Making of an Explorer: George Hubert Wilkins and the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-1916 9780773572287

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the making of an explorer

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m c g i l l - q u e e n ’ s n at i v e a n d n o r t h e r n s e r i e s Bruce G. Trigger, Editor 1 When the Whalers Were Up North Inuit Memories from the Eastern Arctic Dorothy Harley Eber 2 The Challenge of Arctic Shipping Science, Environmental Assessment, and Human Values David L. VanderZwaag and Cynthia Lamson, Editors 3 Lost Harvests Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy Sarah Carter 4 Native Liberty, Crown Sovereignty The Existing Aboriginal Right of Self-Government in Canada Bruce Clark 5 Unravelling the Franklin Mystery Inuit Testimony David C. Woodman 6 Otter Skins, Boston Ships, and China Goods The Maritimes Fur Trade of the Northwest Coast, 1785–1841 James R. Gibson 7 From Wooden Ploughs to Welfare The Story of the Western Reserves Helen Buckley 8 In Business for Ourselves Northern Entrepreneurs Wanda A. Wuttunee 9 For an Amerindian Autohistory An Essay on the Foundations of a Social Ethic Georges E. Sioui 10 Strangers Among Us David Woodman 11 When the North Was Red Aboriginal Education in Soviet Siberia Dennis A. Bartels and Alice L. Bartels 12 From Talking Chiefs to a Native Corporate Elite The Birth of Class and Nationalism among Canadian Inuit Marybelle Mitchell

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13 Cold Comfort My Love Affair with the Arctic Graham W. Rowley 14 The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7 Treaty 7 Elders and Tribal Council with Walter Hildebrandt, Dorothy First Rider, and Sarah Carter 15 This Distant and Unsurveyed Country A Woman’s Winter at Baffin Island, 1857–1858 W. Gillies Ross 16 Images of Justice Dorothy Harley Eber 17 Capturing Women The Manipulation of Cultural Imagery in Canada’s Prairie West Sarah A. Carter 18 Social and Environmental Impacts of the James Bay Hydroelectric Project Edited by James F. Hornig 19 Saqiyuq Stories from the Lives of Three Inuit Women Nancy Wachowich in collaboration with Apphia Agalakti Awa, Rhoda Kaukjak Katsak, and Sandra Pikujak Katsak 20 Justice in Paradise Bruce Clark 21 Aboriginal Rights and Self-Government The Canadian and Mexican Experience in North American Perspective Edited by Curtis Cook and Juan D. Lindau 22 Harvest of Souls The Jesuit Missions and Colonialism in North America, 1632–1650 Carole Blackburn 23 Bounty and Benevolence A History of Saskatchewan Treaties Arthur J. Ray, Jim Miller, and Frank Tough 24 The People of Denedeh Ethnohistory of the Indians of Canada’s Northwest Territories June Helm 25 The Marshall Decision and Native Rights Ken Coates

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26 The Flying Tiger Women Shamans and Storytellers of the Amur Kira Van Deusen 27 Alone in Silence European Women in the Canadian North before 1940 Barbara E. Kelcey 28 The Arctic Voyages of Martin Frobisher An Elizabethan Adventure Robert McGhee 29 Northern Experience and the Myths of Canadian Culture Renée Hulan 30 The White Man’s Gonna Getcha The Colonial Challenge to the Crees in Quebec Toby Morantz 31 The Heavens Are Changing Nineteenth-Century Protestant Missions and Tsimshian Christianity Susan Neylan 32 Arctic Migrants/Arctic Villagers The Transformation of Inuit Settlement in the Central Arctic David Damas 33 Arctic Justice On Trial for Murder – Pond Inlet, 1923 Shelagh D. Grant 34 Eighteenth-Century Naturalists of Hudson Bay Stuart Houston, Tim Ball, and Mary Houston 35 The American Empire and the Fourth World Anthony J. Hall 36 Uqalurait An Oral History of Nunavut John Bennett and Susan Rowley 37 Living Rhythms Lessons in Aboriginal Economic Resilience and Vision Wanda Wuttunee 38 The Making of an Explorer George Hubert Wilkins and the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916 Stuart E. Jenness

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the making of an

EXPLORER george hubert wilkins and the canadian arctic expedition, 1913–1916

stuart e. jenness

McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca

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© McGill-Queen’s University Press 2004

isbn 0-7735-2798-2 Legal deposit fourth quarter 2004 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% postconsumer recycled), processed chlorine free. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Services, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen’s acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (bpidp) for our publishing activities. Fig. 1 (title page). George H. Wilkins, photographer, hunter, Arctic explorer, at Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 3 March 1914. (Photo 50715 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214009, nac )

national library of canada cataloguing in publication Jenness, Stuart E. (Stuart Edward), 1925– The making of an explorer: George Hubert Wilkins and the Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913–1916 / Stuart E. Jenness. (McGill-Queen’s native and northern series; 38) Includes bibliographical references. isbn 0-7735-2798-2 (bound) 1. Wilkins, George H. (George Hubert), Sir, 1888–1958. 2. Explorers – Arctic regions – Biography. 3. Arctic regions – Discovery and exploration – Canadian. 4. Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913–1918) I. Title. II. Series. g635.w55 j45 2004 910’.92 c2004-901925-2

Typeset in 10/13 New Baskerville. Book design and typesetting by zijn digital.

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to jean

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contents

List of Illustrations Preface

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xv

Acknowledgments Prologue

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3

pa r t o n e

expedition photographer

1 The Hunting Trip

15

2 The Fishing Lake

34

3 Collinson Point

48

4 Visit to the Belvedere

68

5 Confrontation at Collinson Point 6 Stefansson’s First Ice Trip

91

7 Visit with the Whale Hunters

pa r t t w o

103

j o i n i n g t h e n o r t h e r n pa r t y

8 The North Star

123

9 Herschel Island

134

10 The Search for Stefansson

145

11 Appearance of Stefansson

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12 Hunting with Stefansson 13 Cape Kellett

84

170

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14 Stefansson’s Second Ice Trip

183

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pa r t t h r e e

stefansson’s emissary

15 Journey to Bernard Harbour

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16 Visiting the Copper Eskimos

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17 Confrontation at Bernard Harbour 18 Waiting to Go East

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257

19 Taking the North Star to Banks Island

pa r t f o u r

more exploring

20 Up the West Coast of Banks Island 21 Back and Forth to the North Star 22 To Mercy Bay and Melville Island

279 290 302

23 Minto Inlet and the “Blond Eskimos”

pa r t f i v e

315

s o u t h wa r d b o u n d

24 Return to Bernard Harbour 25 Leaving the Arctic Epilogue

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335

345

365

Appendix 1 Birds Collected by G.H. Wilkins on Banks Island, 1914 Appendix 2 Mammals Collected by G.H. Wilkins on Banks Island (1914 except as indicated) 373 Notes

377

References Index

x

401

contents

397

371

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i l l u s t r at i o n s

1 G.H. Wilkins, photographer, hunter, Arctic explorer 2 The Karluk at Esquimalt

v

6

3 G.H. Wilkins with motion-picture camera on deck of Karluk 4 The scientific staff of the cae at Victoria

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8

5 Route of the Karluk after it left Nome, Alaska

10

6 Stefansson and his hunting party preparing to leave the Karluk 7 Wilkins’ route from the Karluk to Cape Smyth (Barrow)

20

8 Charlie Brower’s Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station, Barrow 32 9 Trader Charles Brower and assistant Fred Hopson, Barrow 10 Sketch map of Cape Smyth (Barrow)

35

11 Wilkins’ route from Cape Smyth to the fishing lake

38

12 Wilkins’ route from the fishing lake to Collinson Point

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13 House and shed of E. de Koven Leffingwell, Flaxman Island 14 Wilkins showing movies to visiting Eskimos after Christmas dinner 59 15 Christmas dinner at Collinson Point 16 The Belvedere in the ice

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17 Stefansson reading at Collinson Point

32

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18 Stefansson’s ice-trip party leaving Collinson Point

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53

18

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19 Pannigabluk and her son Alex at Martin Point

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20 Route of Stefansson’s first ice trip, north of Alaska 21 Stefansson dragging a seal to camp

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22 Johansen taking the temperature of the sea water

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23 Pressure ridges and open water north of Martin Point 24 Wilkins’ sled with improvised sail

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25 Wilkins with his motion-picture camera near Barrow

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26 Onshore whalers with umiak waiting for a bowhead whale 27 Wilkins and Natkusiak arriving at Collinson Point

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28 Winter quarters of the Southern Party, Collinson Point

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29 Wilkins’ route from Collinson Point to Clarence Lagoon 30 Duffy O’Connor’s house and racks, Demarcation Point 31 Pauline Cove and the settlement of Herschel Island

126 128

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32 The rnwmp station and “Main Street” at Herschel Island

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33 The three cae schooners, North Star, Alaska, and Mary Sachs, at Herschel Island 140 34 Wilkins’ route from Herschel Island to Banks Island with the Mary Sachs 146 35 Schooner Mary Sachs tied to an ice keg east of Herschel Island 36 South coast east of Cape Lambton, Banks Island

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37 Unloading the Mary Sachs near Cape Kellett, Banks Island

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38 Laying the foundation for the Northern Party house near Cape Kellett, Banks Island 158 39 Arrival of Stefansson at Cape Kellett

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40 Route of Wilkins’ advance sled party to northern Banks Island 41 Route of Stefansson’s second ice trip, north of Banks Island

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42 Stefansson’s first camp on his second ice trip, northwest of Banks Island 198 43 Storkerson and Natkusiak preparing a sled raft, northwest of Banks Island 199

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illustrations

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44 Wilkins’ route from Cape Kellett to Bernard Harbour

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45 Wilkins’ sled party at Hope Point, west of Bernard Harbour

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46 Cox and Castel studying the condition of the North Star, Bernard Harbour 219 47 Southern Party headquarters, Bernard Harbour

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48 Copper Eskimo shaman Uloksak Meyok and his three wives

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49 Wilkins’ route from Bernard Harbour to Coronation Gulf and back 230 50 Copper Eskimos drying their skin clothing

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51 Three Copper Eskimo women at Berens Islands, Coronation Gulf 238 52 Copper Eskimos around Wilkins’ motion-picture camera, Berens Islands, Coronation Gulf 239 53 Copper Eskimo camp at the “fishing lake” near Bernard Harbour 260 54 North Star on the ice for repairs, Bernard Harbour

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55 North Star leaving Bernard Harbour for Coronation Gulf

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56 Wilkins’ route from Bernard Harbour to Banks Island with the North Star 270 57 North Star leaving supplies at Cape Barrow, Coronation Gulf 58 Stefansson typing at Cape Kellett, Banks Island

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59 Wilkins’ route from the North Star camp to Melville Island and the Polar Bear camp 306 60 Wilkins’ snowhouse near Cape Wrottesley, northern Banks Island 310 61 Snowhouse camp on the ice of Liddon Gulf, Melville Island

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62 Winter quarters of schooner Polar Bear near Armstrong Point, Victoria Island 316 63 Wilkins’ route from the Polar Bear camp to Minto Inlet

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64 Snowhouse village and Copper Eskimos, Minto Inlet, Victoria Island 324

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65 Storkerson and his family, Polar Bear camp near Armstrong Point, Victoria Island 330 66 Copper Eskimos spearing salmon near Southern Party camp 67 Copper Eskimos Ikpukhuak and Higilaq at Bernard Harbour

342 343

68 Schooner Alaska being loaded before heading west to Nome

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69 Last view of the Southern Party’s house at Bernard Harbour

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70 Captain Klengenberg family, Baillie Islands

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71 Captain Klengenberg’s scow-schooner at Baillie Islands

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72 Local Eskimos entertain two Copper Eskimo prisoners, Baillie Islands 351 73 “Main Street,” Herschel Island

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74 Hudson’s Bay Company schooner Fort McPherson leaving for Bernard Harbour 353 75 Main Street, Nome

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76 The Log Cabin Club, Nome

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77 cgs schooner Alaska beached at Nome

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78 Five members of Southern Party and friends on the coastal steamer to Seattle 362 79 Lieutenant G.H. Wilkins in uniform, 1917 80 Sir Hubert Wilkins in Antarctica, 1957

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illustrations

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preface

Author and broadcaster Lowell Thomas regarded George Hubert Wilkins (1888–1958) as one of the most brilliant explorers of all times. Others have likened the tall, slender, and fearless Australian to Lawrence of Arabia. In the 1920s and 1930s Wilkins received richly deserved international praise and honours, including knighthood, for his many achievements. Yet in spite of such widespread recognition, his activities prior to 1917 remain largely unknown, particularly those between 1913 and 1916. Wilkins was the official photographer from 1913 to 1916 for the Canadian Arctic Expedition (cae ), which was led by the famed explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. During those three years he developed his self confidence, competence, love of adventure, and other leadership qualities that served him so well later on. Based on his Arctic diary and other original and published sources, this book relates Wilkins’ experiences along the coast of northern Alaska, on Banks, Melville, and Victoria Islands, and around Coronation Gulf in the central Canadian Arctic. It reveals his many contributions and constant dedication to the expedition, as well as his increasing maturity and personal development. It also reveals his frequent frustration with and mistrust of Stefansson at the time (although the two were very close friends in later years) and corrects some errors in accounts of Wilkins in books by Stefansson in 1921, Grierson in 1960, and Thomas in 1961. As the official photographer for the cae , Wilkins was expected to produce a photographic record of the activities of the various members of the expedition, and to photograph the mammals, birds, plants, natives, and native artifacts observed or collected. He was also to photograph the “Blond Eskimos,” a relatively unknown group of natives in the Coronation Gulf region of northern Canada visited by Stefansson several years previously. He fulfilled all of these duties admirably.

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Being initially a paid employee of the Gaumont Company of London, England, and merely on loan to the expedition, Wilkins was under no obligation to undertake anything other than his photographic duties. However, circumstances frequently called for his assistance to other members of the expedition and this he gave willingly. Wilkins’ diary, housed in the Stefansson Collection, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, contains almost daily entries from 19 September 1913 until 10 May 1916. The entries thereafter cover longer periods of time, the last dated 11 September 1916. The first entry is on the day before he left the expedition’s flagship, Karluk, to go hunting with Stefansson and four others. Any earlier part of his diary, which might have covered from the time he left England in May until 18 September, is assumed to have been left on the Karluk and to have sunk with that ship the following January.1 The diary consists of typed pages and two 8 1/2 by 11 inch notebooks. Wilkins typed the first part from his original notes while he was in the Arctic, then evidently discarded the notes. A middle part, covering the period May to November 1915, survives in the original handwritten notebook, but is extremely difficult to read. He (or someone else) typed the last part early in the 1920s from his badly faded, handwritten, original notebook, which also still exists. The resultant typescript bears some inked corrections by Stefansson and also an appended note written in 1960 by Stefansson cautioning the reader to read it “in the light of what he [Wilkins] wrote later.” The diary contains many spelling and typographic errors, a noticeable inadequacy of punctuation, and periodic word omissions. These were of little consequence to Wilkins when he made his entries, but can prove troubling now to anyone perusing his diary. I have corrected the more troublesome errors in passages I have quoted from his diary, particularly those from 1916, but have not knowingly altered their meanings. Throughout his diary Wilkins refers to the head of the expedition’s Southern Party as “Dr. Anderson” or “the Dr.,” a formality he did not extend to the young geologist, John O’Neill, who also possessed a doctoral degree. In this practice Wilkins was not alone, however, for most of the other scientists on the Southern Party and even Stefansson himself wrote of “Dr. Anderson” in this formal way. Dr R.M. Anderson was second-in-command of the entire expedition, its most experienced scientist, and the oldest member of the Southern Party, and it is probable that his quiet, serious, and disciplined manner (he had been an officer in the Spanish-American War in 1898) tended to encourage this sign of respect. I have retained that formal usage on the following pages. The words Eskimo (singular/plural) and Eskimos (plural) were in common use for the native people across the Arctic in the early 1900s, and are the words Wilkins used in his diary. These two words are still widely used in

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Alaska and across the United States, although northern Alaskan natives sometimes refer to themselves as Inupiat. In Canada, however, the two words have largely been replaced since the 1970s by the Inuktitut words Inuk (singular) and Inuit (plural), the names the native people use for themselves in northern Canada. Rather than resorting to the cumbersome use of all four words in that part of the book when Wilkins was in northern Canada (Inuk/Inuit in my narrative text and Eskimo/Eskimos in quotations from Wilkins and others), I have elected to retain the words Eskimo and Eskimos throughout. Wilkins was called by his first name, George, until he was forty years old. However, after being knighted in 1928 by Great Britain’s King George V for his dramatic pioneer polar flight from Alaska to Spitzbergen, he chose to use his second name and was known thereafter as Hubert, Sir Hubert, or Sir Hubert Wilkins. Wilkins developed and labelled his own photographs while on the expedition and mailed the negatives, numbering perhaps 1,200, on every possible occasion from the Arctic to the London Chronicle, a newspaper then owned by United Newspapers Ltd. of London, England. He did this in accordance with the terms of a contract Stefansson had negotiated with that company in the spring of 1913. Early in 1919, following a series of written exchanges among Dr Anderson, several other Canadian government officials, the Canadian high commissioner in London, and the London Chronicle, the Chronicle ultimately sent all of Wilkins’ negatives in its possession to G.J. Desbarats, deputy minister of the Department of the Naval Service in Ottawa. Unfortunately no record was made of how many were received. Two years later Desbarats forwarded all of the cae negatives in his possession to the Geological Survey of Canada for safekeeping, reporting then that a check with Wilkins’ original photograph listings and field-number identifications indicated that 146 film negatives and 125 glass-plate negatives were missing. It is not known whether these missing pictures ever reached England in the first place, were unsuitable quality for retention, were not shipped from England to Ottawa in 1919, or were lost or mislaid between 1919 and 1921. Early in 1924 the Geological Survey reported having 954 negatives by Wilkins in its possession.2 About 757 of these original, perishable silver-nitrate film negatives are now in cold storage at the National Archives of Canada; 124 of his original glass-plate negatives and about 903 safety-film copy negatives are in cold storage in the photo archives of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull (now part of Gatineau), Quebec. Wilkins sent about 9,000 feet of 35-mm motion-picture film from the Arctic to the Gaumont Company in London between 1913 and 1916, in accordance with subcontract arrangements that company had with the

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United Newspapers Co. These films were subsequently forwarded to the Canadian government in Ottawa with Wilkins’ negatives in February 1919. A count taken a few months later revealed that the government received only 6,021 feet of movie film. Being unaware that there ought to have been about 9,000 feet of film, the government officials made no attempt to locate the missing footage. Being perishable, the silver-nitrate films were originally stored in vaults for safety reasons, and later, about 1940, were transferred to the care of the newly created National Film Board of Canada. A major fire at that establishment in 1967 tragically destroyed about half of Wilkins’ films before they had been copied onto safety film. Probably lost in the fire were scenes of expedition personnel and activities around the expedition’s flagship Karluk before it steamed north from British Columbia in June 1913, and later scenes around Nome. In 1972 the National Film Board turned over to the National Archives of Canada for permanent retention 2,966 feet of 35-mm safety duplicate film made from Wilkins’ salvaged original film. This duplicate film has since been converted to video tape. Today, neither the National Archives nor the National Film Board has Wilkins’ original films. They were evidently discarded years ago. Historically, Wilkins’ best-known cae contribution was the splendid photographic record he left – nearly 1,000 photographs (the exact number is not certain) and about 3,000 feet of moving-picture film. His portraits and moving pictures of many of the Copper Eskimos around Coronation Gulf in 1915 and 1916 remain an irreplaceable early record of the way of life and appearance of these people immediately prior to their rapid cultural change. He also took what are almost the first photographs of Banks Island3 and probably the first ones of Melville Island, and his motion-picture films were the first ones taken in the central Arctic. Wilkins made other significant contributions to the expedition, however. His lengthy diary provides valuable details about the expedition, confirming and augmenting the accounts already published by Stefansson, Jenness, Noice, Niven, and McKinlay. His colourful accounts of incidents involving Copper Eskimos add valuable insight into these remarkable people, augmenting the information in D. Jenness’ scholarly report on them, The Life of the Copper Eskimos, published in 1922. While on Banks Island, Wilkins made the first bird and mammal collections from that island, consisting of 38 birds4 and at least 84 mammal specimens.5 These specimens are now housed in the Canadian Museum of Nature in Aylmer (now part of Gatineau), Quebec. The number (72) and variety of Arctic foxes he collected and laboriously skinned under less than ideal conditions are particularly noteworthy. Wilkins travelled more than 2,500 miles with sled and dog team during his three years in the Arctic. In August 1914 he captained the schooner

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Mary Sachs to Banks Island, established a base camp for Stefansson’s new Northern (exploration) Party near the site of the present settlement of Sachs Harbour, and found Stefansson and his two companions. The latter had sledded north from Alaska in March to look for land in the Beaufort Sea and had not been seen since. By his actions Wilkins jeopardized his employment with the Gaumont Company, but he recognized that he was the only member of the expedition available at the time to lead the search for Stefansson, as the Canadian government had ordered. In the summer of 1915 he captained the smaller schooner North Star from Cape Barrow at the mouth of Bathurst Inlet to the northwest coast of Banks Island. This and other activities on Stefansson’s behalf in 1915 and 1916 earned him the latter’s regard as “easily my best man,” and justified his promotion by Stefansson to second-in-command of the Northern Party.

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acknowledgments

I am immensely grateful to Mr Philip N. Cronenwett, Special Collections Librarian, Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, for providing me with photocopies of and granting me permission to publish passages from G.H. Wilkins’ 1913–16 Arctic diary, an unpublished report by Stefansson, and the 1913–14 diary of Burt M. McConnell. I am also indebted to him and to his staff for their assistance and encouragement to my research on many occasions over the past decade. Mrs Laura J. Kissel, Polar Curator, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, graciously provided much assistance when I examined the Wilkins papers and photographs in that organization’s archives in 1999 and also in connection with several later requests. I am grateful to the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, and its archivist, Mme Geneviève Eustache, for granting me permission to examine its collection of nearly 1,000 negatives taken by Wilkins while he was connected with the Canadian Arctic Expedition. Members of her staff and other museum personnel also rendered considerable assistance on many occasions. Over the past decade I have also received helpful assistance in my Wilkins research from staff at the National Archives of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the Geological Survey of Canada, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and from various individuals, including Jette Ashlee Betzema and David Gray. I am constantly cognizant of their help. I wish to acknowledge with many thanks the contributions of the various persons at McGill-Queen’s University Press who efficiently processed my manuscript through the steps leading to its publication. I especially appreciate the splendid work of David Schwinghamer in editing the manuscript so carefully. And for her loving assistance and encouragement and her always helpful editorial suggestions while I laboured with the preparation of the manu-

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script, I am ever indebted to my dear wife, Jean, who succumbed to cancer a few months before my manuscript was accepted for publication.

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Page 1

the making of an explorer

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prologue

t h e e a r ly y e a r s George Hubert Wilkins was born 31 October 1888, the youngest of thirteen children of Scots-Welsh parents, in outback country some 120 miles north of Adelaide, South Australia. Life there was difficult, and most of his brothers and sisters died before he was born. During his youth he gained much practical experience learning the many operations of his father’s large sheep farm. He also frequently hunted and camped with Australian aborigines who lived in the region and may have acquired his strong curiosity about native people and their cultures from that association. He learned early to make good use of his time, having to combine farm tasks with school work. He was schooled at home, for the local school teacher lived with his family. Wilkins learned easily and quickly, and by the age of nine had passed the state school examinations qualifying him for admission to high school. By then he was also learning about being responsible, caring for his own plot of land, hay, horses, and 200 sheep. A love for the outdoor life helped develop his adventurous nature. After the great drought of 1902, his sixty-six-year-old father turned the large ranch over to Wilkins’ older brother Frank and moved to Adelaide for his retirement years. There, Wilkins, though only fifteen years old, worked as an apprentice to a mechanical engineer in the mornings and in the afternoons attended classes as a part-time student alternately in mechanical engineering at the University of Adelaide and in electrical engineering at the South Australian School of Mines and Industries. During the evenings he studied music, for which he had a great passion, at a local conservatory, learning to sing and to play the organ, violin, flute, and cello. His strict Methodist parents forbade him from touching a piano, however, for they associated that instrument with cheap music halls. Sundays he sang in

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the Wesleyan choir at church services, but regularly turned the money he received over to his impoverished parents. Wilkins saw his first motion picture in 1905 and soon became an avid devotee of photography. The following year he abandoned his academic studies and took charge briefly of the electric lighting outfit on a touring carnival. He then spent nearly a year in Sydney as a tent-cinema operator, deliberately learning everything he could about taking and projecting moving pictures. In 1908 he was invited to England to work as both a newspaper reporter for the Daily Chronicle of London and a cameraman for the Gaumont Company, then one of the leading producers of documentary newsreels for the motion-picture theatres. For the next three years he carried out filming assignments in the British Isles, Europe, Algeria, Ireland, Canada, and the United States. He also photographed the 1909 revolution in Spain and pre–World War I German and English military manoeuvres. During this period a chance meeting near London with a pioneer English airplane pilot, Claude Grahame-White, aroused his interest in flying and resulted in his taking both flying lessons and what may have been the world’s first motion pictures from an airplane. Lack of personal funds prevented him from getting his pilot’s licence at that time. In 1911 the Gaumont Company sent him to Turkey to film battle scenes in the Balkan War between Bulgaria and Turkey. On one occasion he took moving pictures of a Bulgarian cavalry attack while the horse on which he was mounted retreated with the Turkish cavalry, and on another occasion he narrowly escaped capture by the Bulgarian army. Some of his war experiences were later mentioned in a book by two of his acquaintances, Philip Gibbs and Bernard Grant. Wilkins was to have been the book’s third author, but suggested there be only two authors and lost a coin toss with Grant and the opportunity to make his first literary contribution. Early in 1913 his company sent him to Trinidad to film and write about the cocoa industry for the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury, Ltd. He had just completed that assignment when he received a brief cable from his London office asking him if he would go on an important Arctic expedition.

wilkins’ introduction to the canadian arctic expedition The Arctic expedition in question was the dream of Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a Canadian-born American citizen, who late in 1912 had returned from four years of exploration along the Arctic coast between northern Alaska and Coronation Gulf. Within months of his return he persuaded Prime Minister Robert Borden of Canada and his government to sponsor a large 4

the making of an explorer

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expedition to explore and undertake scientific studies in the central and western Arctic. It was given the name “Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913– 1916” and was placed under Stefansson’s leadership. Once he had the Canadian government’s sponsorship, Stefansson set about finding suitable scientific personnel in England, Scotland, and France. He also sought a professional photographer to record his own and his men’s Arctic activities and discoveries. Ostensibly, this was to provide a lasting historical record of the expedition, but one of its prime purposes was to provide Stefansson with illustrative material for newspaper articles and books he planned to write for his own fame and fortune, and for lectures he intended to give. Towards this end he contracted with United Newspapers Ltd. of London, England, early in 1913 to supply the company with illustrated articles. It in turn subcontracted with the Gaumont Company, also of London, to supply the expedition with a photographer and all necessary photographic equipment for one year. Gaumont promptly cabled its young, adventure-loving photographer, Wilkins, to see if he would accept the assignment. Wilkins had just boarded a steamship bound for London when he received the cable. Dated 16 April 1913, it read: “would you go important

arctic expedition means two or three years absence good terms excellent opportunity reply cable .”1 He knew nothing of any Arctic expedition at the time, but did know that the English explorer, Edward Shackleton, whom he greatly admired, had recently completed a successful expedition to Antarctica and was planning a second one. He liked the idea of accompanying Shackleton to Antarctica. He read the cable a bit too hastily and immediately cabled his affirmative reply, fully believing he was going to Antarctica. A short while later he discovered his error. Five weeks later, after a flurry of instructions, equipment gathering, and last-minute parties in London, he embarked from Liverpool on the S.S. Teutonic,2 en route to Canada and the adventures detailed on the following pages. Proceeding by train from Montreal to Vancouver, he reached Victoria on 1 June 1913. The first member of the Canadian Arctic Expedition he met in Victoria was its surgeon, Dr Alistair Forbes Mackay, a gruff individual who loved his whisky, but nonetheless was one of the heroes of Shackleton’s 1907–09 trip to Antarctica. Dr Mackay promptly asked Wilkins for money for a drink, without success. A little later he led Wilkins to the dock at the Navy Yard of Esquimalt and showed him the Karluk, the ship that would take them into the Arctic. Wilkins was not impressed. Instead of the trim and comfortable enginepowered sailing ship he had envisioned, the expedition’s flagship turned out to be an old, converted, square-sailed steam brigantine smelling of prologue

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Fig. 2. Canadian Arctic Expedition flagship, Karluk, at the loading wharf, Esquimalt, British Columbia, June 1913. (pa 105132, nac )

whale oil, with unpainted, crowded quarters swarming with cockroaches. After a tour of the ship he moved into the St James Hotel in Victoria, where over the next few days he met the various scientific members of the expedition as well as Stefansson’s male secretary, B.M. McConnell, and finally Vilhjalmur Stefansson himself. Wilkins also met the crew of the Karluk and again was not impressed. They were a motley group of men gathered along the Pacific coast by the Karluk’s captain, C.T. Pedersen, a Californian with extensive experience in navigating the western Arctic. At Stefansson’s request several months earlier Pedersen had examined the ships then available in San Francisco and had selected the Karluk as the most suitable one for the expedition. He then purchased it for Stefansson for $10,000 and sailed it to Esquimalt for renovation and repairs. A short while later, fed up with the confused state of the expedition’s preparations, Captain Pedersen quit the expedition and returned to California.3 The Canadian government quickly hired Captain R. Bartlett, a crafty Newfoundlander who had navigated Admiral Peary’s ship Roosevelt on a recent successful voyage in the eastern Arctic. However, Bartlett had no experience whatsoever in the western Arctic, where ice conditions are quite different. 6

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Fig. 3. G.H. Wilkins with his motion-picture camera on the deck of the Karluk, Esquimalt, British Columbia, June 1913. (pa 211619, nac )

During the following two weeks, most of the members of the expedition sorted and divided the supplies and equipment in a dockside warehouse and carried them on board the Karluk. This work was done under the supervision of Dr R.M. Anderson, the man second-in-command of the expedition, who was determined to separate the supplies and equipment destined for Stefansson’s Northern Party from those of his own Southern Party. The efforts were well intentioned but failed badly, owing mainly to the limited storage facilities on the Karluk. Wilkins spent much of his time during those two weeks testing his extensive photographic equipment, taking pictures around the harbour at Esquimalt, pictures of each of the men, of the loading operations, and of ceremonial events, including the British Columbia premier Sir Richard McBride inspecting the Karluk. Wilkins also attended a number of social functions around Victoria to honour the men of the expedition. These included a Canadian Club lunch, an evening picnic on a beach, and a lunch at the Empress Hotel sponsored by the British Columbia government and held on the day before the Karluk sailed. Together with McConnell he even enjoyed a farewell automobile drive with two unidentified young women from Victoria. prologue

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Fig. 4. Scientific staff of the Canadian Arctic Expedition at Victoria, British Columbia, June 1913. Back row, standing : H. Beuchat (anthropologist), B. Mamen (assistant topographer), D. Jenness (anthropologist), G. Malloch (geologist), J.R. Cox (assistant topographer), J.J. O’Neill (geologist), F. Johansen (botanist and marine biologist); front row, seated : W.L. McKinlay (magnetician and meteorologist), G.H. Wilkins (photographer), K.G. Chipman (geographer), R. Bartlett (captain of the Karluk), V. Stefansson (expedition commander), Dr R.M. Anderson (zoologist and executive head, Southern Party), and J. Murray (oceanographer). (Photo by Curtis & Miller, Seattle; pa 74066, nac )

the expedition heads north The Karluk sailed from Esquimalt for Nome, Alaska, on the afternoon of 17 June, after a rousing send-off from well-wishers and dignitaries. It reached Nome on 8 July, after three weeks of trouble with stormy weather, fog, engine failure, broken hawsers, and an inadequate supply of fresh water. During the voyage Wilkins was quartered with the ship’s chief engineer, John Munro. In Nome, Wilkins and some of the others roomed at the Golden Gate Hotel, eating their meals at the nearby Log Cabin Club. Before leaving British Columbia, Stefansson had arranged for the purchase, sight unseen, of the small schooner, Alaska, to be used by Dr Ander8

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son’s Southern Party. Stefansson intended to use the Karluk for his Northern Party. After taking possession of the Alaska in Nome, however, Stefansson realized that the two ships lacked adequate cargo space to transport the large amount of expedition material then piled up on the Nome docks. He therefore purchased a smaller schooner, the Mary Sachs, retaining its former owner, Peter Bernard, as its captain. Wilkins remained in Nome with Stefansson and the oceanographer James Murray after the other members of the expedition sailed north to Teller, where there was a more sheltered harbour and the facilities for some ship repairs. Murray, renowned as a result of his accomplishments in Antarctica with the explorer Shackleton, remained behind to have a few last days with his wife. Wilkins remained behind, according to Stefansson, to assist in the inspection and purchase of electrical and other spare parts and material for the engine of the Alaska.4 Stefansson also wanted him to photograph local subjects of interest for his London newspaper. While at Nome, Wilkins took motion pictures of an Eskimo village, a collection of ethnological specimens, and some native aquatic sports and dances. Later at Teller he filmed a resident reindeer herd. Unfortunately, few of these pictures have survived. On 27 July, the Karluk and the Mary Sachs prepared to head north from Teller before the repairs on the Alaska had been completed. When Kenneth Chipman, the geographer whom Stefansson had placed in charge of the Mary Sachs, discovered that his engineer, James Crawford, was too drunk to start the ship’s engines, he asked that Wilkins transfer from the Karluk to run the engines so that the Mary Sachs could get under way. Wilkins soon had the ship on course and returned to the Karluk two days later. This seemingly inconsequential incident received no mention in Chipman’s detailed diary, and if Wilkins wrote a diary account of it, it was lost with the Karluk. However, a biography of Wilkins written many years later by the popular radio newsman Lowell Thomas included a highly fantasized version in which Chipman and Wilkins first had to forcibly lock the drunken Crawford in his cabin for two days to sober him up while Wilkins ran the ship’s engines, and Wilkins then had to return to the Karluk in haste to avoid Crawford’s wrath.5 The Karluk lost contact with the Mary Sachs soon after Wilkins returned to the former, and the two ships had no further contact. After struggling through a raging gale and rough waters in the Chukchi Sea for a day, the Karluk reached Point Hope and anchored briefly. Stefansson promptly went ashore and hired two young local Eskimos, Jimmy Ascetchak and Jerry Pyurak, as hunters and dog drivers. The Karluk became icebound on 4 August and drifted northward, but broke loose and was able to anchor off Cape Smyth two days later. Stefansson walked ashore across the intervening ice and hired John Hadley, whom prologue

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180°

160°

140°

BEAUFORT SEA Wrangel I.

