[Image: Photo of a person holding a shaped, printed art pillow that looks like a leg cut off above the knee. The leg is wearing a black shoe and white stocking, which is tied off at the top with a black bow. End ID]
Captain Francis Crozier (Arctic Explorer, Professional Jared Harris) & The Tuunbaq (A Huge, Vengeful Flesh-Eating Polar Bear Monster), from AMC’s ‘The Terror’, sharin’ a Quiet Moment between all the, uh, COLD BOAT TROUBLE (I haven’t seen the show)
I also included a Handy Chart where I wax lyrical about these Cold Cold TerrorBoys and how I (Presume) they each Perish
Drawn for wonderful Terror Superfan @fabledquill , who you should follow IMMEDIATELY for Seams, Terror Memes and Illustr-emes
It always amuses me that people put so much faith in this, and not just in Victorian times. I have a relative who won’t make any big life choices without first consulting their psychic. Whatever the case, cases like this and ‘Little Weasey’ were actually a thing. The irony is Franklin was long dead by 1849.
I guess Lady Jane was so desperate to hear her husband was coming home she wanted to hear it from pretty much anyone. The shock that he may have been involved in cannibalism based on Rae’s information couldn’t have helped, although that likely started long after Franklin died.
Franklin’s party preparing camp and gathering tripe de Roche. The accoutrements of the voyageurs in the picture below can be seen near the snow mound in the front.
The fellow in front and just to the right of the snow mound can be seen wearing the object in the center of the modern photo. It’s a ceinture flechee, a colorful, tightly woven French Canadian/ Metis sash that’s kind of like a voyageur thneed. It’s a belt, back support (seriously, tied mine tight around my waist and it works), scarf, sling, shield against the cold and whatever else you can think of to use it for. Really useful. Can’t remember if Franklin ever mentions using one though.
Franklin’s camp at the mouth of the Coppermine River by George Back. Back was an accomplished artist who created several images of the arctic expeditions he participated in.
A little known part of Franklin’s history, he and his wife once adopted a Tasmanian girl. This article gives pretty much all that’s known about her, and one portrait survives:
There is a fictional account of her life mentioned in the article that I have mixed feelings about. It’s powerful in the depiction of the poor treatment of the aboriginal peoples of Australia which is compelling enough to read, which I really liked, but kind of unethical in making Franklin out to be a pedophile rapist which is horribly unethical enough to not read, which I really hated….so…. your call.
The author even admits we don’t really know what Franklin thought of Mathinna, so…assume the worst…. I guess? Personally I think Franklin just saw her as interesting as a social experiment or kind of a ‘pet’ for his daughter, but that was unfortunately the attitude of the times. How poorly the native Tasmanians were treated underlines how they were seen as subhuman. She was probably left behind after Franklin was recalled because he and his wife likely never really saw her as much more than an exotic novelty or one of Lady Jane’s fancies, and as for her inability to adjust the word disenfranchisement says it all. Having your cultural identity torn from you at an early age, forced into another culture, and then being tossed into an orphanage because the experiment is over is enough to make anyone maladjusted.
Obscure things related to the Franklin Expedition- the only image I can find of Colonial Secretary John Montagu that won’t require ruining my book on the fight between him and then Lt. Governor John Franklin. This guy was instrumental in Franklin’s recall from Van Diemans Land. It’s politically complicated and hard to make quick but here goes-
Van Diemans Land was the quintessential penal colony. One of the institutions there was the assignment system, where transported criminals were assigned as unpaid servants to free settlers of means, mostly the colonial elite. Governer George Arthur and his favorites profited by it and he was loath to be rid of transportation. Montagu was his niece’s husband and one of those favourites (he actually favored chain gangs which threatened to mess with Arthur’s system but that’s getting too deep). When Arthur was recalled, he encouraged Franklin to maintain the former cabinet including Montagu. Franklin then decided to overhaul the system and make Van Diemans Land a culture center free from transportation, even wanting to call it Tasmania to erase the convict past.
Montagu as Colonial Secretary was the second most powerful person in Van Diemans Land, and he and Franklin ended up at loggerheads over differences of opinion. Franklin ended up dismissing Montagu, but Montagu wasn’t going down without a fight. He ran back to the Colonial office in London and argued Franklin was incompetent and under too much influence from his wife. Montagu had allies in high places, and Franklin was recalled. Its obviously a lot more complex and there are more adult temper tantrums involved, but this is the really, really short version of why “Van Diemans Land was a disaster!” And why Franklin was so hot to be back in discovery service.
Sir John Franklin: lbr, at least 90% of us want to fight him. If you are in those 90%, you have a pretty good chance of winning – just make sure Lady Jane isn’t around. And look out for the Rosses, just in case. All in all, do fight.
Lady Jane: DON’T. She will beat you up with her umbrella and then turn the whole London against you and Charles Dickens will mock you in his new novel and you will have to flee the country and even that will not be enough. Do you really want to get in that much trouble? Also don’t let her catch you fighting Sir John – all hell will break loose and Tuunbaq will shiver. Do not fight.
Sophia Cracroft: DON’T either. She will talk you out of fighting her and then Lady Jane will catch you. Plus, why would you do that? She’s nice. Do not fight.
