tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post2573827029551145328..comments2024-03-18T18:05:25.821-07:00Comments on VISIONS OF THE NORTH: Comfort CoveRussell Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-41789180720282083422016-10-17T02:29:03.916-07:002016-10-17T02:29:03.916-07:00I think there was not room on board for the bodies...I think there was not room on board for the bodies of the dead seamen but the body of Sir John Franklin was something different. I believe they kept the coffin on board for as long as possible to return the remains to England for appropriate internment. I think therefore "Comfort Cove" will prove to be in the area of Terror Bay- the last resting place of the last remaining ship of the expedition. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-86814052863569535222013-08-14T20:26:47.853-07:002013-08-14T20:26:47.853-07:00Hi Greg,
Many thanks indeed for your comment. I a...Hi Greg,<br /><br />Many thanks indeed for your comment. I agree that the term "Comfort Cove" was probably applied with considerable irony, much in the way that soldiers in the trenches of WWI named a trench "Park Lane." <br /><br />Details on this passage, and an image of the leaf, can be found <a href="http://aglooka.blogspot.com/2010/10/franklins-funeral.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. I agree that the place named must be fairly near to the location of the ships; one suggestion is that what we'd thought was Irving's grave (see earlier posts on this blog) was perhaps Franklin's and was the "grave at Comfort Cove" mentioned in the papers. The mystery remains ...Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-734663894319921792013-08-14T20:18:00.504-07:002013-08-14T20:18:00.504-07:00Hi Russell,
This is a tough one.
In responding t...Hi Russell,<br /><br />This is a tough one.<br /><br />In responding to your challenge, my first inclination was to search for the relevant information at the <a href="http://www.rmg.co.uk/search-results/?search_word=peglar&x=0&y=0" rel="nofollow">Caird Library</a> thanks to the link in your <a href="http://visionsnorth.blogspot.com/2009/03/mystery-of-peglar-papers.html" rel="nofollow">Peglar Papers</a> blog post. After some time searching, it became fairly clear that I wouldn't have any more luck than Richard Cyriax, or yourself for that matter, at deciphering any additional information by trying to translate and interpret the writings. While I've read Cyriax's book, I have yet to see a transcript of his translation of the Peglar Papers: does such a resource exist online?<br /><br />My other question would be, and forgive my ignorance of the details of the Peglar Papers, but what passage provided the suggestion that a person of great importance was buried at "Comfort Cove"? <br /><br />Given what we know about the Franklin expedition, the conditions they faced at the time they sailed, and the challenges they faced, to me Comfort Cove could only have been a place so named for the things that would have provided comfort to the sufferers of the expedition: shelter, warmth, nourishment (from both food and grog, to whet their whistles), and an opportunity to rest and be healed from their various ailments, of which we can be sure there were many.<br /><br />While deliberating the Comfort Cove question, I posed the conundrum to my significant other, who- despite putting up with so many of my late night Franklin ramblings- was blatant enough to say, "...there was no such place as Comfort Cove. And if there was, it was named that because it was a joke." After much deliberation, I can't help but agree with her blatant assessment. Given the brutal weather conditions we know know to have existed at the time, the likely condition of the crew, and the hardships they must have been facing with man-hauling the sledges while affected by scurvy and lead poisoning, it could well be that "Comfort Cove" could have been a name given to a place where some of their worst hardships were endured. Given what we know of James Fitzjames' sense of humor from his writings and from William Battersby's research, this type of irony might even be akin to some sense.<br /><br />Since so many have traveled to KWI in search of the grave of Franklin, Crozier, or some other great officer, my best guess to solve this puzzle is that "Comfort Cove" is actually very close to Victory Point and Terror Camp, where they first gathered after abandoning the ships, and that the grave mentioned is that of Liutenant Iriving: arguably the most substantially organized burial effort found so far on King William Island by the crews after the ships were abandoned.<br /><br />From a historian's sake, I certainly hope that I am wrong in this speculation, and that others can pose a more meaningful interpretation of the challenge.<br /><br />As always, I look forward to your next post.Greg Hinterbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17269669734092109018noreply@blogger.com