Herschel I. Pt Barrow Herald I. Camden Bay

70° vi

lle

CHUKCHI SEA Pt Hope

A L A S K A

DA NA A US

Co l

CA

R.

jenness

Route of ice-free Karluk Route of ice-bound Karluk Site of Karluk sinking 0

60°

200 miles

Teller

BERING SEA

Nome

0

400 km

Fig. 5. Route of the Karluk after it left Nome, Alaska, July 1913, until its demise, January 1914.

he had known previously. Hadley was a white-bearded, fiftyish carpenter with considerable experience in the western Arctic, having lived there since 1887; he now wanted to go east to establish a trading station on Banks Island. After boarding the Karluk he moved into Stefansson’s cabin. Stefansson also hired several Eskimos and purchased three umiaks, two kayaks, and some furs, all of which were moved over the ice to the Karluk and loaded on board. Finding space for them proved a challenge. Wilkins filmed some of the loading activities while at Cape Smyth and arranged for the mailing of his first 2,000 feet of moving-picture film to the Gaumont Company in London. Shortly after leaving Cape Smyth, the Karluk encountered the worst ice conditions the western Arctic had seen in many years, and became icebound again. In this state it drifted slowly northwest beyond Point Barrow, the northernmost part of the North American continent. On 8 August, with land out of sight and it appearing likely that the Karluk would not get free of the ice, Stefansson suggested that five members of Dr Anderson’s Southern Party – Wilkins, McKinlay, Jenness, Beuchat, and Murray – walk to shore and wait for the Mary Sachs or the Alaska at Cape Smyth, and then go east to Herschel Island. The five men decided to remain with the ship, however, believing it would be too risky trying to get ashore with all the technical gear they needed to take with them. 10

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The following day the Karluk broke free of the ice and headed east for Herschel Island, where it was to rendezvous with the Mary Sachs and the Alaska. Progress was slow, and the heavily loaded ship ran aground on several occasions in shallow waters off the northern Alaska coast. On 13 August, some miles north of Camden Bay and about halfway to Herschel Island, it became firmly trapped in a large, unbroken mass of ice and this time did not break free. A week later Stefansson again suggested to the five men that they try to reach shore, proceeding to an American geologist’s cabin on Flaxman Island and waiting there for the Mary Sachs or the Alaska. Again the men decided against the idea, a decision that ultimately proved fatal for both Beuchat and Murray. During the days that followed, the men endeavoured to be as usefully occupied as possible in order to break the dire monotony of their situation. Shortages soon occurred of coal oil for lighting and some foods. Most of the people on the Karluk were tired of eating canned meat and started to shoot seals and ducks to add variety to their menus. Soon seal meat was being served at every meal, but ducks no longer migrated past the ship. Although the Eskimos on board were well satisfied, many of the other men found the seal meat both unappealing and unappetizing. By the middle of September the ice enclosing the Karluk appeared to have ceased drifting either eastward or westward, for the ship had not changed its location appreciably for several days. It now occurred to Stefansson that were the Karluk to remain in its present locality throughout the winter, men from the ship could hunt caribou on the mainland and bring back a steady supply of fresh meat. He developed this idea quietly and privately, for he was seldom inclined to share his ideas with other members of the expedition. Finally, on the evening of 19 September, with the Karluk some twenty miles north of the mouth of the Colville River, he told his secretary, McConnell, that on the following day he would lead a hunting party to the coast and up the Colville River in search of caribou. The party would include Wilkins, Jenness, McConnell, and Jimmy and Jerry, the two young Eskimos from Point Hope. After detailing his plans he instructed McConnell to ask Wilkins and Jenness to come to his cabin. Wilkins’ diary and chapter 1 commence at this point.

prologue

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part one

EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHER

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1 The Hunting Trip 19 september–12 october 1913

After dinner on 19 September, George Wilkins and several of the Canadian Arctic Expedition’s scientists sat quietly at the Karluk’s dinner table. Wilkins was studying French grammar, Diamond Jenness was drawing string figures, also known as cat’s cradles, and the others were either reading or playing cards. Suddenly Burt McConnell, Stefansson’s secretary, entered the room and announced that he, Wilkins, and Jenness were to accompany Stefansson on a caribou hunt on the mainland the following day. Puzzled by this unexpected news, Wilkins sought clarification from Stefansson. The latter confirmed McConnell’s announcement and said the hunting party would be gone for about a week. Both he and Captain Bartlett had agreed that the Karluk might remain in the ice all winter at its present location, so this could be the first of a series of hunting parties to obtain fresh caribou meat for the people on the ship. Certainly the arrival of fresh caribou meat on the Karluk would be welcomed by many of those on board, for they had grown tired of seal meat and the alternative canned meat or salted meat. The Karluk was then icebound about twenty miles north of the Colville River. Stefansson had hunted caribou with considerable success in the Colville River region several years earlier. As the caribou were known to spend the summer east of that river and migrate westward in the fall, wintering south of Cape Smyth, he fully expected to encounter some caribou on this present foray ashore. Stefansson’s selection of companions for this first hunting trip was odd. Only the young Alaskan Eskimos, Jimmy and Jerry, were familiar with Arctic weather conditions and travelling, and sledding with dogs, but neither of them had ever seen a caribou. Of the other three, the photographer Wilkins had shown himself the most adaptable and was experienced with guns and outdoor camping from his outback days in Australia. The young ethnologist, Jenness, although a capable marksman with a rifle on a rifle range

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and willing to pitch in with camp life, was small of build and not very athletic, and had spent most of his life in academic pursuits. However, Stefansson wanted him to begin his ethnology studies when they encountered Eskimos after they got ashore. He also wanted to give Jenness experience with sleds and dogs before he was thrust among the Eskimos around Coronation Gulf. McConnell, originally hired because of his competence in shorthand and typing, was eager to demonstrate his skill with a rifle. At the time Stefansson considered him adaptable to new and strange situations. He later proved to be somewhat moody and uncooperative. The following morning Stefansson asked Wilkins if he planned to take the bulky motion-picture camera and tripod he was carrying down the gangplank. Sensing disapproval, Wilkins replied that he just wanted to film their departure, and was taking only his 3a Special Kodak camera and a few rolls of film on the trip. Nothing more was said. A little while later Captain Bartlett, from the ship’s deck where he was watching the hunting party preparing to leave, suddenly seized an enamel hand bowl and kicked it far out on the ice. His action was so out of character that some of the onlookers suspected that it indicated his relief over the imminent departure of Stefansson. It was well known on the Karluk that the two men argued frequently. Stefansson’s departure from the Karluk that 20 September triggered suspicions among some of the men that he was deserting them and the ship. Sailors from three ships trapped in the ice between Barter Island and Herschel Island later voiced similar thoughts farther east along the northern Alaskan coast. From there, rumours spread to traders and Eskimos along the coast, to the scientists of the Southern Party at Collinson Point, and then to the missionary and police at Herschel Island. From Herschel Island the rumours were transmitted to several newspapers in the south. Thus arose the recurring question, argued for decades by Stefansson’s fans and foes: Did Stefansson leave the Karluk to hunt caribou as he always maintained, or did he intentionally desert the ship and the people on it in order to pursue his own northern exploration interests? The diary of Karluk survivor William L. McKinlay, written at the time, as well as some of his later correspondence make it abundantly clear that he was convinced that Stefansson deliberately deserted the ship, with little subsequent interest in the fate of those he left behind. McKinlay’s beliefs were based partly on Stefansson’s continuing conflict with Captain Bartlett and on Stefansson’s restlessness after the Karluk became icebound. What really convinced him, however, was the discovery, shortly after the departure, that before leaving the ship Stefansson had been reading the diaries of George Washington de Long about the ill-fated last voyage of the Jeannette in 1878–81. Thus, as McKinlay, Dr Mackay, and Murray realized from examining the same book a short while later, the Karluk was on the same 16

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fatal drift course as the Jeannette and would probably suffer the same fate. It was not a comforting thought.1 Very few caribou had been seen near the Colville River since Stefansson had last visited the region, but he may have been unaware of this when he planned his trip. Only Hadley, Kuraluk, and Kataktovik of those on the Karluk could have known, and Hadley would certainly have alerted Stefansson if he had known. For his part, Stefansson later wrote that he left behind on the Karluk hundreds of dollars of expedition cash, more than a hundred pounds of silver and gold, and a special rifle he had been given. It seems inconceivable that someone with no intentions of returning would leave such valuables behind. Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell certainly had no hint that they might not be returning to the Karluk, for they left most of their personal belongings behind, including diaries. Wilkins also left his extensive collection of photographic equipment, which included three motion-picture cameras, several still cameras, accessories, and a large amount of developed and undeveloped film. Stefansson’s hunting party finally got underway with two old sleds heavily laden with sufficient food for twelve days, two tents, guns, ammunition, and other supplies. Twelve dogs pulled the two sleds. After photographing their departure, Wilkins handed his cameras to anthropologist Henri Beuchat to take back to the Karluk, and hurried to catch up to the others. As a result, Wilkins’ pictures of this historical event were lost with the sinking of the Karluk four months later. Fortunately, two photographs of the departure have survived.2 Stefansson led the way from the ship, striding boldly out in front of the first team of dogs, choosing the trail towards the invisible shore. For some distance he simply followed a trail previously used by the Eskimo hunters from the Karluk. Behind him came McConnell and Jimmy Ascetchak with the light sled pulled by six dogs, then Wilkins, Jenness, and Jerry Pyurak with the heavy sled and six dogs. Wilkins’ attire for this trip differed markedly from the dapper attire in which he was photographed weeks earlier at both Victoria and Nome. He now wore a skin shirt, fur side next his skin. This was covered with a second skin shirt, fur outside, and both of these in turn by a snow shirt of blue denim. Inside the sealskin boots (mukluks) that reached to his knees, he had insoles made from rope yarn and three pairs of socks. Underpants and cloth pants completed his protective cover. The hood of his denim snow shirt was pulled over most of his head. The hunting party, travelling southward, soon came to patches of young ice over which they passed safely by spreading out and hurrying across. Wilkins noticed that the young Eskimo, Jerry, demonstrated appreciable fear at each encounter with the young ice. the hunting trip

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Fig. 6. Stefansson and his hunting party preparing to leave the icebound Karluk, north of the mouth of the Colville River, northern Alaska, 20 September 1913. Stefansson is in the white parka on right; Alaskan Eskimo Kiruk, with daughters Mugpi (on her shoulders) and Helen, on left; man beside sled pulling hood over his head may be Jenness. (Photo by W.L. McKinlay, c 71051, nac )

They travelled steadily for seven hours, stopping only to right overturned sleds or to cut their way through rough accumulations of upthrust ice. Finally, with no land in sight and darkness upon them, they camped on the sea ice, about five miles from the ship. Stefansson selected and shared with the two young Eskimos the wigwam-shaped Burberry tent, which was supported by seven bamboo poles attached at the top. Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell had a bell-shaped tent, which was made of drill cotton and had a centre pole and a hole in its roof for a stove pipe. The latter was therefore also to be their cooking and eating tent. The six men quickly pitched their tents on about a foot of soft snow, which lay above a foot of sea ice. Inexperienced with working under such cold conditions, Wilkins and his two companions were slow to erect their tent. Supper that night, prepared by Stefansson, consisted of canned roast beef boiled in water and mixed with hardbread. After supper Stefansson, ever willing to demonstrate his Arctic skills, showed Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell how to arrange their sleeping bags comfortably inside their tent and how to take care of their clothes. First, sheepskins were spread on the snow, wool-side down; then caribou skins were placed hair-side up on top of these. Sleeping bags were spread 18

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on the skins, spare clothes bags serving as pillows. One then brushed the snow from one’s boots and socks and placed them between sheepskin and caribou skin as part of the pillow, to keep them from freezing during the night. Trousers came off next, and one slipped into the bag before removing the parka, the last remaining garment. Although they were initially highly sceptical, Stefansson assured the three men that from his experience the only comfortable way of sleeping in a sleeping bag was without any clothing. Otherwise hoar frost would collect between one’s clothes and the sleeping bag. Once in their sleeping bags, Stefansson showed the men how to fold the mouth of the sleeping bag to prevent the cold air from getting inside. This latter activity proved somewhat tricky and took them more than one night to learn. Wilkins and his companions spent that first night restlessly. The next morning, Stefansson taught the three novices how to harness the dogs. Their efforts proved clumsy, but Wilkins soon learned how to go about it, although handling the restless dogs was far from pleasant in the sub-zero temperature. Later in the day they sighted land from the top of an ice ridge, the first land they had seen in weeks. A sounding through the ice with a cable yielded a water depth of thirty-six feet. Another sounding after they had been underway for a short while yielded twenty feet. An hour later they were on land, after travelling for some distance across smooth ice known as “glare ice,” which Stefansson told them indicated fresh water underneath. He later identified their landing place as Amauliktok, an Eskimo place name meaning “He killed a Pacific Eider Duck.” It is now known as Thetis Island and forms the westernmost part of a chain of low-lying, sandy islands known as the Jones Islands, which lie about four miles off the Alaskan coast near the mouth of the Colville River. Shortly after they reached the island, Stefansson decided to look about, and so asked Wilkins to prepare the supper. Driftwood was plentiful on the island, enabling Wilkins to have a good fire going soon, and in due course serve a welcome meal of oatmeal mush, fried bacon, and boiled rice. On his return Stefansson reported that he had seen numerous fox tracks and one fresh bear track on the island. Additionally he had seen the tracks of a sled like that owned by the geologist Ernest de Koven Leffingwell of Flaxman Island. Stefansson knew Leffingwell well from previous Arctic travels, and Leffingwell had joined the expedition at Nome to serve as pilot for the Mary Sachs after it headed north from Teller. The footprints accompanying the sled tracks indicated to Stefansson that the persons making them were headed west for Cape Smyth. The men speculated briefly over whether the tracks might have been made by someone on the Southern Party. Days later they learned that they had been made by James “Big Jim” Allen, a well-known Alaskan whaler, the hunting trip

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BEAUFORT SEA

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6 Cape Halkett 5

Teshekpuk L.

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1. On sea ice (Sept. 21) 2. Thetis I. (Sept. 21, Oct. 2) 3. Spy I. (Sept. 22–27) 4. Oliktok Pt (Sept. 28–Oct. 1) 5. At Akseatak's house (Oct. 8) 6. At Ikpik's house (Oct. 8) 7. At an empty house (Oct. 9) 8. Cape Simpson (Oct. 10) 9. Cooper I. (Oct. 11) 10. Cape Smyth / Barrow (Oct. 12)

Pt Barrow

Harrison Bay

Karluk, Sept. 20 1 2 3

70°30´ 0

4

40 miles

0

60 km

Colville R.

Fig. 7. Wilkins’ route from the icebound Karluk to Cape Smyth (Barrow), 20 September–12 October 1913.

and seven native companions while en route from the steam whaler Belvedere, icebound east of Flaxman Island, to Point Hope, where Allen had a whaling station. That night they all slept on gravel, which Wilkins found to be less warm than sleeping on snow. A cold wind greeted them in the morning when they struck out for the coast. The going was good for a while, so they took turns riding on the sleds. After a while Wilkins became chilled and dismounted to put on his snow shirt; his sled and companions continued without him. The wind and the slippery conditions under foot then prevented him from catching up, and he was forced to stop and turn his sealskin mukluks hair-side out for better traction on the ice. By this time he was so far behind that the others were forced to stop and wait for him. During that wait, Stefansson scanned the horizon with his binoculars. Spotting open water between their present location and the shore, he changed his course and headed for the next island to the east – Spy Island, about four miles east of the one they had just left – intending to wait there until the shoreward water froze. Several Arctic foxes ran out from behind some rough ice as the men reached the island, the first ones Wilkins had seen. One of them was a blue fox, whose skin was then sometimes worth more than $120. All six men promptly sought their guns, but in the resulting confusion the fox disappeared.

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On Spy Island they came upon a deserted campsite with part of a seal, a piece of whale blubber, plenty of bird skins, and empty cans nearby. An abandoned whaleboat lay on the beach a short distance away, near which they pitched their tents. The absence of dog tracks around the deserted camp puzzled them until they learned weeks later that the tracks were those of some of the scientists from the Mary Sachs and Alaska, who had landed on the island by boat in early September for a brief visit. After supper, which was again ably prepared by Wilkins, Stefansson told them that he wanted McConnell to take Jimmy and return to the Karluk in the morning, bringing back the geologist Malloch and the topographer Mamen so that they could undertake some surveying along the nearby coast. They then talked late into the evening, paying little heed to a strong northeast wind that howled around them. The following morning they discovered that the stormy wind overnight had caused the ice to shift, and it was now unsafe for McConnell and Jimmy to return to the ship. They had been able to see the masts of the Karluk the previous day from the top of an ice ridge, but now there was no sign of the ship. Worry beset them over what had happened to it, but for the present there was nothing they could do about it other than wait until ice conditions improved. Meanwhile they needed to hunt ducks and seals to augment their meagre food supply. Wilkins and Stefansson then explored the island and the one immediately east of it, hoping to obtain a seal. Wilkins managed to shoot two ducks, but was unable to retrieve them from the water because the ice around them was too thin. By the time the two got back to their camp, one of Wilkins’ feet was stiff and sore, which he suspected was from pulling the lashings of his mukluks too tight. McConnell was delegated cook the next day, so Wilkins went off after breakfast with his gun in search of ducks, managing after lunch to shoot one Oldsquaw Duck. Jimmy and Jerry were more successful, fortunately, and they all enjoyed a feast of ducks that evening. Stefansson and Jenness had remained in camp all day, occupying themselves with cleaning their rifles and other tasks. Rain and wind during the night now raised their fears that they were stranded on Spy Island. They could move neither to the mainland nor back to the ship, for the ice outside the island was moving, and the ice between the island and the mainland was too thin to bear their weight. Their supply of food for both dogs and themselves, meanwhile, was diminishing rapidly. They desperately needed to obtain seals and ducks to eat while they waited until the open leads 3 to seaward closed up and allowed them to return to the Karluk, or until the water between them and the coast froze sufficiently to bear their passage to the mainland.

the hunting trip

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There were still quite a number of ducks flying by every day as they followed the coast in their fall migration southward. There was little sense, however, in wasting rifle bullets on ducks, and they had only limited ammunition for their two shotguns. On 26 September, Wilkins remained in camp as cook, Stefansson retired to his tent to write, and Jenness, McConnell, and the two Eskimos went off to hunt ducks. Rain fell intermittently all day. Jenness soon returned suffering from an attack of ague, a reoccurrence of the malarial fever he had contracted while undertaking anthropological investigations in New Guinea the previous year. Wilkins helped get him into his sleeping bag, piling all the clothes he could find on top of his ailing companion to keep him warm, and gave him a hot drink. After a few hours’ sleep, Jenness seemed to have recovered, but he was somewhat weakened. The men shared a few moments of lightheartedness that evening after Wilkins showed them a slip of paper he had found in a box of biscuits, which said, “Please dear send me a picture post card of the north pole.” It was signed “Maud Rodgers, c/o Pophams Biscuit Co., Victoria, B.C.” After reading the message, Stefansson with a straight face advised Wilkins that he was duty bound to comply with the request. Wilkins responded that he doubted if the shops he might find in that region would carry postcards, and he did not expect to go to the North Pole himself to photograph it. The next day, Wilkins, McConnell, and the two Eskimos went hunting around the island, while the ailing Jenness remained in camp as cook. Stefansson again retired to his tent to write. Upon hearing a series of shots from the camp, Wilkins turned back and almost immediately had a nearfatal experience. He was so involved at the time in singing a song he had heard in a London music hall, curiously entitled “Fall in and Follow Me,” that he was paying insufficient attention to the ice he was passing over. Suddenly it gave off a loud hissing noise and began to sink all around him. The nearest shore was about 100 yards away. Reacting instinctively, he broke into a run in that direction, causing little squirts of water to shoot up through cracks in the ice all around him. Fortunately the ice held fast and he reached the shore safely. It was his first scare with thin Arctic ice, and he resolved to be more careful in the future. When Wilkins reached camp he found the others in a state of excitement, thinking they could see a ship moving about in the ice far to the north. For hours they took turns looking through their binoculars from the top of an old stump until darkness obscured their view. Disappointed, they returned to their camp, still uncertain of what they had seen. Jimmy shot a seal the following day and Wilkins cooked its meat, with instructions from Stefansson. It proved to be old and tough, but in Wilkins’ view tasted better than the seal meat they had been served on the Karluk. 22

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The seal blubber even tasted somewhat like the mutton fat he had eaten at home in Australia, and the first joint of the seal’s flipper made “a fine dish.” That evening Stefansson told Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell how the names of Eskimo children were chosen and why the children were never forbidden anything or punished. Stefansson later published his views in his book The friendly Arctic. Wilkins grew increasingly restless as the first week ended, impatient either to get back to the Karluk or to get on with their hunting trip. At last, on 28 September, Stefansson and Jerry succeeded in crossing the ice to the mainland. Jerry later returned to Spy Island with instructions for Wilkins and the others to break camp and cross the ice to Oliktok Point, a mainland locality about five miles distant. Stefansson meanwhile had gone hunting by himself on the mainland. The men hastily took down the tents, loaded the two sleds, and set off, thinking eagerly about the caribou they expected to be hunting the next day. It took them about two hours to cross to the mainland. There was no sign of Stefansson, but Wilkins, Jenness, and the two Eskimos set about arranging their camp while McConnell went after some ducks in the distance. McConnell returned with an Eider Duck and a loon at about the time they had the tents up and a fire blazing. Wilkins cooked the loon for their supper and reported that it tasted very good, in fact a little like seal meat. Stefansson appeared a while later, having seen no caribou. In the morning, Stefansson asked Wilkins to return to Spy Island and leave a message on the beacon from which they thought they saw a ship. The beacon was actually a stump that stood about 100 yards from a house in which geologist Ernest de Koven Leffingwell and explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen had found shelter in 1907 after their pioneer seventy-day exploratory trip out on the ice of the Arctic Ocean. Stefansson then asked McConnell to search for a whale that he had heard was washed up on shore some distance to the east, for they needed dog food. He was also to determine if anyone was living in some houses they had seen on the island east of Spy Island. Stefansson, meanwhile, went off alone to hunt caribou. Wilkins started along the coast with McConnell, thinking that they could examine the houses together and then he would trek west over the ice to Spy Island. Both men were on skis. Increasing fog soon forced them to return to camp lest they became lost, but Wilkins still felt obligated to complete his assignment. Though cold and sore-footed, he proceeded alone to Spy Island and left Stefansson’s note on the beacon. By the time he returned to camp, icicles clung to the moustache and beard he had grown since leaving Nome, and his appearance greatly amused the others. When Stefansson returned that evening, he reported that he had seen a caribou but it was too far away to go after. It was the only caribou he would see along this part of the coast that year. the hunting trip

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On 30 September, Stefansson took Jimmy and Jerry inland in search of caribou, intending to be gone for two or three days. They took with them the Burberry tent, a sled, and some provisions, leaving Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell to look after the camp. During Stefansson’s absence Wilkins and his companions made brief individual forays after ducks with their one shotgun, but their efforts yielded nothing. Retiring early that evening, they were soon awakened by the noise of something walking around their tent. Wilkins at first thought it was one of their dogs that had gotten loose. However, the sounds of crunching bones along with barking and a spine-tingling howling convinced him that a polar bear was eating one of their dogs. Hastily putting on their clothes, the three men dashed into the night, guns in hand. Wilkins described what followed:4 Something ran from the tent as we came out, and in the distance we could see a snarling, howling mass tumbling and rolling over on the snow. We still thought it was a bear, but went up closer to get a better aim and to be sure not to shoot one of the dogs. But as we approached nearer, we could see that it was not a bear after all, but some half a dozen dogs that had broken loose and who were fighting amongst themselves. The only thing that was handy to stop the fight was the gun I held in my hands, so I set about the dogs with that, but after one or two blows the stock of the gun snapped completely off, and the dogs still continued to fight. It took a while longer to get the scrapping animals separated and tied up more securely. Wilkins then discovered that the crunching sound had been made by one of their dogs eating a ptarmigan stolen from their tent. That was the animal they had seen running away from their tent. All three men were almost numb with cold by the time they crawled back into their tent, but they later managed to laugh about their thinking that a bear was in camp. Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell remained near camp the next day, partly because it was too foggy for hunting ducks, and partly because Jenness had another ague attack and had to be wrapped up and kept warm with hot drinks until the attack passed. Wilkins took advantage of the time in camp to repair the stock of his rifle, a ski Jenness had broken coming from the Karluk, and a pair of snowshoes. While doing so, he dwelt briefly upon the frustrations of the trip as a hunting experience and their frequent inactivity as they waited for Stefansson. That evening, ever mindful that someday Stefansson might read his diary, he guardedly wrote, “I have felt very peevish all day and afraid I have not been a very cheerful companion.” Stefansson and his two young companions returned late the next afternoon without having seen a trace of game. He later informed the group 24

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that they would start for Cape Smyth the next day. Two factors had brought him to this decision: their inability to replenish their rapidly diminishing supply of food for both dogs and themselves, and the probability that the Karluk had been blown far to the west by the violent storm on 22 and 23 September. Stefansson hoped to get word of the Karluk or even to see it as they sledded west. Failing that, he expected at least to find out at Cape Smyth if the Southern Party had passed Point Barrow safely. He kept to himself any thoughts he might have had on the safety of the men on the Karluk. On 2 October, just as they were ready to leave Oliktok Point, Stefansson thought he saw something moving out on the ice and spent the next hour and a half gazing through binoculars and telescopes before concluding that it was probably a beacon on an island. He then scribbled a hasty note stating they were heading for Cape Smyth and sent McConnell off to leave it at the beacon on Spy Island. That done, he instructed Wilkins and Jenness to proceed to their first landing site (Thetis Island) and to make camp. He was going inland alone on snowshoes, meanwhile, to hunt for caribou for the rest of the day. Wilkins led the way across the mouth of the Colville River, running ahead of the dogs and sleds, enjoying his first experience at picking a trail. Increasing fog and wind diminished his visibility to a few yards, and the two young Eskimos soon told him they feared he was leading them out to sea. To appease them he changed his direction somewhat and was much relieved a little while later when a brief lifting of the fog revealed that they were about a mile southwest of their destination. They promptly headed for the island and soon made camp. After supper they all gathered driftwood and built a large bonfire on the highest point on the island to serve as a beacon for both Stefansson and McConnell. They then returned to their tent and in high spirits had a singsong. Jimmy first displayed his marked ability as a song maker. Then Wilkins and Jenness responded in kind, much to the amusement of the two young Eskimos. During their performance Stefansson crawled through the flap of their tent, and they learned that he had had another unsuccessful day of hunting. Wilkins later built up the bonfire to guide McConnell, for they were much concerned over his failure to appear. Thereafter until 3 a.m. Wilkins kept the fire blazing, and then, exhausted, retired and slept restlessly. To the relief of all, McConnell finally appeared just before noon, shortly after Stefansson, Wilkins, and Jerry had set out to look for him. He had spent the previous night huddled around a driftwood fire he had made on the next island to the east, about five miles from their camp. Stefansson now asked Wilkins to lead the group west across Harrison Bay towards Cape Halkett, while he reconnoitred to seaward in the off chance the hunting trip

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of seeing the Karluk. Their last sighting of the ship had been from this same camp eleven days previously. The next morning Wilkins and his four companions made good progress over the smooth glare ice with its thin cover of snow, but after they had gone about a dozen miles, the wind rose and fog moved in, so he called a halt to make camp. The two Eskimos soon selected a site on a floe of the previous year’s ice, which was covered with about a foot of soft snow. The foot that Wilkins had injured the previous week was still both sore and swollen and had bothered him most of the day, although he found skiing on it somewhat less painful than walking. Jenness, too, had injured his foot sometime earlier and in addition was weak from his repeated attacks of ague. As a result he rode much of the afternoon on one of the sleds. Stefansson reappeared shortly after they had the two tents set up. He had found moving ice to seaward, indicating that the Karluk would have moved from the location where they left it. He had not managed to get very far to seaward as a result. With their food running low, they cooked Underwood-brand pemmican with biscuits for their supper, but none of us cared very much for it. It was the first pemmican that I had tasted, and I was very disappointed with the result of the cooking, although eaten straight from the tin it was not at all bad and tasted something like very rich cold hamburger steak with raisins in it. Stefansson led his five companions westward the following day and by evening they were north of the Eskimo Islands.5 Wilkins’ foot had troubled him throughout the day, and Jenness had become so weak and cold by noon that he had to be wrapped in his sleeping bag and placed on top of one of the sleds. By 5 October, two weeks after their departure from the Karluk, they had almost exhausted their eight-day supply of provisions. Stefansson headed them across Harrison Bay towards Cape Halkett, with both Wilkins and Jenness having to ride on one of the sleds. It was a sensible destination under the circumstances, for Stefansson knew that they could get whale meat there for the dogs, who, like the men, were now on restricted rations. The whale meat was near the cape in an ice house belonging to Kuraluk, an Eskimo on the Karluk hired at Cape Smyth in August. Around noon Stefansson sighted an Eskimo house and platform on the shore some distance to the south and immediately turned his party in that direction. Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell regarded the house with increasing interest as they approached it, for it was unlike anything they had ever seen: “It seemed to be just a mound of snow near the uprights of a shed that had had the roof blown off of it.” 26

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Soon they could recognize individuals moving in and out of the house, so Stefansson went ahead to greet them. First a man emerged from the house, then two little girls, and finally a woman. All shook hands with Stefansson, a custom they had learned from the missionaries, then chatted briefly with him before moving on to the two sleds and shaking hands with the others. None uttered a single greeting. Wilkins found this strange, but learned later that the local Eskimos had no regular form of greeting. Or, for that matter, of saying “goodbye.” The house belonged to Akseatak and his family. Stefansson quickly arranged for he and his men to spend the night with them. The Eskimos unhitched the dogs while the others set up a tent; then they all entered the little house (iglu). To get through the three-foot-high doorway, Wilkins had to get down on his hands and knees and crawl inside, although the Eskimos managed to stoop low enough to accomplish the same thing. “The iglu was really a tent supported by bent willow sticks and covered with snow. It was the shape of half an oval and about fifteen feet long by twelve feet broad at the bottom, getting smaller as it rounded off at the top.” Wilkins was surprised at how much room there actually was inside the house, although it was not high enough in any part for a person to stand upright. Soon after their entry, the two little girls, aged about eight and ten, brought in a wooden platter full of frozen fish, which they dumped on the floor. Next, the hostess produced some dried caribou meat and some caribou fat, which Stefansson explained was considered quite a luxury. The meal proved to be a novel experience for Wilkins, as his apt description portrays: The Eskimo way of taking off the scales is to cut the fish down the back and then take the skin between their teeth and drag it off, then very soon there is nothing left of the fish but the head, which is thrown into a bowl. Jenness, McConnell, and I each took a piece of a fish and tried to scrape the scale off of it with our knives, the result being that the fish was almost thawed out before we were ready to eat it. We now took a bite. There was little or no taste to it, but the feeling of raw meat in our mouth was unpleasant to us, and we swallowed it as soon as possible. The next mouthful was not so bad, but still we could not overcome the feeling against raw meat. We did not eat very much of that, and then tried the dried meat. This was a little better, but still I should not have liked to make a meal of it. The Eskimos then produced a bag of seal oil that had been hung in the sun all summer and was now thoroughly rancid: Of course, we all had to try it, but it was the smallest quantity possible that we took on the end of our finger, and when we had tasted it we sincerely wished it had been the hunting trip

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smaller. It nearly made me sick and, disagreeable as the dried meat was, I was glad to eat some of that in order to remove the taste of the oil. The next course was the raw fat. This was not at all bad and tastes very like raw bacon fat. As they ate, the two little girls busily plucked the feathers off some ptarmigan. Then the birds, complete with heads, feet, and insides, were thrown into the same pot as the fish heads, water was added, and the pot was placed on the metal stove to boil: “after the raw food we had tried, the boiled ptarmigan tasted good to us, notwithstanding the fish heads, feathers, and entrails.” A serving of tea completed the meal. From their host Akseatak, Stefansson learned that he obtained the fish from a large lake nearby. Stefansson promptly decided to go to the lake the next day to get fish for his twelve dogs, then sat up visiting the Eskimo family long after Wilkins and the others went wearily to their sleeping bags for the night. In the morning, Stefansson and Jerry accompanied Akseatak to the fishing lake, while McConnell went hunting, without success. Wilkins remained in camp and was thus able to help Jenness when he had yet another ague attack, which though not severe left him further weakened. Wilkins expressed increasing concern for his ailing companion in his diary: “I will be glad for his sake when we reach Point Barrow [Cape Smyth] so that he can get some palatable food, for he eats hardly anything now.” Wilkins went hunting the next morning, returning with four ptarmigan. Meanwhile Stefansson had come back from the lake with nearly 300 fish, as well as some caribou meat, which McConnell was busily cooking. Voraciously hungry from his day’s outing, Wilkins ate five fried fish, all originally weighing between one and one-half and two pounds, in addition to some boiled caribou! In view of this plentiful supply of food, it is curious to read the following statement in Thomas’s biography of Wilkins about this period of their trip: “After some days even the scrawny ravens deserted us, so we were reduced to small rations of seal oil and a few tufts of reindeer hair.” 6 On 8 October, Stefansson and his five companions left Akseatak’s camp for Cape Halkett. Akseatak accompanied them, with the ailing Jenness initially riding on his sled, then on McConnell’s sled after lunch. They followed the coast for some distance before striking across the tundra. While they were skirting a small ice-covered lake, Wilkins’ dogs suddenly turned off the trail and dashed up a cutbank to a small hole, within which lay a snarling Arctic fox. Calling to Jerry to pull the dogs away, Wilkins grabbed an ice spear and soon killed the fox and had it lashed to his sled, proud of being the first one in Stefansson’s party to obtain one. Their intended destination was a little Eskimo settlement of four wooden houses about eight miles west of Cape Halkett. Arriving there late that 28

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afternoon they were immediately invited to have some food. Leaving Jimmy and Jerry to attend to their dogs, Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell followed Stefansson into one of the houses. Their new hosts were Eskimos from Barrow who were used to white men’s food and soon produced some boiled polar-bear meat, doughnuts, and mukpouras (a flour and water mixture, something like the Scottish bannock, which was fried in a pan). Wilkins sampled the meat, the first he had tasted, and observed, “It has a slight fishy taste, and the fat is not unlike pork, but on the whole it is very good meat.” There were four men in this house, looked after by a married woman whom Wilkins judged to be about eighteen years old. She carried a small baby on her back as she attended to their needs. At the back of the little house was a sleeping platform. Stefansson was told that the platform had room for two of his party, while the rest could stay in a larger house nearby owned by Jerry’s cousin, Ikpik. This would save them from having to set up a tent for the night. Wilkins, Jenness, McConnell, and Jimmy went to Ikpik’s house, where they found ten men, not all of whom belonged to that house. Again they found only one young woman looking after the men’s needs. She was perhaps the same age as the young woman in the first house and, like her, had a small baby. Wilkins watched with astonishment as she cooked the supper, brought in wood and ice, and ran out to stop the occasional dog fight. Meanwhile the men sat around on the floor playing poker, a game they had learned from the whalers on the ships at Point Barrow or from the Lapland reindeer herders near Cape Smyth. The young woman, Aiva, baked scones as they played, burning one batch when she got too interested in their game. Wilkins noticed that Aiva had a very husky voice. Jimmy later told him that it was the result of a “cold” she had caught the previous winter and had been unable to get over. Their meal that evening began with frozen fish contributed by Stefansson, which the Eskimos enjoyed eating. Mukpouras and tea completed the meal, for which Wilkins and his companions joined the others on the floor. Only two of the four houses in this little settlement were occupied by people. The other two contained whale meat. One of these belonged to Kuraluk, the Eskimo on the Karluk, and it was from this house that Stefansson had Kuraluk’s permission to take some whale meat. This meat, together with the fish obtained from Akseatak, would ensure an adequate supply of food for the twelve dogs until they reached Cape Smyth. The following day, Stefansson’s party covered perhaps twenty miles after a fairly easy journey of six or seven hours. Wilkins’ foot bothered him during the day, so he rode on a sled most of the time, as did Jenness because of his weakened condition. In the evening, after they were safely settled in one of three empty houses just east of Pitt Point, Wilkins tried his hand at cooking mukpouras. With advice from Jerry and Stefansson, he turned out the hunting trip

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something that “looked and felt like a mixture of charcoal and quartz stone, and tasted about the same.” Wilkins considered himself a pretty good cook when it came to tea and oatmeal, but admitted he was not much of a hand at bread making. The sleeping quarters that night were small but adequate, and the close spacing of the men as they slept helped keep them warm. The next morning, Stefansson halted briefly as they were passing a cutbank near Pitt Point that had a peculiar “marble cake” appearance and from which large pieces of ice jutted out of the tundra. During the halt he offered his interpretation of the cutbank’s peculiar origin while Wilkins took his picture.7 They then successfully completed the oftentimes hazardous seventeenmile crossing of Smith Bay, camping for the night in an Eskimo house on a sand spit on the western side of the bay. By the time they stopped, however, all but one of them were crippled in some manner or another. Wilkins’ sore foot and an ankle injury McConnell suffered during the day had made it necessary for both of them to ride on one of the sleds part of the day. Jenness continued to need sled transportation because of his condition, Stefansson had experienced back trouble for the past two days, and Jimmy began a bad nosebleed shortly after they started. The only one not on the sick list was Jerry, but Wilkins believed him unsuited to lead the way because he was incapable of walking in a straight line. As a result, Wilkins had limped along ahead of the dogs for most of the afternoon, ably directed by Stefansson on the first sled. Shortly before noon the next day, they reached the house of Angopkana, a middle-aged man who was residing there until the trapping season opened in mid-November, when he intended to move east to the Cape Halkett area. Angopkana had seen the Karluk the previous week, and had, in fact, tried to get out to her, but was unable to go very far out on the ice because of its unsafe condition. He was certain that it was the Karluk because of its rigging, which he described. His identification later proved to be correct. The ship’s log reveals that on the two days he claimed he had seen it, the Karluk was within four miles of that part of the coast as it drifted slowly northwestward in the ice. At Angopkana’s house the men lunched on frozen fish that were a little larger than sardines but very fat. We tried them as a matter of course, but after eating the first one, I was surprised to find how nice they tasted, and I am sure I ate as many as anybody else. We had besides this some boiled fish, some canned roast beef, and biscuits and butter. I think by the amount that we eat people must judge that we have been starving for weeks, but this is not the case, for we have [had] as much as we wanted ever since we left the ship. 30

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A woman whom Wilkins judged to be about eighty years old resided here with Angopkana. Jenness nicknamed her “Lady McGuire” because as a young girl she had visited the H.M.S. Plover, a British Navy supply ship under Commander Rochfort Maguire that was in Elson Lagoon just east of Point Barrow in 1852–53 and 1853–54. Wilkins wrote: “She took a great fancy to me and delighted to stroke my beard and pat me on the back and kept asking V.S. my name and other questions about me. I think he got rather tired of it. The nearest to the pronunciation of my name she could come was ‘Oolikan.’” There were, in addition, two other middle-aged women in the house, one of whom was blind, and a young woman who was paralysed in one leg. Angopkana, himself, stuttered badly. He was the first Eskimo Wilkins had seen with this affliction. After a visit of a couple of hours, Stefansson and his party continued westward, augmented by generous amounts of food that his hosts had insisted they take. During the afternoon Wilkins, running ahead of the first sled team, came to a thinly frozen-over lead, about eight feet wide. After crossing it without difficulty he waved to Stefansson and Jerry to come across with the first sled, and they hurried their dogs over to the other side. Once across Jerry turned and called out to Jimmy, Jenness, and McConnell to be sure not to stop their sled on the thin ice. Hearing only the word “stop,” they braked their sled and managed to stop it just as it reached the young ice. Jenness quickly got off the sled and promptly began to sink with the ice. Seeing the danger they shouted to the dogs and hastened across, where they were all subjected to a “little talk by V.S. (in strong language) about thickheadedness” before proceeding on their way. Some time later they spotted a light in the distance. On approaching it they found two houses and several Eskimos, so decided to stop for the night. During the night, the dogs got into a fight. In endeavouring to get outside to stop them, Jerry accidentally stepped on Wilkins’ head which, because of the crowded nature of the house, was resting on the doorstep. Jerry returned after a few moments and this time shook the loose snow on his garments over Wilkins. This proved too much provocation for Wilkins, who promptly had words with the young Eskimo before Jerry could complain about having had to go out. The next morning, 12 October, they stored in the house everything they did not need to take on the last lap of their journey and hastened on, reaching Cape Smyth8 in mid-afternoon. There they met Charles Brower, who was in charge of the Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station, and his cook Fred Hopson, both of whom were old friends of Stefansson. Brower had come north more than fifty years before on a whaling ship, had remained, married, raised a family, and was known throughout Alaska as the “King of the Arctic.” 9 the hunting trip

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Fig. 8. Charles Brower’s Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station, Barrow, Alaska, 26 October 1913. (Photo 51454 by G.H. Wilkins, e 002213618, nac )

Fig. 9. Trader Charles Brower and his assistant Fred Hopson, Barrow, Alaska, 8 August 1916. (Photo 51400 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214041, nac )

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Upon their arrival Brower instructed Jerry and Jimmy where to put the two sleds and the dogs; then all went into his store to catch up on the news. Brower had no news of the Karluk, but told the men that the Alaska and the Mary Sachs had passed Point Barrow safely and then had been forced to winter at Collinson Point, a safe harbouring site in Camden Bay, 275 miles to the east. Three other ships were icebound between Camden Bay and Herschel Island. A fourth one, the Norwegian four-masted barque Transit, had been crushed by the ice less than five miles from Brower’s place, and its crew was being housed in the settlement. Only eight vessels had passed by during the summer, none of them reaching Herschel Island. It had been such a bad summer for ship navigation that the US Revenue Cutter Bear was the only ship that had succeeded in returning south, and even it had been icebound for some time. Brower also told them that the sled tracks they had seen on Spy Island were made by Jim Allen and some men from the Belvedere, a large ship now held fast in the ice about ninety miles west of Herschel Island. This ship was carrying a considerable amount of provisions for the expedition’s Southern Party, which Stefansson quickly realized would now be accessible for use by the men wintering at Collinson Point. After an enjoyable dinner provided by Brower, Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell bedded down early in his store, Stefansson had a bed in Brower’s house, and the two young Eskimos slept elsewhere in the community. All were tired from their travelling, still suffering from one ailment or another, and relieved that their journey had come safely to an end.

