Pictures and albums about Rae published in travel

John Rae is undoubtedly one of Orkney’s greatest unsung heroes. Although his memorial is prominent in St Magnus Cathedral, the truth is that few know of the man or his deeds. In 1833, shortly after qualifying as a surgeon in Edinburgh, John Rae signed on as a surgeon aboard the HBC ship Prince of Wales. The ship’s destination was Moose Factory in James Bay – an area at the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Intending only to serve a single season, the early arrival of ice meant Rae was forced to spend the winter on the desolate and windswept Charlton Island. Despite the conditions, Rae found himself captivated by 'the wild sort of life to be found in the Hudson's Bay Company service'. So much so that he accepted the post of surgeon at Moose Factory and remained there for ten years. From the Inuit he learned how to ice the runners of a sled, how to combat snow-blindness and how to construct a shelter – all vital survival skills. It was this association with "natives" that contributed to Rae’s eventual downfall. Many considered his “habit” of dressing like a native a disgrace and frowned upon his methods. Despite this, Rae's time with the Native Americans saw him acquire a great deal of their knowledge, as well as a great respect for their culture, traditions and skills. Eventually, Rae became regarded as the foremost authority of Native American methods of Arctic survival and travel. For example, Rae was said to be the best snowshoe walker of his time. Over two months in 1844/45, he covered 1,200 miles on foot, a feat that earned him the nickname 'Aglooka' - he who takes long strides - from the Inuit. By the winter of 1849, Rae had taken over the charge of the Mackenzie River district at Fort Simpson. His career came to a close when he investigated the ill-fated Franklin Expedition and concluded from Native American eye-witness reports that the men of the expedition 'had been driven to the last dread alternative - cannibalism - as a means of prolonging existence.' Franklin's widow, Lady Jane Franklin sought to glorify the memory of her husband as the man who found the Northwest Passage, so unsurprisingly Rae's discoveries did not go down well. Aiding Lady Franklin was the writer Charles Dickens. Dickens published articles rejecting Rae’s conclusions and the manner in which he had reached them. According to Dickens, it was unthinkable that the English Navy 'would or could in any extremity of hunger, alleviate that pains of starvation by this horrible means'. But Rae refused to back down. He stood by the content of his report and the circumstances surrounding the fate of the Franklin Expedition. The full story was only revealed when an expedition sent by Lady Franklin found a small cairn at Point Victory, on the north west coast of King William Island. Here, one Lieutenant Crozier, second in command, had left a message confirming that Sir John Franklin had died on June 11, 1847. Franklin had been the 25th man to perish on the expedition. The cairn was found in May 1859, 11 years after Crozier had written that the survivors were starting out for Great Fish River. Skeletons of some of the last survivors appeared to confirm that the men had resorted to cannibalism. Following the Franklin controversy, John Rae, and his exploits, began to slip from the pages of the history books. His achievements were ignored or, at best, grudgingly acknowledged. Although they had failed to find the North West passage, Franklin and his officers were posthumously knighted. Aside from his other achievements, Rae had found the Passage but received no recognition or award. He was the only major explorer of the era not to receive a knighthood.