False leads in the Franklin search

The strenuous and costly measures undertaken by the British Admiralty and others to find the missing expedition of Sir John Franklin during the period 1847–59 were hindered by malicious deceptions, misleading rumours, corrupted translations, unfortunate misunderstandings, and premature conclusions....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Author: Ross, W. Gillies
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2003
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247402002838
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247402002838
Description
Summary:The strenuous and costly measures undertaken by the British Admiralty and others to find the missing expedition of Sir John Franklin during the period 1847–59 were hindered by malicious deceptions, misleading rumours, corrupted translations, unfortunate misunderstandings, and premature conclusions. The false leads included fake messages from Franklin, invented reports of his safety or death in various places, clairvoyant statements that placed him in several widely separated locations, discoveries of objects supposedly associated with his expedition, and distorted reports from Indians and Eskimos. The Admiralty had to investigate all leads, and this took time away from the planning and execution of more important measures.