Identification of officer from Sir John franklin's Northwest Passage expedition
19 points by Hooke 2 days ago | 7 comments
  • jimhefferon a day ago |
    Isn't Gambier the admiral who would not support Cochrane's fireship attack at Basque Roads?
  • metalman a day ago |
    I cant but wonder if there are any journal or log books that survive from the ill(est) fated Franklin mission detailing any recipies used on the dna samples now bieng identified
    • mordechai9000 a day ago |
      Are you wondering if they recorded how they prepared the dead for eating? My guess would be no, they would probably not record that in any detail.
      • metalman 8 hours ago |
        no,just irked that the relentless campains to characterise native populations as they have been one one side,and actual canibals carrying titles like "sir" and admiral,etc on the other

        back to the recipies!

        soylentshimi anyone?

  • photonthug a day ago |
    Frozen in time is a great book about this for those that like arctic survival. See also The Terror, both the book and tv series based on it.

    Fascinating to be a bit closer to a complete story, given that this is one of the greatest mysteries of the age of exploration.

    • beloch a day ago |
      "Erebus" by Michael Palin (of Monty Python fame) is also worth a read. The Erebus and Terror may be famous for their end, but they should be equally famous for their careers leading up to that point. Palin covers their origins as bomb ships that were built for the Napoleonic wars, their service in the war of 1812 against the U.S., and their resurrection from mothballs as polar exploration vessels. They journeyed to the Antarctic as part of the Ross expedition in between trips to the far North.

      It's amazing to think that such storied vessels are still so well preserved that archaeologists hope written materials may soon be recovered from them.

      • photonthug a day ago |
        Tangent, but one weird thing that stuck in my mind after reading some of the background is the connection with the resolute desk used by many US presidents, made from timber from the hms resolute which also had a legendary career, and which was ultimately lost while looking for Franklin, Erebus, and Terror.

        Maybe history is just one damned thing after another, as they say.. but that just makes the minutiae and coincidences more amusing.