RAE, John.

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Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea in 1846 and 1847. First edition of this important contribution to the literature of Arctic exploration. Laid down on the dedication page is the signature of the author, clipped from a letter to the lawyer Edward Herbert Draper (1841-1911).In 1844, Rae (1813-1893) was appointed by Sir George Simpson to command an expedition to map the remaining northern coastline of North America. Rae departed in 1846 and proceeded northwards to Repulse Bay and then to Committee Bay. Further surveying of the coast proved impossible because of the ice and the weather, and Rae's party wintered in the region before finishing the expedition the following year."The expedition was significant, not only for its geographical and meteorological results, but because the party was able to winter in the Arctic by eating local game and fish and building igloos" (ODNB), skills derived from close observation and collaboration with indigenous people. "In consequence, the volume is occupied to a great extent with a detail of incidents associated with Indian life and habits. The methods by which the hardy aborigines of the Arctic zone prolong their lives, which are one long struggle with starvation and famine, their craft and devices in hunting and fishing, and many other particulars of their condition, are interwoven with the journal" (Field).Subsequent to the voyage, Rae led an expedition that successfully discerned the fate of Sir John Franklin. For

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