b. 1813-09-30
d. 1893-07-22
Doctor John Rae was an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) who conducted a
survey for a telegraph line from St Paul, Minnesota to
Victoria in
1865. The route he laid out went from Fort Garry, to
Fort Edmonton, over the
Rocky Mountains, and down
the Fraser River but the project was abandoned prior to construction when the government withdrew
their support. In a despatch to
Edward Cardwell on
28 September 1864,
Frederick Seymour credits Rae with the discovery of
a pass in the Rocky Mountains, through which a Waggon Road might with ease be made.
Rae was born near Stromness in the Orkney Islands, 30 September 1813, and spent his childhood outdoors, developing the skills that served him so well
as an explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company. He was educated at the Royal College
of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
His father and brothers were employed by the HBC; in 1833, Rae was hired on as the surgeon for a voyage from England to Moose Factory aboard
the HBC ship Prince of Wales. Rae set up in Moose Factory and, when not engaged in
medical work, took part in trading.
Rae was chosen to lead several expeditions to the Arctic and was head of the first
party to winter on the Arctic Coast. He rose through the ranks of the HBC, becoming
chief trader in
1847, head of the
Mackenzie River district in
1849, and chief factor in
1850, despite his own admission that he lacked skill in business management.
At various points in his career, Rae was tasked with discovering the fate of the missing
Arctic expedition led by
John Franklin. He finally got a break in
1854 while on an unrelated survey of the Boothia peninsula. A party of Inuit told him of the passage of a group of white men who made camp and
were later found dead at the mouth of the Great Fish River. The Inuit sold Rae several
items that belonged to the late explorer, confirming the story.
Rae cut his survey short in the fall and returned to England to collect his reward
for the discovery. He then found himself at the center of a controversy both for not
identifying the bodies in person and because his report, which was published in The
Times, stated that the party had resorted to cannibalism. Based on his intelligence gathered from the Inuit, Rae's report stated: From the mutilated state of many of the bodies and the contents of the kettles, it
is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last dread alternative
as a means of sustaining life.
The British public vehemently denied his assertions, most notably Charles Dickens
who considered Indigenous testimony loose and unreliable.
Their arguments rested on the perceived notion of British racial superiority and
apparent ability to resist the last resource.
Rae's accounting of events was proved true by further expeditions including those
of Leopold McClintock.
Despite retiring from the HBC in 1856, Rae continued to work with them for many years. Rae died of a ruptured aneurism
on 22 July 1893. Robert Michael Ballantyne, HBC Clerk, called Rae the best and ablest snow-shoe walker not only in the Hudson Bay Territory but also
of the age.
- 1. William Barr, Dr. John Rae's Telegraph Survey, St. Paul, Minnesota to Quesnel, British Columbia,
1864, Manitoba Historical Society Website.
- 2. Seymour to Cardwell, 28 September 1864, 10953, CO 60/19, 292.
- 3. Ann Savours, Rae, John, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 4. R. L. Richards, Rae, John, Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
- 5. Ibid.
- 6. Ann Savours, Rae, John, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 7. E. J. H. E. J. H. on Dr Rae's Reports on the Arctic Expedition (1854), The Franklin Mystery: Life and Death in the Arctic; R. L. Richards, 'Rae, John'.
- 8. John Rae, Rae's Dreaful Findings Described, The Franklin Mystery: Life and Death in the Arctic.
- 9. The Lost Arctic Voyagers, The Franklin Mystery: Life and Death in the Arctic.
- 10. R. L. Richards, Rae, John, Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
- 11. Ann Savours, Rae, John, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- 12. R. L. Richards, Rae, John, Dictionary of Canadian Biography.