleyside investigated the grizzly discoveries of Erebus Bay on the west coast of King William Island. They published their findings stating: "The evidence shows Franklin survivors dismembered bodies and carved away the flesh." Lady Franklin's efforts directed against Rae delay his receiving the reward money for reporting the fate of the Franklin expedition. In total, Rae spent eight summers and four winters in the Arctic p.239 Rae does meet again with Lady Franklin but she continues to oppose his collecting the reward money. Finally, June 19, 1856, the Admiralty informs Rae he will collect the reward money. By now, the Admiralty had spent the equivalent of over $50 million dollars searching for the fate of Franklin and his men.Meanwhile . . . . back in the Arctic . . . continued on Surveyor
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