tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post5001842339679251522..comments2024-03-18T18:05:25.821-07:00Comments on VISIONS OF THE NORTH: Alleged Franklin Records in Gjoa HavenRussell Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-40048446360096730802010-09-28T16:51:33.460-07:002010-09-28T16:51:33.460-07:00Disappointing but hardly unpredicted news! Kenn H...Disappointing but hardly unpredicted <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/09/28/gjoa-haven-arctic-box-contents.html" rel="nofollow">news</a>! Kenn Harper suspects, and I agree, that if the paper is analyzed closely, some fragments of the moldering photograph may be found among the (predicted) scraps of newspaper and tallow.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-25650498873285179712010-09-11T18:17:11.705-07:002010-09-11T18:17:11.705-07:00Interesting! I envy the Canadian Conservation Ins...Interesting! I envy the Canadian Conservation Institute conservators who will get to work on the documents. As a paper conservator, I would think being buried in the arctic would not be such a bad fate for documents and photographs - but it's the tallow that worries me. I suppose it was to protect the items from water and rust, but I hope the waxed canvas protected them from the grease. The CBC article says the box was full of sand. Maybe it was a mixture of sand and tallow? I hope they'll bury them again in something impermeable, non-greasy and non-rusty.<br /><br />Thanks for the fascinating story!Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12728490691563640579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-52609991635131861162010-09-10T09:39:46.523-07:002010-09-10T09:39:46.523-07:00Actually documents, simply placed under a rock, ha...Actually documents, simply placed under a rock, have remained perfectly legible after spending 270 years in the arctic. It is also worth noting that Schwatka found a semi-exposed fragment of paper near Cape Felix that still had a pointing finger drawn on it.<br /><br />I cannot recall the specific case but a certain ship containing gold coins went down in very cold waters. When the treasure was retrieved over 100 years later written documents were recovered that were still perfectly legible.<br /><br />This is why finding one or both of the ships is so important. Something like a diary, or fragments of a diary that give basic information and dates. Of course with our luck the diary or any other notes will be written backwards.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05564076916142050022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-54985737150884154942010-09-10T03:09:11.417-07:002010-09-10T03:09:11.417-07:00Thanks for keeping us so (objectively) close to th...Thanks for keeping us so (objectively) close to this story Russell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-62831603305757069032010-09-09T17:07:45.646-07:002010-09-09T17:07:45.646-07:00CBC now has an article which gives Kenn's acco...CBC now has an article which gives Kenn's account, as well as that of Eric Mitchell -- read it <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2010/09/09/franklin-expedition-documents.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-25325497573430389102010-09-09T04:23:42.716-07:002010-09-09T04:23:42.716-07:00This is very clear. No need to jump out of our sh...This is very clear. No need to jump out of our shoes here. Paper is not an item well preserved by Artic climate.Francoishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02962369483067945268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-77044892990794159892010-09-06T13:01:20.911-07:002010-09-06T13:01:20.911-07:00And here is another account of this story (under a...And here is another account of this story (under a somewhat misleading headline) at the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7985164/Search-begins-for-British-explorers-lost-ships.html" rel="nofollow">Telegraph</a> newspaper (UK).Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-36239537397238591372010-09-06T04:21:37.852-07:002010-09-06T04:21:37.852-07:00William, didn't think your comment flippant --...William, didn't think your comment flippant -- and yes, I've always felt that the documents in this deposit will be fascinating should they prove to be Amundsen documents. The hamlet of Gjoa Haven has recently hosted a series of events honoring Amundsen, for which the rediscovery of any records of his would be a fitting culmination.<br /><br />I note that, in a slightly different version of McGoogan's update, published this morning in the <a href="http://www.calgaryherald.com/unearthed+Arctic+contain+explorer/3486156/story.html" rel="nofollow">Calgary Herald</a>, it's explicit: "Harper predicted the Saturday excavation would turn up an old HBC ammunition box. Andrew Porter, who runs a tourism business in Gjoa Haven, says just such a box was found about a metre beneath the cairn."Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-84445244278150710642010-09-06T00:22:02.456-07:002010-09-06T00:22:02.456-07:00Thanks Russell,
I didn't mean to sound flippa...Thanks Russell,<br /><br />I didn't mean to sound flippant. It would obviously be wonderful if there was any material in this box which related to or shed light on the Franklin Expedition. Although given the length of time between the demise of the Expedition and the burial of the records one can't help feeling it would be a 'long shot'.<br /><br />The other thing which I think people may miss is that if this box instead contains records relating to Amundsen, then they will also be of very great significance.<br /><br />WilliamWilliam Battersbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452863778733148002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-60332745287919233972010-09-05T18:16:33.579-07:002010-09-05T18:16:33.579-07:00Well, here is a link to McGoogan's follow-up s...Well, here is a link to <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/Mystery+Arctic+unearthed+contain+coveted+Franklin/3485772/story.html" rel="nofollow">McGoogan's follow-up story</a> -- according to this, the box (consistent with what Kenn described) has been flown, unopened, to Ottawa for study. McGoogan's story draws from Kenn's account here -- so we will have to see, once the box is actually opened, what it does in fact contain. <br /><br />I should note here that Doug Stenton, the chief archaeologist of Nunavut in whose charge this has been placed, is well-known for keeping his cards close to his chest. But perhaps the new openness at Parks Canada, and/or government interest in the Franklin matter, will expedite the making public of these findings.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-14746819237354485022010-09-05T15:38:40.080-07:002010-09-05T15:38:40.080-07:00I believe Ken McGoogan, who wrote the syndicated s...I believe Ken McGoogan, who wrote the syndicated story, is in Gjoa Haven -- he's told me he plans a follow-up article, so I assume that this will be out soon; I'll link to it here.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-87944304014659630152010-09-05T13:18:34.166-07:002010-09-05T13:18:34.166-07:00OK guys it's Sunday now. Any news?OK guys it's Sunday now. Any news?William Battersbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00452863778733148002noreply@blogger.com