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2 The Fishing Lake 13 october–23 november 1913

Stefansson, Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell remained at Cape Smyth for several weeks in order to recuperate from their ailments and to restock their provisions and equipment. Stefansson also needed the time to write a number of letters and reports. During this period they were guests of Charles Brower. The day after their arrival Stefansson asked Wilkins and McConnell to look after the dogs as Jimmy and Jerry were now among friends and showed little interest in the task. A few days later Jerry told Stefansson that he was leaving the expedition. Meanwhile Wilkins walked about the settlement, later describing it in his diary as follows: Cape Smythe, where we are staying, is about 8 miles southwest of Point Barrow, the most northerly point of Alaska, and is divided into two parts by a lagoon. On one side is the Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station with its store houses and single-roomed wooden houses in which the Eskimos live. On the other side is the school house, a store, and a number of native houses. The little settlement was locally called Cape Smyth in 1913, but its postal address was Barrow, the name by which it is now known. Both Wilkins and Jenness were evidently confused about the names, for they referred to the settlement variously as Cape Smythe, Barrow, or Point Barrow in their early diary entries. Cape Smyth’s normal white population of four – Charles Brower, Fred Hopson, schoolteacher G.W. Cram, and his wife – had recently been augmented by seven sailors from the wrecked schooner Transit. There were two or three houses at Point Barrow then, but no permanent settlement. Over the next few days Wilkins’ and McConnell’s injured feet slowly healed. Stefansson nursed his ailing back using crutches Brower had made

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New Settlement Cemetery Brower's

L a goon

Mission School Old Settlement

Fig. 10. Sketch map of Cape Smyth (Barrow) in October 1913 (after Jenness 1991, 28).

for him, and Jenness treated his recurring malarial attacks with quinine obtained from Brower. In his spare moments Wilkins read some of Brower’s books and magazines, played cribbage, and experimented with an accordion Brower owned. He also examined Hopson’s Kodak 3a camera and photographic plates at the latter’s request, and determined why Hopson’s pictures were unsatisfactory. Meanwhile Stefansson enlisted the help of local women and men to make winter clothing, boots, and sleeping bags for his men. And within a few days of reaching Cape Smyth he had formulated new plans, which in his characteristic fashion he simply announced to his men without any advance discussion. According to these new plans, he, Wilkins, McConnell, and two Eskimos would travel east by dog team to Collinson Point to connect with the members of the Southern Party who were wintering there. Jenness and Hopson’s teenaged son Alfred would accompany them as far as Harrison Bay and remain there for the winter with Akseatak and his family, the first Eskimos Stefansson’s party had encountered after leaving the Karluk. This would give Jenness an opportunity to learn the Eskimo language as it was spoken in northern Alaska. Stefansson no longer spoke of the Karluk and the people on it. He prepared a report of their disappearance for mailing to officials in Ottawa, but the fishing lake

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otherwise seemed to have totally dismissed them from his mind as he went about making new plans. The diaries of Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell, however, reveal that they remained concerned about their friends on the Karluk. On 17 October, Wilkins learned that mail would leave Cape Smyth by dog team on 1 November for Kotzebue Sound and Nome. Motivated by this deadline, he wrote to his parents in Australia and to his employer, the Gaumont Company in England. To the latter he explained that he had left all of his photographic equipment on the Karluk and asked that another photographic outfit be sent to him the following summer. Months later his company responded by writing to both Stefansson and the deputy minister of the Naval Service in Ottawa stating that it was that department’s responsibility to replace the lost photographic equipment and supplies originally issued to Wilkins.1 On 20 October, Wilkins attempted to skin the white fox he had killed near Cape Halkett, but by his own admission he “made an awful mess of it, for it was not completely thawed out.” By the evening of 26 October all preparations were complete for their departure the next morning. Stefansson then suddenly informed Wilkins that he was going to remain at Cape Smyth for a few more days, together with his secretary McConnell, and Alfred Hopson. He asked Wilkins to take Jenness, Jimmy, and a young Point Hope Eskimo named Ikey Angutisiak Bolt,2 whom Stefansson had hired to replace Jerry Pyurak, to the fishing lake near Akseatak’s house in Harrison Bay. They would take two sleds and twelve dogs and were to obtain enough fish to last Jenness for the winter. Stefansson wanted to stay behind to prepare a report for the Department of the Naval Service in Ottawa as well as to write a few more letters and dispatches for several newspapers with which he had commercial contracts. He had been dictating these to McConnell for several days and the latter had been typing them on schoolteacher Cram’s typewriter as fast as he could, but they were not yet finished. This unexpected change of plans irritated Wilkins, who commented, “I thought he might of made up his mind about it a little earlier in the day as it was now 8 p.m. and the sledges had to be unloaded and loaded in a different way.” Jenness, too, was annoyed, writing in his diary “Stefansson is sending us on ahead to save the expense of our board at Cape Smythe, so he told us; it seems a very absurd reason, when he throws 1000 dollars away without second thought on things of little or no use.” 3 It was 2 a.m. before Wilkins got the sleds unloaded, their contents resorted in accordance with the new plans and reloaded, and was finally able to go to bed. He was even more irritated when he learned later that Mc-

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Connell knew of Stefansson’s change of plans a full day before Stefansson informed him and Jenness, but had said nothing about it to them. It was not the last time Wilkins would be angered by his dealings with Stefansson. After telling Wilkins of the new plans, Stefansson dictated his instructions for Wilkins, which McConnell then typed and gave to Wilkins.4 They read as follows: Barrow, Alaska October 26th, 1913 Dear Mr. Wilkins: As it is not necessary to keep our entire party at Barrow as long as I find it necessary to stay here myself, I want to ask you to proceed to the fishing place on Harrison Bay at which we secured fish on our westward journey two weeks ago. Mr. Jenness will accompany you for the purpose of joining the three Eskimo families at the fishing lake among whom he is to spend part of the winter. You will also be accompanied by the Eskimos Asatshak [Jimmy] and Angutitshak. You will have an outfit of two sleds and twelve dogs. You are to proceed East by approximately the same route which we followed coming West. When you reach the vicinity of Cape Halkett you are to ascertain from the Natives from which of the stranded whales in this locality it will be most convenient to secure meat for dog feed. As soon as convenient after the whale meat has been cut up and stored, you will proceed South to the house of Kunaluak and Akseatak and thence, if conditions are suitable, to the neighbouring fishing lake where those families are now fishing, where you will have the Eskimos set two, or, if possible, three fish nets for the purpose of securing fish for dog feed and for the use of Mr. Jenness. You will have your party occupy itself with fishing in this place until we shall overtake you, which will probably be not later than November 8. Of course, you are free to vary from these instructions if any unlooked for emergency arises. If you should secure information of the condition or whereabouts of the karluk , Yu [sic] will use your judgement in the matter, and if it seems of possible importance, you are to send one sled as quickly as possible to me with the information. [signed] V. Stefansson Mr. George H. Wilkins Canadian Arctic Expedition Barrow, Alaska

Wilkins’ irritation over the changes in plans appears to have been somewhat soothed by the thought that he was the first member of the expedition to be placed in charge of a party and given official written instructions. Rising at 5 a.m. the following morning, he and Jenness breakfasted and then started to hitch the dogs. Stefansson soon appeared and, to Wilkins’ annoyance, insisted on rearranging the loads on each of the sleds.

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156° Pt Barrow

154°

BEAUFORT SEA Barrow

1 2 3

71°00´

4 Smith Bay

0

152° 1. On sea ice (Oct. 27) 2. On a sandspit (Oct. 28) 3. Three houses (Oct. 29) 4. On sea ice (Oct. 30) 5. One house (Oct. 31–Nov. 2) 6. One house (Nov. 3) 7. Three houses (Nov. 4–6) 8. At Akseatak's house (Nov. 7) 9. At the fishing lake (Nov. 8)

5

6

7

Cape Halkett Harrison Bay

20 miles Teshekpuk L.

70°30´

0

30 km

Fig. 11. Wilkins’ route from Cape Smyth to the fishing lake, 27 October– 8 November 1913.

Wilkins and his three companions got underway shortly thereafter, accompanied briefly by McConnell, Alfred Hopson, and several dogs lent them by Brower. McConnell and Hopson returned to Cape Smyth with Brower’s dogs after lunch. Wilkins and his party continued onward, but darkness overtook them before they reached Iglurak (Cooper’s Island), their intended destination. As a result, they were forced to camp on the ice near a sand spit in Elson Lagoon. They reached the houses at Iglurak mid-morning on the next day. After gathering the supplies they had left there on 12 October, they continued onward for another two hours, over the objections of Jimmy and Angutisiak, who wanted to stay at Iglurak. By mid-afternoon their dogs were too tired to go on, so they camped on a sand spit where they found some driftwood. Wilkins’ legs ached, and the foot he had injured several weeks earlier was again troubling him. Jenness no longer needed to ride on one of the sleds, but was still unable to travel fast on foot. He had not suffered any further attacks of ague since obtaining quinine from Brower. Amid drifting snow and a temperature hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit, the four men struggled onward the next day, finally reaching the three houses at Ekiuroq, about eight miles west of Cape Simpson on the west side of Smith Bay. Wilkins and the others had lunched there on 11

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October with the elderly Eskimo woman who had shown so much interest in Wilkins. The woman and her companions were gone now, and another Eskimo family occupied one of the houses. Wilkins’ group was invited to sleep in the house with them, but Wilkins chose to occupy an empty house nearby so that he could get away early the next morning. He accepted the family’s invitation to supper, however, and all sat talking afterwards, with Jimmy acting as interpreter. Setting forth early the next day, Wilkins’ party reached Cape Simpson about mid-morning. The wind now shifted to the east and strengthened as they started the seventeen-mile trek across Smith Bay. At this point both Jimmy and Ikey passionately urged Wilkins to return to the houses, assuring him there was going to be a blizzard. Despite their pleas, however, Wilkins doggedly insisted on continuing, for they were making slower progress than planned, and he was concerned that Stefansson would catch up to them before they even reached the fishing lake. By mid-afternoon, with the drifting snow steadily increasing and the dogs so tired they would stop every few yards, Wilkins decided to halt and put up the tent. It proved to be a difficult task, and they were all stiff from the cold by the time they got inside. Without wood, however, there was only the Primus stove for warmth, and it produced little heat. The dogs, still in their harnesses, sought shelter behind the sleds and were soon covered with snow. As they huddled in the tent, Wilkins recalled an experience he had during the Balkan War on this date only a year earlier: I was then camped with the other correspondents with the Turkish Army at a place called Karistikan. It was a bleak and frosty night, and although we had our sleeping bags, we had no tent and when we tried to sleep that night, our bags were covered with hoar frost, and it was impossible to get any rest. Baldwin, the photographic correspondent for the Central News, and I started out to look for wood in order to make a fire, but had not gone very far or seen any wood before we were arrested by a sentry. He took us to an officer’s tent and went inside to see what was to be done with us. We knew that we would only be taken back to the correspondent’s camp, and seeing some nice wood lying by the tent we stuck some under our overcoats. I don’t know if the sentry noticed our bulky forms or not, but he did not say anything about it, but beckoned for us to follow him. He took us to the officer-in-charge of the correspondents’ camp, who reprimanded us for leaving, but who nevertheless enjoyed the warmth of the fire made with the wood and laughed with us when we told him how we had obtained it.5 Some time later Wilkins crawled out of the tent and shovelled snow over the base of the tent walls in an attempt to reduce the cold. Back inside, he noticed that both Jimmy and Angutisiak were praying, with tears running

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down their cheeks. When they finished, he asked them the cause of their distress. They replied that the ice on which they were all now camped was not very thick, and if it broke they would all be carried out to sea. On hearing this Wilkins recalled Stefansson telling about two white men and some Eskimos who had been lost in that manner during a blizzard a few years previously. The thought left him uncomfortable, but he refused to shed any tears about it. Their supper consisted only of hard bread after Wilkins’ efforts to boil bear meat on the Primus stove proved unsuccessful. However, the drifting snow soon covered the tent sufficiently that they were able to warm up before they got into their sleeping bags for the night. Snow almost totally covered the tent by morning, making it difficult to crawl out. Visibility in the still-falling snow was less than 300 feet, and the wind continued blowing strongly from the east. After a hasty breakfast they packed their gear, dug out their sleds, and were underway by 8 a.m. Pulling his parka about his face, Wilkins headed for the east side of Smith Bay. Soon the snow ceased, but the wind increased in velocity, and the temperature became intensely cold. Wilkins’ description of his appearance and condition at this time brings out the reality of the Arctic cold: the newly fallen snow would blow against one’s beard and, freezing there, would soon form a solid mask of ice. It blew into my mittens and, melting with the warmth of my hand, soon wet the wool with which they were lined. As soon as I removed my hand the mitten would freeze stiff. Therefore I could not keep taking my hand out often to melt the snow on my face as V.S. had told us to do. In consequence my beard soon became coated with a solid mass of ice. I could not open my mouth, but just had a little opening between the lips through which I breathed. My forehead and nose were also covered with ice and so stiff that I could not move them by voluntary muscular movement. And when I tried to rub these parts with my hand I found they were quite stiff and solid. I had not felt much pain, only intense cold, which gradually changed to numbness. Therefore, I did not think these parts could be frozen, and presently when I had no feeling in them at all, I thought that I was getting accustomed to the cold, and so I did not bother about it. I was going in front of the dogs, who would every now and then stop and would not start again against the wind without considerable persuasion. The drift became so thick that I could not see with the one eye that remained open farther than the handles of the sledge from the leading dog. My other eye had become closed owing to the lashes freezing together, and as soon as I would thaw the ice off of them they would freeze together again with the moisture that was left from my fingers. It was difficult to keep a straight course in this weather, and as it was too cold to take out my compass very often, I had to rely on the wind. 40

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Three hours after setting forth Wilkins struck a cutbank at Pitt Point that he recognized as one he had photographed several weeks previously.6 There he waited for the others who struggled up individually, all much relieved at having crossed Smith Bay safely. Wilkins and Jenness laughed at their wretched appearances, but the two young Eskimos remained silent, being familiar with the signs of severe frostbite. After a brief lunch they hurried on to the three Eskimo houses that were their destination for the day. As they drew near, nearly three hours later, men and women, alerted by the barking of dogs, poured from the buildings to see who was braving such terrible weather. Wilkins wrote: when one of the women came to shake hands with me she started talking excitedly and commenced to rub my forehead. I realized then for the first time what was the matter, and as the men belonging to the house kindly offered to look after the dogs and sledges, I went inside to get thawed out. The cold had been bad enough at first, but now upon entering the warm house my face and hands and knees began to burn and smart as if somebody was holding a red-hot iron to them. These parts began to swell, and gradually the pain ceased. I was not the only sufferer, for Jenness’ nose was going through the same process and so were the cheeks of the [two] Eskimos. After a hearty supper of walrus meat, biscuits, and tea provided by their friendly hosts, Wilkins mused that although on this day the previous year he had been “under fire” in actual battle, chased by the Bulgarian cavalry, today he felt as if he had been actually “in the fire.” His face felt like a gigantic blister. He was frostbitten on the forehead, around one eye, and between his chin and lips. Jenness was frostbitten on the side of his nose. That evening Wilkins wrote in his diary: “I am twenty-five years old today, but if I live another two times twenty-five years I do not wish to pass another such day as we have had this day.” The weather the following day, 1 November, showed no signs of improvement; snow still fell, blown by a strong wind from the east. Consequently, Wilkins was easily persuaded to remain another day with his kind hosts – two men and three women. One of the women took my boots and put new soles on them while another one made a shield for me to wear over my forehead. They did this without any suggestion from me and apparently did not expect anything [in] return, but V.S. had given me some tobacco and chewing gum with which to make presents to the people along the way and I was glad to be able to show my gratitude in a substantial way. Wilkins rose about 4 a.m. the following day to check the weather. As the snow was still falling and the wind blowing, he returned to the comfort of the fishing lake

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his sleeping bag. The other members of the household arose late that morning and shortly after breakfast were joined by several of their neighbours. Wilkins observed their activities with interest: soon they all gathered around on the floor, and a small box was brought from under the bed and hymn books produced. They were written in the Eskimo language and had been translated by Dr. Marsh, the former missionary of Point Barrow [Cape Smyth]. They went through the Anglican service in a modified way, then everyone said a prayer, and then they sat about singing hymns. One would start a hymn and another would stop them and say they were singing the wrong tune, and then this one would start the tune he thought was right, and in some cases neither was right. They were pleased when Jenness and I joined in with the singing, and they asked me to choose a hymn that I liked. In looking over the book I saw one that I knew, and although we had been staying there three days already, I unconsciously asked them to sing “Abide with me.” I don’t think they could see any humour in it, and neither did I until we had sung it through. By evening, the swelling on Wilkins’ face had diminished, the water had come out of his blisters, and the skin was beginning to peel. He expected his face to peel from the top of his forehead to the point of his chin. For the past two days he had put Hazeline salve on it, which proved soothing and helpful. Wilkins and his companions started for Cape Halkett about 9:30 a.m. on 3 November. Some while later they encountered an Eskimo family heading for a nearby house, and Wilkins gratefully accepted their invitation to stay the night. It is the finest Eskimo house that we have seen so far, and had been built since we passed this place on our trip west. There are three families living in it, and when the four of us and the five people who were with the other sledge all got into it, there was quite a crowd. The hostess, assisted by another woman, prepared some slapjacks for them to eat, then turned her attention to the visitors’ clothing. She asked Wilkins to remove his parka so that she could dry it. He hesitated briefly because of modesty, as he had no clothes under it, but after noting several others were stripped to the waist, including two women, he quietly removed it and handed it to her. She took considerable care to turn it about frequently as it dried, then rubbed the skin side with “a kind of sandstone” to produce a beautiful white finish. She then repaired one of Wilkins’ mukluks, which had been turning up at the side during the day.

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Fifteen people slept on the floor of the one-roomed house that night, the stove occupying the only unused place. Before bedtime Wilkins’ luminous wrist watch had attracted both their attention and their curiosity. Wilkins and his three companions rose at 4 a.m., loaded their two sleds before breakfast, and set forth at 8 a.m. By early afternoon they reached the four houses near Cape Halkett where they had slept on their way west. There they remained for two days to cut meat from the whale carcass, which was about a quarter of a mile away. Ikpik, the Eskimo who had housed them on their way west, again offered to put them up in his house where there was plenty of room. Wilkins was delighted to accept his invitation, as it provided more time to gather the whale meat. Ikpik later took Wilkins to the whale carcass and showed him how best to cut the frozen meat. During the next two days they cut almost 1,600 pounds of whale meat, which they stored in the house belonging to Kuraluk (who was on the Karluk). It would thus be available for dog food during the winter if someone from the Southern Party at Collinson Point needed the dog food while en route to Cape Smyth or when someone from the Southern Party came to bring Jenness east to Collinson Point as Stefansson had promised Jenness. Angopkana, who had seen the Karluk a few weeks earlier, arrived with his party on the evening of 5 November to get ready to start trapping foxes in the region. With him came the old lady who had previously taken so much interest in Wilkins. She now showed great concern over the appearance of his face, from which he had already removed large patches of dead skin, and asked numerous questions about how it happened. Stefansson had planned to meet Wilkins’ party at Harrison Bay by 8 November. Wilkins estimated it would take his party two more days to reach Akseatak’s house near the bottom of Harrison Bay with his heavily loaded sleds and half expected Stefansson to appear at any moment. Wilkins and his men got an early start the following morning, hoping to reach Akseatak’s house in one day. They crossed the peninsula to the northwest side of Harrison Bay by late morning and headed across Harrison Bay in the direction of Akseatak’s house. Darkness enveloped them before they reached it, but by good fortune they struck the shore close to the house. Akseatak was at the fishing lake, but his wife and children were at home and soon provided the tired men with a welcome supper. The next morning Wilkins’ party moved to the fishing lake (today known as Teshekpuk Lake) and set up the large tent Charles Brower had made for them. Jimmy and Ikey chose to sleep with the Eskimos in a tent nearby. It was now 8 November, but there was no sign of Stefansson, and the men had no way of knowing when they would see him. Meanwhile, four men

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and twelve dogs had to be fed daily from the fish they caught in their net, plus any caribou or ptarmigan they might shoot to augment their rapidly diminishing provisions. After a cold and restless night, Wilkins sent Jimmy and Ikey back to the coast with a sled to gather a load of driftwood. He then set up the wood stove and obtained some wood from an Eskimo in a nearby tent in order to prepare a decent meal: This was the first real chance that I had had during this trip to do any cooking, so I set out to make the best of it. The Eskimos [in the nearby tents] had given us some fish last night and we had two or three ptarmigan that we had shot along the “road”. With these I made soup, adding a little rice. I baked a fish each for us all, and made some treacle dumplings. So our dinner consisted of ptarmigan soup and bread (which I had cooked earlier in the day), baked fish and beans, boiled ptarmigan, and treacle dumplings. The Eskimos [ Jimmy and Ikey] thought it was a great feast, almost as good as the Thanksgiving dinner that they have every year on the last Thursday of November. Responding to the kindness of the neighbours on his arrival, Wilkins sent a pot of hot rice to the other tents when it was cooked. Their neighbours, Kunaluak and Alak, both pulled up their fishing nets the next morning, so Wilkins had Jimmy and Ikey set his nets at the locality Alak had just vacated before it froze over. After seeing Wilkins’ nets, Alak told him that they were not only too deep for the shallow lake but also too fine a mesh. Kunaluak offered them the use of his oval tent as he was leaving for Cape Halkett. After experiencing two cold nights in their own bigger tent, they eagerly accepted the offer and moved into Kunaluak’s tent. The next day while Wilkins was cooking, Jenness noticed a fox coming towards the tent and called Wilkins. Wilkins promptly emerged from the tent to see what was going on: Jenness was by this time looking for his gun and, finding it, tried to have a longdistance shot, but the gun would not go off. He tried several times, but it still stuck fast. I then ran for my rifle as the fox was coming closer all the time. Alak was standing outside watching, but he had no gun. I had never fired a shot from the rifle I had, as I had changed another one for it at Barrow and it now had only one cartridge in it. I fired this one off, but the bullet went far over the fox. I now had to rush into the tent for more cartridges, and by the time I came out with the gun loaded, the fox was within 40 yards of the tent. On seeing me it started to run off, and I fired but missed again. I had very little hopes of getting it now, as it was running directly from me and was already some distance off. However, I fired again, and nobody was more surprised than myself to see the fox turn over

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and over and breathe his last. I ran out to get it and, measuring the distance afterwards, found it to be 75 yards. I had shot it through the neck and therefore the skin was not harmed in the least. Wilkins cooked the fox for dinner that evening and found the taste of the meat to his liking, but none of them cared for the soup he made with the water in which he had boiled the meat. Stefansson had still not appeared by 14 November. That evening Wilkins used up the last of their flour, sugar, and salt. However, they still had a quantity of rice, oatmeal, and beans, so were not yet desperate, but Wilkins was growing increasingly worried. With the last of the dog food finished on 16 November, Wilkins was forced to cook oatmeal for the dogs to supplement the small number of fish being caught each day. The number of fish they had managed to catch had been insufficient to feed the dogs, much less provide Jenness with a winter supply as Stefansson had expected. Stefansson, McConnell, and Alfred Hopson finally arrived during the night of 20 November. Wilkins wrote about it in his diary the following day: We had been sleeping some time last night when we were awakened by something walking over the roof of the house. I thought it was a dog that had gotten loose and was just going to wake up Acetchuk [ Jimmy] and tell him to go out and tie it up when I heard footsteps just outside. The door was thrown open and V.S. shoved his head inside and said, in an insinuating way, “You have all been sleeping for some hours, I suppose.” It was now ten minutes to twelve by the clock, and it gets dark about half past three in the afternoon. I don’t know what else he would expect us to have been doing. However, we realized that he must have been lost in the fog for some time or he would not have reached us at such an hour in this windy weather. The Eskimos [ Jimmy and Ikey] and I hurried out to help unhitch the dogs while Jenness made a fire. We soon had the dogs tied up and were inside having a cup of tea and listening to their story. McConnell and Alfred Hopson were with him. They had two sledges that had been bought at Barrow, and twelve dogs. They had left Cape Smythe on the seventh and found they could not get along as fast as they expected, beside having to turn back after the first day out in order to get something which they had forgotten. They had left [Ikpik’s house near] Cape Halkett yesterday morning intending to go to Akseatak’s house, but had lost themselves in the fog. They struck a trail which they followed (with difficulty by the aid of a pocket flash lamp) for some distance. This proved very unsatisfactory, for it twisted and turned in all directions. It must have been the trail of the Eskimo who was looking for the same house on the same day as we reached there. They travelled on for some distance and eventually struck the coast, which they were following along, and in cutting out to get around some

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rough ice, saw another trail, which by the number of sledge tracks they knew must lead somewhere. They followed it and finally reached here after being on the trail 19 hours. Stefansson had obtained Alak’s permission to take as many fish from Alak’s cache at the fishing lake as he wanted for dog food, so in the morning he instructed Jimmy, Ikey, and Alfred Hopson to get the fish. As the cache was buried under snow, the three first had to dig it out. Wilkins and Jenness, meanwhile, took down their big tent and loaded one sled. Everyone went to bed soon after supper, as Stefansson intended an early start for his Southern Party’s winter quarters at Collinson Point. While they were bedding down, however, Stefansson and Jenness got into an argument, much to the annoyance of the others: V.S. and Jenness started an argument on some theosophical matter and sat there, each half way into their sleeping bags. Neither of them knew anything about it according to their own evidence, yet they kept on “jawing away” for hours, and none of we others could get to sleep for the noise they made. About 10 p.m. (we had gone to bed at seven), they postponed their argument long enough to have a cup of tea. It was then resumed and would have continued for I don’t know how long had it not happened that the dogs began to fight. We all lay quiet, and V.S. went out to stop it. This broke the thread of their argument, and as V.S. was getting into his sleeping bag, he remarked with a self-satisfied air, “That this showed the value of their discussion, for it kept them awake so that they could stop the dog fights, and that he guessed the others had been sleeping soundly for some time.” The others had been doing their best to sleep, but had spent most of their time saying things under their breath that they would not like to see in print, and they now took pains to let the two “philosophers” know it. Wilkins had breakfast ready by 6:30 the next morning, but the others were in no hurry and continued “lolling” in their sleeping bags while he washed the dishes. This irked him sufficiently to complain to Stefansson that he thought they were supposed to leave early in the morning. Stefansson responded that they were, then asked if Wilkins wanted some help to finish washing the dishes. Wilkins, by now thoroughly aggravated, retorted, I think I can do this alright, but if nobody else wants to go out and load the sledges, I will let them do this and go out and do it myself. I don’t mind getting up two hours earlier than anybody else and getting breakfast, but I don’t intend to wash the dishes and watch them lie around until I have finished, and then go out and load their sledges for them while they are putting on their boots.

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Stefansson quietly agreed that it was not quite right and promptly asked McConnell and the three Eskimos to load the sleds. Still fuming some time later, Wilkins wrote in his diary: “I think he understands me a little better now, for while I don’t mind how much work I do if it is my share, I don’t intend to do the work of three or four other ablebodied fellows while they lay around and yawn.” After Stefansson and Jimmy gathered another load of frozen fish, they left the fishing lake, their four sleds well loaded and pulled by twenty-four dogs. Stefansson now had about 400 fish and 200 pounds of whale blubber to feed his dogs on their journey east. The four sleds reached Akseatak’s house at the coast in mid-afternoon. Wilkins felt his face freezing again during the short journey, but managed to prevent it from freezing deeply this time. After setting up their tent, they tried unsuccessfully to start a fire in the stove they had obtained from Charles Brower, then replaced it with the old stove brought from the Karluk. V.S. had gone off to the Eskimo house soon after our arrival and had sent back for his cup and plate, so when we eventually did get a fire going we did not cook anything for him, and when he came in about an hour after, we had finished our meal of beans and bacon and rice. He appeased his appetite with hard bread and cheese. Faced with a raging blizzard on 23 November, Stefansson decided to postpone his departure for another day. He, Jimmy, and Ikey spent most of the day visiting with Akseatak and Alak, while Wilkins, Jenness, McConnell, and the teenaged Alfred Hopson sat around the fire cooking. Suddenly Jimmy announced that he would not work for them anymore, as he was going to stay in this region and trap foxes. As Hopson was to remain with Jenness as his interpreter, Jimmy’s unexpected announcement left Stefansson with Ikey as the only Eskimo hunter to accompany himself, Wilkins, and McConnell to Collinson Point the next day. Later that day, Stefansson took Wilkins’ deerskin boots and squirrelskin parka for Ikey’s use, promising to replace them with better ones. He never did.

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3 Collinson Point 2 4 n o v e m b e r 1 9 1 3 – 1 9 j a n ua r y 1 9 1 4

Threatening weather on the morning of 24 November delayed the departure of Stefansson, Wilkins, McConnell, and Ikey Angutisiak Bolt for Collinson Point more than 200 miles to the east. As soon as the weather cleared, however, Stefansson decided to get underway, forcing Wilkins to put aside the letters he was writing his parents and his employer in London. Jenness was to spend the winter with Akseatak’s family in Harrison Bay so that he could study their Eskimo language and culture. Wilkins expressed concern over leaving his friend behind: I hope Jenness has a comfortable time this winter, for he is a fine fellow and a pleasant companion, and we have spent a congenial time together. I don’t think he will have any more attacks of ague now that he has a supply of quinine, and he will gradually regain his strength now that he does not have to go on the trail. After two and a half hours on the trail, Stefansson decided to camp at Saktuina Point, and they were soon enjoying a warm fire made with some of the plentiful driftwood in the area. The next morning Wilkins prepared breakfast before 6 a.m. to permit an early start, but Stefansson decided to wait until lunch so that he and McConnell could dry their sleeping bags. No sooner had they readied the sleds after lunch than Stefansson decided they would wait until the next morning before attempting the forty-mile crossing of the Colville River delta. During the afternoon, he asked McConnell to cook every other morning and Ikey to cook every night, thereby relieving Wilkins of some of the camp chores. Wilkins noted dryly that his talk with Stefansson a few mornings before seemed to have had “a lasting effect.” Four hours of sledding on the morning of 26 November, aided by a southwest wind, took them to a sand spit where they camped. That evening, Ikey cooked supper and Wilkins commented in his diary:

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It has been a relief tonight to come into the tent and take my time in giving attention to my boots and to have supper cooked for me. This is the second time it has happened when we have been camping in our own tents since leaving the Karluk, and I think I have lit the fire and prepared breakfast all but about five times. The following day, 28 November, was Thanksgiving Day in the United States that year, so McConnell told Wilkins about the traditional dinner that was had in his country on that day. Later in their tent on the ice in the Colville River delta, they celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner of frozen fish, fried bacon, beans, canned roast mutton, biscuits, and tea. For the next two days they travelled slowly along the outside of Thetis Island and Pingok Island, then crossed the mouth of the Kuparuk River and on 29 November camped on the eastern side of a headland (probably the feature now called Point Storkerson). Stefansson and Dr Anderson had seen a herd of about 400 caribou there in 1909. The following day they crossed a bay (unnamed then but now well known as Prudhoe Bay) and reached a beacon on Howe Island. The beacon, a post with four crosspieces of wood, had been placed there by the American geologist, Ernest de Koven Leffingwell, who lived alone nearby on Flaxman Island. At the top of a nearby cutbank, they found the fresh tracks of several men, and shortly afterwards came across a well-used trail that led them to a snow-covered tent. The tent appeared to have been abandoned, but showed evidence of recent occupation by Eskimos. Stefansson remembered hearing that there was an abandoned whale somewhere nearby, so decided to remain here for a few days in order to replenish the supply of food for their many dogs. The next morning Stefansson sent Ikey to look for the abandoned whale carcass, while he set off alone in search of the owner of the tent they were occupying, probably hoping to hear news of the Karluk. Meanwhile, Wilkins and McConnell made themselves comfortable in the large tent. During the day they gathered wood and ice, cooked dog food in order to save the frozen fish for the members of the Southern Party at Collinson Point, and read. Ikey returned early in the afternoon without having found the whale carcass. Stefansson was not back by dark, so Wilkins hung a lantern outside the tent to guide him. When there was still no sign of him by 11:30 that night, Wilkins concluded that Stefansson was staying overnight in an Eskimo house somewhere and went to bed. Stefansson arrived about 1 a.m. He had found the whale carcass some five miles to the southwest, but then had difficulty finding the camp. Although the hour was late, and he had awakened his three companions by his arrival, Stefansson decided it was the right moment to give them “an collinson point

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152°

150°

148°

146°

71° 0

30 miles

0

50 km

BEAUFORT SEA

Cape Halkett Harrison Bay Nov. 24

Thetis I.

Teshekpuk L. Nov. 26

Nov. 29

Cross I.

Nov. 28 Dec. 8–13

Flaxman I. Dec. 4–5

C an n in gR

tok

nir k

70°

Nov. 30–Dec. 3

Prudhoe Bay R.

Saga v a

R.

Ku paruk R .

Oliktok Pt

C o lv i l l e

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.

Dec. 15

Collinson Pt

Marsh Cr.

