John Rae seems to be the acknowledged NWP guy over here. I guess the record keepers are the HBC archives in Winnipeg. Seem to remember Peter C Newman writing something in Caesars of the Winderness or Empire of the Bay...one of them.The references call him Scottish every time, but a few actually explain that indeed he was born in Orkney near Stromness. When I visited the Cathedral in Kirkwall, they were calling him the unsung hero which has to be the case. Anyone who would spend all those years in our arctic in winter, had to be tenacious and driven. On Tuck's line of sculpture, that is quite a thing they constructed in the Cathedral to honour this truly great explorer of the north. His stint as ship's doctor was an interesting starting place with the HBC, and his posting here in Ontario at Moose Factory was legendary. Great place for an introduction to black flies and mosquitos. Something about a boat race there...but I can't remember just what. His conduct with the native peoples was noted and I am sure, appreciated. On Mar 29, 2009, at 6:27 PM, Bruce Fletcher (Stronsay, Orkney) wrote: > Royce Perry wrote: >> Hummm...interesting stuff Steve...but we are straying well off >> topic here. It's a bit of a streatch to tie USA politics and >> Canadian achevements to things Orkney...give you credit for >> trying...but the thread is ever so thin. How abouts we try to stay >> a tad closer to the main topic... >> >> R the Cruel > > Indeed. How about the John Rae. Our MP, Alistair Carmichael, is > seeking > a meeting with the Dean of Westminster Abbey, the Reverend Dr John > Hall > to discuss the historical inaccuracies on the memorial to Sir John > Franklin within Westminster Abbey. It was Rae and not Franklin who > discovered the NW passage! > -- > Bruce Fletcher > Stronsay, Orkney UK > <http://claremont.islandblogging.co.uk> > "I'm a cat person, myself," she said, vaguely. > A low-level voice said "Really? Wash in your own spit, do you?" > _______________________________________ > Orcadia Group Photo Album > http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message >