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Elisha Kent Kane Historical Society |
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IV: Hype and Hope: Marketing a Hero
Fate was working for Kane. On September 24, 1851, six days before the Advance reached New York, both the New-York Daily Times and Daily Tribune ran articles about the Grinnell Expedition and the discovery of Franklin's winter camp. Both of these articles were attributed to "E. K. Kane, Surgeon to the Expedition." As luck would have it, Kane's account of these events, written in July of 1851, was the first to reach England and the United States. Accounts from Captain Horatio Austin and Captain Penny arrived in England on August 12 and September 8 respectively, but both reports had been written before the discovery of the graves and Franklin's winter quarters. (53) Thus, Kane had the honor of breaking the news to the public even though he and the Grinnell party were not the actual discoverers of the evidence. As this news was announced in America less than a week before the Advance arrived, the timing for publicity purposes could not have been better. From the time of their arrival, Kane was the spokesperson for the expedition. De Haven, the obvious choice for spokesperson, was not inclined toward either publicity or literary endeavors. Three days after their return he submitted his required report to the Secretary of the Navy and then quietly withdrew from the public eye. (54) This withdrawal left the stage wide open for Kane and he did not squander this opportunity. The day after they reached New York two articles appeared in the Times about the expedition saying, "We are indebted to the kindness of Dr. Kane for an outline of the voyage, and for many incidents connected with it of great interest." It is worth noting that Elisha was not the only member of the Kane family who found his way into the paper that day. Judge John Kane was also the subject of two articles as he had passed down a ruling of treason in the Christiana case, an early trial of the Fugitive Slave Act. (55) In this issue of the Times, as in many later issues, Elisha was praised for his heroism and Judge Kane condemned for his controversial rulings without any mention being made of their being father and son. From October of 1851 until his departure on the Second Grinnell Expedition on May 31, 1853, Kane was never far from the public eye. In October and November he continued to show up in the major newspapers. An open letter to Henry Grinnell was printed in the Times outlining Kane's theory on Franklin's probable whereabouts, and both the Times and Tribune covered a dinner given by the British residents of New York for Grinnell and the crew. The account of this event shows that by November Kane was not only the spokesperson but, in many ways, the hero of the journey. The Tribune reported that when he rose to speak he "was received with loud and prolonged applause." Kane used this spotlight to lay the groundwork for his next goal-his own expedition to the Arctic. (56) I must seize the present occasion earnestly to state that I hope the search is not yet ended. The drift by which the Advance and the Rescue were borne so far, conclusively proves that the same influence might have carried us into the same sea in which Franklin and his companions are probably immured.... I trust for the sake of the United States, for the sake of the noble-hearted woman, who has been the animating soul of all the Expedition, for the sake of this flag which has so triumphantly borne the battle and the breeze, for the sake of the humanity which makes us all kin, I trust that [the] search is not yet ended, and that the rescue of Sir John Franklin is yet reserved to his nation and the world. (57) The Tribune reported that this speech ended with an eruption of cheers. Kane pulled not only on sentimental, philanthropic, and nationalistic strings, but he also founded his assertions in scientific evidence and in the spirit of adventure and discovery. In November Kane began a long and extensive lecturing tour, becoming the nation's most vocal proponent for the existence and possible navigation of an Open Polar Sea. He also believed that this Arctic Arcadia was a probable location of Franklin and his men. Over the New Year, Kane delivered three speeches before the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and, despite terrible weather, each of the lectures was filled to capacity. Kane summarized the expedition with fascinating detail, explained the logical reasons for the existence of an Open Polar Sea, and then proposed that Franklin and his men were living in this sea, "unable to leave their hunting ground and cross the frozen Sahara which intervened between them and the world from which they are shut out." (58) Kane ended by insisting that another American expedition must be sent northward to try and penetrate this open sea at the end of the world. According to the National Intelligencer, Washington's leading paper of the time, Kane captivated his audiences. It declared his lectures "One of the most interesting courses ever to be delivered at the Institution." (59) During January, Kane carried this message from city to city across much of the Northeast, drumming up support for a new expedition and collecting lecture fees to help fund the effort. By February Kane was again feeling the effects of his chronic illness and retired to his family's residence in Philadelphia where he rested and began working on a book about the journey. Though he did not appear publicly for a few months, it appears that Kane continued to work behind the scenes to keep his efforts before the public eye. One example of this is a small article that appeared in Philadelphia's Daily Pennsylvanian labeled only as "Item of News." Though it carried no by-line, it seems certain that the following was written by Kane: Sir John Franklin has now been absent about six years and eight months... more than a year beyond the longest period for which his provisions could possibly hold out, according to the most favorable estimate of his friends.... We are afraid that there is in prosecuting the search, but little to hope for more than to put an end to uncertainty by bringing the fact and manner of their loss. Even for this purpose, however, with the remote probability of finding the adventurers still alive, it is a high duty to humanity to persevere and to hope to see some of the suggested projects for an early renewal of the search put into execution. (60) Unsigned editorials that used the inclusive "we," were one of the methods used by the Kane family to help prod public opinion. Though Elisha never specifically addressed using the press to change public opinion, Thomas Kane talked about it extensively. In 1847, when he returned to Philadelphia after visiting the Mormons in Winter Quarters and Nauvoo, Thomas wrote many unsigned editorials to help them gain public support. He explained this process to Brigham Young: [I]t was found to be next to impossible to do much for you before public opinion was corrected... [so] it became incumbent on me to manufacture public opinion as soon as possible.... [M]y first feeler, of the bold kind, was put forth in the Pennsylvanian and its reception proved that I had fully prepared the public to receive the truth.... Tomorrow morning myself and scribe start for New York, and if I can have there any portion of the same success which I have had in my own city, I will consider the brunt of the battle over if indeed victory be not at hand. (61) Elisha, like his brother and father, knew how to use the press to his advantage. |