Fig. 12. Wilkins’ route from the fishing lake to Collinson Point, 24 November– 15 December 1913.

extended lecture” on what he regarded as one of the first principles of Arctic survival: if lost at night, stop quietly and wait for daylight. When he used his experience of that day to illustrate his principle, one of his sleepy listeners (probably Wilkins, who had been irritated before by Stefansson’s actions, especially his frequent changes of plans) wanted to know why he had not followed his own rule and slept out that night! The question startled Stefansson, for he had never considered himself lost.1 Having carefully instructed Ikey in his own language where to find the whale, Stefansson set off again early the next morning to look again for the owner of the skin tent they were occupying. McConnell and Ikey headed for the whale carcass, leaving Wilkins in camp to cook more dog food. They soon lost the trail in the fog and falling snow, and again failed to find the whale, returning to the tent shortly after noon. Stefansson showed up soon afterwards, saying there was little sense looking for anything in such weather. December third dawned clear and with little wind. Leaving Wilkins in camp, Stefansson headed for Cross Island (about thirteen miles to the north-northwest) to see if a message from the Karluk had been left there. Meanwhile, McConnell and Ikey made another attempt to find the whale, although Wilkins suspected neither of them really wanted to do so. Stefansson reached Cross Island but found no signs of anyone having been there recently. He then returned, travelling by a route that took him past the whale carcass, which to his annoyance he found untouched. He did not mention his annoyance, however, when he finally reached the tent, after travelling on foot for about seventeen hours. Later he claimed, “I was, of course, not tired. When one is in good training almost indefinite walking leaves you still ready to walk farther.” 2 50

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Their provisions now consisted of just two sacks of oatmeal, eight pounds of rice, and very little else. In view of this, Stefansson decided that they could not afford to waste another day trying to obtain whale meat. They departed in fine weather about 8 a.m. the next morning. Stefansson led the way, heading southeasterly across Foggy Island Bay for Tigvariak Island. Shortly after lunch Wilkins noticed the dogs sniffing the air and looking to windward. When he did likewise he smelled wood smoke and concluded that someone was burning wood not too far away. The men promptly turned the dogs and headed for the source of the smoke, hoping to obtain news about the Southern Party. After travelling about three miles they reached the mainland and a wooden house, which enclosed a ten-by-twelve-foot tent. The house was fronted by a long passage made of driftwood and covered with sod and snow. This was the house of Kopuk, his wife, and two young sons. Since Stefansson was known to them, and Kopuk was Ikey’s uncle, the travellers were soon treated to a hot meal. Wilkins was much impressed with Kopuk’s house: Inside everything was neat and orderly, much more so than most of the Eskimo houses that we had stayed in. The place was particularly warm, due to the fact of the double roof as formed by the tent and the wooden house. They had a fair supply of caribou meat, some of which was soon in a pot cooking for us. When it was cooked we were given the broth to drink, and then the meat, and also some bear meat and mukpouras were set out for us to eat. Kopuk told them he owned the tent they had occupied the previous three nights, using it when he visited traps he had set out near the whale carcass. He also said that he had heard there were two ships wintering at Collinson Point, which he planned to visit at Christmas time. Kopuk then mentioned to Stefansson that Billy Natkusiak, an Alaskan Eskimo who had worked with Stefansson between 1908 and 1912, had a cache of whale meat on Tigvariak Island. Stefansson was welcome to take all he could carry from the cache, and Kopuk was even willing to take him there. That evening, at Stefansson’s request, Kopuk’s wife graciously mended Wilkins’ torn mittens and sleeping bag. Stefansson’s little party reached Natkusiak’s cache by noon the next day, but after clearing away the snow found it to be a solidly frozen mass. Ikey said it would take a whole day to dig out the meat, so Stefansson decided to return the following morning, and they continued on across Mikkelsen Bay in the fog in search of another Eskimo house Kopuk had told him was only two or three miles distant. On the way they encountered several open leads, which in the fog and winter darkness rendered their progress hazardous. They finally found the house about 8 p.m., after they had travelled, by McConnell’s estimate, more like eighteen miles than two or three. They collinson point

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were promptly invited in by Pappurok, who lived there with his wife and an adopted son. Pappurok was the tallest Eskimo Wilkins had ever seen. For supper Stefansson offered rice and some other items, but Pappurok declined his offer, saying that he had a cache of 1,000 pounds of rice. Pappurok was very much interested in my wrist watch and offered me a fox skin for it. When I would not take that he offered me two lynx skins, but I was not to be tempted by these, for although either of the skins were worth more in face value than the watch, it is the only one that I have. During the morning of 6 December, Wilkins sledded back to Natkusiak’s whale cache with Ikey and Pappurok. Pappurok led the way. Wilkins later commented: “we started off, reaching the cache in two hours. We had taken seven hours to reach here last night, so it shows that V.S.’s sense of direction is not infallible.” With considerable effort Wilkins and his two companions dug out two loads of whale blubber from the cache and returned to Pappurok’s house about 8 p.m. With the temperature around minus ten degrees Fahrenheit and a wind close to fifteen miles per hour, Wilkins’ face suffered repeated frostbite on the return journey. During the day, two Eskimos arrived at Pappurok’s, a man named Iakok (or Aiyakuk, as Jenness later spelled it) and a boy, both of whom lived a few miles away. Iakok told Stefansson that the members of the Southern Party were all well, with their two ships beached safely nearby, and were living in a house that had belonged to a trader, Duffy O’Connor, before he moved east a year or two earlier. Stefansson’s party departed with Iakok late the next morning, reaching the latter’s house early in the afternoon. There they spent the night. Wilkins described it as the dirtiest and smelliest house they had stayed in. From Iakok they learned that it was only a three-hour sled journey to Leffingwell’s house on Flaxman Island, their destination the following day. With the assistance of Iakok, who carried some of Stefansson’s load on his sled, they reached it shortly after noon. Ernest de Koven Leffingwell, an American geologist, had gone to the Arctic in 1906 as a member of the Anglo-American Polar Expedition 1906–07 with Ejnar Mikkelsen. When their ship, the Duchess of Bedford, ran aground along the northern Alaskan coast, they salvaged parts of it to construct the complex of buildings on Flaxman Island in which Leffingwell was now living. He had stayed on after Mikkelsen went south in 1907, spending much of the intervening time carefully mapping the geology and geographic features along the northern coast of Alaska east of the Colville River. His completed map of that coast, then the only one available, was subsequently published in a lengthy geological report.3 52

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Fig. 13. House and shed of US geologist E. de Koven Leffingwell at Flaxman Island, northern Alaska, 20 August 1913. (Photo 43178 by K.G. Chipman, gsc )

His camp on Flaxman Island – a house and accompanying shack to hold his stores – is today a US National Historic Site. Leffingwell had been south only twice since going to the Arctic in 1906. He had met the members of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (cae ) at Nome in July 1913 and had been invited by Stefansson to serve as pilot on the Mary Sachs as far as Flaxman Island. Since getting off the Mary Sachs in August, he had seen only three white men and appeared delighted at the arrival of his unexpected visitors, although Stefansson was not by any measure one of his best friends. He came out to greet them and was much surprised at the news of the Karluk and their activities since leaving it. He had assumed that the Karluk was in winter quarters somewhere along the coast and they had simply come to spend Christmas with him. They all conversed that evening until long past midnight, their conversation focusing on the chances of the Karluk getting free of the ice. Wilkins, McConnell, Stefansson, and Ikey slept in the room adjoining Leffingwell’s room. Stefansson and his three companions remained at Leffingwell’s for the next few days, giving their tired dogs a much needed rest. During that time, Ikey and a local Eskimo collected enough seals from Leffingwell’s cache to ensure Stefansson’s dogs of adequate food for the rest of the journey to Collinson Point. Bad weather kept the men indoors most of the time and thus prevented them from aiding Leffingwell in measuring a base for his map triangulacollinson point

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tion. They devoted much of their confinement to conversation, reading, eating, and sleeping. Leffingwell and Stefansson talked incessantly, generally continuing their conversations into the small hours of the night. Leffingwell was in a particularly argumentative mood the day after they arrived, sharply criticizing McConnell in the morning for taking too long to prepare breakfast, and arguing heatedly with Stefansson until after four the following morning. One may safely assume from Stefansson’s account of this visit that at least two topics proved highly controversial: Leffingwell’s negative opinion of the Eskimo people, and the critical views of some of the members of the cae about its equipment, supplies, organization, and general operation.4 Having accompanied some of the expedition members from Nome northward, Leffingwell had ample opportunity to pick up some of their views, especially those of the geographer Chipman.5 Now, being unable to return south because of the unexpectedly bad navigation season and faced with a cold winter alone on Flaxman Island, Leffingwell was understandably inclined to be gloomy if not actually despondent. Writing of Leffingwell’s behaviour on 10 December, Wilkins commented: although still in a talkative mood, he can’t get along as well as yesterday, for his voice is getting husky, and he has a slight impediment in his speech. He certainly brings V.S. face to face with some plain facts, which we have been thinking of all along, but owing to the position which he holds as leader of the Expedition we have refrained from discussing with him. While Stefansson’s party was at Flaxman Island, Leffingwell offered Wilkins a Graphlex camera that he no longer needed, along with a supply of photographic material. Wilkins was delighted to accept, knowing that he could obtain better pictures using the Graphlex for his nature photographs than with the Special 3a Kodak camera he had brought from the Karluk. During his spare moments Wilkins immersed himself in one of Leffingwell’s books, Alfred H. Harrison’s In Search of a Polar Continent,6 published in 1909. He found particularly interesting several ideas in this book that he had heard Stefansson expound upon and had always assumed were original to Stefansson. He commented on this in his diary: “He [Harrison] makes some extraordinary statements ... he speaks of several things that I had previously thought to be known only by Stefansson until he published his articles [which was] long after Harrison had returned.” The strong cold winds that had kept them indoors finally eased up, and Wilkins helped the others gather three sledloads of driftwood from around the island to replenish Leffingwell’s dwindling stockpile. The Stefansson party started out shortly after 7 a.m. on 14 December, aided by a wind from the west. It immediately ran into difficulties while

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crossing a cutbank, when the sleds of both Wilkins and McConnell rolled over a couple of times before they could be stopped. They were soon righted, however, and the men continued on their way along the sea ice. Initially Stefansson headed directly for Collinson Point, but with increased clouds and wind indicating bad travelling conditions, he veered landward, heading for a cabin Leffingwell had told him was being used by Charles Thomsen, a crew member of the Mary Sachs. Thomsen lived there with his Alaskan Eskimo wife Jennie, the seamstress for the Southern Party, and their little girl Annie. Thomsen, Captain Nahmens, and Crawford among the expedition’s crew members had moved into abandoned shacks several miles along shore from the two ships in order to trap foxes. Thomsen’s cabin was west of Collinson Point, the cabins of the other two lay to the east. Unlike the scientists, who were on either yearly contracts ( Jenness, Johansen, and McConnell) or continuing salaries (Chipman, O’Neill, Cox, and Dr Anderson), the crew members were on six-month contracts and received no pay over the winter, although they were housed and fed during that period. Thomsen, Nahmens, and Crawford had therefore chosen to try their luck at trapping Arctic foxes, the pelts of which were then bringing several dollars apiece from such traders as Charles Brower at Barrow or Duffy O’Connor at Demarcation Point (near the Alaska-Canada border), and even more if the pelts were taken back to the United States. While they searched for Thomsen’s cabin, Wilkins had much difficulty keeping his hands and face from freezing in the increasing cold and snow. Visibility was very low, forcing the men to drive their sleds side-by-side in order to keep together. Following along the coast they came to a sand spit Leffingwell had told them was near Thomsen’s cabin, but they were unable to locate the cabin nearby, so continued on. A short distance farther on, the dogs sensed the presence of a house nearby, probably from the smell of wood smoke. None of the men could see a house, but relying on their dogs, angled off and soon reached their intended destination. There to their surprise they found Captain Pete Bernard and Fred Adluat (an Eskimo of Nome, Alaska) from the Mary Sachs. These two, along with Thomsen, had just arrived from a hunting trip in the mountains. Bernard and Adluat intended to continue west to Leffingwell’s camp the next day. Bernard likewise was surprised to encounter Stefansson and his three companions, believing them to be on the Karluk. He quickly urged them to go indoors while he unhitched the dogs from their sleds and tied them up. After some discussion, Stefansson suddenly decided he would continue immediately to Collinson Point for a reunion with the members of the

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Southern Party. He departed shortly afterwards with Bernard and Adluat and Bernard’s sled, leaving Wilkins, McConnell, and Ikey to spend the night with Thomsen and his family and to follow the next day with their three sleds. Wilkins now hinted vaguely in his diary of his growing disillusionment with Stefansson’s competency as well as the real reason why he had left the Karluk: Nothing could have happened that would have been better for us, for now V.S. could tell his own story uninterrupted and would have satisfied the curiosity of the [members of the Southern] Party before we arrived. Therefore, we would not be asked any questions that would lead us to express any opinions that may not have been in accordance with those of our leader. McConnell must have entertained similar views at the time, for he commented, “Stefansson, in the meantime, will have answered all their questions and told them of our various experiences without anyone to back him up or question his veracity. It is as well.” 7 The following day, 15 December, Wilkins, McConnell, Ikey, and Thomsen headed for the two ships eight miles away, arriving shortly before noon. First to greet them were the geologist O’Neill and the naturalist Johansen. Dr Anderson had gone east to the icebound ship Belvedere, leaving Chipman in charge of the camp. Chipman was on the Mary Sachs when they arrived, deep in discussion with Stefansson, so did not greet them until some time later. The Mary Sachs was pulled up on the beach near the house, while the Alaska was frozen into the ice in the lagoon about a mile from the house. Bernard took charge of the dogs and sleds as soon as they arrived, allowing them to go inside away from the cold. Wilkins described this reunion and his subsequent feelings thusly: for my part the most sensational period of our stay in the Arctic was over. We were soon inside the comfortable winter quarters having a cup of coffee, and presently Chipman came in and gave us a hearty welcome. I am extremely glad to be associated with all of these fine fellows, but I can’t overcome a feeling of remorse that I am not back on board the Karluk, and if I was given my choice I would assuredly prefer to be on the Karluk than here. They may have a long and dreary monotonous winter, but leaving the boat under the conditions that we did, expecting to be on board again in a few days, I cannot reconcile myself to the fact that we shall not see her again for months, if ever. There has been quite a number of boats caught in the ice under similar conditions and which have never been heard of since, but I can’t believe that such a fate will befall the Karluk. Yet the fact of her being in that precarious position prevents any feeling of elation that we might have had at this reunion. 56

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The house in which the Southern Party members were living was about twenty feet by thirty feet square, with the kitchen in one corner and two tiers of bunks on three sides. It had been built originally by Duffy O’Connor as his trading station in 1911–12, but he had subsequently abandoned it and moved east to Demarcation Point. Stefansson later wrote that the expedition had purchased the house.8 This statement appears to be at conflict with reality, however, for it was only by chance that Dr Anderson and his fellow scientists decided to winter in the abandoned house at Collinson Point. It is possible, of course, that this Collinson Point house was included with the camp and supplies at Demarcation Point that Stefansson subsequently purchased from O’Connor. Shelving placed on the rafters held the Southern Party’s extensive collection of books. Six kerosene lamps provided the main interior lighting, but a few of the scientific staff had a small lamp near each of their bunks for added illumination. Wilkins was amazed at the quality and quantity of food served the Southern Party by its competent and generally good-natured cook, Charlie Brook: The dinner tonight was a revelation to me, and was far better than one would ever get in a 10 [shilling] a day hotel in London. If we have provisions to live this way all the time during our stay in the Arctic I will be pleasantly surprised. We had been perfectly satisfied with the food we had been getting at the Eskimo houses and had enjoyed every meal, but when seated before the table covered with so many luxuries, comparatively speaking, I wondered how I had ever managed to eat the food cooked by myself or the Eskimos. Wilkins was assigned an upper bunk next to the engineer, Blue, and was pleased to see that it had a lamp at its head, convenient for reading in bed. He soon found, however, that it was not a suitable place for him to dry his pictures, being near the door where the snow shaken from the clothes of anyone entering the house spotted his films. As a result he moved to a bunk next to Chipman and O’Neill. Sometime during the evening, Stefansson suddenly announced that he would leave in two days for the Belvedere. He hoped to see Dr Anderson, who was already at the ship. Then he might continue east to Herschel Island in time to catch mail leaving that locality by Royal North-West Mounted Police patrol for Dawson, Yukon Territory. On hearing this, Wilkins promptly set about writing to his parents in Australia and his employer, the Gaumont Company in London. Wilkins spent the next day and some of the night developing seventy negatives, mostly his own pictures but including some taken by O’Neill and Johansen. When they were dry he catalogued twenty-five of his prints and negatives for the Daily Chronicle, wrapped them up, and gave them to Stecollinson point

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fansson to have mailed to London just as the latter was going out the door on 17 December to start for Herschel Island. Wilkins’ diary on this date contains the wry comment that this was the first time he had known Stefansson to start off with a sled without some delay. Wilkins now settled down at Collinson Point for the winter. There was little for him to do initially, since most photography during the winter darkness was impossible, so he used the time to catch up on some much desired reading. Before his departure Stefansson had told Wilkins that he would enquire about the availability of a motion-picture camera reportedly left by Seattle photographer Will E. Hudson on the ice-entrapped schooner Polar Bear east of Barter Island. The Polar Bear had brought a group of sportsmen and scientists comprising the Harvard-Smithsonian Expedition of 1913–14 into the Arctic to collect big game specimens for their respective institutions. Hudson had come north as the photographer for that expedition, hoping to capture some exciting animal pictures on film. After visiting the members of the Southern Party during October, he had trekked south across the mountains with Captain Louis Lane and two other men in order to avoid wintering in the Arctic, and had reportedly left his camera behind. Wilkins had met Hudson in Nome the previous July and hoped Hudson’s motion-picture camera would be available, since all of the ones provided him by the Gaumont Company were on the Karluk.9 Stefansson had heard of another motion-picture camera on the Belvedere, but its owner was still on that ship and was probably unwilling to sell it. A few days before Christmas, Wilkins found a motion-picture projector and films, a gift to the cae from the Gaumont Company,10 in the warehouse cache of expedition supplies, and after assembling it, gave a trial performance. It operated with an acetylene light. A few of the films were broken, but Wilkins soon had them usable after applying an adhesive product he called “New Skin.” He then was ready to present a Christmas show. On 23 December, Dr Anderson,11 freshly returned from the Belvedere and a meeting en route with Stefansson, sent McConnell and Adluat west to Flaxman Island to invite Leffingwell to Collinson Point for Christmas. They returned the following day with Leffingwell, along with a number of Eskimos who had come from some distance inland. Preparations for Christmas were by now nicely advanced, including the construction and decoration of a small Christmas tree by Chipman and Johansen, and the creation of a special menu. That evening Wilkins showed three reels of motion-picture film to the expedition members and several Eskimos. This may well have been the first motion-picture showing north of the Arctic Circle. Christmas Day 1913 at Collinson Point dawned clear, with the temperature around minus twenty degrees Fahrenheit. A brisk easterly wind blew 58

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Fig. 14. Wilkins showing movies to visiting Eskimos after Christmas dinner, Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 25 December 1913. (Photo 50705 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214008, nac )

the snow hither and yon, providing what Wilkins described as “boisterous” weather. Concern arose early in the day over the safety of Andre Norem, one of the two cooks in the camp, for he had failed to return the previous evening. He had left with Stefansson on 17 December to visit Jim Crawford, the engineer of the Mary Sachs, who was living in a cabin and trapping foxes twenty-five miles to the east. Crawford and Norem had started for Collinson Point on the morning of 24 December. Norem, a man in his early fifties, had been tired and decided to remain the night in Captain Nahmens’ cabin about ten miles from Collinson Point, which they had reached along the way. Nahmens had already returned to Collinson Point. Wilkins observed in his diary that Norem had been having hallucinations recently, had become despondent, and had even threatened to kill himself. When Norem failed to appear after Crawford’s return, Dr Anderson sent a sled party to Nahmens’ cabin to fetch him. It soon returned with the news that Norem had not even slept in the cabin and must therefore be lost. A search party promptly set out to look for him, but its members were enveloped in darkness before finding any trace of the missing cook. Fears that Norem had done away with himself crossed the minds of most present and severely dampened the Christmas festivities that evening. The Southern Party had no alcoholic beverages for the occasion, but the visiting geologist, Leffingwell, had brought along a bottle of whisky, and each of the men so inclined received a small offering. collinson point

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Fig. 15. Christmas dinner at Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 25 December 1913. Left to right: Captain P. Bernard, McConnell, Johansen, Chipman, Leffingwell, O’Neill, Dr Anderson, Cox, and C. Brooks (standing). (Photo 50701 by G.H. Wilkins, e 002280201, nac )

Wilkins provided a detailed description of the evening’s festivities: There were enough people to make three sittings at the table, and Charlie [Brook] the cook certainly deserves credit for the way in which the dinner was cooked and the way in which it was served. I took a flashlight picture of each sitting.12 The menu consisted of olives, “Endicott” soup, roast stuffed duck, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, string beans, Christmas pudding, mystical sauce, mince pie, dates, chocolates, fruit, coffee, and smokes. After dinner the Christmas tree was set up at the end of the table and the presents arranged in front of it. Chipman and Johansen had the distribution of presents to attend to, and I took a flashlight [picture] of them just as they were about to start.13 While the presents were being received and admired, I was busy arranging the cinematograph machine, and after the excitement had slightly abated, I showed three reels of pictures, amounting to over 4,000 feet. After the first reel, Chipman took a flashlight [picture] of myself and the machine.14 My Christmas presents consisted of: Christmas stories, by Dickens; a silk handkerchief from Mrs. Anderson (the wife of our leader – this present was very much appreciated); a box of cigarettes and an automatic lighter; a Scotch shortbread; a mechanical puzzle; and a bundle of pipe cleaners from Chipman.

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After the pictures we had supper, and I took a flashlight picture of Kopuk’s two little boys, who had removed their parkas and were enjoying themselves with the good things on the table.15 The soup on the menu was named for the mountains some twenty-seven miles to the south of Collinson Point. The name Endicott Mountains was used in the early 1900s for all of the mountains running roughly east-west near the north coast of Alaska between the 145th and 154th meridians. Those visible from Collinson Point are now called the Sadlerochit Mountains. That evening Wilkins received a special surprise: I was agreeably surprised when one of the Eskimo women (Kopuk’s wife) Nunina by name, came to me and made me a present of a pair of mukluks. I haven’t the least idea why she did this, for I had not noticed her particularly when we stayed at their house, and then she mended my mittens and sleeping bag, and I remember she enquired my name from V.S. I believe I am the only one in the outfit to receive a present from an Eskimo lady, and I consider myself highly honoured. It was well after midnight before the expedition members went to bed. Although all had done their best to make the evening as enjoyable as possible, there remained in all an underlying feeling of concern over the fate of their cook. First thing the following morning, with the temperature nearly minus twenty degrees Fahrenheit, a gusty easterly wind blowing, and clear skies, almost all members of the Southern Party set off to search for Norem. Three sleds with searchers went easterly, and other searchers on foot fanned out over the tundra, all intent on covering as much terrain as possible during the limited daylight hours. Wilkins and Cox walked along the sand spit towards its apex (Collinson Point), then crossed the frozen lagoon to a cutbank behind the Alaska: We climbed to the top of the cutbank and saw a man walking in the direction of the ships. After looking at him with the glasses, I said, “I do believe that is Norem, for I recognize his walk.” I had noticed that he stepped with one foot farther than the other when he was leaving the camp some days ago. But on taking a second look I came to the conclusion that walking over the tundra would account for the halting steps, and that it must be one of the Eskimos taking part in the search, for we could see that whoever it was he had taken his arms out of his sleeves and had them under his parka. This is what the Eskimos do in order to keep their hands warm. Cox thought that it was not tall enough for Norem, and it was not until we came within a few yards of him did we recognize him. We enquired if he was frozen in any part, and he replied that he was not. We could see that his hands and face

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were alright now, but looked as if they had been frozen at some time or other. We offered to assist him, but he was quite able to walk home without aid. Cox gave him some chocolate, of which he ate sparingly, but said that he felt hungry and that he could smell the coffee from the camp early this morning, although he must have been quite two miles away when we first saw him, and it was then about 11 a.m. On their way back to the camp, Norem informed Wilkins and Cox that two nights earlier at Nahmens’ cabin he had told Crawford he would rest a couple of hours then continue on to the main camp. After resting, Norem had started out, but after following the trail along the coast for some distance found himself on the tundra. Thinking he had somehow missed the camp, he turned back east, continuing far enough to assure himself he had not passed the camp and turned west once more. When he again found himself on the tundra, he grew confused and did not know where he had been. He thought he had kept walking the entire first night, but that he might have slept on the second night. On this morning he sighted the two ships and was walking towards them when Wilkins and Cox found him. Wilkins was amazed to find him as coherent as he was in view of how long he had been exposed to so much cold. Norem almost collapsed when he entered the warm house. Leffingwell quickly cut off his boots and socks, assuming Norem’s feet were badly frozen, but they were not frozen at all. As soon as he had delivered Norem to the camp, Wilkins harnessed some dogs and with Cox headed east to signal to the others to return. This they did by firing several rifle shots. In due course the other searchers returned, all much relieved to hear that Norem was alive and safe. None had expected him to have survived the two-day ordeal in the cold without food or shelter. The following day Wilkins and Captain Bernard collected a sledload of logs from along the shore, which Bernard needed to construct a tunnel under the drifting snow from the house to the warehouse and dog shed. Wilkins and Crawford later brought in a second load while others were cutting snow blocks. By evening the tunnel construction was almost complete and Wilkins then developed the photographs he had taken on Christmas day. Bernard, McConnell, Ikey, and Billy Natkusiak (who had arrived for Christmas from his trapping camp near Flaxman Island) all went off on 28 December to the whale carcass McConnell and Ikey had failed to find four weeks earlier. They were to bring back three sledloads of whale meat for the dogs. McConnell resented having to go, claiming he had done more sled travelling than anyone since they reached Collinson Point, but Stefansson had left clear instructions for him to do any work that had to be done. Ikey and Natkusiak had gone ahead, followed by Bernard, who was out of 62

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sight by the time McConnell finally got his sled underway. Wilkins hoped that McConnell would get along safely “for he is not a bad sort of a fellow at all.” He would change his opinion in due course. Many of the Eskimos who had gathered for the Christmas festivities also departed about this time. Wilkins began typing his diary on 30 December from his handwritten version dating from the time he left the Karluk. He continued this task at odd moments during the following two weeks when no one else needed to use the little typewriter. He evidently discarded his original version after he had typed it. On New Year’s Eve the men at Collinson Point enjoyed a hot toddy of lime juice and water prepared by Johansen, toasting the success of the expedition as well as their leader, Dr Anderson. Wilkins wrote glowingly of Dr Anderson at the time: “Dr. Anderson is a fine fellow and is well liked by everybody in the Expedition as far as I know. Nothing is too much trouble for him in helping any member of the party, and no one, no matter how insignificant their position, is deprived of his sympathetic interest.” His feelings towards the head of the Southern Party changed appreciably during the following year, not because of any action by Dr Anderson, but because of a change in Wilkins. The New Year’s Eve toasts were followed by a “supper” of biscuits and cheese with more lime juice, then cigars. Afterwards they sat and listened while Johansen, whom some of the men had nicknamed “the Professor,” entertained them with one of his many stories. New Year’s Day passed quietly. During the next few weeks there was little photographic work Wilkins could do outdoors until the return of the sun, which had dropped below the horizon in mid-November and had not yet returned. The other members of the expedition were likewise mostly confined to the house, venturing forth only to fetch wood or items from the warehouse. They read, played chess or checkers, or occupied themselves in other ways. Wilkins used some of this period to watch and learn from Dr Anderson about the preparation of animal and bird specimens for mounting, procedures that served him well later when he trapped foxes and prepared their skins. He also immersed himself in a book on taxidermy which Dr Anderson lent him, and studied another book, The birds and mammals of northern Canada. Although his education in Australia had not touched on such biological matters, his interest derived from both his innate curiosity in all things and his determination to make a biological contribution to the expedition. At other times he learned how to play chess from Johansen, a skilled player who enjoyed defeating his new pupil. Within a week he was enjoying games of chess with Chipman as well as Johansen. He could beat the former occasionally, but not the latter. collinson point

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A shift of wind about this time left the interior of the house at Collinson Point bitterly cold. On one occasion Wilkins found the temperature to be twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit in the upper berths, ten degrees colder in the lower berths. He was sleeping in a lower berth. McConnell and Bernard returned on 8 January with about 1,500 pounds of whale meat, which they had taken from Natkusiak’s cache rather than from the whale carcass. They had stayed briefly at Leffingwell’s cabin. McConnell was highly pleased that he had made the trip with Bernard, an extremely knowledgeable dog musher, and told Wilkins that he had learned more about driving a team of dogs from Bernard in a few days than he had from Stefansson in weeks. Thomsen and his wife Jennie arrived from their camp during the day, bringing items Jennie, the seamstress for the Southern Party, had made for some of the men. Wilkins received a pair of deerskin mittens and a Burberry snow shirt, both extremely well made and more than welcome. Wilkins spent many hours of this time conversing with Johansen, who was homesick. Johansen and Dr Anderson were the only married scientists on the Southern Party. Johansen had bidden farewell to his wife and little daughter in Denmark more than a year before to undertake research in Washington and had had no opportunity to return to Denmark to see them before he joined the expedition. Dr Anderson was newly married and without children. The early part of January passed slowly, with the men maintaining their spirits and physical conditions by keeping as busy as they could. For a while Wilkins worked with Johansen, Cox, and O’Neill building a snowhouse in which Johansen could take tide-gauge readings sheltered from the winds. Johansen had come on the expedition with high expectations of the scientific contributions he would make and was much frustrated by the lack of suitable working facilities. As there was little that Leffingwell could do at his Flaxman Island camp during the dark weeks of winter, he remained at Collinson Point long after Christmas, enjoying the companionship of the scientists of the Southern Party. In the evenings he frequently entertained them with stories about northern characters, including ones he called “beachcombers.” Wilkins recorded one of these, a story about Daniel Sweeney, who unbeknownst to them all was at that moment a member of the crew of the Belvedere and would soon join the Southern Party. Sweeney, before he came to these parts was sailing amongst the South Sea islands. Being dissatisfied with his ship, he jumped overboard one night, intending to swim ashore. He was carried away by a strong current running parallel to the beach, and would have been taken out to sea if a native had not happened to see him

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and, thinking he was a turtle, started to shoot at him with a rifle. Fortunately, the native was a poor shot, and presently saw his mistake when Sweeney started to signal him. The native came out in his canoe and took Sweeney ashore. He was almost exhausted, having been battling with the current for over ten hours. He was taken to the chief of the island, and there he succeeded in getting into the good graces of the chief’s daughter and was in a good way to have an enjoyable stay on the island and marry the chief’s daughter, but the ship’s captain suspected that he must have swam ashore, so he sent an armed party to bring him off. They found him at the chief’s house and compelled him to go on board. He therefore lost an opportunity of becoming “King of a Tropical Isle.” No other Leffingwell story was ever recorded, unfortunately, and many historical gems may have passed quietly into oblivion. A sled appeared in the east on the afternoon of 16 January, which proved by strange coincidence to be led by the man in Leffingwell’s story of the evening before, Daniel Sweeney. With him was Aarnout Castel, another sailor from the Belvedere. Sweeney had a letter for Dr Anderson from Stefansson at Herschel Island, saying he would not get back to Collinson Point before the end of January.16 He had reached the Belvedere after its mail had left, so had continued on to Herschel Island, and then had thought it advisable to proceed up the Mackenzie River for some distance. In view of the unexpected delay in his return, he asked Dr Anderson to send McConnell west with a sled to get Jenness, to prevent Angutisiak (Ikey Bolt) from accompanying McConnell west and possibly deserting the expedition, and to have Wilkins meet Stefansson at the Belvedere to examine a motion-picture camera. Stefansson was going up the Mackenzie River to see several people, including Storker Storkerson, a Norwegian sailor he had known from the Mikkelson-Leffingwell expedition, who was trapping several days’ journey upriver. Stefansson subsequently hired him for the ice trip. Then he suddenly decided to continue upriver to Fort McPherson, an extension to his journey that delayed his return to Collinson Point still further, but of this additional delay to his return he was unable to notify Dr Anderson or Wilkins. Stefansson’s main reason for going to Fort McPherson was to send reports of his activities to the newspapers with which he had financial contracts. He sent these as frequently as the opportunities arose. He also wanted to get his mail, for he was greatly interested in learning what was being said in the western world about him and his Arctic expedition. Before heading north he had arranged for news clippings of his expedition from many newspapers to be sent to him. Quite possibly also he had heard during his travels the rumour about his desertion of the Karluk and its men, a rumour that was widespread along the north Alaskan coast that win-

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ter, and wished to divert it by getting his reports to the southern papers before the rumour reached them. He would also have wanted to collect the mail addressed to the men on the expedition. After reading Stefansson’s letter, Dr Anderson suggested that Wilkins accompany Sweeney back to the Belvedere and wait there for Stefansson, then return to Collinson Point with him. Johansen asked permission to accompany Wilkins, which Dr Anderson granted after one of the other scientists agreed to look after Johansen’s tide-gauge activities during his absence. Wilkins now made a curious reference to the Karluk in his diary, just as he had done on 14 December. After mentioning that Johansen would accompany him to the Belvedere, he added, “I am glad that he is coming, for he is good company, and he will take up some of the interest of the people, so that they will not be asking me so many questions about the Karluk.” Comments like this appearing casually here and there in the diaries of both Wilkins and McConnell hint strongly of strange circumstances at the time of Stefansson’s departure from the Karluk. Neither man wanted to be questioned about the matter, yet neither of them would elaborate on why he felt that way. They may have wondered if the local rumours were true that Stefansson had deliberately deserted the ship and its men because they were of no further use to him in his eagerness to discover new land north in the Beaufort Sea. A recent book by Niven on the fate of the Karluk fuels the argument for such an interpretation.17 Wilkins looked forward to his visit to the Polar Bear and Belvedere. Not only would he see and perhaps obtain a motion-picture camera there, but he would also have the opportunity to talk with and listen to one or more of the whaling captains and ice navigators, about whom he had heard so much. From Sweeney and Castel he now learned about the fate of the Elvira, one of the three ships that had been caught in the ice east of Collinson Point. Its captain was C.T. Pedersen, the same man who months earlier had selected the Karluk in San Francisco for the expedition and sailed it to the naval base at Esquimalt, British Columbia. The experienced Captain Pedersen had been Stefansson’s initial choice to lead the Karluk and the expedition into the Arctic, but had quit the expedition suddenly before it even left Victoria. Robert Bartlett, a Newfoundlander with a fine seafaring reputation, was brought west to become the new captain. After Captain Pedersen returned from Esquimalt to San Francisco, he took charge of the Elvira, and brought it north. About the Elvira, Wilkins wrote: They say that the boat was tied up to the ice after she was crushed and was leaking badly, so the crew unloaded most of the stores on the ice and then went over to the Belvedere. The Polar Bear came along and had to cut the Elvira loose in order

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to get inshore through the same lead. The Elvira drifted out into the fog and was soon lost to sight. She has never been seen since, and it is believed that she sank.18 Left on the Elvira when she disappeared was the previous year’s collection of furs worth several thousand dollars belonging to Martin Andreasen, a trader near the Alaska-Canada border whom Wilkins would soon meet. During the three days Sweeney stayed at Collinson Point, Wilkins repaired his own boots, made a cover for his sleeping bag, and undertook sundry other preparations for his trip. Dr Anderson issued him two pairs of mittens, a pair of bed socks, a woolen cap, and a Jaeger sweater from the stores, all of which Wilkins thought would prove most useful while he was away. Meanwhile Chipman, Captain Bernard, and the troubled cook Norem, with two sleds and teams of dogs, took Leffingwell back to Flaxman Island. They then hoped to meet Billy Natkusiak and bring back two loads of whale meat from the whale carcass near Natkusiak’s camp for the expedition’s dogs. A third sled with McConnell and Fred Adluat left a little while later for Harrison Bay to bring Jenness to Collinson Point. Their departure left few dogs at the Southern Party’s headquarters for Wilkins’ use. Leffingwell had gained fully twenty pounds during his stay at Collinson Point, the result of good food, companionship, and little activity, but his mental state concerned Wilkins: “He did not overcome his eccentricities while he was staying with us, and it will be well for him if he does not have to stay another winter up here.” Leffingwell may have been experiencing the kind of melancholy that troubles many southerners after prolonged isolation in the north. He subsequently went south in the summer of 1914, settled on his father’s farm in California, and apparently did not return to the Arctic.

