Old Stories,

New Theories

[King William Island] eyes speak: "When he was a young boy Tommy
heard stories of ships beset in the ice with their crew northwest of King
William Island from his grandmother (his father's adopting mother)
Agnes Aknayak (Alikamick). "She was old and blind and my grandfather
was deaf. He used to call her 'my little ears'. My grandmother heard the
story that one ship sank off northwest of King William Island but the
other ship went further northeast and disappeared. They tried to return
the way they came from-not exactly the same way they came but when
the ship wrecked the other ship tried to travel northeast around to the
other side of the island. Whether it was Franklin's ship or the other ship
I don't know. Nobody ever really knew what happened."

Dorothy Eber, author of 'Images of Justice', The Beaver June/July 1996

There is no question that Franklin is the Grail, as the book Arctic Grail says, but not for
the same reasons as written by Pierre Berton. The Arctic Grail is the achievement of total
mutual respect of all who live here. Inuit speak like the North wind, very few want to hear
them. Before time and modern civilization buries memories past, finding the survivors of
Franklin is like living with Inuit who saw the expedition ships. Discovering Franklin survivors
requires that you know the landscape. Inuit and the land are one.

Again Dorothy Eber, author of several other books about Bowhead whaling and Inuit
stories, Tommy Nalongiak Anguttitauruq in 'Rumours of Franklin':

     During Franklin's last expedition the relationship was as cold as the weather. Purely
symbiotic without any attempt to understand each other, this indifference lead to the
demise of gallant explorers, and didn't do much good for Inuit either, Dickens vilification
is a benchmark. They were unknown then, misunderstood to this day. Many more brave
explorers went looking for Franklin with the same lack of knowledge. But at least they
learned how to survive with very little casualties.

     This apparent gain was not credited to Inuit technology, but rather to the respect of
nature or their fear of the unknown. Minimizing search party risks meant certain doom for
the last survivors. The question remains the same though: What happened to all of them?
The body count reached nowhere near the total number of crew members. This homepage
is about those who didn't leave much behind.

     Looking for Franklin survivors today is the same as building a bridge between Inuit
and European cultures, it needs steel (respect), and cement (understanding). Most of the
past failed search expeditions, the vast majority of them, had very little Inuit participation.
Successful expeditions employed Inuit or their techniques. Four groups of adventurers
stand well above the others. Dr Rae, the Scotsman who walked from Southern Manitoba
to Repulse Bay; Leopold McClintock of the Royal Navy daring to go further than James
Ross; Francis Hall the American entrepreneur lived with Inuit but later poisoned by
someone from his crew; and Lieutenant Schwatka equally from the USA went further by
dog team than any other explorer of his time. Way before this period, Inuit traveled at far
greater distances sometimes by themselves with none of the modern amenities of the
others. They traveled with their wits and a few "stone age" tools, but they survived quietly
without the fame given to civilized explorers. Traveling from Baffin Island to King William
Island or Greenland was done, complete vast areas was mapped in their minds, and all
the Franklin searchers had to do is ask.

In 1848 where did the ships go?

Eyes from Urqsurtuq speak!

"What interests me about the interview is that it is from someone whose
immediate family were King William Island hunters - Tommy grew up
hearing the Franklin stories and it appears that his family members very
likely met Rasmussen. He thought the east coast of King William Island
would yield the answer to part of the Franklin mystery but we have not
known why he believed this. It seems likely he talked to King William
Island hunters and heard that one vessel went north round the island.
I am not a student of the Franklin searches but since there are living
Inuit who say their ancestors said the vessel went to the east side,
why not take a look? So far investigations have not been directed to
this area..."

Dorothy Eber
October 16,1997

The Franklin expedition of 1845 is by far the biggest Arctic maritime disaster known.
It is mainly popular in a few Commonwealth countries, curiously not so in England and
the USA. Sir John Franklin and his crew of 130 men disappeared in the Canadian Arctic
with nothing but a few remnants and bones as proof of their passage.

The Arctic itself is the great unknown, as most people prefer to ignore cold climates.
There is a tremendous gap of knowledge which shrouds the people and the animals of
the Arctic. Concepts, such as the word Eskimo are now quite old and quite wrong. Facing
this unknown even more was Sir John and crew, they brought gear and techniques of
exploration really incompatible with this area. This ill conceived expedition is a marker in
time of the true relations between Inuit and Europeans. During Franklin's last expedition
the relationship was as cold as the weather. Purely symbiotic without any attempt to
understand each between Inuit and Europeans.

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