James Fitzjames: he fought off the Chinese, survived a bullet the size of a cherry, survived malaria (twice), walked 500 miles (and 500 more)… This dude will kick your ass like he kicked that ceiling and look fabulous while doing it. Also he has a cheetah. And Le Vesconte. Do not fight.
Francis Crozier: give the poor man a break, will ya? He has enough on his plate as it is. Though if you do fight, he will probably win unless he is too drunk. In which case you will have either Blanky or Jopson (or both of them) to deal with, and you Do Not. Want. That. Do not fight.
Thomas Blanky: sure, go ahead and try to fight him. Just don’t forget to write your will beforehand because you will not be getting out of this alive. Do not fight.
Thomas Jopson: do not let his appearance fool you. He might look and smile like an angel but if you dare to insult his captain or his family hewill fight youandwin. Do not fight.
Lt. Gore: he will probably think you want to spar, so he’ll play along but you have no chances of winning. Might accidentally kick your ass but will apologize afterwards and you will feel like a fool. Seriously though, why would you fight him? Don’t.
Lt. Little: I’d say you have pretty good chances of winning but then again, why would you fight him? He’s just doing his best. Don’t fight.
Lt. Irving: you’ll win, especially if you catch him unawares, and I get why you might want to fight him, but… maybe don’t? In all honesty, the guy isn’t that bad. Leave him to his watercolors and fight someone else.
Henry Collins: is that you, Dr. Stanley? Leave the man be, he’s suffered enough. Do not fight.
Harry Goodsir: YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER, HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK OF FIGHTING HIM??? But if it comes to that, he will win with the power of science and feel really bad about it. DO NOT FIGHT.
Cornelius Hickey: do not fight Cornelius Hickey. I repeat: do not fight Cornelius Hickey. You might win one battle (especially if he doesn’t have a knife on him), but he will win the war. He will strike when you’re least expecting it and no one will find your body afterwards. Again: do not fight him.
William Gibson: depends on his relationship status. If he and Hickey are still together, see Cornelius Hickey and stay away. If they’ve already broken up, however, you have all the chances of winning and tbh he deserves that. If the breakup happened recently, you might be able to get Hickey to help you. Probe the background, establish the situation, then make your move.
Silna: HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL… and stupid? She will kick your ass without breaking a sweat and Tuunbaq will finish you. Do not fight.
Tuunbaq: you don’t have a chance. Stand still and pray.
Dr. Stanley: watch out for scalpels, torches and toe-cutting things, but apart from that – DO IT. FIGHT HIM.
John Bridgens: the man is a walking library, he will predict your moves and will always be at least one step ahead. Also: wtf? He’s literally done nothing wrong and you will upset Peglar. Do not fight.
Henry Peglar: LOOK AT THIS CUTE NERD. LOOK AT THIS RAY OF SUNSHINE. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT FIGHTING HIM.
David Young: THAT’S IT. TURN ON YOUR LOCATION, I JUST WANT TO TALK.
The wreck of HMS Erebus of Franklin’s doomed expedition, found by Parks Canada. HMS Terror was also discovered and in much better condition.
Plan of the HMS Terror with the necessary modifications necessary for the expedition.
Franklin relics - Divers found dishes in the steward’s pantry at the HMS Erebus shipwreck
A relic of Sir John Franklin’s last expedition 1845-48. Knife blade bought from the Inuit by the McClintock Search Expedition on 3 March 1859, near Cape Victoria, on the Boothia Peninsula. The item is made from materials salvaged from discarded equipment belonging to the Franklin expedition. It has a triangular steel blade with two reinforcing plates attached which retain one copper and two steel rivets. Referred to by McClintock as ‘one knife without a handle’. A Royal Naval Museum number has been painted in white on the handle ’(6)’. Date 1848-1859.
“They forged the last links with their lives”: Sir John Franklin’s men dying by their boat during the North-West Passage expedition. The original full title of this painting, under which it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1895. Artist: Smith, William Thomas.
Relics of the lost Franklin Expedition, as found by McClintock in 1859. Watercolors on paper, artist by Kristina Gehrmann.
Today’s map comes from the Second Grinnell Arctic Expedition from 1853-1855. This manuscript map, drawn with watercolor, shows the region around Grinnell LandandDe Haven Bay in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and relief is shown by hachures.
This expedition was financed by Henry Grinnell and led by Elisa Kent Kane. They undertook the journey in an effort to find the lost Franklin Expedition, which embarked from England in 1845.
Call number: 061-c .G74 A-[1854]
[Image description: This watercolor map shows landmarks around the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in red and black. Larger landmarks include The Queens Channel, De Haven Bay, Mt. Franklin, and Wellington Channel.]
To accept one’s past—one’s history—is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it. An invented past can never be used; it cracks and crumbles under the pressures of life like clay in a season of drought.
from James Baldwin, the fire next time, courtesy of @nedlittle
This is the closest I’ll ever come to filling the “Like a bad pun,” square of my @theterrorbingo card, and it’s technically only like, a week late, so I’m doing it—time is fake anyway, you know.