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4 Visit to the Belvedere 1 9 j a n ua r y – 7 m a r c h 1 9 1 4

The Belvedere lay offshore in the ice just west of the mouth of the Aichilik River and was, therefore, about ninety miles east of Collinson Point. This meant a sled journey of several days. Stefansson’s instructions were for Wilkins to examine the motion-picture camera at the Belvedere and then to wait there for his return. Wilkins looked forward to meeting the captain of the Belvedere, Steven F. Cottle, about whom he had heard a great deal. Built at Bath, Maine, in 1880, the Belvedere was a three-masted, 440-ton bark. Its maiden voyage into the western Arctic as a whaling ship in 1881 proved highly profitable, and thereafter she made twenty-four more voyages from San Francisco into the Arctic before being converted to an Arctic trader and freighter in 1909. She continued in that capacity until 1919, when she was crushed by the ice and sank off Siberia.1 In the summer of 1913 the Belvedere, like the Karluk, Mary Sachs, and Alaska, had been caught by the unexpectedly early freeze-up of the Arctic Ocean. As a result, the large cargo of supplies it was supposed to deliver to Herschel Island for the Canadian Arctic Expedition was still on board and, as Stefansson quickly realized, was available to the men at Collinson Point. Wilkins left Collinson Point for the Belvedere early in the morning of 19 January, accompanied by Johansen, Sweeney, and Castel. Captain Nahmens of the Alaska went with them as far as the cabin he was using for his trapping base. They had brought along a tent for him to put at the east end of his trap line, thus providing him with a place to sleep at both ends. Nahmens did not really need the tent, however, for he seldom ventured forth to check his traps and had yet to catch a fox. They cached the tent beside a rack belonging to Billy Natkusiak at the mouth of the Hulahula River. Nahmens’ cabin was very small, and although it might have been adequate for one man, two men could not sleep comfortably in it, and three men could not stand upright inside it. Nahmens had built a snowhouse

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outside the cabin to make it more accessible. He had previously gotten in through a hole in the roof, for the cabin was completely covered by a snow drift, with only its chimney showing. After leaving Nahmens, Wilkins and his two companions crossed the mouth of the Hulahula River and headed for the delta of the Okpilak River, where Jim Crawford, the engineer from the Mary Sachs, occupied a cabin. Wilkins, Johansen, and Crawford slept on the platform in the cabin that night, Sweeney and Castel on the floor. They had covered the twenty-four miles from Collinson Point in five hours, in spite of having a heavy load. After a filling breakfast Wilkins and his three companions set out for an Eskimo camp nearby, which they had seen as they got to Crawford’s. It proved to be a snowhouse enclosing a tent. Inside were Iakok and his wife and boys, with whom Wilkins had stayed on 7 December at their camp a short distance west of Leffingwell’s Flaxman Island house. They had also been at Collinson Point for Christmas. Iakok now told them he would accompany them to the camp of Kiana, which lay farther along their route. After a brief visit Wilkins got his party underway again: Iakok ran ahead of our team of five good dogs, and his team of three pups and one old dog followed behind. Two of the boys who were coming with Iakok soon got out a small football made of rags and started kicking it in front of their dogs, for they were lagging behind. This football attracted the attention of the dogs, and they ran after it and thereby increased their speed. This is an old trick of the Eskimos, I believe. They reached Barter Island about a mile east of its westernmost point, from where Iakok led them across its tundra rather than going the longer route around the shore. Thick fog prevented Wilkins or his companions from recognizing any features on the island, but Iakok was familiar with the terrain so they did not lose their way. When they reached the ice on the other side of the tundra they encountered numerous snow-filled tide cracks, which they had the misfortune of falling through on several occasions, fortunately without injury. By the time they reached the tents of Pikalu and Inukok, they were soaking wet from perspiration and melting snow, and as the weather appeared unfavourable they decided to stay the night. Pikalu’s tent was square, while Inukok’s was round and supported by willows. Pikalu remembered Wilkins, as he, too, had spent Christmas at Collinson Point. Inukok was a stranger, however. He was about twenty-six years old, spoke a little English, and apparently understood quite a lot more. His wife was a tall thin woman about twenty-two years old. They had a baby girl about two years old who had some nasty sores on her mouth, nose, and ears.

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Visiting Inukok at the time was Kiana’s daughter Nanmuk, who was also known by her “foxskin name,” Laura. Wilkins explained that “Foxskin name is the name given the Eskimo by the missionaries when they baptise or christen them, and for this ceremony they charge the natives a fox skin.” Nanmuk wanted to accompany them to her father’s place, some twelve miles farther east along the coast. After observing her closely, Wilkins commented in his diary, “She is the girl that Leffingwell is always talking about as being pretty, but she is not nearly so good looking as some of those we saw to the westward.” After supper, which they all ate in Inukok’s tent, Wilkins played chess with the Prof, Johansen, winning one of their two games that evening. That victory gave him a great deal of satisfaction, however, for it was the first time that he had beaten his experienced opponent. Wilkins and Castel then retired to Pikalu’s eight-by-ten-foot tent, which housed eight people that night, leaving seven in the other tent. Wilkins’ diary entry on the following day began as follows: I stopped writing last night at about eleven o’clock thinking that the others may want to go to bed. I certainly wanted to, for I expected to be roused out early this morning, for we wanted to get as far as the Polar Bear camp today. The natives kept on playing cards until 12 o’clock, and then we had a cup of tea, after which they started at the cards again, and it was not until after 2 o’clock when we went to bed. We were fairly well jammed together, but as I am the biggest one in the tent, I did not feel the pressure of the two smaller ones beside me. I had a nice sleep, not waking up until 5:30. It was blowing a hurricane, and I could hear the wind whistling over the top of the stove pipe. Thinking that there would be some snow with it and that it would be too bad to travel, I did not trouble to get up, but went to sleep again and did not wake up until 8:30, and Iakok was then about to light the fire. After rising, Wilkins went into the other tent, which was but a few feet away, and was surprised to hear that the men there had gone to bed early and had slept well. He and Sweeney then held a brief discussion on the weather and agreed that it was too disagreeable to travel that day. This was Johansen’s first experience among the local Eskimos, and Wilkins made a note of his behaviour: “I am surprised at the calm demeanor of the Prof under the circumstances. I thought he would be entirely different, not naturally, but with affectation. He looks as if he had been accustomed to eating off the floor and with his knife all his life.” Iakok and his two boys left for Kiana’s camp during the morning. Sweeney persuaded Wilkins to remain at Pikalu’s, however, pointing out that not only was the weather adverse, but also there would be insufficient room for them and Iakok’s group all at Kiana’s, and they would have to put 70

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up their tent. To while away the day, Wilkins and the others read magazines they were taking to Captain Mogg on the Polar Bear. After supper Wilkins borrowed a mirror from Pikalu so that he could shave and was shocked by his image in the mirror: I have a particularly piebald appearance, due to the freezing of the various parts of my face the day before yesterday. When one is only slightly frozen, the skin turns a dark brown and peels off in two or three days, leaving a patch of white skin, so that one remains spotted for some time. He slept poorly that night, waking frequently to check the time so as to avoid sleeping in. An early breakfast in Inukok’s tent enabled Wilkins and Sweeney and their small party to get away early on 22 January, for they were eager to reach the Polar Bear camp some thirty-two miles away before dark. An Eskimo boy named Frank and Kiana’s daughter Laura accompanied them, riding on their sled most of the day. Within a couple of hours they reached the cabin of Ole Andreasen, a trader Stefansson had met in 1912. Finding it empty, they concluded that Andreasen had not been there for two or three days and were concerned that he might have been lost in the storm. En route to Kiana’s house they passed Iakok on his way back to his camp on Barter Island. From him Wilkins obtained the discouraging news that Kiana was not home, and that Iakok had been forced to sleep in a snowhouse without stove and hardly any blankets. They encountered Ole Andreasen a short while later and learned that he had been farther along the coast visiting a sailor trapping foxes about six miles from the Polar Bear. The wind rose and the temperature dropped considerably while they were conversing with Andreasen. A short while later, after they had gotten under way again, they had trouble with Johansen: We had not gone far before the Prof was left behind, and we could see him trying to warm his hands. It had been very warm in the morning, and he had removed his outside atigi [fur parka], keeping on only two woolen shirts and a snow shirt. It was now very cold, and we thought it better to wait for him to come up. He came along very leisurely in spite of our urging, and when he came up to us he was powerless to use his hands, for they were frozen stiff. We had to take off his snow shirt and put on his fur one, and then thaw out his woolen mittens, which had been wet with perspiration in the morning and were now frozen stiff. We were now getting cold, so we set him on the sledge and started off. The Prof looked half dead as he sat on the sledge, and it was amusing to watch the changing expressions of his face as he gradually warmed up. We presently persuaded him to try and run

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beside the sledge, and try and keep warm that way. We stopped at Kiana’s deserted house and made a cup of coffee, and after this the Prof travelled much better. Kiana had removed his tent from the snowhouse, and they had to make an open fire of willow branches in the latter shelter. Smoke and steam soon filled the interior of the snowhouse. After a hurried lunch they continued on their way. Their route took them along the lagoonal ice near the shore and over occasional sand spits, and they arrived at the Polar Bear camp about 2:30 p.m. Here Wilkins met many of the people he had been hearing stories about during the past few weeks. They were not at all as he had pictured them. Most startling was the “notorious” Captain Billy Mogg, who was in charge of the schooner Polar Bear in the absence of its owner, Louis Lane, who had gone south for the winter. Wilkins had heard that Mogg was a “fat, overbearing, pig-headed ice-pilot” who ruled with an iron hand and from “sheer knowledge, disregarding all charts and the first principles of navigation,” claiming that sextants and chronometers were of no use in bad weather and unneeded in good weather. Instead, he turned out to be a short, insignificant, sharp-featured man with a large “corporation,” without the suspicion of anything in his face but contrariness. He is the type that one would expect to read about in one of Dicken’s works ... smoking a dirty old clay pipe and using it occasionally to demonstrate his arguments. Mogg was actually one of the seafaring pioneers in the western Arctic. A native of Cornwall, England, he had gone north for the first time from San Francisco in the 1880s as a harpooner on one of the early steam whalers.2 Wilkins also met Joseph Dixon, an ornithologist who had gone to the Arctic on the Polar Bear with five young sport hunters from Harvard University in order to collect bird and animal specimens for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology in Boston. While Wilkins was busy examining Dixon’s specimens of birds, rats, and mice, as well as his photographs, Sweeney and several members of the Polar Bear played poker. At this camp Wilkins met for the first time the Alaskan Eskimo Pannigabluk and her young son, Alex. She had travelled with Stefansson during part of his 1908–12 expedition, accompanied initially by her husband; after his death she stayed on with Stefansson. Wilkins had heard rumours during his travels along the north Alaskan coast about Stefansson fathering a boy with his Eskimo companion, and after meeting the two, commented, When looking down on the child from the side, there is a striking resemblance to V.S. to be seen, and I believe that there is some truth in the common report along the 72

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coast that it is his child ... I believe there was a report in one of the American papers to that effect before we left Victoria, but it was denied, and very few of the members of the Expedition had heard about it anyway before meeting the whalers up here. Johansen also met Pannigabluk and Alex on this occasion, writing succinctly in his diary, “Saw Stefansson’s Eskimo wife and his little son here.” Johansen must have made other remarks verbally as well at the time, for Wilkins recorded, “Prof seems awfully indignant that V.S. had spoken so much about keeping the white men from intermingling with the Eskimos, while he himself had a child up here.” The relationship between Stefansson, Pannigabluk, and Alex, merely whispered along the Alaskan coast at that time, and not even mentioned in the diaries or field notes of most of the members of the Southern Party, was confirmed many years later, when photographer and author Richard S. Finnie, a long-time friend of Stefansson, published an article some years after Stefansson’s death in which he stated he had seen a birth registration for Alex on which he was listed as the son of Pannigabluk and Stefansson. This registration had been in the record book of the Anglican Church at Aklavik, both of which were tragically destroyed by fire a few years later.3 Wilkins described Pannigabluk as a remarkably big woman for an Eskimo, weighing about 200 pounds, her little boy as very bright looking, with rather pleasant features. He also photographed them.4 Wilkins and the others arose late on 23 January, but soon struck off for the Belvedere, accompanied by William Seymour, the second mate on the Belvedere, and his native wife. They had been staying in a house near the Polar Bear camp. Samuel Mixter from the Elvira also went along, intending to join Kiana on a month-long hunting trip in the mountains to the south. Travelling along the sand spits, they came opposite the Belvedere in early afternoon and turned into the rough ice that lay between them and the ship. Arriving at the ship a short time later, they were greeted by Captain Cottle, whose appearance and manner surprised Wilkins: He is nothing like I expected to find him, according to the description that I had heard, but seems a hearty, jovial fellow. He is a short, stout man, with a face like the Beadle in a Punch-and-Judy show, but he looks well in furs and a cap. He is bald except [for] a little hair on each side of his head. Wilkins was turned over to Joe Boyle, the ship’s mate, who took him to his cabin where he could wash and change his shirt before meeting Mrs Cottle in the captain’s sitting room: She again was a surprise. She is a regular Quaker-looking person, slightly stout and with a sinister supercilious sort of smile of a “I’m somebody if you only knew visit to the

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Fig. 16. The bark Belvedere, freighter and whaler, icebound about 90 miles east of Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 17 October 1913. (Photo 43199 by K.G. Chipman, gsc )

it, if appearances are against it” sort of person. Instead of the browbeating wife that I had heard of, [she] is, I should judge, one of these too loving jealous sort that would look after her husband as a hen would after a solitary chick. They have no children of their own. Johansen joined them a little later, wearing his leather waistcoat. They were served fish as their main course for dinner that evening. After dinner we adjourned to the sitting room again, and the Captain and Mrs. [Cottle] entertained us with their family history and tales of their friends “outside” and up here within the Arctic circle until eleven o’clock, when supper was served. It consisted of wafers, soda crackers, and peanuts. We went to bed at 12. The Captain was going to put the Prof in with the mate and make up a bed for me on the couch of the sitting room, but the mate had already put my sleeping bag in his room, so I slept there. I was glad of it too, for the one who slept on the couch would have to take up his bed every morning, and I could leave mine in the bunk. The next morning, Hazo, the Belvedere’s Japanese photographer, showed Wilkins his camera, plates, and films. He had spent some ten years in the Arctic accumulating a complete set of pictures typical of Alaska. He had an old model Gaumont motion-picture camera, which Wilkins judged unsuit74

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able for use in the Arctic winter. Wilkins then looked at Hazo’s collection of pictures, but found them not up to the standard he had expected. Later Wilkins talked to John Clark, the cinematographer from the Elvira, about the motion-picture camera that Stefansson had said was for sale. Clark was tall and stout, in his late fifties, and an engineer by profession. When he produced the bulky motion-picture camera, Wilkins noticed with satisfaction that it was a fairly late model Williamson 35 mm and in excellent condition. The price being asked was $1,000 for camera, lens, tripod, and 7,160 feet of negative film. As he calculated its value back in civilization was about $700, Wilkins considered the price reasonable. He refrained from asking many other questions then, however, preferring to wait for Stefansson’s arrival the following day, when he could learn what arrangements Stefansson might have made with Clark. Wilkins then examined Clark’s collection of Kodak negatives of Cape Serge, Siberia, and of the Elvira, and promised to get Clark some Velox paper on which he could print his pictures, for Stefansson had asked for prints of some of them. Later Wilkins became embroiled in a lengthy discussion with Clark and two other men about motor cars, apparently surprising them with his knowledge of the subject. Everyone retired after dinner to the sitting room for conversations and a concert on the captain’s gramophone. Stefansson did not appear the following day, although he had planned to do so. Wilkins was not at all surprised, commenting wryly in his diary, “I hardly expected that he would be on time; there is only one record of this happening to my knowledge, and this was the time that he left Collinson Point with Pete Bernard [on 17 December].” In his increasing frustration with the unreliability of Stefansson’s schedules, Wilkins then found fault with Johansen’s manners and behaviour: The Prof has been wandering about like a lame dog all day, walking in and out of the room while I was talking to Clark and while we were playing cards. One can realize the truth of Cox’s remark about the Prof after seeing his behaviour in strange company. Cox says “that he ... [several words, perhaps uncomplimentary, are inked out of Wilkins’ diary here] without the least instinct of a gentleman,” and I think so too. He comes to the table late every meal, usually humming some tune or other as loud as he can, and goes about between meals saying that he is “hungway” and asking for something to eat, although he eats a great deal more than any of the others. He calls Captain Cottle “Capp” quite familiarly on an acquaintance of three days and swears in the presence of Mrs. Cottle. I am ignorant and uneducated myself, but I hope I know how to behave better than he. With time on his hands, Wilkins included comments in his diary about others at the Belvedere, including the Cottles: visit to the

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They are a very nice couple of the middle rich class who aspire to be aristocratic, but the full jovialness of their nature prevents them from being dignified, and their free, open-hearted spirits break from control repeatedly at the slightest sympathetic encouragement. The conversation turns to science, classics, and such like, and upon my assuming a slight haughty drawl that I can occasionally manage, they would at once become austere and aristocratic. Some domestic incident is wound almost unconsciously into the conversation, and they are at once the loveable, true-hearted, sympathetic couple of the well-to-do country people. And although salted perhaps through and through with the saline breath of the sea, their minds are ever turning to the green hillsides and the little farm or poultry yard that is to be their own when they have sufficient capital assembled to make living a comfort without the necessity of working. She, on account of her Bostonian antecedents, believes she has some claim to the aristocracy of America, so one can’t blame her for certain little eccentricities one will always find in that class. On 27 January, despite a temperature nearly minus forty degrees Fahrenheit, Wilkins took out the motion-picture camera to test it. Clark accompanied him, keeping a close eye on the camera. After taking and developing a brief length of test film, Wilkins was completely satisfied that the camera was sound. That evening, following some after-dinner music on the gramophone, Wilkins and Mrs Cottle were partners in several games of bridge with Captain Cottle and Johansen. Wilkins disliked card games, probably because his strict parents had raised him with the belief that card playing, like piano playing, was immoral, and he ended the evening with a headache. Captain Cottle gave him a dose of a patent medicine, which cleared the headache, and he passed a fairly comfortable night. The fate of the Karluk was a frequent topic on the Belvedere : It is the belief of most of the men here that have had some experience along this coast, that if she is not wintering somewhere south of the Sea Horse Islands [miles south of Point Barrow] that she will not be seen again. I hope she is wintering in a safe place somewhere, but I feel more thankful every day that I am not on board, for now I may be able to do something for my firm, while otherwise I could not. Unknown to Wilkins and the others on the Belvedere then, the Karluk had sunk off the Siberian coast on 11 January. It was August before he learned of its fate. By the end of his first week at the Belvedere, Wilkins had accomplished the main purpose of his visit and settled in to await the return of Stefansson. Days passed and his frustration increased. On 29 January he wrote: “Another day past and V.S. not here, the fishing-lake story repeated. I wonder if he has gone on to Fort Yukon.” 76

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Wilkins’ “fishing-lake story” referred to his long wait for Stefansson at Teshekpuk Lake in October and November. Some of the men on the Belvedere now began making bets on when Stefansson would appear. Sweeney, for example, won a dollar from a crew member named Cockney by betting Stefansson would not arrive by 31 January. The first day of February dawned cloudy, with the temperature around minus forty degrees Fahrenheit. Without significant tasks to undertake, Wilkins allowed his dual irritations over Stefansson’s continuing absence and Johansen’s unseemly behaviour to boil to the surface again: I expected V.S. to show up today, as Sunday seems to be his favorite day to do anything or go anywhere, but there has been no sign of him today. We had a short concert of gramophone music tonight and then played cards. Prof asked Mrs. Cottle to play some special operatic pieces, and before she had time to get them out he left the room and did not return for an hour or so (another example of his good manners). Sweeney and Cockney left with several Eskimos on 2 February to hunt in the mountains to replenish the meat supplies on the Belvedere. As they departed, two Eskimos returned after several days of hunting in the mountains, reporting that they had seen no caribou, but bringing about 150 pounds of mountain sheep meat for Captain Cottle. During the evening of 5 February, Louis Olsen and Storker Storkerson reached the Belvedere from the east with news of Stefansson. Olsen, a sailor on the Alaska whom Stefansson had hired at Nome, had accompanied him when he left Collinson Point in December to visit the Belvedere. Stefansson knew the Norwegian ex-sailor Storkerson from the Mikkelson-Leffingwell Expedition of 1906–07 and, upon finding him living and trapping in the Mackenzie River Delta with his wife and small daughter, had hired him for his new Northern Party. Olsen and Storkerson had left Stefansson at Herschel Island awaiting confirmation of a rumour that the Karluk had been seen off the Mackenzie Delta. If the rumour proved true, Stefansson intended to proceed immediately to Fort McPherson to send a message about it to the government in Ottawa. If not, he would return west as soon as possible. In either case, according to Olsen and Storkerson, Stefansson intended to reach the Belvedere by 20 February and Collinson Point by the end of February. Wilkins also learned from Olsen and Storkerson that Stefansson now proposed to undertake a sled trip north over the Beaufort Sea ice from Martin Point, just east of Barter Island. He planned to search for new land, the existence of which had been suspected for some years, and to take depth measurements as he progressed in order to determine the break between the continental shelf and the continental slope north of Martin visit to the

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Point. He wanted a base camp built at that locality during the next few days. Storkerson then told Wilkins that Stefansson thought Wilkins would be willing to go on the ice trip. They handed Johansen a letter from Stefansson stating that he was a logical person to make the depth soundings on the proposed ice trip, and that Chipman would be another appropriate member in case they found land.5 After hearing about these plans, Wilkins wrote in his diary, “Until tonight Johansen had held out stoutly that he would not go out on the ice, but although V.S. does not order anyone to go and will only take volunteers, I think Johansen will go but not Chipman.” Johansen wrote Stefansson that evening, saying he could not give a definite answer before discussing the matter with Dr Anderson, and setting forth several obstacles to his going.6 Chipman, as Wilkins suspected, wasted few words in refusing Stefansson’s request: “Replying to your letter of January 24 asking if I care to volunteer for the ice trip – I do not care to do so.” He then softened the bluntness of his response somewhat by adding that he had come north to undertake geographical studies in Coronation Gulf for his employer, the Geological Survey of Canada, and did not feel justified in undertaking any other activities that might interfere with the work he had been sent north to do.7 Wilkins had his own thoughts about Stefansson’s plans, which included his changed opinion of Johansen, whom but three weeks earlier he had described as “good company”: I would like to make one of the supporting party or even complete the trip, but not if Johansen is one of the party, for he would be an encumbrance to himself as well as to the others on such a trip. I will be able to do much useful work on shore long before they return from the ice, and I don’t think I could get any better pictures in sixty days out than twenty. Wilkins also doubted the usefulness of Storkerson on the ice trip, although he had just met him. His opinion was probably influenced, however, by negative comments he had heard several weeks previously from Leffingwell about the man: Storkerson, although a man of experience, is not to my mind a suitable man for the job. He is a shock-headed, square-jawed Norwegian, about 5 feet 7, and of light build. He has restless evasive eyes and lacks the accomplishment of immediate application. In this respect he somewhat resembles V.S., although his eyes are changeful from sullen to impudent and the far-off thoughtful expression. Stefansson also wanted three men to be hired from the Belvedere to help build the base at Martin Point, and French Joe, the cook from the Polar 78

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Bear, to be hired to cook at the new base camp. These men would be offered two dollars per day, an amount about 50 per cent higher than was being paid to some of the scientists (for example, Beuchat, Jenness, and McKinlay) on the expedition, but Wilkins was certain they would refuse to go unless paid two and a half dollars per day. Stefansson had asked that Wilkins help Storkerson if need be, then go to the trading camp of Duffy O’Connor near Demarcation Point and make an inventory of all of his supplies, which Stefansson had recently arranged to purchase for $8,000.8 Meanwhile, Storkerson advised Wilkins that O’Connor had refused to honour his sale agreement with Stefansson, which Captain Cottle confirmed. Wilkins therefore deemed it senseless to make such an inventory. Olsen told Wilkins that he had an unpleasant time with Stefansson along the Mackenzie River, prompting Wilkins to comment, without clarification, that “Olsen has had similar experiences to those that we had while travelling with V.S.” Evidently unaware of Olsen’s thoughts, Stefansson had written G.J. Desbarats in Ottawa of Olsen’s competence and usefulness to the expedition and recommended his wages be increased to sixty-five dollars per month.9 Wilkins concluded there was no further reason for him to stay any longer at the Belvedere now that Stefansson would not appear for at least two more weeks. Since he had no immediate responsibilities awaiting him at Collinson Point, he decided to start moving some of the expedition’s supplies from the Belvedere to Martin Point for the use of the people Stefansson was hiring for his new Northern Party base camp there. This decision in and of itself would seem of little consequence. However, as it marked the first time Wilkins had initiated an important expedition activity without prior instructions from either Stefansson or Dr Anderson, it may possibly be the first inkling of the changes in Wilkins’ personality and career that were soon to unfold. Storkerson consulted us today about the provisions for the stay at Martin Point. We will not be able to take too much along, for we have only seven dogs, all of them in a poor condition. Seymour’s team, which came back from the island [Herschel Island] last night, has gone on to the Polar Bear to haul wood and can not be hired. The native here does not want to help, so Captain Cottle has kindly offered to let us have his team tomorrow to take us as far as the Polar Bear, and after a few days we may be able to get Seymour to haul it for us. We decided on the quantity, and I saw that it was got out ready to load early in the morning. With the transport of the supplies arranged, Wilkins suddenly decided to continue on from Martin Point to Collinson Point, where he would make a tent and a drying cabinet for Stefansson for his films, unless he was given visit to the

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contrary instructions by Dr Anderson. After that he would go to Martin Point to help with activities. He then wrote a note of his plans for Stefansson, to be left at the Belvedere.10 Stefansson had also sent a letter to Clark on the Belvedere concerning the purchase of the motion-picture camera. Wilkins wondered about the absence of a signature on the letter but concluded it was probably a hasty oversight on Stefansson’s part. The unsigned letter served its purpose, however, and Clark let Wilkins have the camera and 1,000 of the 7,160 feet of film. The following morning Captain Cottle presented Wilkins with a bottle of “good cheer” (probably whisky) as he was leaving, to take to the men at Collinson Point. Travelling that day proved bitterly cold, with a temperature of minus forty degrees Fahrenheit coupled with a slight southwest wind, and Wilkins’ face soon was badly frostbitten as a result. We called at the igloo of Shotgun and Aunty, two old Eskimo ladies who are doing some sewing for the outfit. Their place is only about a quarter mile from the Polar Bear camp, so Olsen went on with the sledge and released the dogs [Captain Cottle’s]. Storkerson, Johansen, and myself had a cup of tea and some muckpouras while Shotgun put a patch on one of my boots. We stayed an hour or so. They were pleased to see Storkerson, whom they had not seen for over five years. When we arrived at the Polar Bear camp dinner was over, but Mott [the mate on the Polar Bear] kindly saw to it that we had something to eat. The next morning, Wilkins accompanied Mott, Captain Mogg, and Samuel Mixter, a crew member, from the Polar Bear camp on shore to the ship to get some nails and plates for use at Martin Point. Meanwhile Storkerson, Olsen, and Johansen packed the two sleds, having borrowed one with two dogs from an Eskimo to enable them to take all the things with them that they had brought thus far from the Belvedere. Storkerson would return the borrowed sled and dogs to their owner two days later when he returned to the Belvedere for more skins and food needed for the Eskimo women who were sewing for Stefansson’s ice trip. Wilkins was in charge of the borrowed sled. It was heavily laden, requiring the pulling efforts of three men in addition to that of the two dogs. His sled soon fell far behind, and by the time it reached Kiana’s deserted camp, Storkerson and the others had cleared an area of snow in readiness for spreading a tent: This place is really west of Martin Point, but Storkerson thought that it would do admirably for the purpose of the base and would save the trouble of building a new one. All that would be necessary was to build an extension in front of the present house [Kiana’s].

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French Joe, the cook from the Polar Bear who had accompanied the freighting party, quickly had a fire made and was brewing coffee, and not long afterwards was making biscuits on the stove that was burning merrily inside the tent. Nine men attempted to sleep in the eight-by-ten-foot tent that night. Cramped and cold, they slept poorly, but none suffered seriously: “seven of us had to sleep in the 8-foot wide part, so we had not very much spare room and all had to lie on our sides without a chance to turn over.” In the morning Wilkins, Olsen, and Johansen headed west for Crawford’s camp, halting briefly for some tea at Ole Andreasen’s camp and also at Pikalu’s house on Barter Island. They reached Crawford’s shortly before six that evening. The weather was cold and clear, allowing Wilkins to see the parts of Barter Island that had been enshrouded in fog on his trip east to the Belvedere: “This island is for the most part low-lying, but on some parts on the north shore are high cutbanks. A sandspit extends from here almost continuously to the coast between the deltas of the Hulahula and Okpilik rivers, where Crawford’s house is situated.” Both Captain Bernard and Crawford were at Crawford’s cabin when Wilkins reached it, having just returned from obtaining provisions at Collinson Point. From Bernard, Wilkins learned that O’Neill was planning to start east with Bernard in a few days, the former to undertake geological work east of the Alaska-Canada boundary,11 the latter to start sledding provisions and supplies from the Belvedere to Herschel Island. Bernard had ferried a load of dog food to Crawford’s cabin for O’Neill’s trip. Wilkins also learned that McConnell had been delayed several days from starting west for Jenness, because one of his dogs had died: “This was a good dog and must have made considerable difference to his team. However, I hope he gets to Harrison Bay and back safely with Jenness with him, for I would like to have Jenness here, he is such good company.” Bernard told Wilkins he was returning to Collinson Point in the morning. As he had thirteen dogs, Wilkins and the others were able to ride on the sleds all the way to Collinson Point, which they reached about half-past one. Soon after his arrival, Wilkins typed a list of the items he had moved from the Belvedere to Martin Point and gave these, plus messages he had from Storkerson, to Dr Anderson.12 Johansen’s eyes were too painful from snowblindness for him to write out his report. Wilkins acknowledged that his own face was “rather bad.” Olsen has been entertaining the company with stories of the trip east and his experiences travelling with V.S. Dr. Anderson does not seem very disturbed about the orders that were sent [by Stefansson], and I doubt if he will take much notice of them.

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Stefansson had asked for some of the Southern Party’s equipment and supplies for his ice trip, items without which Dr Anderson’s men would be severely hampered in their intended work. Dr Anderson did not plan to ignore the requests entirely, as Wilkins conjectured, but he was greatly incensed by Stefansson’s renewed interference in the activities of the Southern Party. Stefansson’s requests served only one purpose, to further his own latest plans, which Dr Anderson considered quite mad. For the moment, however, he kept his thoughts to himself, but of one thing he was certain. He had no intention of supplying everything that Stefansson had requested and thereby jeopardizing the work of his own men. He and Stefansson had exchanged strong words in Victoria the previous June about who would be in charge of the work of the Southern Party, and Stefansson had assured Dr Anderson he would not interfere once the expedition left Nome. These new requests meant that Stefansson’s assurances had obviously been meaningless. The various members of the Southern Party had grown restless from weeks of winter darkness, cold, and their unproductive existence on American soil, where they were not intended to be. Early in February they began active preparations for trips and spring work to occupy themselves more professionally until the two schooners could get free of the ice and take them to Coronation Gulf. Wilkins agreed to be a member of the support party for Stefansson’s ice trip. Meanwhile he was available to help in the preparations for that trip. He spent the next week getting his newly acquired motion-picture camera into outdoor operating condition, making a waterproof box for it, testing light exposures for his still cameras, and developing films. At the request of Dr Anderson, he also made harnesses for the dogs that were going on the ice trip, after Olsen showed him how to make them. He soon completed a dozen: I made them from the material known as “Blue Denham” [denim]. They are made similar to breast harnesses that are used on horses, with the exception that the traces do not continue to a wiffle tree, but meet on the back of the dog, and a single line from there connects them to the tow line. After completing the dog harnesses, Wilkins constructed a glass tank with eight-by-ten-inch glass to house fish specimens he wanted to photograph. On 12 February, Dr Anderson asked him how he felt about going on the ice trip with Stefansson: I said I would not mind going for the first few days, but did not want to go for the complete trip. But after thinking it over today, I don’t care which way it is, and I would just as soon go all the way as not, providing that I could take the cine 82

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camera along with me ... Dr. Anderson told me that the plans of V.S. will not be allowed to interfere with the work of the Southern Party, and that they will go ahead just as if nothing had been heard from V.S. Strong winds and drifting snow deterred all preparations at Collinson Point for the ice trip and delayed the departure of O’Neill and Olsen for their Firth River survey until 18 February. Using scrap boards and tarred paper, Wilkins built a small darkroom in the corner of the expedition’s house, which he needed now that he had a motion-picture camera, then assembled a glass photographing tank and typed his diary. Clear weather during the last week of February allowed him to test his motion-picture camera and remedy some problems he encountered with both camera and film. By early March, ptarmigan had reappeared around Collinson Point, so Wilkins joined Johansen and Joseph Dixon, the ornithologist with the Polar Bear, on 3 March to hunt on the tundra. Chipman, Cox, and the engineer, Blue, went hunting in a different direction. Cox was the only one of the six to even see one. It was a remarkably fine day, and although the thermometer was low [about minus thirty degrees Fahrenheit] we did not feel the cold. One does not judge the temperature by the thermometer in the Arctic as by his feeling the cold or warmth, and the sun felt nice and warm today when one was facing it. On 4 March, Wilkins sterilized and labelled the dishes he used for photographic purposes, hoping thereby to avoid getting stains on the prints he produced. He then typed lists of all of the negatives he had posted to London and also those he had on hand. Storkerson arrived the following day with Pikalu and another Eskimo, bringing the news that Stefansson had gone to Fort McPherson about 1 February. Storkerson returned to Martin Point the next day, taking two dogs and two sleds with him. He asked for someone from Collinson Point to help at the ice-trip camp but no one volunteered, so Dr Anderson asked Ikey to assist him.

