John Rae, Arctic Explorer

The Unfinished Autobiography

John Rae, William Barr

• Publisher: Polynya Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781772123326
• eBook ISBN:
  9781772123852
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

John Rae is best known today as the first European to reveal the fate of the Franklin Expedition, yet the range of Rae's accomplishments is much greater. Over five expeditions, Rae mapped some 1,550 miles (2,494 kilometres) of Arctic coastline; he is undoubtedly one of the Arctic's greatest explorers, yet today his significance is all but lost. John Rae, Arctic Explorer is an annotated version of Rae's unfinished autobiography. William Barr has extended Rae's previously unpublished manuscript and completed his story based on Rae's reports and correspondence—including reaction to his revelations about the Franklin Expedition. Barr's meticulously researched, long overdue presentation of Rae's life and legacy is an immensely valuable addition to the literature of Arctic exploration.

Table of contents

• Front cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• The Autobiography
• Maps
• 1 Orkney Childhood
• 2 Voyage to Hudson Bay and a Winter on Charlton Island
• 3 Moose Factory
• 4 Moose Factory—Fort Garry—Toronto—York Factory
• 5 1846–1847 Arctic Expedition
• 6 Searching for Franklin with Sir John Richardson, 1848
• 7 Winter at Fort Confidence, 1848–1849
• 8 Bourgeois at Fort Simpson
• 9 North Again—And Another Winter at Fort Confidence
• 10 Sledge Expedition to Victoria Island, Spring 1851
• 11 Boat Expedition, Summer 1851
• 12 From Fort Chipewyan to Fort Garry to England
• 13 Back to the Arctic, 1853
• 14 From Churchill to Repulse Bay
• 15 A Second Winter at Repulse Bay, 1853–1854
• 16 North Again—To Close the Last Gap
• 17 The Second Half of His Life
• Appendix 1: John Rae’s Assessment of his Achievments as an Explorer
• Appendix 2: On Ice—Its Formation , &c.
• Appendix 3: Building a Snow House
• Biographical Sketches
• Notes
• References
• Index
• About the Editor and Author
• Other Titles from University of Alberta Press