Posts Tagged ‘Sir John Franklin’
Geologist finds relic from Franklin search
Canadian geologist Francis Manns was prospecting for lead and zinc. The mid-summer day was bright and literally endless — 24-hour sunlight. Manns was working his way along the Abbott River in the middle of Cornwallis Island, some distance north of Resolute Bay, when he spotted a cairn on a ridge or pinnacle. “It was two…
Read MoreDisdain for the Inuit won’t fly in Canada when Franklin exhibition moves to Ottawa
The disdain for the Inuit is palpable . . . and worrisome. We can only hope that the people bringing this project to Canada are planning major revisions. Yes, I have laid hands on a copy of Sir John Franklin’s Erebus and Terror Expedition / Lost and Found by Gillian Hutchinson (Bloomsbury). It grows out…
Read MoreNorthwest Passage voyage dazzles even old hands
This past autumn, we sailed Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada. Our Hero wrote the logbook (see pic), a full-color version of which goes automatically to passengers. Next August, we’ll sail the other way: Into the Passage. What’s it like? Coming your way: a few excerpts. This voyage left even old hands awestruck and…
Read MoreExplorer John Rae turns up in latest Ripcord Adventure Journal
A lovely bit of mix-and-match turns up in the latest Ripcord Adventure Journal. The illustration above, found as a double-truck on pages 21 and 22, combines the new Stromness statue of John Rae with the Hall of Clestrain in which the explorer grew up. Based in Ireland, backed by the World Explorers Bureau, Ripcord is…
Read MoreFranklin’s Lost Ships turn up on CBC-TV’s The Nature of Things
Hats off to Andrew E.M. Gregg! He produced Franklin’s Lost Ships, an extraordinary new documentary that turned up April 9 on CBC-TVs The Nature of Things. And finished in such a short period! The most impressive thing may well have been how smoothly the narrative unwound, cutting back and forth between the contemporary search and…
Read MoreSearching for John Franklin: 2015 should bring major revelations . . .
Why are people highlighting the search for the Terror? That’s what I found myself wondering. The most exciting discoveries will almost certainly be made aboard the Erebus. Last September, with winter coming on, time ran out before Parks Canada divers could investigate that long-lost Franklin vessel. When they return this year, they will have time…
Read MoreCanadian Geographic celebrates the discovery of Franklin’s Erebus
The December issue of Canadian Geographic is billed as a “special collector’s edition,” and rightly so. It is built around the recent discovery of Erebus, the long-lost ship of Sir John Franklin, pictured above on the right. Contributors include John Geiger, Wade Davis, Leona Aglukkaq, Fergus Fleming, Noah Richler, Russell Potter and yours truly. Put…
Read MoreOrcadian poet commemorates John Rae’s arrival at Westminster
After the dedication ceremony at Westminster Abbey, back at the Scottish office in Dover House, Orcadian poet Harvey Johnston read a wonderful, Burnsian poem entitled Rae in the Abbey. He graciously agreed to let me publish part of it. The final four stanzas run as follows. I have no photo of Johnston, but the above…
Read MoreEyewitness report from Westminster Abbey: John Rae lives!
–> LONDON, England – The ledger stone is brilliantly placed. It reads: “John Rae / 1813 – 1893 / Arctic Explorer.” Newly installed in Westminster Abbey in the heart of London, it is situated directly beneath the elaborate bust of Sir John Franklin. The effect is one of completion. Given the privilege of offering “a…
Read MoreHow Lady Franklin led Charles Dickens to disgrace himself
In Lady Franklin’s Revenge, I devote 130 pages to showing not only how Lady Franklin orchestrated the search for Sir John Franklin, but how she manipulated public opinion after explorer John Rae returned with the first news of the fate of her husband’s expedition. In this excerpt, we find her getting Charles Dickens involved. .…
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