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5 Confrontation at Collinson Point 8 march–15 march 1914

Stefansson arrived unexpectedly at Collinson Point shortly after lunch on 8 March. With him were Captain Bernard, Ikey Bolt, and a newcomer, Peder L. Pedersen, whom Stefansson had hired during his trip up the Mackenzie River. Stefansson brought a considerable amount of mail from Fort McPherson for the men at Collinson Point. Wilkins received thirteen letters, including several from his parents and his brothers Tom and Fred. Members of the expedition in those pre-airplane days could expect to receive mail from the south only three or four times a year: once by ship in the summer from Vancouver or Seattle to Barrow and Herschel Island; twice via the Mackenzie River system to Fort McPherson, carried by dogsled during the winter and by river boat during the summer; and possibly a mail delivery when the police (Royal North-West Mounted Police) at Herschel Island made their winter patrol over the mountains to Dawson, Yukon Territory. The mail destined for the expedition members was then brought to them at Collinson Point by anyone who happened to be going that way. Its arrival was always a special occasion. After distributing the mail, Stefansson recounted the news he had gathered during his three-month absence. A rumour of the sighting of the Karluk off the Mackenzie Delta had turned out to be false, so he had proceeded upriver to Fort McPherson in search of men for his intended ice trip and to collect the winter mail. On his way back to Collinson Point, he met O’Neill and obtained O’Neill’s pocket chronometer1 for use on his ice trip north from Martin Point. During the past three months Stefansson had made preparations for his oceanographic studies and exploration of the Beaufort Sea, activities he regarded as the prime mission of the expedition. To rectify the loss of personnel, supplies, and equipment left on the Karluk the previous September, he had purchased the supplies of traders Duffy O’Connor at Demarcation Point and of Martin Andreasen ten miles farther east at Clarence

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Lagoon. These consisted mainly of flour, sugar, and ammunition, but Andreasen’s supplies also included a trim, ten-ton schooner, the North Star, which Stefansson considered ideal for his northern exploration. Stefansson had met Martin Andreasen a few years previously when Stefansson was involved in an expedition with Dr R.M. Anderson (the Stefansson-Anderson Expedition of 1908–12). During his recent journey from Collinson Point to the Mackenzie River, Stefansson had hired Andreasen’s brother, Ole, to accompany him on his proposed ice trip north of Alaska, as well as other persons, including two Eskimo women, on a temporary basis. Having thus acquired the supplies and most of the personnel he needed, Stefansson still required scientific equipment, men for temporary sled parties, a scientist to carry out his oceanographic studies, and some other items. These he expected to obtain from the Southern Party and had in consequence sent Dr Anderson the letter late in January outlining his needs. He fully expected all would be ready in accordance with his instructions by the time he returned to Collinson Point and was far from pleased to find that few preparations had been made. Aware of some hostility at the base camp, and anticipating that any simple request he made would be quickly refused, he decided to exercise his authority and demand what he required. Authority within the expedition was a touchy subject, one greatly aggravated by the expedition’s dual purpose and sponsorship. Right from its start there were two distinct parts to the expedition, each to operate separately, and two leaders, each with markedly different loyalties and operating styles. Stefansson (and Johansen) took their instructions from the federal Department of the Naval Service, which was financing the expedition. The scientists on the Southern Party, who had been included at the insistence of Canada’s prime minister, Robert Borden, took their instructions from Dr Anderson and the Geological Survey of Canada. The Department of the Naval Service, being the senior department, had appointed Stefansson as the leader of the entire expedition. Stefansson evidently lacked any comprehension of obtaining employee performance through teamwork, preferring instead to issue instructions (in reality, orders) to his employees using his official role of expedition commander. This policy worked reasonably well with sailors and labourers, who regarded him with a certain amount of awe and respect, but not with the educated and trained scientists. Dr Anderson, on the other hand, operated with a much more democratic style, establishing the duties and responsibilities of the men under his direction by discussion and mutual agreement. The two leaders did have one trait in common, however; both were what today we might call loners. Stefansson called all members of the Southern Party to a special meeting at eight o’clock on the evening of his arrival, 8 March. With door and winconfrontation at collinson point

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dow shut to keep out the cold, the wood stove burning merrily, and some of the ten men smoking their pipes, the air in the crowded cabin was far from fresh. Stefansson’s subsequent account of the meeting remained the only readily accessible eye-witness report for more than forty years.2 He told of “a rather tense two hours” but with general agreement reached before eleven o’clock. In reality, the meeting lasted almost seven hours, finally concluding about three the next morning. During that time there were many heated exchanges between Stefansson and various scientific members of the Southern Party, who greatly resented his attempts to reassert his authority over them. They argued about many things, including Stefansson’s plans for the use of the three schooners, which would have seriously hampered their work. As the evening progressed, Dr Anderson grew increasingly exasperated over Stefansson’s frequent changes of plans, actions, and demands. Meanwhile Stefansson maintained a steady personal assault on Dr Anderson, all the while seeking to get the latter’s agreement to the new exploration plans. Dr Anderson continued silent for much of the meeting, refusing to go along with Stefansson’s plans. He did, however, reveal many of his thoughts and feelings in his field notes.3 Finally he could remain silent no longer to Stefansson’s harangue, and replied slowly and with deliberation that he intended to follow his original instructions from Ottawa and was not prepared to offer any support to Stefansson’s ice trip that would impair the work of the men under his direction. The evening ended with the conflicts over their respective leadership roles and responsibilities largely unresolved, conflicts which had arisen first in Victoria, then in Nome. And as in Victoria and Nome, Dr Anderson was again left frustrated and deeply troubled. Stefansson advisedly chose to keep his feelings to himself about the heated exchanges of that evening while he remained at Collinson Point. A few weeks later, however, he began, in letters to George Desbarats, deputy minister of the Department of the Naval Service, a quiet personal campaign of “character assassination” against Dr Anderson and some of the scientists regarding their refusal to obey his orders.4 And a few years later when he published his account of the expedition, he bluntly charged the scientists with “disobedience,” their behaviour during the meeting as “threatened mutiny.” 5 Such a public attack greatly infuriated the scientists involved, and a flurry of pro- and anti-Stefansson sentiment quickly appeared for several weeks in letters to the newspapers and private correspondence. Distinct sides were taken, and the ill feelings so created continued for many decades. Wilkins apparently played only a minor role on that eventful night, probably because as a Gaumont employee he did not think he should get 86

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involved. His diary offers little detail, but does reveal that his loyalty at that time lay with Dr Anderson: Mr. Stefansson explained at length that he was the LEADER of the whole expedition, and Dr. Anderson came to the conclusion that he [Anderson] wanted every order written, signed, and delivered to him before he could feel justified in carrying it out. We others of the Southern Party recognize Dr. Anderson as the executive head of the Southern Party and receive our orders from him. V.S. was a little put out to find that the desires that he had expressed in a letter had not been complied with before he himself returned. One of Wilkins’ valuable traits was his willingness to tackle the unknown. This surfaced when Stefansson questioned him about his knowledge of navigation: Mr. Stefansson asked me if I knew anything about navigation. I said I did, and today I have been studying up longitude. Captain Pedersen, Captain Nahmens, and Blue were each glad to show me the easiest way to arrive at the result ... I believe that I will be able to get along with it alright, and hope that we will have a sextant to practise with when we are coming back on the ice trip. Wilkins lacked formal training in navigation but did have a little experience. A year earlier, he and a companion filming and writing about the Turkish-Bulgarian War had commandeered a small Turkish tugboat. With Wilkins at the helm, they had steamed across part of the Black Sea to Constanza on the coast of Romania in order to send their eyewitness account and pictures of the rout of the Turkish forces to their London offices. Then they steered the tug back safely to the Turkish coast.6 A forced calm dominated the camp at Collinson Point the day after the meeting. Wilkins quietly copied data into a notebook from the nautical almanac in preparation for the new role Stefansson had in mind for him. Dr Anderson remained as remote as the crowded living quarters allowed. Stefansson did some typing and reading. Later he claimed in The friendly Arctic that each of the men was busily at work by eight o’clock in the morning “doing the things which he should have begun doing ... a month earlier, on the morning after receiving my instructions from Storkerson.”7 One has to question the validity of such a statement in view of the heated feelings of the men and the hour when the meeting broke up. On 11 March, Stefansson asked Wilkins if he would be ready to start for Martin Point with Johansen in two days. Although Johansen had argued forcefully with Stefansson on the evening of the meeting, he later agreed to carry out oceanographic studies as a member of Stefansson’s ice party. Wilkins replied promptly that he would not, revealing in his diary, “I do not confrontation at collinson point

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Fig. 17. V. Stefansson reading at expedition headquarters, Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 13 March 1914. (Photo 50756 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214010, nac )

leave until he [Stefansson] does. I am slightly better acquainted with his ways than I was a few months ago.” Wilkins spent the next three days testing his motion-picture camera and taking single photographs to ascertain the most suitable camera settings before he went on the ice trip. His subjects were some of the men, including Dr Anderson and Stefansson, and assorted scenes about the camp. By then all of the men had come down with bad head colds from germs Stefansson had evidently brought west with him.8 Two days later Wilkins wrote, “We are not ready to go today which is a pity for it would have been interesting to start on a Friday the thirteenth and see the results.” That evening he started to show some moving-picture film to the others, perhaps as a means of reducing the tension among the men, but the gas that illuminated the projector refused to light:

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It took me some time to clean the beastly generator and get it started. Things didn’t go as well as I would have liked but I got through the show alright. I put on the test [film strip] and found that I have been turning [the camera crank] too fast ... it is quite a long time since I have done any cine photography and I will be lucky if I manage to turn out a passable job.9 A flare-up of tempers occurred on 14 March while the men packed for the ice trip, reflecting the tensions they had been under since Stefansson’s reappearance. Johansen complained bitterly of inadequate assurance that he would be afforded sufficient opportunity to conduct the biological studies he wanted to do during his part of the ice trip, but calmed down after Stefansson told him that he would have twenty hours for his research. Wilkins then got into a heated argument with Johansen over some unknown matter. Wilkins wrote: He showed some traits of character that could not have been learnt in polite society. Captain Bernard and myself were brought into the argument and I am afraid that I behaved in a manner that I did not care for, but experience has taught me that the only thing to do is to meet things on their own level as far as possible. Dr Anderson supplied Wilkins with a compass and a Jaeger blanket from the storehouse to take on the ice trip. Wilkins promptly used the blanket to make a covering for his sleeping bag, which he had previously found too cold. With the blanket, however, the sleeping bag weighed eighteen pounds and limited what else he could take. He wanted to take two still cameras (a 3a Special Kodak and a Vest Pocket Kodak) with film for 168 exposures, and also the motion-picture camera he had obtained from the Belvedere, with 800 feet of motion-picture film. He judged these would be adequate for the trip. As the trip would involve some personal danger, Wilkins then carefully packed the personal things he was leaving behind, and methodically wrote instructions about what he wanted done with them if anything happened to him. During this period he frequently wondered about the safety of McConnell and Jenness, but did not voice his concerns lest the others scoff at him: McConnell did not have much of a chance to see the coast as we came east, and I don’t think Fred [Adluat] is a good traveller. I think if there is nothing heard of him within a few days that someone should be sent to see what has become of them, but it is none of my business to say what is to be done outside of my own work, and it is enough for me to look after that successfully.

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On the evening before his departure for Martin Point, Stefansson finally handed Dr Anderson a six-page typed summary of his plans.10 They were much the same as the plans he had sent to the deputy minister of the Department of the Naval Service from Barrow in October (which he had not bothered to give Dr Anderson), with added details about the ice trip and recent activities of the Southern Party. They were exactly the sort of details Dr Anderson and some of the scientists had requested at Nome in July but Stefansson had refused to provide. At the same time he gave Wilkins a letter suggesting that he travel west to Point Barrow after returning from the ice trip and film the Eskimos whale hunting at the ice margins near Cape Smyth, for that was a fastdisappearing local activity.11

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6 Stefansson’s First Ice Trip 16 march–2 april 1914

In 1914 little was known of what lay north of Alaska. The Norwegian explorer Ejnar Mikkelson, American geologist Ernest de Koven Leffingwell, and Norwegian sailor Storker Storkerson had made a brief sled journey from the coast northward over the ice for a few weeks in 1907, but found no land. Nevertheless, rumours persisted that land, possibly a continent, lay north of Alaska, and it had even been given the tentative name “Crocker Land.”1 One of Stefansson’s main goals for his expedition was to find and explore that land if it existed. He also intended to do so ahead of the American explorer, Donald McMillan, whom he knew had headed an expedition into the eastern Arctic in 1913 to search for the same rumoured continent.2 The eastern Arctic was much better known then than the western Arctic because of the extensive searches made for the Sir John Franklin expedition in the 1850s. Stefansson’s separation from the Karluk and its scientific personnel had temporarily disrupted his plans, but now he was getting a new start with his ice trip of two months’ duration over the Beaufort Sea. Stefansson joined the procession once Wilkins and others had taken their pictures of the “Ice Party” and its staged departure from Collinson Point. Inukok and his wife led the way on foot, heading for Crawford’s cabin twenty-two miles distant, where they had left their dog team and sled. Immediately behind them came Bernard’s team of seven dogs pulling two sleds, one behind the other, followed by Blue with his team of six dogs pulling a sled. Pedersen and his five dogs and sled brought up the rear. Wilkins, Chipman, Cox, Stefansson, and Johansen were on foot, scattered alongside the various sleds. Chipman, Cox, and Pedersen intended to leave the procession at Barter Island and continue east to start their coastal surveying at the Alaska-Yukon boundary. Wilkins carried a chronometer lent him by Stefansson and a sextant Chipman had issued him from the expedition’s stores. He needed both

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Fig. 18. Stefansson’s ice party about to leave Collinson Point for Martin Point, northern Alaska, 16 March 1914. Jennie Thomsen and daughter Annie on left, Stefansson (in white parka with dark stripes), Cox (with dark tuque behind mileage-counter wheel), Chipman (to right of sled). (Photo 50763 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214011, nac )

instruments to determine geographic locations on the ice trip. He was expected to turn the chronometer over to Stefansson when Wilkins returned to Collinson Point and to bring back the sextant as it was the one intended for use on the Mary Sachs in the summer. Their departure left only Dr Anderson, Captain Nahmens, the cooks Brook and Norem, and the sailor Thomsen and his family at Collinson Point. After they had travelled about five miles, Wilkins chanced to look back and noticed Thomsen running after them. Thomsen brought three sheath knives Stefansson had forgotten, essential items for such a trip. Travelling conditions were perfect during the day, but the four sleds moved slowly because of the heaviness of their loads. One by one the men developed foot problems and began to limp before they were even halfway to Crawford’s cabin. Only Inukok, Bernard, and Stefansson seemed untroubled. They finally reached Crawford’s house about 8 p.m., fortunate to have found it in the darkness. There they found Ikey Bolt with a sled and dog team. Wilkins, Chipman, and Cox were so tired and badly out of condition after a winter of limited activity that they ate little supper. In the morning, Stefansson obtained another dog team from an Eskimo camped nearby, bringing the number of sleds and dog teams to seven when his party got underway. The fog was too dense for Wilkins to get any pictures, so he took charge of Ikey’s sled while the latter went ahead of the dogs. 92

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Fig. 19. Pannigabluk and her son Alex at Martin Point, northern Alaska, 18 March 1914. (Photo 50770 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214012, nac )

At Barter Island they cached some of their supplies at an Eskimo camp and had lunch. Then Blue returned to Collinson Point, and Chipman, Cox, and Pedersen headed for the Alaska-Canada boundary. The distance from the Eskimo camp to the Martin Point camp was about nineteen miles. Wilkins rode on one of the sleds most of the way and thus arrived much less tired than he had been on the previous day. The Martin Point camp consisted of five tents, a dog barn, and numerous wooden racks and caches, all recently set up by Storkerson and the men he had hired. In the faint light of evening, it resembled a small village. Wilkins was surprised to find Pannigabluk and her son Alex at Martin Point. He soon learned that Stefansson had hired her to sew clothing for the men going on the ice trip. Wilkins also met Duffy O’Connor, the trader from Demarcation Point whose supplies Stefansson had bought. He was heading west to Cape Smyth. Almost everything was in readiness for the start of Stefansson’s trip onto the Beaufort Sea. However, one of the sleds Stefansson intended to use had been damaged en route from Collinson Point and needed repairs. A blizzard kept everyone in camp the next morning. When the weather cleared in the afternoon, Stefansson set out for the Belvedere to get the sled stefansson’s first ice trip

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repaired. After his departure Wilkins and Johansen proceeded 600 feet offshore and cut a hole in the ice for Johansen to obtain tidal measurements with his tide gauge. They found only nine feet of water beneath the six feet of ice. In the evening Wilkins and Storkerson discussed the ice trip. Storkerson thought they should wait a week or so longer and then take more men and a boat on a sled, because the season was well advanced and there already appeared to be open water near shore. Wilkins and Johansen spent most of the next day putting up the tide staff and protective tent in which they could take regular readings. Thereafter each of them took shifts of several hours throughout the twenty-four-hour day, recording the readings on the tide gauge. These were the first tide readings from that part of the Arctic coast. Wilkins took the first shift until midnight, then stayed for nearly two hours after Johansen replaced him, because the wind had increased considerably and there was a risk of the tent blowing down. He finally left after the wind dropped and he found the night sky ablaze with Northern Lights: on going out to go home I saw the most beautiful aurora I have ever seen. It was moving rapidly, but formed a shape like a wheel with two broad bands stretching away from it. The streaks representing spokes were moving up and down and were most brilliantly colored. This is the first coloration I have seen in an aurora. Some crewmen from the Belvedere arrived on 20 March with news that Stefansson would come the next day and intended to begin his ice trip on 22 March. Ole Andreasen, Bernard, and Storkerson then loaded the sleds that would be going on the trip, leaving only the one Stefansson had with him to be loaded. Wilkins stayed all night in the tent on 21 March, recording the tidegauge readings for Johansen. The following day, after Stefansson arrived, he gathered his clothes for the trip, limiting his extra clothing to less than 15 pounds to allow him to take more photographic equipment and films and keep the total weight to within about 100 pounds: I am wearing two fur parkas covered by a Burberry snowshirt, 1 pr drawers, 2 pr pants, 1 pr sheepskin socks, a pair of deerskin [caribou skin] ugruk soled boots, 1 pr soft fur mits, and one pr deerleg mits. For spare clothing I am taking a fur parka and a pair of long fur pants. It was mid-afternoon on 22 March when Stefansson finally got the men on his ice trip underway. Wilkins took motion pictures of their departure and then joined the men with their four heavily-loaded sleds.

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150°

140°

130°

120°

June 16

May 15

C. Prince Alfred

May 2 June 20

June 30–Sept. 1

Norway I.

Apr. 28

BANKS

BEAUFORT SEA

ISLAND

Apr. 24

Sept. 11

Cape Kellett

Apr. 16

70°

Martin Pt

AMUNDSEN GULF

Baillie Is.

Camden Bay Mar. 25–28 Mar. 31

Mar. 22

A

Herschel I.

USA CANAD

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0

Mackenzie R.

100 miles

0

200 km

Fig. 20. Route of Stefansson’s first ice trip, north of Alaska, 22 March– 11 September 1914.

Captain Bernard went ahead with his team of seven dogs drawing a load of 1020 lbs. He was assisted by Ole Anderson. Next came my team with a load of 730 lbs, 7 dogs. Aarnout [Castel] and his team came next with a load of 640 lbs, Storkerson and Johansen brought up the rear loaded with 860 lbs on six dogs. Aarnout had five dogs. Our total load was 3,300 lbs. 604 lbs of this was the total weight of the sledges, so our supplies, scientific equipment, and personal equipment weighed 2,696 lbs. Sweeney and two Eskimos provided assistance for the first few miles, then returned to Martin Point. Stefansson and his six companions travelled about seven miles before stopping to camp. Wilkins suspected they were only about three miles from shore, however, because they had followed such an irregular course in and around the ridged ice. Johansen sounded the water’s depth at this first camp and found it to be eighty-four feet. From the top of a nearby pressure ridge, they could see open water some two miles to seaward. The following morning dawned clear, mild, and calm. McConnell arrived alone and on foot just as Andreasen finished cooking breakfast. He reported that he and Jenness had reached Collinson Point on 20 March, bringing mail from Cape Smyth, and that he had been dispatched by Dr Anderson the next day to catch up to the ice party. Wilkins received three letters.

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Starting out mid-morning, the ice party passed over some rough ice and worked its way through an assortment of large ice blocks. Wilkins’ sled, the last one in the procession because of his picture taking, turned over at one point and took some time to right. By then Bernard’s sled had disappeared over a ridge, and Storkerson was relashing his load. Stefansson suddenly appeared, wanting his bag, and explained that Bernard had fallen and cut his head open in what Stefansson later described as “the most serious and most nearly fatal accident I have ever seen in the North.” 3 McConnell promptly went to look after Bernard, leaving Wilkins to pitch a tent in which the injured man could be treated: While they were washing the wound which extended from temple to temple laying open the scalp and allowing the forehead skin to lap over his eyes, I examined the place of the accident. It was not a particularly high ridge, but had a nasty dip at the bottom, the sledge must have bounced when it landed at the bottom, and the captain having fallen before caught it with his head as it was coming down again. McConnell stitched up Bernard’s wound. By the time he finished, Bernard had lost a lot of blood, so Stefansson decided that Bernard needed to return to Martin Point for treatment. He, together with Castel, McConnell, and Andreasen, then took the injured man back to shore in a sled, leaving Wilkins, Johansen, and Storkerson to look after the tents. Some while later Wilkins noticed that the ice about half a mile to seaward of their camp was moving. As a precautionary move he and his companions loaded up the sleds in readiness for a hasty move if the ice broke up closer to their tents. He then arranged that they would take turns on watch throughout the night in case the ice broke up beneath them. Fortunately it remained undisturbed, although it continued to move nearby. Stefansson and his shore party returned after breakfast, accompanied by Crawford, who was to manage Bernard’s dog team. Stefansson soon decided to remain in camp for the day and asked Wilkins and McConnell to do the cooking on a rotational basis. That night Stefansson, Crawford, and Andreasen slept in the small tent. The party got under way shortly after 10 a.m. on 25 March, with Stefansson going ahead to select the trail. After the men had travelled about half a mile, Stefansson sent Storkerson back to stop the others, for he had reached the outer edge of the landfast ice and faced an open lead of water about 300 feet wide. The ice on the other side of the lead was in constant motion, slowly moving eastward as the men watched in awe. From time to time it came in contact with the landfast ice on which they stood, producing deafening noises as it ground against and crushed the stationary ice, and forming pressure ridges within a few minutes many tens of feet high which just as quickly tumbled back into the sea. 96

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Fig. 21. Stefansson dragging a seal back to camp north of Martin Point, northern Alaska, 25 March 1914. (Photo 50776 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214013, nac )

Stefansson suddenly decided to hunt seals along the open water and took McConnell with him, leaving the other men to undertake repairs on the runners of Wilkins’ sled. Within a short time they shot four seals, one of which Stefansson brought back to their camp. Wilkins promptly photographed him pulling the seal across the ice, resulting in a picture that later received wide publicity, initially as the dustjacket picture and frontispiece of Stefansson’s book The friendly Arctic, thereafter in a number of other publications.4 Wilkins then photographed McConnell and Storkerson skinning the seal and constructing a raft with a sled and tarpaulin, and Johansen taking the temperature of the sea water.5 These action-filled scenes provided exactly the kind of publicity-oriented photographs Stefansson wanted, fully justifying Wilkins’ attachment to his Arctic expedition. The freshly cooked seal meat provided an enjoyable supper that evening. The following day the men all stayed around their camp, keeping a close watch on the moving ice, which had closed the lead overnight and was crushing and grinding against the landfast ice on which they were camped. By evening the moving ice had ground away about 600 feet of the ice near their tents. On 27 March, Stefansson decided to send a sled back to shore with a load of things not required for the rest of the trip. He thought Wilkins’ heavy motion-picture camera should go back before it got damaged on the rough ice, so suggested Wilkins take whatever photographs he needed stefansson’s first ice trip

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Fig. 22. Johansen taking the temperature of the sea water north of Martin Point, northern Alaska, 25 March 1914. (Photo 50778 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214014, nac )

right away. Wilkins photographed a nearby pressure ridge to illustrate the type of travel Stefansson’s ice party was encountering.6 He also took several feet of movie film of some of the men entering the tent, hoping to film a cooking scene inside the tent at a later date to augment the sequence. (He never did film the cooking scene.) Included with the surplus material were the skins of three of the seals they had shot, with the blubber still attached, which would make good dog food. Stefansson wanted McConnell and Castel to go with the loaded sled, but McConnell’s foot was troubling him, so Wilkins volunteered to replace him. After pausing for a cup of tea, Wilkins and Castel set off about midday for Martin Point: We started from the third camp and reached the second after travelling ten minutes and the first after another half hour’s travel. Soon after we passed this camp it commenced to snow slightly but there was hardly any wind. It looked stormy towards the west, and soon the snow fell faster completely covering the old trail. By this time we were over the last ridge, and not being able to find the trail we headed straight for the beach. A blizzard overtook us about two mile[s] from the shore; it came upon us with extraordinary suddenness and the wind was so strong that it was difficult to walk against. I was going ahead and in the storm I could not distinguish the hummocks from the level ice, consequently we travelled over some very rough places and our progress 98

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Fig. 23. Pressure ridges and open water north of Martin Point, northern Alaska, 29 March 1914. (Photo 50800 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214015, nac )

was slow. We eventually reached the shore and as I had purposely kept a little to the East I knew that we must travel along the sand spit to the west in order to reach the camp at Martin Point. We reached this place about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but had it remained clear we should have reached here about 2 o’clock. Quickly unloading the items they had brought on the sled, which included Wilkins’ motion-picture camera with its exposed film and the 3a Special Kodak camera with five rolls of exposed film, Wilkins and Castel loaded the things Stefansson had asked them to take back – cans of coal oil, two sleeping bags, and two boxes of .30-30 cartridges. As their sled was one of the better ones on the ice party and carried with it a bag of bolts and screws for repairing any of the sleds, its return to the ice party was crucial. By the time they were ready to start, however, the storm had increased to such an intensity that Wilkins had literally to crawl on hands and knees to get from one tent to another. After coming out of one tent door he was suddenly blown off his feet and ended up under a nearby sled. Faced with such a storm, he had to abandon his return trip until the storm abated. So much snow fell that night that the roof of Wilkins’ tent was weighed down and resting on the stove when he awoke in the morning, and he had to dig his way out. Sweeney had gone to the Belvedere for medicine and bandages for the injured Captain Bernard, who was recovering well. A man named Levi Bauer from the Belvedere was looking after Bernard during stefansson’s first ice trip

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Sweeney’s absence. Taking advantage of the delay, Wilkins arranged to have Pannigabluk alter his boots and to have another Eskimo woman, “Shotgun,” sew a length of blanket on the mouth of each of the two sleeping bags he was to take back to the ice party. The weather started to clear about noon, and Wilkins and Castel started for the ice camp shortly thereafter. They were accompanied by Sweeney and Ikey Bolt, who wanted to obtain Stefansson’s written permission for Captain Bernard to return to Collinson Point with all the dogs that were then at Martin Point before the supporting party returned perhaps two months hence. They reached the first pressure ridge after about an hour. Climbing to the top of the ridge, Wilkins was startled to see a stretch of open water about half a mile wide directly in front of him, widening both to the west and to the east. The main ice pack on which Stefansson and his companions were camped was now moving to the east at a speed he judged to be about a mile and a half per hour! Without some kind of boat Wilkins could not reach it. Seals were bobbing up out of the water here and there, easily within shooting range, but Wilkins refrained from shooting any as he lacked the means of recovering them. Instead he photographed the open lead and the pressure ridge,7 then turned his sled about and returned to the Martin Point camp. Wondering what had caused the unexpected severance of so much of the landfast ice, he concluded that the tide must have been particularly high during the night, for a tide crack had opened opposite the Martin Point camp about fifteen yards from the shore and the width of the crack was about eighteen to twenty feet. Snow had blown into this and freezing had made a sort of ditch following the contour of the coast, the depth being about eighteen inches. The following morning Wilkins and his companions returned to the pressure ridge and found that the lead had closed to about 900 feet, but was filled with young slush ice and ice rubble that was impossible to cross. Curiously, the ice pack beyond the lead was now moving to the west at about half a mile per hour. Wilkins searched with his field glasses for signs of Stefansson’s party, but saw no one. Wherever they were, they were now cut off from the shore, and he was unable to return to their camp: I decided that it was useless to wait any longer and look for the people on the pack and that I would go to the Belvedere and get the remainder of the cinematograph film that was left there and if none of the party showed up to go to Collinson Point in four days from now.

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Leaving their sled with Ikey Bolt and Inukok at the open lead to enable them to hunt seals, Wilkins and Castel walked back to the main camp, hitched up a team of dogs, and set off for the Belvedere twenty-two miles away. They reached it four and a half hours later, after stopping at the Polar Bear for Wilkins to look from its mast for any sign of Stefansson and his companions. From the crow’s nest he obtained a clear view to the north of open water about three miles from shore. At the Belvedere Wilkins learned of the death of an Eskimo man on board the ship some days earlier. Thinking that details of the funeral might be useful for the ethnologist, Jenness, he wrote in his diary: His tribe would not have a white man’s funeral for him but sewed the corpse up in a blanket and carried it ashore, then laying him on the tundra they cut open the blanket so as to expose his chest. His pipe and tobacco were sewed on to the blanket and they left him thus exposed on the beach. Another westerly gale struck suddenly during the night and abated only the following afternoon. Wilkins reckoned that the wind would drive still farther east the ice on which Stefansson and his men were stranded. He climbed to the crow’s nest of the Belvedere but could not see very far because of the hazy weather. One of the ship’s crew told him later that he had seen open water on the previous day about three miles offshore, with no ice beyond it. Wilkins collected the unexposed movie film he needed and from Captain Cottle nearly 100 pounds of fresh meat to take to the men at Collinson Point. He and Castel then left for Martin Point. After reaching Martin Point, Wilkins dressed Captain Bernard’s head wound, noting that it was healing well. Following an early breakfast, Wilkins set off for the pressure ridge offshore to have one more look for Stefansson and his ice party. From the top of the ridge, he saw that the lead had opened up again to about a mile and a half wide and abounded with seals. Yielding to the opportunity, he shot four, but was unable to retrieve any of them. On the way back to camp I lost the glass and one of the hands from my wrist watch. This is a serious loss to me for it is the only watch that I have and was the most convenient one in the whole outfit. It kept splendid time and with it it was so easy to tell the time either night or day for it had luminous hands and never left my wrist except when I was washing myself, and as that is not a regular ceremony up here and is only done at very irregular and infrequent intervals, one might say it was my constant companion. I gave it to Levi yesterday to have a look at, and he took it partly to pieces and I expect did not fasten the lost parts on securely. I will never forgive him for it.

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Once back at the Martin Point camp, Wilkins loaded the sled in readiness to take Captain Bernard back to Collinson Point. He got underway about noon the following day with Bernard, Castel, and Ikey Bolt, heading into a fairly stiff westerly breeze. They had two sleds and thirteen dogs, and were accompanied by Inukok as far as Barter Island, which they reached by four o’clock. By then the wind had abated, so Wilkins continued on to Crawford’s cabin, wondering why there had been a tide crack all the way from the Belvedere to Martin Point, but none from that point west: “Whether the crack had extended along the coast to the west and was now filled with snow I do not know for sure, but I think that it must have done so, for there had been enough drifting to fill up the crack since Friday night.” At Crawford’s cabin Wilkins found a note from Dr Anderson stating that he and Blue had gone hunting up the Hulahula River and would not likely return for about two weeks. Wilkins in turn left a note for Dr Anderson stating that he and his party had passed by the cabin on 1 April en route to Collinson Point. The convalescing Captain Bernard fared amazingly well on the trip, even running beside the sled for part of the way. Wilkins expected him to be almost fully recovered in another week or two. Starting early the following morning, Wilkins and his three companions reached Collinson Point shortly after noon: Jenness was here busy with the Eskimo language which he seems to have learned very successfully. He has done quite a lot of work at Point Barrow [sic, Cape Smyth] and around Cape Halkett. He certainly is an energetic worker in his own profession. He told me that the films that I sent ashore at Cape Smyth and that Mr. Hopson posted were sent back to Point Barrow [sic] because there was some trouble in the Customs office about them. He had not declared the value of them when he made out the form at the Post Office, it was the first parcel post that had been sent from Point Barrow [sic], and I suppose the Post master did not quite understand what was needed and the officials thought to correct it at the start. I wish it had not happened to my films anyway, but now it can’t be helped however, although it did not give the firm a chance to issue any of the film at the time that the report that the Karluk was missing was received in London. Jenness has been in very good health and looks well now. Jenness had re-shipped Wilkins’ films to London in February with the proper customs papers.

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7 Visit with the Whale Hunters 3 april–6 june 1914

Freed of his commitments to Stefansson’s ice trip, Wilkins decided to head west to Point Barrow to film the Eskimos’ spring shore-whaling activities, a project Stefansson had suggested two weeks earlier.1 Wilkins was to obtain a filmed record of the annual Eskimo whale hunt at Point Barrow while it still took place. Open leads in the shore ice occur close to shore at Point Barrow, a long low sand spit jutting into the ocean and the northernmost point on the North American continent. The bowhead whales follow these leads as they swim north to their summer feeding grounds in the Beaufort Sea. Each April or May many of the men from Cape Smyth, including Charles Brower, gathered between their settlement and Point Barrow to watch for the first appearance of the migrating bowhead whales. Once whales were sighted, the men took to their walrus-skin-covered umiaks and armed with harpoons and guns paddled hastily after them. If they were within shooting range when one of the slow-swimming mammals surfaced for air, they threw or fired harpoons into it. Walrus-hide lines connected to the harpoons were attached to two or three air-inflated sealskin floats, which then impeded the whale’s progress. When the appended floats ultimately exhausted the wounded animal, the hunters closed in for the kill. The whale meat and fat would supply food and fuel for months and were essential to the survival of the hunters and their families. This near-shore whaling activity was totally separate from the commercial whale-hunting activities then carried out each summer by whaling ships from Seattle and San Francisco that came into the Arctic in search of “whalebone” (baleen) and whale oil. Charles Brower had been attracted to the shore-whaling hunt soon after his arrival at Point Barrow in 1886. Two years later he established the Cape Smythe Whaling Company at Cape Smyth and remained in business after the demise of the whaling industry in the early 1900s by converting his

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building to a trading station. However, he still participated in the annual shore-whaling hunt. Wilkins especially wanted to film Brower in action.2 Wilkins needed a reliable person with a good dog team and sled to get him to Point Barrow from Collinson Point. He had originally planned to undertake the trip alone with dogs from Collinson Point, but Johansen and McConnell had the only spare team, and they were with Stefansson’s ice party. Captain Bernard mentioned that Billy Natkusiak was trapping somewhere near Flaxman Island and had a fine team of dogs and might be willing to take Wilkins to Cape Smyth. He also offered to look for him and see if he would come to Collinson Point to meet Wilkins. Wilkins quickly agreed: I will be pleased if this can be arranged for I do not want to have the bother of looking after a team of dogs when I am at Point Barrow taking pictures, and Billy wanted to go to Point Barrow, so he told McConnell, and Dr. Anderson wants him to go along with us to our next winter quarters. On 3 April, Captain Bernard and Fred Adluat headed for Flaxman Island in search of Natkusiak. During their absence Wilkins developed his ice-trip pictures and found that most of them were satisfactory. That done, he set about building a darkroom, but discovered, to his great annoyance, that Captain Nahmens had used nearly all of the nails and screws to make a tool chest for Blue, the engineer of the Alaska. These included nails and screws Wilkins had brought from the Belvedere some weeks earlier for the construction of his darkroom. Bernard and Adluat returned with Natkusiak two days later. To Wilkins’ delight, Natkusiak wanted to go to Point Barrow and said he would take Wilkins there and back for $100 plus his expenses. Wilkins spent the next few days preparing his photographs and films for shipment to his employers in England. For two days he labelled his negatives and wrote letters to his employers. Then he developed short lengths from the ends of the motion-picture films he had taken since leaving the Karluk and found them reasonably satisfactory. Wilkins had wanted to start west on 9 April, but Dr Anderson and Blue were still not back from their hunting trip up the Hulahula River. Unaccustomed to having so much free time, he waited as patiently as he could, but soon began to worry that the rough ice and soft snow at this time of year would make travel difficult. On 10 April he wrapped his films into two packages, one with negatives for the Daily Chronicle newspaper, the other with moving-picture film for the Gaumont Company. Then, with his films and letters ready to mail, he settled down to wait for the return of Dr Anderson, as it was imperative that Dr Anderson know of his travel plans and approve his trip.

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Easter Sunday, 12 April, passed without special observance. Wilkins’ religious background may have prompted him to comment that “we scarcely know Sunday from any other day up here and the fact of this one being Easter makes but little impression on the men that are here.” The sailor Thomsen returned to the main camp with his family and traps during the day and started working for the expedition again, disappointed at having caught only twenty-five white foxes in the previous six months. Like Captain Nahmens and the engineer Crawford, he had reached an agreement with Stefansson when he signed on with the expedition to receive no pay from November to April on condition that he retain all proceeds from any animals he trapped. Although he had caught more foxes than any of the others, they would yield far less financial return than he had expected. Captain Nahmens also moved back to the main camp in order to begin preparing the Alaska for the coming navigation season. Castel and a dog team brought his supplies from his trapping camp. The arrival of Iakok and his family from Flaxman Island with the news that the intervening trail was very bad now raised new doubts in Wilkins’ mind about the advisability of sledding to Point Barrow and back so late in the season. Although much troubled, he continued to delay his departure, feeling duty-bound to discuss his travel plans with Dr Anderson. On 15 April he asked Castel and Nahmens to go east along the coast as far as Martin Point to seek information on the whereabouts of Dr Anderson. They returned the following day with no news. On 17 April, Andre Norem, cook of the Mary Sachs, ended several months of personal anguish by shooting himself in the head just outside the Southern Party’s house at Collinson Point. Wilkins and Thomsen cleaned up the remains and laid out the body, while Captain Bernard made a coffin. They thought that Dr Anderson should have charge of the burial details, but when he had not returned by 19 April, they proceeded with the burial on their own, erecting a small wooden monument over the grave. Before leaving on his hunting trip, Dr Anderson had left word that Captain Bernard and others should start freighting the expedition’s supplies on the Belvedere by dogsled to Herschel Island as soon as possible. Captain Bernard now concluded he was well enough to start the freighting and left for the Belvedere. On 20 April, Wilkins finally decided that he could wait no longer for Dr Anderson. Leaving a detailed note of his plans,3 he and Natkusiak started their 300-mile journey west to Point Barrow: Billy ran ahead for awhile but it is as V.S. says, he is getting too old for traveling now and he soon asked me to go ahead of the dogs. I did not mind doing this for

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the snow is soft and deep and one may as well walk in front as behind when they cannot ride. The trail was awfully bad all the way to Flaxman Island and we did not reach there until midnight after being fifteen hours on the way. Leffingwell was not at his house when they arrived, but Wilkins had the key that Leffingwell had given Captain Bernard and so was able to use the facilities for the night. From a local Eskimo named Kanaura, Wilkins learned that Leffingwell had arrived earlier at Iakok’s house, a few miles to the west, and would probably return the following day, but Wilkins decided not to wait. They met Leffingwell the next day on the trail and learned that he had completed his coastal survey west to Oliktok Point near the Colville River and intended now to do geological work in the mountains. He seemed pleased that Stefansson had not beaten the record set by himself, Mikkelsen, and Storkerson in 1907 for distance travelled north from the Alaskan coast in the first few days. After a brief chat Wilkins and Natkusiak continued to the west. Papirok shortly thereafter appeared from his camp on a sand spit, carrying a letter that he wanted Wilkins to take to Cape Smyth. (Much of the mail was carried along the Arctic coast in this unofficial manner during the first half of the twentieth century.) After conversing briefly with Papirok, Wilkins decided to stay overnight at the latter’s warm and inviting camp. Continuing westward for several hours the next morning, Wilkins and Natkusiak unexpectedly encountered Kopuk, who was heading east to Collinson Point, and exchanged news for a few minutes. They then followed Kopuk’s trail to his house and spent the night. Wilkins’ eyes had been painful during the day, and he suspected he was suffering from snowblindness. When they became worse the following day, Natkusiak confirmed his suspicions. By evening he could not see at all and had to hold on to the handle bars of the sled and stumble along as best he could. They camped for the night on a sand spit on the inner side of Howe Island. The pain was intense and a copious flow from the nose and eyes made one feel very uncomfortable ... It was agony cooking supper tonight, and I had to do most of the things by a sense of touch, although inside the dark tent one’s eyes do not pain quite so much. They had no fire for warmth that night, and the cold together with the pain of his eyes prevented Wilkins from sleeping well. At Natkusiak’s insistence, Wilkins remained in their tent all the next day to rest his eyes, which were swollen and red as well as painful. Natkusiak

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Fig. 24. Wilkins’ sled with improvised sail using camera tripod and part of a tent; Natkusiak selecting the trail, east of Thetis Island, northern Alaska, 25 April 1914. (Photo 50814 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214016, nac )

went to a whale carcass he knew was near their camp and collected food for their dogs. Sometime during the day, Wilkins managed to write in his diary: I tried steaming my eyes today; it gave them a little relief, but I don’t think it did them any material good. However, by night time I could see again and the pain was not so intense. On the morning of 25 April they started off, hoping to reach Thetis Island, which was where Stefansson’s hunting party from the Karluk had camped in September. The trail proved extremely difficult, however, and two of their six dogs became lame from the stiff harnesses they wore. Wilkins asked Natkusiak to make another type of harness for them, which he hoped would allow the dogs to recover soon. I was not able to see much today but could do a fair amount of pushing behind the sledge, Billy was pulling in front of the dogs on a line and breaking trail. It is the worst going that I have seen up here.

