Fatal Passage
(Ken McCoogan)
Artic explorer John Rae is the subject, hero, and obvious idol of Ken McGoogan, as evidenced in his book ?Fatal Passage?. McGoogan believes, rightly or wrongly, that John Rae was the first to discover the Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across Upper Canada/Artic Circle. The first half of the story is devoted to Rae?s adventures in the artic, tales of Rae?s unbelievable strength and endurance while working for the Hudson?s Bay Company in northern Canada. The latter portion details Rae?s biggest mistake. Exposing the truth about his discoveries when searching for the lost explorer Sir John Franklin and his two ships, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus, last seen when the two ships set off in 1845 to find the passage for Britain. Numerous expeditions to locate them were launched at the bequest of both the British government and Franklin?s wife, Lady Jane, but all came up with nothing. Lady Jane Franklin demonizes Rae when he returns to report the Inuit people?s story of the discovery of artifacts and bones which Rae connects to the Franklin expedition. The Inuit also report evidence of cannibalism by Franklin?s men. Lady Jane refuses to accept Rae?s story and does everything in her power to discredit him and the story. She is successful, and Rae is denied the honor of knighthood, which has been awarded to nearly every other Artic explorer. She succeeds in having Rae?s pay held for years and the reward offered for information on the fate of the Franklin party withheld and then decreased when it was finally paid.Lady Jane never gave up her vendetta, and Rae never gave up his love of the artic and his firm belief in the Inuit story. Rae may have been the first to discover any information on the fate of the Franklin expedition and while contemporaries? disagreed with the story, many years later, other explorers and scientists confirm the truth of Rae?s story.
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