False leads in the Franklin search

摘要

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.