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A favourable tailwind blew for a brief period after their lunch stop. To use it to their advantage, they set up Wilkins’ camera tripod on the sled as a mast and attached part of the tent to it for a sail. It increased their speed noticeably while the wind lasted. That evening Wilkins wrote in his diary: We seem to be faring very well on a diet of oatmeal mush, bacon and coffee in the morning, biscuit chocolate and biscuit for lunch, and beans and bacon and rice and raisins every alternate night. We have been making tea for lunch until today, but it is too cold to make it worth while to stand around until the water boils, so I will discontinue this practice after today. Hampered by difficult trail conditions and two lame dogs, they got only to a sand spit on the east side of the Jones Islands that day, far short of their intended destination. The next day Wilkins reported: My eyes are still not so well as they might be and I can only keep them open for a few seconds at a time. We only reached as far as Spy Island today for it was a head wind, foggy and awfully cold. It seems good even to recognize this spot again for it is just seven months ago today since we first camped here with Stefansson soon after leaving the Karluk. The following day he fared somewhat better: My eyes were better this morning and I took the lead and thought I was heading out for Amoliktok [Thetis Island]. I was some distance on the way before I saw this island some distance to the north of us. I then headed for what I thought to be the right direction for Akseatak’s house in Harrison Bay. We traveled all day against a head wind and camped at six o’clock, for I could go no further in my frozen boots. I had hoped to travel until seven o’clock but could not do it. Our tent is getting coated with hoar frost and gets wet every time we light the primus and freezes when that is put out. That evening Wilkins got into a discussion with Natkusiak about polar bears. Both agreed that they were too close to shore and too far from open water to see any. Wilkins was startled the next morning, therefore, when they crossed a fresh bear trail half an hour after getting under way. Obviously a polar bear had been near their camp sometime during the night without their dogs sounding the alarm. For the rest of the day Wilkins continued to lead the dogs and sled as they crossed the broad delta of the Colville River, heading as he hoped for Akseatak’s house. “By evening we had reached an island and could see another one ahead, and I knew that Akseatak’s could not be very far off.” However, they continued only to the second island and then camped, 108

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cooking a ptarmigan they had shot during the day. “I have been experiencing another ‘minor inconvenience’ (as Stefansson calls them) today, that is, freezing the face on one side and getting sun burnt on the other. It is by no means pleasant.” April twenty-ninth was their tenth day on the trail. The weather was fine and clear, and travelling was a pleasure. Within an hour Wilkins sighted Akseatak’s house about two miles ahead and was pleased that his sense of direction had led them straight to it. Akseatak was away hunting, but his wife and children were at home. Five months had passed since Wilkins last saw them, and he was distressed by their present state. Mrs Akseatak told them that their only food for the past fifteen days was seal oil. Food was available some distance away, but they could not retrieve it because all but one of their dogs had died. They had been seriously short of food since January, forcing their guest, Jenness, to leave them early in February to go to Cape Smyth. In spite of such hardship, “They all looked fat and healthy on their sparse diet, and although they had nothing else to offer us they soon had a cup of coffee ready.” Wilkins wasted no time in rendering assistance: “We have with us supplies enough to take us to Barrow and back to Collinson Point, and I did not intend to buy any thing at Barrow, but now I have given these people all the food I have except enough to take us to Point Barrow.” Wilkins and Natkusiak left Akseatak’s early in the morning, heading for Anopkana’s house near Cape Halkett: The direction of travel was at right angles to the snow drifts, some of which were four or five feet high, and Billy had to often exert all his strength to help the sledge over them. We struck a point much further in the bay than I intended because of following an old trail, but as the going on the tundra was better than on the sea ice I did not mind. They reached their destination half an hour earlier than Wilkins had expected. The house was deserted, but everything was in excellent order, there were plenty of provisions on the driftwood rack outside, and a lot of dog food in a nearby ice house. Clearly Anopkana, in marked contrast to Akseatak, was prospering. Shortly after their arrival, Natkusiak shot a snowy owl that landed on a wooden rack nearby. Wilkins found the flesh of the bird tasty but tough. However, “the soup was excellent. This added another article of diet to my Epicurius Arctica.” Demonstrating remarkable foresight before retiring for the night, Wilkins used his field glasses to look for the best route to follow west. In the morning when he arose, everything was covered by a dense fog. In spite of that, however, he steered his dogs safely across a bay and some very rough visit with the whale hunters

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ice and soon found a trail leading to Pitt Point, where he camped. By his own calculations he concluded that he and Natkusiak had travelled about thirty miles that day, in spite of a blowing headwind and the bitterly cold temperature. They crossed Smith Bay on 2 May, taking advantage of a moderate wind to use their tent sail: [The wind] was a little too much to one side to make a direct crossing of Smith Bay, but I thought it quicker to run before it and then travel along the land than to cut across it. About an hour after we started a thick fog settled down and snow glasses were of no more use for they would get covered with moisture. I knew to take them off would mean another attack of snowblindness, but wishing to get to Barrow as soon as possible and to take advantage of the wind we traveled on. We reached an Eskimo house about seven o’clock after traveling about 28 miles. Several hours before this I could feel the snowblindness coming on and by the time we reached the house I could not see as far as the end of the sledge, and Billy had to do most of the work about the camp as well as the cooking. This second attack of snowblindness was even more painful than the first. Nevertheless, Wilkins insisted that they press on. I could not open my eyes at all outside in the light and had to follow behind the sledge holding onto the handles as before. By the time we reached Iglurak the pain was such as I have never felt before and don’t want to feel again. I was heartily sick of spring traveling tonight and of eating sop food out of a cup with a spoon without being able to see what you are eating. I crawled into the sleeping bag early but lying, sitting, or standing furnished no relief, neither did holding my eyes open with my fingers nor keeping them closed. I spent the night, which seemed as years to me, wishing for breakfast time to come and was thankful when he [Natkusiak] got up and lit the primus stove which furnished our only means of cooking here. Billy [Natkusiak] says it is warm outside and I can hear the water dripping from the roof. Natkusiak persuaded Wilkins to remain in the Eskimo house all day, fearing possible permanent damage to his eyes if he continued to travel. In pain and much disheartened, Wilkins acquiesced, knowing full well that he could do nothing about photographing the offshore whaling at Point Barrow if he was blind. However, by the following day, 5 May, Wilkins was so impatient to reach Cape Smyth, which he knew lay only a day’s journey away, that he insisted they get underway soon after they arose. They reached the settlement and Charles Brower’s house that evening. Brower was out at the edge of the floe ice watching for whales, but his assistant, Fred Hopson, welcomed them 110

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and quickly dropped some lotion (boric acid and cocaine) into Wilkins’ eyes, which greatly relieved the pain. Not wanting to miss any of the action, Wilkins made preparations to join a sled party that was leaving the next morning to go to Brower’s camp. A breakfast of hotcakes and fried whale meat was welcome after their fare of the previous two weeks. A boy was sent for the mail but there was none for me and very little for any of the others. There were a few New York papers, however, but they proved on inspection to be over twelve months old. Although they have built a road over the ice to the waters edge about 4 1/2 miles from Cape Smythe, Mr. Brower was camped about 11 miles from the station and about 2 miles from the village at Point Barrow. Brower was at the camp when Wilkins arrived. He told Wilkins that no whales had been seen that day, but a small one had been caught several days earlier. Brower was amenable for Wilkins to join his boat and take pictures of the activities and agreed to help in any way he could. The camp was situated in a picturesque bight near the edge of the floe and is surrounded by a high pressure ridge, the highest point of which must be nearly forty feet in height and affords a fine lookout station. From here one can see for miles inland, Cape Smythe, and the wrecked Transit some five miles further south. Point Barrow village seems almost at the foot of the ridge, although it is actually two miles away. There were only a few houses at Point Barrow, which was the northernmost settlement on the North American continent. Somewhat later Brower decided to move his camp farther south. Accordingly, everything was loaded into his boat, its sail was set, and, with Wilkins aboard, the boat glided slowly south with the wind past nine other whalers’ camps. Brower’s boat contained six Eskimos, Wilkins, Brower, and a teenaged American named Paul Steen, who had been a member of the crew of the schooner Transit before it was wrecked south of Cape Smyth. None of the people in any of the camps had seen any whales that day, so Brower decided they had come too far and had his men turn his boat about. All hands on board had to paddle, as the boat now faced into the wind. This may have been Wilkins’ first paddling experience, for he commented that while his paddling efforts did not add much to the progress of the boat, it was a good way to keep warm: “My efforts, however, afforded some amusement for the Eskimos on the ice but not for the one who was in the boat behind me, for I occasionally missed a stroke and splashed him with icy cold water.” visit with the whale hunters

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The boat steerer in Brower’s whaleboat, a well-known Eskimo named “Shoefly,” selected their campsite, and the crew hauled the boat up on the shorefast ice. The crew then fastened guy lines from a twelve-foot bell tent to holes they cut in the ice, raised the tent, and soon were heating a pot of tea and cooking mukpouras. Later, over an open fire burning cord wood from British Columbia (a fact Wilkins noted with surprise), they soon were cooking seal meat and whale meat. While the meat was cooking, Brower suggested Wilkins try some raw whale meat. Never one to avoid something new, Wilkins popped a piece in his mouth and chewed it. To his amazement he liked the taste and ate about half a pound of it. Doing so, however, obviously provided him with some misgivings, for after mentioning the incident in his diary he added: Ugh! Fancy eating raw meat with the blood dripping from it, it sounds dreadfully cannibalistic and the thoughts of it are nauseating, but once [you] gain control of your thoughts and have an appetite worked up by hard work in an atmosphere of 30 to 40 degrees below freezing and one can enjoy almost anything that can be eaten. Wilkins then described the meal that followed, revealing his discomfort with some things that were part of everyday life in an Eskimo encampment in northern Alaska at that time: Our regular cooked meal was soon ready for us, however, this was boiled seal meat; it had been cooked by one of the Eskimos and was very good in spite of the fact that the entrails had been cooked along with it in the same pot, and even then one Eskimo was delightfully sipping soup from the paunch, and another demolishing a long line of small gut. Hundreds of ducks now flew northward along this coast and eastward from Point Barrow, en route to their summer breeding grounds. One of Brower’s party shot a fine King Eider Duck, affording Wilkins the opportunity to admire its brilliant plumage. A northeast wind kept the lead in the ice open as the hunters continued their watch for the whales. During the day, Wilkins and the others paced restlessly up and down along the edge of the ice, whiling away the time, occasionally chewing on some muktuk (whale blubber). “I am heartily glad of a rest and don’t mind doing without any violent exercise for a day or two, but I hope that we will soon sight a whale so that I might get a picture of it and start back for home.” He welcomed the warmth provided by the fur pants and extra fur parka (atigi) he was wearing, and wondered how some of the Eskimos could sleep in the boat or on the boat sled without extra cover. 112

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The days passed slowly. On 8 May, Wilkins wrote: “Another day of watching and waiting. Truly this is a country in which patience is a virtue, and one not possessed of this quality will soon be brought to a state of resignedness to his fate.” Three whaling boats passed by that day, each one containing a woman, to Wilkins’ surprise. The following day he observed: In the middle of my slumbers last night I was rudely awakened by the uncanny feeling that we were suffering from an earthquake shock, but on recovering consciousness I found that it was only the Eskimos literally taking the roof from over our head. A smart SW breeze had sprung up and the lead was closing fast, the pack grinding and crushing, pieces of ice falling over each other hurried as they were by the wind and the choppy sea. It was hard to realize that such a sea could get up in so short a time in so small a lead, for the waves that were chasing each other and criss-crossing were at least three feet high when I got up. No time was lost in loading the boat and getting under way. We paddled towards the south road, which was nearest, but by doing so had to paddle against the wind. The distance fortunately was not very far, but the sea was so rough and difficult to navigate that before we reached the road we were all well wetted with spray. The wind soon dropped, and in less than a quarter of an hour the waves that had caused the paddlers so much trouble had diminished to scarcely a ripple. The water in the narrowing lead grew calm. Mr. Brower then decided to make a run for the north road, thinking that in the event of a crush the ice would open up sooner the further north. We therefore hoisted sail and assisted by paddles made all haste to the other camp some nine miles away. The lead was quickly narrowing and by the time we were within 200 yards of the road the rubble ice had already joined the grounded floe. It seemed as if we would be surely caught between the two packs [and] be forced to abandon the boat and scramble over the seething ice to the solid floor, but the resiliency of the skin boat now proved to me its worth. All hands now desperately paddled or levered the boat through the squelching seething mass; here and there a large cake of ice sheltered a small patch of open water and in these places the boat would gather momentum and crash into the ice on the other side; ahead it seemed as though the race was done, we were completely stopped by a large [cake of ice] forced against the pack entirely blocking the way; the edge was reached and many exclamations were heard from the crew, but with a crash and a groan the great cake rose and split to shivering splinters, a corner of the grounded floe reared on end revealing for an instant a sand flecked bottom and then toppling over crashed down amongst the slush, missing our boat by a narrow margin. Now was our chance, for the backwash had loosened the ice somewhat and a few smart strokes took the boat past the block and into the slacker mire on the other side. visit with the whale hunters

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Fig. 25. Wilkins with his motion-picture camera north of Barrow, northern Alaska, 6 May 1914. (Photo 50816 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214017, nac )

It was now but 50 yards to the landing place, but it took us some time to reach there, blocked as we were by the swirling mass. Standing on the seething mass we would launch the boat a yard or so ahead, relieving the pressure on our feet by leaning on the boat as we felt ourselves sinking, and so step by step neared the edge. Willing hands were there waiting to help us, and the boat was hauled safely onto a jutting point, which had almost proved our undoing and afterwards our salvation. Not a foot of clear water could now be seen and the whole ocean’s surface as far as we could see was a seething tumbling mass of ice. The crew now joked and laughed as they hauled the boat further back on the ice, but I stood and watched, realizing that I had missed an opportunity of getting a realistic picture of a “Battle for life,” but so it must always be, to participate in the exciting moments and dangerous adventure which are the spice of life means that we cannot also stand calmly by, pressing a release spring of a Kodak or nonchalantly grind away on the handle of a cinematograph machine.

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Fig. 26. Onshore whalers with umiak waiting for the appearance of a bowhead whale, north of Barrow, northern Alaska, 20 May 1914. (Photo 50832 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214018, nac )

The men set up the tent, prepared dinner, and then pulled the skin boat still farther away from the pressure ridge while Wilkins photographed them.4 A few crewmen from other boats then went on to Point Barrow to await the opening of the lead there, but Brower’s crew remained with its boat. A constant southwest wind kept the lead from opening for the next two days. Tired of waiting for the opportunity to film some exciting action, Wilkins walked back to Cape Smyth on 11 May, arriving early in the afternoon. He had scarcely finished a cup of tea before the wind changed from southwest to northeast, and a sailor from the wrecked Transit came to tell him that a lead had opened opposite Cape Smyth. Wilkins immediately contacted Natkusiak to take him by sled back to Brower’s ice camp. The lead at that locality had not opened by the time he arrived, but he decided to remain to avoid being absent at the crucial moments. The ice did not move during the next four days, and the lead remained closed. Because the whales were following leads farther from shore, Wilkins regretfully realized that his prospects of filming the whale hunt were rapidly disappearing. Rain fell on 15 May, thawing the snow and leaving pools of water and bare ice everywhere. The constant daylight was confusing:

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It is difficult to tell when day ends and night begins now, for the sun is up all the time, and we sleep as much as we can to pass the time away and eat when we feel hungry. I left my watch at Cape Smythe and am always doubtful in my mind as to whether it is still yesterday or tomorrow. On 17 May, revealing his increasing discouragement, he wrote, “I wonder if I shall have to return without ever seeing a whale, for I cannot expect to stay here later than the 22nd.” Warm weather and unchanged ice conditions during the next four days failed to bring about the appearance of any whales. Natkusiak arrived as pre-arranged on the evening of 21 May, and Wilkins reluctantly returned to Cape Smyth with him, highly disappointed that he had been unable to film the annual whale hunt. On 22 May, Wilkins developed his films and wrote letters to the Gaumont Company, the Daily Chronicle, and to his parents. After posting his letters and the pictures he had developed, the latter to London, he made preparations to return to Collinson Point. Frustrated by the seeming futility of the previous six weeks, Wilkins left Cape Smyth with Natkusiak on 24 May and headed north to Point Barrow village. There they stayed in an Eskimo house, eating seal meat and hardbread for their supper. Wilkins had originally planned to go to Brower’s ice camp for one last visit, but it was raining and he was both tired and discouraged, so he stayed where he was. It was now so late in the season, with signs at Point Barrow indicating an early summer, that he was greatly concerned about travelling conditions during the trip back to Collinson Point: “The ducks started to fly earlier and the rivers and creeks broke out sooner this year than they have done for years. The wind has been easterly the most part of the winter and the temperature not so low on the average as most years.” The journey to Collinson Point started badly when one of Natkusiak’s dogs died at Point Barrow, reducing his team to five. In spite of this, however, Wilkins hoped to make good time because of the continuous daylight. The weather was still cool enough for daytime travel, so they travelled between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Keeping inside the islands east of Point Barrow, they camped the first night on a sand spit about four miles east of Iglurak (the Eskimo name for Cooper Island). On 26 May they passed Anopkana’s house (the more western of his two), having followed a good trail well inside the lagoon, and halted at Tangent Point. Hearing some geese nearby after they arose the next day, Natkusiak and Wilkins took their guns and went after them. Wilkins managed to shoot one. They then crossed Smith Bay, heading due east, and reached Pitt Point, shooting a seal on the way. Continuing onward, they made camp a little short of an old house belonging to John Gruben. 116

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During the day, Wilkins had observed two fresh sled tracks going west at Pitt Point and concluded they were made by Akseatak and his son heading for Barrow. He also noticed a fresh track going east and reasoned this had been made by Kunualak, who had left Point Barrow several days previously heading for Akseatak’s house in Harrison Bay. The trail on 28 May was soft and sticky, and they were very tired when they reached Anopkana’s house near Cape Halkett. They passed Kunualak, who was camping along the trail, but he later joined them near Cape Halkett. Wilkins noticed with some relief that the summer was not as far advanced there as at Point Barrow, so that snow and ice conditions were better for travelling. When they got to Akseatak’s house the next day, he was absent. They therefore gathered the items Jenness had cached there and continued eastward. They reached Spy Island on 31 May, and Wilkins thought the worst of their travelling was over. He was soon to be disappointed. Fortunately they had plenty of food for their five dogs, having shot a seal (their second since leaving Cape Smyth) while crossing the delta of the Colville River. The following morning they ran into trouble: Soon after we started this morning we noticed the water coming out over the ice from the land, and we had to keep edging further out to sea, and at last just managed to get through a narrow passage between two islands before the water cut off our way. From here we had to travel on the outside of the islands over the rough ice, but by three o’clock we had come to an impassable ridge and had to cross the water to the sandspit and there make camp. We had to double trip and it was miserable work plodding through the ice cold water reaching past the knees for five hours, and this work only took us a half mile further ahead. On 2 June they followed for about a mile the sand spit on which they had camped and came to an opening through which the icy water was rushing. It was too deep and the water was moving too swiftly to attempt crossing, and the ice to seaward was far too rough to navigate, so they were forced to camp. “We made a good camp, thinking that we may have to stay here for several days if not until a boat comes along.” While camped here Wilkins decided to look around and soon discovered a coffin with a skeleton in it. Nearby was a mound that might have marked an older grave, but he did not investigate it. His discovery reminded him of a story Brower had told him about seven natives being murdered on this island by a man who had been punished earlier for some crime. The rushing water that had blocked their way drained away during the following morning and they were able to get underway again. They progressed slowly, here and there being forced to travel through deep water visit with the whale hunters

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Fig. 27. Wilkins and Natkusiak arriving at Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 6 June 1914. (Photo 42186 by F. Johansen, e 002213619, nac )

and cross open lanes on loose pieces of ice. They stopped just short of Howe Island that evening, and by travelling well to seaward from shore to avoid water on the ice, reached Papirock’s house the next day. They passed Iakok’s house early on 5 June and soon came to Leffingwell’s house. Wilkins found a letter from Leffingwell telling him where to find the house keys and giving him permission to use anything he needed. The letter also contained the news that Crawford and Johansen had returned successfully to Collinson Point from Stefansson’s ice trip, landing a few miles west of Herschel Island. Leffingwell’s letter did not mention McConnell, but Wilkins assumed he had returned with the other two, which he had. It was too early in the day to camp, so Wilkins and Natkusiak continued eastward for about ten miles to a newly constructed Eskimo village, where they spent the night. The Eskimos were taking the body of an elderly woman, Pannagavlu, who had died at Collinson Point, to Flaxman Island for burial: The natives were very hospitable and we had 8 meals at the various tents during our visits; occasionally while at meals or in the course of conversation some one 118

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Fig. 28. Winter quarters of the Southern Party, cae , at Collinson Point, northern Alaska, 24 July 1914, seen from the south. (Photo 38703 by Dr R.M. Anderson, e 002280197, nac )

would commence a prayer for the dead woman and all the others present would bow their heads in reverence until the prayer was ended. Sometimes the whole prayer would be aloud and at other times one could see only the lips moving. When the oral prayers were going on some of the others would occasionally break in, giving it something of the effect of a Church of England service. These people are said to be Christianized by Church of England missionaries. In the morning, while completing the short remaining distance to Collinson Point, Wilkins contemplated that this might be his last sled journey. He had now completed his one-year contract as photographer for the Canadian Arctic Expedition and expected to go south on a ship from Herschel Island during the summer. He wanted to return to Australia, for his father was nearly one hundred years old. It was now 6 June, but the sea and land conditions at Collinson Point were much less advanced than those at Point Barrow, “and it looks as if the boats may be late in getting out of their winter quarters. The snow about the house has scarcely changed in appearance since I left.” Johansen soon brought Wilkins up to date on the activities of Stefansson’s ice party. By 5 April it had reached latitude 70° 20′ 04″ n , longitude visit with the whale hunters

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140° 30′ 27″ w . Johansen’s depth soundings there of 149 fathoms to 180 fathoms indicated that they were still over the continental shelf and had not reached the continental slope, and also that they were drifting rapidly. Stefansson then decided to send his support party of Johansen, McConnell, and Crawford back to shore. They started on 7 April with twenty-nine days’ rations, reached shore nine days later about thirty miles west of Herschel Island, and from there returned to Collinson Point. Stefansson, Andreasen, and Storkerson continued their ice trip with one sled, six dogs, and 1,100 pounds of food for themselves and their dogs, clothing, ammunition, and fuel. McConnell now handed Wilkins a letter Stefansson had written him from a temporary camp on the Beaufort Sea some weeks earlier. The contents of the letter quickly dispatched any thoughts Wilkins had of returning to Australia that summer. They also initiated a profound change in the course of his life.

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part two

J O I N I N G T H E N O R T H E R N PA R T Y

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8 The North Star 6 j u n e – 2 4 j u ly 1 9 1 4

Stefansson’s instructions to Wilkins, written on 6 April when he was miles north of the Alaskan coast, revealed his extraordinary clarity of thought and written communication, even under highly unfavourable conditions.1 Wilkins copied the letter into his diary on 6 June: The unexpected easterly drift with which we have met makes it seem possible that we may be unable to return to Alaska before it is time to sail. It has occurred to me that your work can be as well done in Banks as Victoria land, for the same sort of Eskimo live from Nelson Head to Ramsay Island as those of Coronation Gulf. In case I fail to return to shore before the North Star can sail, I want therefor [sic] to ask you to take command of the N[or]th Star, with Mr. Castel and some other suitable man that could be engaged. She should be equipped with engine-room supplies and staple foods for two years at least, most of which can be made up from the outfit she now has and the engine rooms of the two boats Alaska and [Mary] Sachs. She should make her way at the first opportunity to the west coast of Banks land as far as Norway Island at least, crosxing [sic] to Prince Patrick land if possible. As you will want pictures of the Blond Eskimo, however, you should if you go to Prince Patrick land and if you have two motion picture cameras, leave one on the [Mary] Sachs, which will winter in Banks Island. If I am not on the N[or]th Star it will not be imperative for you to go beyond Norway Island, which will leave you within easy reach of the Banks Island Kanhiryuarmiut Eskimos (and if I am by then on the [North] Star you can transfer to the [Mary] Sachs and winter near the Eskimo). If you spend the summer (spring) 1915 in Banks Island, these Eskimo or some of them will do so also, and you can get their summer life as well. This will give you all the Eskimo life pictures you could get in Coronation Gulf – the “Blondest” of all the Eskimo are the Kanhiryuarmiut; they are the largest tribe (220 or so) and the most prosperous – you will get longer trawling trains, larger villages, etc, than elsewhere.

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McConnell is thinking of going home this spring, but if he wants to stay you could have him with you. If you can get Billy Natkusiak and an Eskimo family – preferably one with a good woman and few children – they should be taken too. I am writing Dr. Anderson regarding this. Make the best arrangements you can and you may be sure they will meet with my approval. I have seen enough of you already to have confidence both in your judgement and good faith. [signed] V. Stefansson Commander, Canadian Arctic Expedition Get tracings of most if not all of the maps on the Alaska. If that should be a consideration, I should be glad to put you on the pay roll of the Expedition.2

Wilkins’ reactions to Stefansson’s new plans were initially mixed. Recalling the number of times he had been frustrated by Stefansson’s tendency to change his plans suddenly, he wondered if these new ones would suffer similar fates. Furthermore, Stefansson was already two weeks overdue and if he failed to reappear, any contractual arrangements he had proposed would probably be invalid. Nevertheless, his plans for Wilkins were certainly tempting: This is an exceptional opportunity for me, but I would rather be without it. I joined the expedition as photographer and it is as photographer that I wish to make a reputation if any, not as leader of a relief party or navigator. Not-with-standing the assurance that I will have equal, if not better opportunities to photograph Eskimos under the new plans, I doubt if I will have the same facility or as much time as I would have if with the Southern Party and without any other responsibility than that of photographer. My instructions and also those of Dr. Anderson regarding the movements of the members of the party are very meagre, but are quite sufficient if we should fortunately meet with Mr. Stefansson soon after reaching Banks Island. I certainly feel proud of the fact that he has sufficient confidence in me to allow me to make my own arrangements, but the statement of this fact was not necessary to persuade me to do my best under all circumstances. Wilkins typed a brief reply on 9 June informing Stefansson that he was taking charge of the North Star and would endeavour to get it as far north as possible along the west coast of Banks Island or Prince Patrick Island.3 Why he went to the trouble of writing this reply is a mystery, for there was no way to get it to Stefansson. Perhaps it was just “for the record.” Some years later, Stefansson described Wilkins’ dutiful response in this glowing manner: “There was trouble, and a man was needed to jump into

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the breach. He did it, not bravely or nobly, or in any of the many ways native to those who are destined to be popular heroes, but just inevitably. There seemed to be no one else to do it, and so it was his job.”4 Stefansson’s regard for Wilkins, expressed at the end of his letter, continued to grow over the years. Dr Anderson at the time also held the photographer in high regard, writing his wife that Wilkins was “the most adaptable and all-round man on the expedition.”5 However, the instructions in Stefansson’s letter to Wilkins initiated a conflict between the latter and Dr Anderson that would surface strongly a year later at Bernard Harbour. In addition to the letter for Wilkins, McConnell brought letters of instruction for Dr Anderson and Captain Bernard. The lengthy letter to Dr Anderson provided detailed instructions as to what he and his men should do on the chance that Stefansson did not return from his ice trip.6 It reveals not only Stefansson’s remarkable ability to plan, express, and recollect even the smallest details, but also his overbearing assumption of authority over Dr Anderson’s part of the expedition, which only served to increase the latter’s hostility towards him. Stefansson’s letter to Captain Bernard instructed him to start freighting supplies eastward to the Mackenzie Delta for use by the two geographers in the early summer. Later he was to take the Mary Sachs to Coronation Gulf with supplies for the Southern Party and after they were delivered to proceed to Cape Kellett on Banks Island with supplies for two years. With Stefansson’s failure to return to shore within sixty days as originally planned, Wilkins felt obligated to undertake the tasks set forth in Stefansson’s letter, because there was no one else available who was equally capable and responsible. It meant foregoing his plans to return to Australia and jeopardizing his employment with the Gaumont Company, but Wilkins considered it his duty to accept Stefansson’s call for assistance. Exploration and the needs of the Northern Party had to take precedence over his photographic responsibilities. Although he was unaware of it at the time, his leadership capabilities were about to be initiated. He was also unaware of the pronounced influence his decision, still in its formative stage at this time, would have on his activities, his attitude towards Stefansson and several members of the Southern Party, and even his personality in the next two years. Setting immediately to work, Wilkins checked the lists of supplies available from Duffy O’Connor’s Demarcation Point trading post7 and Martin Andreasen’s camp some miles farther east. Stefansson had purchased these supplies shortly before going on his ice trip. Then Wilkins sorted his photographic things and packed what was to go on the Mary Sachs separately from what he wanted to go on the North Star after he got to Herschel Island. That done, he packed his personal effects, typed explanatory letters

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144°

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BEAUFORT SEA

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Fig. 29. Wilkins’ route from Collinson Point to Clarence Lagoon, 10–14 June 1914.

to Dr Anderson, and received special instructions from him about collecting bird and animal specimens. He finished his tasks on 10 June and headed east with a loaded sled and Billy Natkusiak for the North Star, which was beached in Clarence Lagoon, Yukon Territory, some ten miles east of Demarcation Point. Wilkins’ biographer, Lowell Thomas, stated that they were accompanied by a one-eyed Swiss cook from Dr Anderson’s party,8 but the only person fitting that physical description was W.J. “Levi” Bauer, the son of a Swiss watchmaker. Levi was a crew member of the Belvedere that winter and did not join Dr Anderson’s Southern Party until three weeks later when he was hired to be Wilkins’ cook on the North Star. In reality, the Alaska’s engineer, Crawford, and the Eskimo Kaiyutok accompanied Wilkins and Natkusiak with another sled, which was well loaded with supplies Wilkins thought he would need. Crawford was to bring the second sled back to Collinson Point with a load of supplies from O’Connor’s camp at Demarcation Point. With a fair trail all the way, they reached the west end of Barter Island and camped alongside Jenness. The latter was busy collecting Eskimo artifacts from a nearby archaeological site, ably assisted by Iakok. Wilkins told Jenness of the change in plans and that he was joining the Northern Party and commented in his diary that Jenness expressed his sympathies. Obviously Jenness had little faith in the benefit of the decision to Wilkins.

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Wilkins and his three companions reached the Polar Bear camp the next day. There Wilkins asked William Seymour, the second mate of the Polar Bear, to come with him on the North Star to Banks Island, but Seymour replied that he had promised his services for the season to Captain Louis Lane on the Polar Bear and was not willing to break his word. Recalling Stefansson’s advice that he take a woman on the North Star as seamstress and having none other available, Wilkins decided to take Pannigabluk with him “although there were several reasons why I would much rather [have] had someone else. She is to go on with us to the N[or]th Star tomorrow.” The travelling conditions were bad east of the Polar Bear, and Wilkins had to keep his and Crawford’s sleds well out from shore. From time to time one or other of them would fall into holes full of water that reached to their waists. On one occasion Pannigabluk’s little boy Alex fell from the sled into the water and got thoroughly soaked. However, they all received a warm welcome from Captain and Mrs Cottle when they reached the Belvedere. During most of the trip from the Belvedere to O’Connor’s camp, Wilkins and his companions had to walk in water up to their knees. Seeking to avoid any water that was too deep for the sleds, Wilkins went ahead with a stick to measure the water depths: While working around the mouth of a river I stepped on a piece of ice that looked perfectly safe but which turned completely over with my weight; it tossed me near the edge of the solid ice, however, and I managed to scramble out little the worse for a wetting. I was wearing a pair of rubber boots and found [them] although cold much more comfortable than the sloppy “water boots” I had on the days before, which although keeping the water out at the soles were not high enough to prevent it from getting in through the top. They reached O’Connor’s house on 13 June. Once there, Wilkins urged Crawford to unload the latter’s sled, collect the supplies Crawford was to take back to Collinson Point, and return there immediately before the lateness of the season made sled travel impossible. “As it will be necessary for me to haul a great deal of supplies from here, the addition of Crawford’s load would make but little difference.” The following day, Wilkins, Natkusiak, Pannigabluk, and Alex continued eastward another ten miles to the schooner North Star, which was on the beach at Clarence Lagoon. In so doing they crossed without ceremony the international boundary into northern Canada, where Wilkins would spend the next two years and Natkusiak the rest of his life. At Clarence Lagoon they found McConnell in charge and all going well. Aarnout Castel and the Alaska’s cook, Charles Brook, were slowly working

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Fig. 30. Duffy O’Connor’s house and racks, Demarcation Point, northern Alaska, 6 May 1914. (Photo 38699 by Dr R.M. Anderson, e 002213620, nac )

the schooner into the water from the beach, and McConnell had already brought a few sledloads of supplies from Demarcation Point. The three men were living in the cabin of the schooner’s former owner, “Captain” Martin (Matt) Andreasen, the brother of Ole Andreasen who was with Stefansson on the ice trip. Martin Andreasen was a man with considerable experience at sea but no proper captain’s papers. As Wilkins explained, “the title of ‘Captain’ is bestowed on anyone along this coast who has charge of a boat whether it is steam whaler or a 30 ft whale boat irrespective of whether they have ever been at sea a month or years or ever out of sight of land.” None of them had expected to see Wilkins at the North Star, for they thought the sea ice was now too wet for travelling. Wilkins was pleased with the appearance of the little ship: “The N[or]th Star is a trim-looking little craft – the best looking of those that belong to the expedition.” It was a forty-foot, ten-ton, gasoline-motor-powered fishing schooner and drew less than five feet of water. It was especially designed to bounce up on the ice on impact, then to break the ice by its weight, rather than trying to push it aside as did the Karluk and the Alaska. Stefansson had purchased the schooner and its supplies several months earlier, planning to use Andreasen’s supplies as well as those from O’Connor’s house for his new

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Northern Party. During the day, Matt Andreasen advised Wilkins on managing the North Star and navigation along the Arctic coast. McConnell was happy to turn over the responsibility of the camp to Wilkins. His one-year contract with the Canadian Arctic Expedition had expired on 1 June, so he intended to leave the Arctic once the ice broke up, probably on the Anna Olga, which was wintering near the mouth of the lagoon. Natkusiak and Pannigabluk occupied a separate tent while at Clarence Lagoon. Of the former, McConnell commented in his diary: “He is a fine fellow, the best Eskimo I know, and Stefansson was awfully lucky, I think, to get him. He is a hard worker, an excellent hunter for an Eskimo, and is always jolly. He lives in the tent with Panni and the two kids, but eats with us.”9 With Pannigabluk was her son Alex and a young girl who was not identified. Dr Anderson had hired Natkusiak as an assistant to Wilkins on the North Star when Wilkins and Natkusiak got back to Collinson Point from Point Barrow, agreeing to pay him twenty-five dollars per month and to purchase four of his five dogs for the expedition at twenty-five dollars apiece. Natkusiak’s other dog was too old to take to Banks Island. Wilkins spent most of the next day on the schooner. At some point, with McConnell’s assistance, he put up the Burberry tent for his own convenience and sleeping. McConnell commented in his diary on the implication of this action, offering the first hint of a change in Wilkins’ manner and personality: “I rather think he believes that a Commander should not sleep with his men. I may be doing him an injustice in thinking so, but there is no doubt in my mind that a change has come over him since I last saw him. Of course, it won’t matter at all unless he goes to ordering me about, in which case I should have to tell him that I am not under his orders.”10 Over the course of the next five weeks, while they waited for the ice outside the lagoon to clear sufficiently to permit them to proceed to Herschel Island, Wilkins and his men kept busy with a variety of tasks. These included sledding supplies from O’Connor’s house at Demarcation Point to the mouth of the lagoon in readiness for loading onto the North Star, the readying of the schooner’s hull and engine for sailing, and the accumulation of considerable fish, seal meat, and caribou meat for drying for the days ahead. Once all necessary supplies had been freighted from Demarcation Point to the mouth of Clarence Lagoon, Wilkins concentrated on getting the North Star ready for its voyage to Banks Island. He assigned the various tasks of sewing, netting and drying of fish, and collection and drying of caribou meat to the people available. He had Castel continue the cleaning and painting of the North Star and later asked him to take charge of the collection of fish. Dutch-born Castel, only twenty-eight years old and considered the best all-round man in Captain Cottle’s crew on the Belvedere when Ste-

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fansson hired him, proved to be a conscientious and capable hand with the schooner, cleaning, scraping, and finally painting it thoroughly. Later he took charge of gathering from their net, and splitting and drying, with Natkusiak’s assistance, the whitefish and salmon trout that started entering the lagoon on their spring spawning migration at the end of June. Natkusiak also hunted seals and caribou. Pannigabluk was given various sewing tasks. While the others were thus occupied, Wilkins spent days overhauling the ship’s engine until he was satisfied with its reliability. Meanwhile, McConnell, having received no renewal of his contract from either Stefansson or Dr Anderson, regarded himself as no longer a member of the expedition and did as he pleased, chiefly hunting, canoeing, and reading. However, while he awaited the opportunity to sail west on the Anna Olga, he wrote two lengthy and fanciful letters to Canada’s prime minister offering to lead rescue parties first in search of the men on the Karluk and then for Stefansson and his two companions. His letters seem to have gone unanswered. On 19 June, Wilkins took advantage of the good weather to have a bath, only his second since leaving the Karluk the previous September: “I didn’t feel particularly dirty, although by the appearance of the water when I was through I fear my feelings must have deceived me.” The men succeeded in floating the North Star on 23 June. To Wilkins’ satisfaction, it appeared to be fairly tight, requiring pumping only once a day when it was unloaded. Two days later he tried to start the engine, but it gave only a few half-hearted kicks: I have sworn so many times to have nothing further to do with gasolene engines that it has almost become a habit, yet there seems something that attracts me in them and when one is near I long to set it going; it must be because of the pleasant recollections I have of journeys by their aid in N.S.W. [New South Wales, Australia]. He decided to keep a Primus stove burning in the engine room overnight to warm both the engine and the batteries. The decision proved to be a good one, for the next day the engine started fairly readily. He then spent time trying to get it to run smoothly. Captain Stein of the Anna Olga visited Wilkins one day, looking old and unwell. Wilkins traded half a dozen pounds of rice and two pounds of coffee with him for a Canadian flag for use on the North Star, for the schooner did not have one when Stefansson bought it. Captain Stein later sold his ship to Martin Andreasen. A strong and raw northeast wind then blew for a few days, pushing the ice against the coast and preventing Wilkins from starting for Herschel

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Island. A dense fog also prevented him from seeing what the ice conditions offshore were like. On 9 July, McConnell voiced concern over Wilkins’ clothing: “Unless he can get someone else besides Pannigabluk to make their clothes, I am pretty sure that they will not be comfortable this winter.”11 Then in an act that was both practical and unexpectedly generous, he suddenly presented Wilkins with all of his clothes except those he needed for his trip to Nome. These included mittens, gloves, sheepskin socks, German socks, his mountain-sheep–skin sleeping bag (he kept an old sleeping bag), his fine caribou-skin pants, and his best caribou-skin shirt.12 After 10 July, Wilkins examined the navigational conditions outside the lagoon almost daily. There was an open lead fairly close to the beach, but it did not extend far, and it was still impossible to navigate east to Herschel Island. Natkusiak returned on 14 July after several days of hunting. He had killed seven caribou, cut them up, and hung the meat and skins to dry on the beach to be picked up when the North Star passed on its way east. Wilkins was extremely pleased, reckoning that they now had a month’s food supply of dried fish and meat for the dogs. On 16 July, Wilkins decided to move the North Star to the mouth of the lagoon where they had cached most of their supplies. After starting the engine, he steered the little schooner down the lagoon a mile and a quarter to its entrance, covering the distance in ten minutes. The water is deep right up to the beach near the cache, and we were able to load over the side by the aid of a short plank. Aarnout [Castel] and I did the loading while Billy and Andreasen fished; they caught over 400. We loaded about seven ton[s] of freight during the day, and as I carried it from the cache to the schooner while Aarnout stowed I am fairly tired tonight. By the time we had finished the tide was so low that we could not get her off the beach easily, so we let her stop till morning. With the schooner aground, Wilkins and Castel were forced to walk back to their camp. En route they passed McConnell paddling a kayak down the lagoon to its exit: He had left word at the house that he was going to stay with Brooks at Duffy’s outfit until the departure of the Anna Olga for Nome. He had told me long since that he had fully made up his mind to go out this year some time last Nov[ember] and had assured V.S of this more than once. He did not care to change his mind even now although he had the chance to go to Banks Island. Although a nice enough fellow in some ways he has some peculiar and childlike notions. Since my

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arrival at this camp he has never once volunteered to assist, and has several times refused when asked; giving for his reason that he was no longer connected with the expedition. Wilkins had tended to ignore him because of his attitude during the previous weeks. After paddling to the exit of the lagoon, McConnell stayed overnight on Captain Stein’s Anna Olga, where he arranged to go to Nome with Captain Stein for fifty dollars. The next morning he proceeded west to O’Connor’s cabin, where he awaited the arrival of the Anna Olga when it got free of the ice. Wilkins and Castel loaded several more tons of supplies onto the schooner early the next morning, then steamed back to Andreasen’s cabin at the south end of the lagoon. A strong northeast wind had loosened the ice offshore by evening, but there was little open water beyond, making it impossible to head east. A northeast wind blew for the next two days, but the ice began to dissipate, so the men loaded the last household items onto the North Star in readiness for an early start east. The wind finally dropped the following day, 20 July, but the ice settled once more against the beach, again delaying their start. During the day, however, Wilkins saw the Belvedere working its way slowly east towards Herschel Island, and thus encouraged, finished loading the last items from the beach and steamed down the lagoon to its entrance. There he used the North Star to haul the Anna Olga off the beach, then transferred about 300 gallons of distillate13 from it to the North Star. That night all hands slept on the schooner for the first time. Wilkins’ berth in the engine room proved comfortable, but Castel and Natkusiak found the forecastle stuffy. Wilkins decided that the ice conditions looked favourable to leave on 23 July. Before doing so, however, he called Aarnout and Billy to make a last haul for fish. We made an exceptional haul, bringing in more than 1000, and after filling every available receptacle on the N[or]th Star there was still a quantity left on the beach for Stein and the Eskimos.14 We are now assured of dog food for the whole trip and much to spare. They got underway when the breeze died down shortly after lunch. The North Star, drawing only a few feet of water, and with Bill Seymour’s whaleboat in tow, made good progress eastward keeping close to the shore. Farther out the ice was still solid, and Wilkins doubted that any steamer of much draught could have gotten through. In the evening they came upon the cache of caribou meat Natkusiak had made on 15 July and went ashore to retrieve it.

