Sources on Dark Arctic Secrets

An Old Cannibal Story

Fri, 05 Sep 1884 00:00:00 +0000

Winnipeg Daily Sun, Friday, September 5, 1884, p. 1, col. 7

AN OLD CANNIBAL STORY.

A MEMBER OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION KILLED FOR FOOD.

BUFFALO, Sept. 1.—A morning paper here prints the following despatch from Cincinnati about an interview with John D. Caldwell, an old and respected citizen, in which it is stated, and it is believed for the first time publicly, that Captain McClintock, of the Sir John Franklin Arctic expedition, was shot and his body eaten by his starving companions. Mr. Caldwell’s story is that soon after the return of Captain Hall from his expedition for the rescue of Sir John Franklin and his men Lady Franklin came to Cincinnati to learn from Captain Hall by a personal interview what he had ascertained in regard to her husband. She was accompanied by a Miss Sophia Cracraft who was engaged to Captain McClintock, and who was to have been married to him on his return from the Franklin Expedition. The two ladies pressed Captain Hall for information or speculation regarding their absent loved ones, who by that time were generally believed to be dead. After a second interview with the ladies Captain Hall took dinner with Mr. Caldwell and family. In speaking of Miss Cracraft’s earnest enquiries for mementoes of her lost lover Captain Hall said: “I could not tell her of Captain McClintock’s horrible fate.” A little later, when speaking to Mr. Caldwell alone, he rehearsed what he had learned from an esquimaux who was with the Franklin party. Suppressing his voice almost to a whisper, he said: “Captain McClintock was shot and eaten by the others for food. They had reached the point of starvation where it became a question whether all should perish or one should die that the others might live. The agreement was unanimous that lots should be drawn, to see who should die first, and the fatal lot fell to Captain McClintock. He yielded with composure to his fate. He was shot, and his body became food for the others.” Whether the shooting of the others followed by lot, Mr. Caldwell says, Captain Hall did not state. He was requested to keep what had been related to him an entire secret, which he had done until to-day. The stories of cannibalism on the part of the survivors of the Greely expedition recalled Mr. Hall’s story forcibly to Mr. Caldwell’s mind, and at this late date he considers it no breach of faith to relate what he heard.

He Was Eaten

Thu, 04 Sep 1884 00:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati Evening Post, Thursday, September 4, 1884, p. 2, col. 2

HE WAS EATEN.

Not Capt. McClintock, of the Franklin Relief Party,

BUT AN OFFICER OF FRANKLIN’S OWN EXPEDITION.

John D. Caldwell Reiterates His Statement as True, Save that in Haste He Recalled the Wrong Name—Capt Hall Further Intimated that Others Met the Same Fate.

On reading the dispatch from Washington in the C[incinnati] G[azette] denying the truth of John D. Caldwell’s statement to a POST reporter that an officer of the Franklin expedition, as reported by Explorer Hall, was shot and eaten by his companions, THE POST representative immediately sought Mr. Caldwell and solicited an explanation. There is no better known or more reliable man in Cincinnati than J.D. Caldwell. In years long past he was connected with the Cincinnati Gazette. He has held many important trusts, in a public capacity, and is known far and wide among the Masonic fraternity, who know him too well to doubt his word, although in the matter of the name of the party eaten he is in error. When spoken to in regard to the error he said substantially:

An Absurd Arctic Story

Tue, 02 Sep 1884 00:00:00 +0000

Washington Post, Tuesday, September 2, 1884, p. 2, col. 5.

An Absurd Arctic Story.

A morning paper published yesterday under a New York date an alleged interview with a Mr. Coldwell¹, of Cincinnati, in which the latter states that Capt. Hall, of the Polaris, told him Capt. John McClintock,² of the Franklin relief expedition, was shot and eaten by his comrades. As a matter of fact Captain, now Admiral, McClintock returned alive from the expedition in 1859, and was present at the recent presentation of the Alert by the British Government to the United States. His return of course was a public matter, and Capt. Hall could hardly have made such a statement. None of the journals, notes or letters of the expeditions contain any reference to cannibalism.

