to Lake Huron. Richardson returned to Liverpool on November 6, 1849. Rae's continued search Rae continued his geographical survey and search for Franklin for the next several years on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company, establishing a base at Fort Confidence on Great Bear Lake beginning in 1850. In 1851 he left Fort Confidence, went down the Coppermine and explored the south shore of Victoria Island. During the harsh winters, they shared their scarce provisions with the local Inuit, strengthening the bonds of cooperation, and none of the expedition members perished. During these expeditions, Rae continued to interview the local natives, but none had any reports of possible knowledge of Franklin's expedition, and no material evidence was discovered. In the spring of 1853, Rae returned to Back's Great Fish River, proceeding north-east from its mouth to extend the survey of Boothia. Here, he encountered Inuit in possession of objects he recognized as belonging to the Franklin expedition. Rae purchased as many of the objects as he could. Interviewing others in the area revealed that the Inuit had encountered the remnants of Franklin's crews in the spring of 1850. Franklin's fate In July 1854, John Rae sent a communication from his quarters on Repulse Bay to the Secretary of the Admiralty: Rae subsequently abandoned the task of completing the charting of the area, instead focusing on responding to the communications of those interested in Franklin's fate. He returned to England on October 22 to find the Admiralty had released his private communication to the press. Published in the London Times on October 23, it aroused considerable public distress and anger. Legacy In addition to establishing the final fate of Franklin's lost expedition, Rae completed an extensive survey of the west coast of Boothia, and proved once and for all that King William's Land was in fact an island. His furthest northward penetration near Cape Porter was set at 70° 5' N. Rae's assertion of cannibalism was sufficiently unpleasant to cause him to be spurned publicly by Charles Dickens on behalf of Franklin's widow. Responding only a week after the details were published, Dickens rejected the reliability of the Inuit testimony, which led to a series of seven articles between Dickens, Rae and Henry Morley debating the matter. Other searchers for Franklin were granted knighthoods for their service, but Rae was not. Ultimately, he did collect a £10,000 reward for resolving the