Erebus & Terror

from The Orcadians of Hudson Bay by Graham Rorie

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about

In 1845, Sir John Franklin led two ships, ‘HMS Erebus’ and ‘HMS Terror’, on a Royal Navy expedition to search for the North West Passage. The expedition, and all one hundred and thirty-four crew onboard, disappeared and Dr John Rae was brought in to search for the lost ships. After two separate missions to discover the fate of the Franklin expedition Rae abandoned the search in 1854 after learning from the Inuit people that the Arctic ice had crushed the ships and the men had perished in the winter. The last survivors had been forced to resort to cannibalism. In his diary he wrote “From the mutilated state of many of the bodies and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched Countrymen had been driven to the last dreaded alternative - cannibalism - as a means of prolonging existence”

Although he did not visit the site himself, Rae recorded the statements of the local people and collected some of the dead men’s possessions from the Inuit as proof of the expeditions fate. When he returned to London with his report, the fact that he had not visited the wreck personally meant that Rae came under considerable criticism from the establishment. Lady Franklin, wife of Sir John Franklin, and writer Charles Dickens were particularly strong critics suggesting that is was ridiculous that a man who mingled with Canadian natives would suggest a such a thing as cannibalism in the Royal Navy. Dickens published articles rejecting the explorer’s conclusions but Rae stood firm. The full story only became clear when Lady Franklin found a small cairn on King William Island where Lieutenant Crozier, second in command of the Franklin expedition, had left a message explaining that Franklin had died on the 11th June 1847. Skeletons were then discovered in locations described by Crozier and appeared to suggest that cannibalism had been a factor in the fate of the expedition.

Although he continued to survey and explore great areas of the Arctic, Dr John Rae was effectively written out of history after this controversy. Even though they had ultimately failed to find the North West passage, Franklin and his officers were posthumously knighted. Lady Franklin even had her husband’s bust placed in Westminster proclaiming that he had discovered the Northwest Passage. Rae discovered Rae Strait in 1853-54, making him the rightful recipient of any glory yet he received no recognition or reward. He died in London on the 22nd July 1893, aged 79. He is buried in the graveyard at St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney and has a memorial inside the cathedral as well as a statue in Stromness.

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from The Orcadians of Hudson Bay, released May 28, 2021

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Graham Rorie Glasgow, UK

Orcadian fiddle and mandolin player Graham Rorie is an award-winning folk musician based in Glasgow.

As well as being a founding member of folk band Gnoss, Graham has recently collaborated with pianist Rory Matheson for an album titled, We Have Won The Land as well as releasing his own solo record, The Orcadians of Hudson Bay, available here! ... more

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