McClintock Was Not Eaten

Tue, 02 Sep 1884 00:00:00 +0000

National Republican (Washington), Tuesday, September 2, 1884, p. 2, col. 4

McClintock Was Not Eaten.

To the Editor.

I notice with surprise and pain that in your paper of the 1st instant appears a copy of a reported interview between some one and a Mr. Caldwell, of Cincinnati, in which Mr. Caldwell is stated to have reported, as from the late Capt. Hall, of the Polaris, that Capt. McClintock, of the Franklin relief expedition of 1859, was shot and eaten by his starving companions. This will certainly be news to the now Admiral McClintock; who, as all newspaper files show, was present in London at the recent presentation of the Alert by the British government to the United States. I may say also that I have had the honor of a letter from the admiral of no very old date.

Dark Arctic Secrets

Mon, 01 Sep 1884 00:00:00 +0000

The Evening Critic, Monday, September 1, 1884, p. 1, col. 3

DARK ARCTIC SECRETS.

Did the Franklin Exploring Expedition Resort to Cannibalism?

The Cincinnati Evening Post quotes John D. Caldwell, of that city, as saying that Captain Hall was authority for a report of cannibalism among the Sir John Franklin party of Arctic explorers, and goes on to say that this has never been made public out of consideration for the relatives of Captain McClintock, the man who was selected by lot, shot and eaten by his starving companions.

An Explorer's Fate

Sat, 30 Aug 1884 00:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati Evening Post, Saturday, August 30, 1884, p. 1, col. 3

AN EXPLORER’S FATE.

Captain McClintock, of the Franklin Expedition, was Killed and Eaten.

A Fact for the First Time Made Public.

Uncle John D. Caldwell Tells the Story — How It was Kept from His Affianced Wife, Miss Cracraft, Lady Franklin’s Niece, by Captain Hall.

“Many years ago,” said Uncle John D. Caldwell, ex-member of the Board of Public Works, to THE POST this morning, “Lady Franklin, in her voyage around the world, made a special visit to Cincinnati in order to pay her respects to Capt. C. T. Hall¹, the Arctic explorer, whom she regarded as having made greater sacrifices to find her unfortunate husband than all others. This visit of the widow was highly appreciated at the time when sympathy for her was still warm, and the loss of the explorers still fresh in recollection, although hope of the rescue of any of them had died out. Uncle John and Capt. Hall set about the task of giving her a semi-public reception. Money was raised, her bills provided for at the Burnet house, carriages furnished to s[h]ow her such objects of interest as the city then afforded, and a banquet in her honor arranged for. Lady Franklin was not the only one whose complete happiness had been wrecked by

The Undiscovered Country

Wed, 28 Dec 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Brooklyn Eagle, Wednesday, December 28, 1870, p. 2, col. 6

THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY.

The Wonders of the North—How to Reach the Pole—Is It Land or Water?

Last evening, before the Long Island Historical Society, at the chapel of the Packer Institute, Captain C. F. Hall, the Arctic explorer, lectured to a large and appreciative audience upon his experiences in the Arctic regions, and the plan he proposes to adopt in the expedition which is to start under his command with the intention of reaching the NORTH POLE.

Said Lady Franklin to Mrs. Grant

Fri, 02 Sep 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Friday, September 2, 1870, p. 2, col. 1

SAID Lady Franklin to Mrs. Grant, “Sir John is older than I, and I am near my end. He could not have liv[e]d in those frigid regions until now. The mystic North-west Passage will be his monument. Every-where during my American tour, your people have showered me with kindness, and I will return to old England, like Lafayette, with recollections only of a nation’s benedictions.”

Lady Franklin in Cincinnati

Fri, 12 Aug 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Glasgow Daily Mail, Friday, August 12, 1870, p. 3, col. 8

LADY FRANKLIN IN CINCINNATI.

