Concerning Franklin

E. C. COLEMAN does not mention his name, but it seems plain to me that the hudson Bay Company (HBC) employee he accuses of having a ‘pathological hatred of the Royal Navy’ (Letters) is Dr John Rae, the HBC surgeon who mapped vast areas of the arctic coast.

On his surveying expeditions, he was asked to look out for any evidence of the fate of sir John Franklin and his 128 men, who set out on their hunt for the North-West Passage in 1845. Rae made f our mapping expeditions and, on the second, was accompanied by surgeon a nd naturalist si r J ohn Richardson, who had been with Franklin on his earlier voyages in 1819-22 and 1825-27, but they found no trace of Franklin, his men or ships. It wasn’t until Rae’s final expedition, in 1854, that he discovered evidence of Franklin’s fate from the Inuit, from whom he bought silverware, a medal and other items.

This left him in a quandary. It was already late in the year: if he went on and attempted to verify the evidence, there would be a high chance the weather would overtake them and force them to spend another lifethreatening winter in the open.

he also felt it imperative to report to the admiralty and Lady Franklin as soon as possible, to prevent further search parties setting out on risky fruitless journeys, so he returned to London.

Rae had lived with the Inuit for years, admired their skills and trusted their belief that there could be no survivors of Franklin’s party. he didn’t suspect them of killing the men.

In his report, Rae referred to evidence of cannibalism — not in a spirit of censure, but of explanation. It wasn’t the first time that men suffering extreme starvation had eaten their dead companions. There has never been any suggestion that Franklin’s men slaughtered their companions to stay alive.

Relations between the Navy and HBC were strained, and Rae held the admiralty in some contempt because it refused to learn lessons of survival from the Inuit and the Cree, thereby losing the lives of many men.

Next Tuesday, the 201st anniversary of Orkney-born Dr Rae’s birth, a plaque in his memory is to be unveiled in Westminster abbey.

ANNA ELMY, Finstown, Orkney. WRITE to: Scottish Daily Mail Letters, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 6DB, fax on 0141 331 4739 or email

letters@dailymail.co.uk — including your full postal address and telephone number.