On Saturday, says the Cincinnati Enquirer of the 25th, after a weary journey from the Pacific slope, there came to Cincinnati one whose very presence does the city honour, for she is one of the noblest women of modern times, not because the best blood of England flows in her veins—though that we scorn not—but because of a long life spent in a heroic effort to complete a task, the selection and unswerving pursuit of which has made her name beloved among the admirers of true womanhood the wide world over. Lady Franklin, relict of Sir John Franklin, of England, accompanied by her niece, Miss Cracroft, arrived at half-past six A.M., and were met at the depot by Captain C. F. Hall, and were escorted to the Burnet House, where she spent the day in retirement, resting from the fatigues of her long journey. No intelligent man forgets the romantic and tragic story of Sir John Franklin, who, in 1844, for the sake of his goddess science, and for the glory that would fall upon his name and upon his beloved country by the discovery of the Northwest Passage, the dream of many modern Columbus, sailed away into the icebound and dangerous seas that wash the North Pole, and never returned again to wife, to home, to England.

Lady Jane Franklin

Sun, 31 Jul 1870 00:00:00 +0000

New York Daily Herald, Sunday, July 31, 1870, p. 7, col. 6

LADY JANE FRANKLIN.

The Widow of the Arctic Martyr in New York—Her Journey Round the World—Something of Her Travels and Experiences—Her Arrival at the House of Mr. Henry B. Grinnell.

Throughout America—from the heart of its most populous cities to the humblest cabin in the Western solitudes—there are few persons to be found who have not heard of the name of Sir John Franklin. All the vicissitudes of the last terrible winter spent in the north of which tidings reached us, all the vain searches made for him and his last party of heroic explorers, both by brave English seamen and our own hardy navigators, have been told over at the fireside and recounted in poetry, till nearly every man, woman and child is familiar with the sad story of their heroism and their sufferings. When the pall was first thrown over the fate of the party the lady who arrived in New York to-night was a young and beautiful woman, blessed with more than ordinary intellectual power, and with a rare and unswerving devotion seldom found among our modern wives and daughters. Her love permeating all, thrilled the very world, and awoke in all hearts grand vibrations of sympathy. Through her appeals both England and America were aroused and ships and expeditions were fitted out to search for her husband. How those searches ended alas! we all know. Captain Hall alone brought back tidings of value.

Lady Franklin in Cincinnati

Thu, 28 Jul 1870 00:00:00 +0000

New-York Daily Tribune, Thursday, July 28, 1870, p. 8, cols. 2–3

LADY FRANKLIN IN CINCINNATI.

The Cincinnati papers of Monday say: Lady Jane Franklin arrived in the city Saturday morning, and is a guest of the Burnet House. She seems to take great pleasure in travel, and has made the acquaintance of nearly every ocean and every quarter of the globe. Saturday she received at the Burnet House only a few of the many who called to see her. In the evening she was taken to the suburbs, and at Mr. Probasco’s was entertained. Yesterday she visited Spring Grove. To-morrow she will proceed to New-York and thence to England, visiting Niagara Falls on the way. She is between seventy and eighty years of age—is in the enjoyment of good health and the full possession of vigorous mental powers. She is a woman of medium hight, and full habit, seems comparatively vigorous for her age; has a full, square face, with good features—the face of a well-bred, intelligent, and kind-hearted lady—and at the same time a strong English face. As she occupies an easy-chair and receives those introduced to her, one after another, she displays unimpaired perceptive faculties and more than average conversational ability. She talks fluently and readily of her travels, of peoples and countries, and of the impressions that she gathers in her wanderings hither and thither, now in Europe, now in South America, then in the United States and Canadas, now, again, in Asia and the islands of the Pacific. She dresses in black, with white sack, full white cap and loose white kids.

Lady Franklin in the City

Thu, 28 Jul 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Richmond Dispatch, Thursday, July 28, 1870, p. 2, col. 4

LADY FRANKLIN IN THE CITY. — A lady whose renown for devotion to the memory of a husband, nearly a quarter of a century deceased is worldwide, and has been for many years, reached our city yesterday morning, and took apartments at the Burnet House. Lady Franklin carries bravely still her many years (she’s “turned of seventy,” as she herself expresses it) and her great and long-nursed sorrow. She is a woman of medium height and full habit; seems comparatively vigorous for her age; has a full, square face, with good features—the face of a well-bred, intelligent, and kind-hearted lady—and at the same time a strong English face. As she occupies an easy chair and receives those introduced to her, one after another, she displays unimpaired perceptive faculties and more than average conversational ability. She talks fluently and readily of her travels; of peoples and countries; and of the impressions she gathers in her wanderings hither and thither—now in Europe, now in South America, then in the United States and Canadas, now again in Asia and the islands of the Pacific. She dresses in black, with white sack, full white cap, and loose white kids. She has with her three constant companions—Miss Cracroft, a middle-aged lady, niece of Sir John, who has traveled with her for twenty years now, a maid servant, and a courier. This is not Lady Franklin’s first visit to this country. She was here when the Prince of Wales visited us, and left the country through the South on the breaking up of the war. She is an almost incessant traveler on account of her health. In this last trip, she left home—for South America, stopping at Valparaiso, traveling thence, after crossing the Isthmus, by one of our Government vessels to Alaska. Unable to obtain transportation south or east from Sitka sooner, she was forced to remain there nearly five weeks. She returned by way of San Francisco, Salt Lake, Omaha, and Chicago, to this city, and will resume her journey to New York to-morrow. Her object in coming was to meet Captain C. F. Hall, the famous Arctic explorer, of this city, who is at home preparing for another Arctic voyage. She wanted to meet him and hear from his own lips about the traces of her husband that he had found, after the expeditions she had fitted out and made their reports. She wanted to hear, too, many of the minor, and to others uninteresting, details of his travels and discoveries that he has never had an opportunity to publish. In the large drawing-room of the Burnet House, yesterday afternoon, Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft received many of our citizens, including city officials and merchants.

Lady Franklin

Wed, 27 Jul 1870 00:00:00 +0000

New York Herald, Wednesday, July 27, 1870, p. 2, col. 5

LADY FRANKLIN.

The Distinguished Lady in Cincinnati—She Meets Captain Hall, the Arctic Explorer—Her Reception by the Citizens—The Story of the Lost Sir John.

[From the Cincinnati Enquirer, July 25.]

On Saturday, after a weary journey from the Pacific slope, there came to Cincinnati one whose very presence does the city honor, for she is one of the noblest women of modern times, not because the best blood of England flows in her veins—though that we scorn not—but because of a long life spent in a heroic effort to complete a task, the selection and unswerving pursuit of which has made her name beloved among the admirers of true womanhood the wide wo[r]ld over.

Lady Franklin

Tue, 26 Jul 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Tuesday, July 26, 1870, p. 8, col. 2

LADY FRANKLIN.

Reception at the Burnet House Yesterday.

Lady Franklin remained in the city yesterday, and in the afternoon, as announced, received her friends and the public in the main parlor of the Burnet House.

Between the hours of three and four o’clock large numbers of citizens, gentlemen and ladies, called to pay their respects, and the levee was quite brilliant.

Our Honored Guest

Mon, 25 Jul 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Monday, July 25, 1870, p. 4, col. 6

OUR HONORED GUEST.

Movements of Lady Franklin Yesterday — Reception at the Burnet To-day.

Yesterday, after church, Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft, under the escort of Captain C. F. Hall and Mr. J. W. Caldwell¹, were driven to Spring Grove — which Lady F. enthusiastically said was finer than any city of the dead in England, the most beautiful cemetery, in fact, she had ever seen. She was surprised, too, at the evidences of wealth and culture afforded by the countless monuments.

Arrival of Lady Franklin

Thu, 14 Apr 1870 00:00:00 +0000

Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Thursday, April 14, 1870, p. 4, col. 5

ARRIVAL OF LADY FRANKLIN.

Lady Franklin arrived here from Panama to-day.

Citation: Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, Thursday, April 14, 1870, p. 4, col. 5. Source: newspapers.com image 30482846.