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Fog plagued them intermittently almost to Herschel Island before the weather finally cleared. En route they encountered a whaleboat containing an Alaskan Eskimo, Pikalu, and his passenger Captain Louis Lane, who was returning to the Polar Bear. Lane had come down the Mackenzie River after wintering in the south. He was disappointed to hear that the Belvedere had reached Herschel Island before he could get the Polar Bear there, for there was much rivalry among Arctic ship captains to be the first to reach that destination each year. After they finished exchanging news, Captain Lane continued west. Wilkins steered the North Star into Herschel Island about four in the morning on 24 July and was greeted by a group of Eskimos, and Corporal W.A. Johnson and Constable J. Parsons of the Royal North-West Mounted Police. He gratefully accepted the policemen’s invitation to breakfast at their headquarters. Corporal Johnson was originally from Tasmania, so he and Wilkins enjoyed their meeting.

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9 Herschel Island 2 5 j u ly – 1 0 au g u s t 1 9 1 4

Wilkins originally planned to stay at Herschel Island just long enough to unload and store some of the freight from the overloaded North Star and to rearrange what was left on board for safe sea travel to Banks Island. A rough sea delayed the unloading operations for several hours. Nevertheless, the North Star was ready to sail for Banks Island by early afternoon on 27 July. Had he left then, his life during the ensuing months might have been considerably different. However, he was eager to receive the latest news from his employers in London and the replacement camera equipment he had requested from them months earlier, and he also needed some scientific instruments that were on board the Alaska or the Mary Sachs. He therefore decided to await until 7 August for the arrival of the mail that was expected by way of the Mackenzie River route, and the instruments on board the two expedition schooners: The Mary Sachs of course could bring those things later on if she would be sure to reach us, but of this I am very doubtful for she has to go to Cape Krusenstern before starting for Banks Island and from what I heard this spring I understand that she will return after that to Herschel Island after going to the cape in order to get further supplies from any ship that may come in. After the surplus cargo from the North Star had been placed in the expedition’s storage shed (“Karluk house”) for later use, Wilkins examined the clutch on the schooner’s engine to see why it had been sticking. He soon discovered that it had a broken set pin, so replaced it and made a spare pin for future use. That evening he jotted down his initial observations about the village at Herschel Island:

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Fig. 31. Pauline Cove and the settlement of Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, 4 August 1914. (Photo 51357 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214039, nac )

Herschel Island village is situated on a sandspit jutting out from the east side of the island. It was at one time a flourishing village, when the whaling industry was at its height. At times as many as 1000 whalemen have spent a winter there together, and from accounts I have heard the number of Eskimos would be about 400. Even now it is a source of great interest to the new comers to this part of the Arctic, but I have had very little time to look it over and do not expect to write much about it while I am here this time. The Polar Bear reached Herschel Island early in the morning of 28 July. Its captain, Louis Lane, and first mate, Hulin S. Mott, visited Wilkins on the North Star after breakfast and showed Wilkins a letter written and signed by Stefansson in March, instructing the “caretaker” of the North Star to give Mr Mott or his representative whatever he needed from the outfit under the “caretaker’s” charge. Wilkins was also to get a receipt in triplicate from Captain Lane for the items supplied. They needed 1,000 gallons of distillate to enable them to hunt whales in the Beaufort Sea during the summer before returning south.

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Fig. 32. Royal North-West Mounted Police station (on left), “Main Street” beyond, Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, August 1914. (Photo 51445 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214044, nac )

As the expedition’s stock of distillate was then about 7,000 gallons, which was far more than the expedition needed for the next year, Wilkins agreed to let Captain Lane have 600 gallons. Captain Lane appeared well satisfied with this amount and assured Wilkins that he would replace whatever he took by the next summer. He then signed an agreement with Wilkins that acknowledged receipt of seven drums of distillate averaging about 100 gallons per drum. The agreement stipulated that one drum (the seventh) was to be returned to the North Star if it caught up to the Polar Bear east of the Mackenzie delta. It also stated that if the two ships did not meet, the Polar Bear could use the extra drum of distillate and was required to replace only the six other drums the next summer. Wilkins may have seen this strange arrangement as a simple means of getting more distillate to Baillie Islands than the North Star was able to carry. Captain Lane probably saw it as a clever means of obtaining extra fuel. Wilkins joined Captain Lane and Mott that evening for supper on the Polar Bear and was presented with a case of “delicacies.” Captain Lane then offered to “break the way” for Wilkins’ little schooner through any ice they might encounter en route to Baillie Islands if Wilkins followed him east. Normally Wilkins would have accepted the offer readily, but he had now decided to wait a few more days, and so graciously declined. Captain Lane 136

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also offered to take a load of freight for the expedition as far as Baillie Islands, and this offer Wilkins gladly accepted. As a result Captain Lane’s men took on board about eighty sacks of coal and ten drums of distillate, which they were to leave on the shore at Baillie Islands. The Polar Bear left that evening. A week passed. Wilkins waited with growing impatience for the arrival of the Alaska, Mary Sachs, and mail, using the time to write letters and square his accounts. On 4 August, a prospector named Billy Annette arrived from Kay Point with the news that the sea ice was tight against the beach from Kay Point east to the Mackenzie Delta, preventing boats in the delta from getting to Herschel Island and thus explaining the lateness of the mail. On 5 August, his patience nearly exhausted, Wilkins decided to wait one more day. During the day, he asked Joseph Dixon, a biologist from the Polar Bear who was collecting birds on Herschel Island while that ship was hunting whales, to use Wilkins’ motion-picture camera to photograph a simulated departure of the North Star for Banks Island. A shrill whistle in the evening announced the arrival of the Alaska from Collinson Point with most of the members of the Southern Party. A short while later Dr Anderson came over to the North Star and had supper with Wilkins. He told Wilkins that the two ships had left Collinson Point on 25 July but had been delayed by ice. The Alaska had left the Mary Sachs at Demarcation Point to pick up the remainder of Duffy O’Connor’s supplies. The two men talked until well past midnight, deciding that Wilkins and the North Star would leave right after Dr Anderson had looked over the list of supplies Wilkins was taking and had added some items from the Alaska. The annual arrival at Herschel Island of the first small boats from the Mackenzie River was always a gala summer event, the individuals involved competing aggressively for that honour once the sea ice broke up. This year, unbeknownst to Wilkins, the two Southern Party geographers, Chipman and Cox, and the geologist O’Neill, had been drawn into the contest. Chipman, O’Neill, and Peder Pedersen had been mapping the eastern and middle tributaries of the Mackenzie River in the delta with Pedersen’s whaleboat, while Cox and a young Mackenzie Delta Eskimo man, Mungalina, whom Stefansson had hired, had been mapping the western tributary with a launch purchased by Stefansson a few months earlier for Cox’s use. On 6 August, Wilkins wrote in his diary: I had scarcely been in my sleeping bag last night when I heard someone shouting that the river boats were coming. Hastily dressing I hurried on deck and saw a whale boat just beaching; in it were Chipman, O’Neill and Pedersen. There were many other boats coming in and I believe twenty-seven arrived before breakfast time, [including] Cox’s little launch, which he told me had done wonderfully well all the season ... herschel island

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With these people the mail of course arrived; it contained letters for me amongst which was a letter from the Gaumont Co[mpan]y asking me to return as soon as possible; another from the firm of a later date said that after reading a paper clipping enclosed (V.S’s report from Fort McPherson) they expected that I had by this time rejoined the Karluk and recovered my outfit; in this case I was to hurry through with my work and then return home. These letters placed me in a peculiar position – I have already spent over twelve months under severe conditions without accomplishing anything for the benefit of the firm or that which I had set out to obtain. I have been separated from my outfit through unfortunate circumstances but this had in some measure been replaced, but was not sufficiently complete to enable me to obtain satisfactory results. Wilkins now anguished over what he should do: return to London as his company had instructed him to do, or remain in the Arctic and search for Stefansson, Storkerson, and Andreasen: I can but hope for little reputation in the photographic world by continuing with the expedition, but there are the three men on the ice who if not actually depending on some boat reaching Banks Island for their lives, would suffer great hardships and accomplish very little towards the success of the expedition after this summer, and it was agreed by each of the members of the scientific staff that I was the only logical member of the expedition to command the relief ship. There was also Mr. Stefansson’s request, and because of these I could not do otherwise than continue with the plans, no matter what sacrifice it might mean for me photographically speaking. It means breaking my contract with the Gaumont Co[mpan]y, and the only compensation I hope for is to be able to bring help to the missing ice party. Wilkins finalized his decision to remain in the Arctic after discussions with Dr Anderson, who had received instructions from the Canadian government to send out a search party for Stefansson. Although he knew that his decision would probably jeopardize his career with the Gaumont Company, he thought it probable that by going to Banks Island, finding Stefansson, and filming their meeting, he could greatly enhance his photographic reputation. If, on the other hand, he returned to England having failed to complete his photographic assignment, he saw no prospect of any significant advance in his photographic career. Stefansson’s offer of a good salary if he joined the Northern Party had little influence on Wilkins’ decision to stay with the expedition. By staying he would be likely to meet and photograph the “Blond Eskimos” on Banks or Victoria Islands, whose existence had been first publicized in 1912 by Stefansson, which would enable him to fulfill his original commitment to the Gaumont Company. And he would be in charge of the North Star, of which

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he was especially fond, having just spent a month getting it into top shape. However, what appealed to him most was the possibility of experiencing some real adventures leading a search party, exploring little-known regions, and collecting scientific specimens for museums. He would then be a significant member of the expedition, taking on the important roles of subleader, explorer, and scientist. Wilkins had been on the payroll of the Gaumont Company for the past year while he was on loan to the expedition. In return, the company expected numerous newsworthy photographs and films. One of his main projects was to meet and photograph some of the “Blond Eskimos” from Victoria Island or Coronation Gulf. This he had been unable to do. In addition, because of his separation from the Karluk, he no longer had the camera equipment supplied him by the company. Now the company had not only refused to send him new equipment but had instructed him to return to England. Stefansson had stated clearly when he left Martin Point late in March that he intended to travel north for a month, then return to land. Accordingly he should have reappeared on the north Alaskan coast by early June, and so was overdue by more than two months. A broad band of water now prevented his return to the north Alaska coast. He and his men would therefore be either somewhere on Banks Island waiting for Wilkins, still adrift on the ice, or they would have already perished. In the absence of Stefansson, Dr Anderson took several letters and papers that were addressed to him. Wilkins considered it his duty to take Stefansson’s mail with him to Banks Island, but each time he asked for the letters, Dr Anderson seemed too busy to hand them over. The Mary Sachs arrived about 6 p.m. on 7 August and anchored alongside the Alaska and North Star: About 9 p.m. Dr. Anderson came to Chipman’s tent where Chipman, Cox, O’Neill, Jenness, and I were congregated. He brought with him the official letters which he read to us, and we afterwards discussed the possibilities of the expedition. It was decided that I should start in the morning as soon as I could get a copy of the letters; Chipman was to accompany the Mary Sachs to some point in Coronation Gulf where some supplies were to be left for the Southern Party; each of the boys are of the opinion that the crew of the [Mary] Sachs will make but little effort to reach Banks Island after having delivered the goods for the Southern Party. The plans changed further early the following morning: About 6 a.m. Dr. Anderson came to me and said that in his opinion as well as that of the others of the scientific staff, the crew of the Mary Sachs would not make very

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Fig. 33. The three Canadian Arctic Expedition schooners, North Star, Mary Sachs, and Alaska, at Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, August 1914. (c 32634, nac )

great efforts to [sail] the boat to the best advantage for the benefit of the expedition, and asked me if I would transfer to the [Mary] Sachs and use that boat instead of the N[or]th Star to carry out the instructions issued by Mr. Stefansson, thereby assuring him of greater resources than if the North Star only should reach Banks Island. I replied that if he thought, as I knew the others thought, that there would be no serious attempt made by the crew of the Mary Sachs to reach Banks Island, and that only one boat had a reasonable chance of getting there I would because of this be glad to have the use of the bigger boat providing that Captain Bernard was willing that I should have undivided command of the vessel to carry out so far as I could my original instructions. He [Dr. Anderson] said he would see Captain Bernard and an hour or so later I heard from Captain Bernard himself that he was satisfied with the new arrangements. Wilkins was now given full command of the Mary Sachs, with the same authority over it that Stefansson would have had, until such time as Stefansson was found. At this point, with a sudden display of assertiveness, he insisted that Dr Anderson give him in writing a statement setting forth why he was being placed in charge of the Mary Sachs instead of the North Star to carry out the search for Stefansson. Dr Anderson agreed to do so. Wilkins undoubtedly anticipated that Stefansson would consider it a deliberate defiance of his instructions when he learned of the switch of schooners, and sought to divert Stefansson’s ire away from himself. 140

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The decision to put Wilkins in charge of the Mary Sachs made a great deal of sense at the time to all of the members of the Southern Party, but ultimately it increased the hostility already existing between Stefansson and Dr Anderson. It also contributed in due course to the change in Wilkins’ attitude and loyalty towards Stefansson, which he adopted at the expense of the good relationship he had had with the men on the Southern Party. Dr Anderson then prepared a written agreement regarding Wilkins’ command of the Mary Sachs, obtained Wilkins’ approval of its contents, and read it to the ship’s crew – Captain Bernard, Crawford, Levi, and Thomsen.1 After hearing its contents, they all agreed to go to Banks Island with Wilkins in command. Wilkins wasted no time once everyone had agreed to the change of plans. He and Jenness spent the day making complete lists of what was already on the Mary Sachs, what was needed to add from the North Star, and what additional supplies were necessary. Wilkins then had these lists approved by both Dr Anderson and Captain Bernard and brought the North Star alongside the Mary Sachs to start the transfer of its load. The following morning, 9 August, while he was overseeing the transfer of the cargo, Wilkins noticed the whaling ship Herman unexpectedly steaming into the harbour. Its captain, C.T. Pedersen (the same man who had bought the Karluk for the expedition and sailed it to Esquimalt in the spring), brought the startling news of the loss of the Karluk and of his rescue of the Karluk’s Captain Bartlett. He also reported that the people on the Karluk had landed safely on Wrangel Island off northern Siberia, with the exception of two groups of four men each which had struck off for Herald Island and not been heard from again. I did not get the story from Captain Pedersen himself, but this is what I gathered from the various members of the party. The Karluk drifted west after the storm that took her from our view, and remained fast in the same cake of ice until Jan. 15th, when she was crushed and filling slowly with water sank with her colours to the mast. She was then about 70 miles from Wrangel Island. She had drifted at some previous date nearer to the island and three of the scientific staff, two of whom were Mackay and Mamen, and a sailor landed on the island [Herald Island].2 Before the vessel sank they had already landed most of the supplies on the ice, and afterwards Bartlett led his company to Wrangel Island taking with them 80 day’s provisions. After a day or so’s rest, Captain Bartlett accompanied by Kutuktorvik, an Eskimo, started for the Siberian coast. Some of the crew started back for another load of supplies the same day as Captain Bartlett left for the shore. Bartlett came ashore near Cape Serdz [about sixty miles west of Cape North] in an exhausted condition, and suffering badly with his feet. He eventually reached Emma Harbour and was taken on board the whale-ship Herman and carried to St Michaels. In order to do this, Captain herschel island

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Pedersen had to forego the whaling season in the west, and for so doing was reprimanded by his company. The members of the Bartlett company had not been in communication with the scientists who were the first to leave the ship. Captain Pedersen had been trading south of East Cape, Siberia, when he received word that there was an American stranded some distance to the south at Emma Harbour. He had promptly steamed there, unaware that it was Bartlett. Realizing the urgency of getting word out about the fate of the Karluk’s crew and scientific passengers so that rescue operations could be mounted quickly to save the survivors still on Wrangel Island (and perhaps also those on Herald Island), Pedersen immediately took Bartlett to Nome, the nearest Alaskan community with telegraph facilities. Nome was iced in when they got near, so the Herman proceeded farther southeast to St Michaels. From there, news of the fate of the Karluk was sent out and rescue plans quickly materialized, one of them formulated by Stefansson’s former secretary, McConnell, who had reached Nome by that time. This news was most timely to Dr Anderson’s men and Wilkins especially, for it meant that there was no further need for Wilkins to search for the Karluk people on Banks Island nor to take provisions north for that purpose. Wilkins’ search party could thus concentrate on finding Stefansson and his two companions. During the day, Wilkins showed Cox how to operate the North Star’s engine, for Cox would now be responsible for taking that schooner to Coronation Gulf. Wilkins worked all day on 10 August loading the Mary Sachs and had almost completed the task by evening. He had counted upon many hands assisting him with the loading, but the arrival of the Herman had created new problems: “The arrival of the Herman has proved to be rather a mixed blessing, for although it has enabled Dr. Anderson to purchase some fresh vegetables for us, it has also enabled the crew to purchase alcoholic drink.” There are two quite different accounts of an incident that arose a short time later, the one in Wilkins’ diary and the other in Lowell Thomas’s biography of him as reportedly related by Wilkins to Thomas about twenty years later. As with the fictitious story of the engineer Crawford shortly after the Mary Sachs left Teller, Alaska, one must suspect that Thomas’s published version of the Herschel Island incident was fabricated or embellished entirely to give added appeal to his book. This new incident also involved Crawford. Wilkins’ diary reads thus: Two of our company, Baur and Crawford, have been disgustingly drunk since last night, and I don’t suppose they will be any other way until the case of whiskey they bought is finished. This is rather an expensive enjoyment for whiskey, so-called,

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costs $10 a bottle up here. Sweeney of the Alaska is in a similar state, but I think he has a reasonable chance to recover shortly. Thomas’s version has Wilkins obtaining a case of liquor from the expedition’s supplies and having Natkusiak and the one-eyed Swiss cook get the engineer and the crew of the Mary Sachs drunk. Wilkins and the other two then “shanghai’d” the drunken individuals and sailed the ship from Herschel Island.3 This version is almost a total fabrication. The expedition had no supply of liquor, Natkusiak was not involved, and the one-eyed Swiss cook, Levi Bauer, was in fact one of the drunken culprits. The engineer Crawford was the other culprit. Crawford and Bauer had purchased the liquor they consumed from the Herman after it reached Herschel Island, a fact stated clearly and independently in the diaries of both Wilkins and Jenness. Furthermore, Wilkins would never have been a party to such a scheme. To get the Mary Sachs underway, Wilkins, according to his diary, persuaded the partly sober Crawford to start the schooner’s two engines. This would have been a necessity because Wilkins was not then fully familiar with the two engines, having operated them only briefly when the Mary Sachs departed from Teller the previous August. During the day, the unnamed motion-picture photographer from the Herman spent a lot of time with Wilkins while the latter was loading the Mary Sachs, trying to persuade him to go over to the Herman and fix his camera. That evening Wilkins determined that the problem was in the camera’s shutter and fixed it. He later wrote in his diary that the photographer seems to have taken a fairly complete set of pictures of the Alaskan Eskimo, but he tells me that many of the subjects are “faked.” They also acted “the Rescue of the Stefansson Party from the ice.” This was in case that they met with this party and could not get the picture, or if someone else got such a picture they could put theirs on the market at the same time. This sort of “Forsight” seems to them to be quite legitimate and blameless. The Herman’s motion-picture photographer was a newspaper filmmaker for the American firm Underwood and Underwood. He had taken a few feet of film when Captain Bartlett was rescued, but the weather was very dull, and the film was much underexposed, leaving little that could be recognized. He told Wilkins that Bartlett looked very ill, was disinclined to talk of his experiences, and kept to his cabin most of the way to St Michaels, where he disembarked. The photographer also told Wilkins that a motion-picture photographer from Pathé Frères was on the Revenue Cutter Bear, which was going to try to rescue the survivors of the Karluk from Wrangel Island.

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Once his supplies were all on board the Mary Sachs, Wilkins waited for final instructions from Dr Anderson before heading for Banks Island.4 Wilkins had pressured Dr Anderson for some time to let him take a small power boat on the Mary Sachs, for he thought it would prove useful for coastal work. That evening the latter told him that the only one available was the launch Edna, which Stefansson had purchased from Willoughby Mason in the Mackenzie delta for Chipman and O’Neill. They had never managed to get it to run satisfactorily, however, and had finally used a whaleboat for their work. After examining the Edna, Daniel Blue, the engineer from the Alaska, declared that there was little wrong with it except that it had been flooded with oil and the spark plugs were fouled. Wilkins examined it that evening and decided to take it with him. Stefansson later complained bitterly about that decision in his letters to the deputy minister of the Naval Service in Ottawa. That evening Wilkins and Blue drove the Edna to a prospecting camp near Kay Point to retrieve some parts for the launch. The launch ran very well, covering the forty miles at about twelve miles an hour. Fog and ice gave them trouble on the return trip, and it was early in the morning by the time they got back to Herschel Island. They were unable to get the launch on board the Mary Sachs: We tried to hoist the launch on board but our falls were not strong enough and after they had parted twice I decided to tow her until we got out of the harbour, and not delay any longer, for Crawford, the engineer, was now awake at least, and I persuaded him to start the engines.

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10 The Search for Stefansson 1 1 au g u s t – 1 0 s e p t e m b e r 1 9 1 4

Crawford was sufficiently sober on the afternoon of 11 August to start the engines of the Mary Sachs. Wilkins promptly got the heavily laden schooner underway with the launch Edna in tow. As it slowly steamed out of the Herschel Island harbour, members of the Southern Party and the Royal NorthWest Mounted Police waved goodbye from the deck of the Alaska. Some of the other little vessels in the harbour gave three whistles and dipped their flags, so the Mary Sachs sounded her whistle and dipped her flags in return. There were nine people on board the Mary Sachs besides Wilkins: Captain Peter Bernard, Charles Thomsen (sailor) and his wife Jennie and little girl Annie (aged about three), Billy Natkusiak, James R. Crawford (engineer), W.J. “Levi” Bauer (Wilkins mistakenly gave his initials as C.W.), and Mrs Storker Storkerson and her daughter Martina (aged about five). Mrs Storkerson had been offered the option of going to Banks Island to meet her husband or being taken to the camp of her father, Captain Klengenberg, somewhere around Cape Lyon. Believing that her husband had perished on the ice trip along with Stefansson and Andreasen, she had opted to go to her father’s, forcing Wilkins to go many miles out of his way on her behalf before he could head for Banks Island. Ikey Angutisiak Bolt was to have gone with the Mary Sachs, but told Captain Bernard he wanted to return home to Alaska. Then he joined the men on the Alaska. Pannigabluk likewise was not on board. After accompanying Wilkins on the North Star to Herschel Island, she decided she wanted to go with her brothers to Richards Island at the mouth of the Mackenzie River and was paid off for her sewing. Wilkins was not happy about the people on the Mary Sachs, apart from Natkusiak: “None of them are congenial to me and I expect to have a pretty miserable time, but have determined to be so busy collecting specimens that the time will soon pass until we can either find Stefansson and return or meet with something or other of interest.”

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140° 0

130°

120°

100 miles

BANKS 0

ISLAND

200 km Cape Kellett

Aug. 27

Aug. 26

BEAUFORT SEA Aug. 23

Nelson Head

Cape Lambton Aug. 16

70°

Baillie Is.

Aug. 13 Aug. 12

Aug. 22

Aug. 17–18 Aug. 20

Aug. 14

Herschel I.

Aug. 15 15 Aug.

Aug. 19

Cape Lyon Aug. 21

Aug. 11

rto . n R

c ken z i e R .

Ho

Ma

USA CAN ADA

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Fig. 34. Wilkins’ route from Herschel Island to Banks Island with the Mary Sachs, 10–27 August 1914.

Following a northeastward course, the Mary Sachs soon came into contact with scattered floes of ice, so Wilkins pulled alongside a large floe to get fresh water from its surface. As soon as the water tanks were filled, he signalled the engine room to get underway again, but there was no response: I went down and found Crawford flat on his back between the engines dead to the world. This thoroughly disgusted me, and as we could not wake him up I decided to tie up for the night, for I had as yet scarcely seen the engines at work and did not want to tinker with them at night. The cook [Bauer] was also as drunk as could be, and Bernard had to cook supper. Crawford had sobered sufficiently by morning to start the engines. After working the Mary Sachs through scattered ice for two and a half hours, they reached ice-free water, which extended as far as they could see. Half an hour later Wilkins sighted a three-masted ship with sails set, but it did not signal and disappeared in a southwest direction. He thought it was probably the Herman cruising for bowhead whales. The Mary Sachs made good progress throughout the day, but that night again encountered ice, forcing Wilkins to tie up to a grounded cake of ice.

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A few hours later the moving ice tipped the launch Edna onto its side, and it quickly filled with water. Wilkins bailed it out and checked its hull, relieved to find that it had escaped damage, then had it hoisted on board, a task that proved anything but simple. Mid-afternoon the following day, Wilkins headed the schooner between two of three islands, sounding regularly as it progressed through the relatively shallow water off the delta of the Mackenzie River. The sea was fairly clear of ice. The Mary Sachs passed Cape Brown about midnight and Atkinson Point before the following noon; near Cape Dalhousie it encountered loose pack ice. On 15 August, Wilkins wrote: “A fog came over last night, and although we thought we were in the neighbourhood of Cape Bathurst we could see no sign of the native settlement. We dropped anchor and lay hove to for about five hours.” Once the fog lifted, they started off again. Land suddenly appeared on both sides of the ship, causing Wilkins to worry about their location, but he had more pressing concerns at the moment: A heavy breeze increasing to a gale had sprung up accompanied by sleet and fog. Our compass was very erratic and the steering of the boat even more so. Thomsen is the only one on deck that can manage the wheel – Billy [Natkusiak] keeps the boat swinging from side to side making almost 45 degree turns, and I have seen Capt. Bernard make a complete circle in one watch. By noon the Mary Sachs approached the head of a large bay. With the wind hitting them broadside, Wilkins sought shelter behind a grounded floe and dropped anchor. This did not prove to be a safe shelter, however, for large fragments of the floe kept breaking free under the pounding of the waves, putting the ship in further danger: We struck one piece and unshipped our steering gear. The cable was almost cut through another time and the planks in the bow received some damage. It was cold and miserable work staving off the pieces of ice with a pike pole. About midnight we were compelled to move and steamed out against the sea. It took us about an hour to make a half a mile, and we then dropped both anchors in 4 1/2 fathoms of water clear of ice. The gale increased and [the] sea rose higher until morning; the boat rolled frightfully, but the anchors fortunately held. Most of the crew became badly seasick during the storm. Early the following morning the engineer reported two feet of water in the engine room. The crew quickly manned the pumps and soon had the ship dry, but it was necessary to keep the pumps going frequently, for the leaking continued.

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Fig. 35. Schooner Mary Sachs en route to Banks Island, tied to an ice keg east of Herschel Island, Yukon Territory, 11 August 1914. (Photo 50839 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214019, nac )

The fog prevented Wilkins from determining their location accurately, but he finally concluded they were in Harrowby Bay, about thirty miles south of Baillie Islands. With improved visibility and sea conditions, the Mary Sachs got underway early on 17 August, but quickly ran into more difficulties. As it manoeuvred between two huge cakes of ice, one of its propellers struck the ice and broke off close to its hub. Thereafter the schooner could run with only one engine and half power, greatly retarding its progress. It proceeded slowly northward following the coast, rounded Baillie Islands, and anchored at noon at the native settlement at Cape Bathurst. In his biography of Wilkins, Lowell Thomas included a strange tale at this point. According to Thomas, Wilkins was below deck changing into dry clothes after many hours on deck, leaving his men to bring the schooner safely into shore. Suddenly there was a yell, followed by a jarring crash. Wilkins rushed on deck and saw that the ship had run onto the beach. Crawford, drunk and raving, then jumped into the icy-cold water and started to swim out to sea. Wilkins hastily commandeered a small boat and rescued him, then had his men tie Crawford into his bunk until he sobered 148

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up.1 None of this story appears in Wilkins’ diary, and its authenticity is highly suspect. Only two families lived at the little settlement. From them Wilkins learned that Captain Lane of the Polar Bear had deposited, as promised, the expedition’s coal and distillate that he had brought from Herschel Island for Wilkins. However, he had left them so close to the water’s edge on the low-lying beach that they were under water at high tide. Carcasses of two of five whales killed by the Polar Bear’s crew lay within a quarter mile of the native’s tents, where they would provide food for the natives and their dogs and attract foxes and polar bears. Wilkins also learned that the Belvedere had headed west several days earlier and realized that this was the three-masted ship he had seen on 12 August. That meant that a second ship he had seen shortly before reaching the settlement must have been the Herman. Shortly after they reached Baillie Islands, two of Wilkins’ crew, Bauer and Thomsen, told him they would not continue on the Mary Sachs because of its leaky condition. Obviously the leak had to be repaired, but with no free timber they could not haul the schooner out of the water. It could not, therefore, be caulked from the outside, so they would have to try to caulk it from inside the hull of the ship. Captain Bernard worked diligently for the rest of the day and all the next day to stop the leak, but was not fully successful. Nevertheless, Wilkins somehow persuaded his crew to agree to continue eastward as far as the next peninsula, Cape Parry, which was about ninety miles away. He headed out with the Mary Sachs early on 19 August in a sea fairly clear of ice. With full sail to increase the speed of its single operating engine, the Mary Sachs followed the coast southeastward into Franklin Bay. Shortly after it passed the Smoking Hills,2 Wilkins sighted a schooner heading in his direction. The two schooners came abreast of each other and tied up to a large cake of ice. The newcomer was the thirteen-ton gasoline schooner Teddy Bear, captained by Joe Bernard, a nephew of Captain Peter Bernard on the Mary Sachs. Originally from Prince Edward Island, he was now sailing out of Nome, Alaska. Accompanying Joe Bernard was an older man he introduced as Old John Kuhl. They had spent the previous winter in Lady Richardson Bay on the southwest coast of Victoria Island and had been trading with the Eskimos there and in Coronation Gulf farther east for the past five years. They were, in fact, the first traders to reach that part of the central Arctic, and had acquired a considerable collection of native clothing and artifacts.3 Joe Bernard told Wilkins he had probably seen a total of about 1,700 Eskimos during the past five years, although never more than 200 at any one time. He also said that both wood and game were scarce, and that he the search for stefansson

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did not think Victoria Island was a suitable place for a large party of scientists to winter. After conversing briefly and exchanging several items with Captain Bernard, Wilkins got the Mary Sachs underway again, heading for the Horton River. His troubles continued: “Crawford was noticed to be more drunk than usual, and I had to stand two watches at the engine.” The Mary Sachs passed the mouth of the Horton River early in the morning of 20 August, then crossed Franklin Bay and reached Cape Parry at 10 p.m. Wilkins would have liked to have taken advantage of the clear night and good sailing conditions to cross the sixty miles of Amundsen Gulf to Nelson Head on Banks Island, but he still had to find the camp of Captain Charles Klengenberg in order to leave Mrs Storkerson and her small daughter there. Joe Bernard had told him that Klengenberg’s camp was somewhere near Cape Lyon. A headwind impeded their progress across Darnley Bay, and they did not reach Cape Lyon until ten o’clock the following night. By that time it was too dark to look for Klengenberg’s cabin and they anchored for the night. Crawford has been too drunk to look after the engines at all since yesterday, so it has been a long watch for me. We have searched the boat for alcohol but could find nothing except wood alcohol for lighting the primus [stove]. I do not know if he is drinking this but the can is partly empty. I have hidden it away so that he can’t find that now, and we will see if it has any effect. The following morning, 22 August, Wilkins searched the coast for Klengenberg’s camp for more than three hours without success. Had he gone a little farther east, he learned much later, he would have found it at Pearce Point, as Dr Anderson did when the Alaska passed that way the next day. Anxious to get started north, however, Wilkins told the crew he was heading for Banks Island and started the Mary Sachs across Amundsen Gulf. By that time Mrs Storkerson had told him she did not really care whether she was left with her father or not, as she hoped they would find her husband with Stefansson. Clear weather, little ice, and a southeast wind provided ideal conditions for the ninety-mile crossing. The terse comment in Wilkins’ diary about his crew’s reaction after he steered the Mary Sachs for Banks Island differs so much from the account in Thomas’s biography that one has to wonder which version to believe. Perhaps there is some truth in both. The diary states, “There were some serious objections to this by some of the crew, but they did not refuse duty and with the fair wind and all sails set we made good progress.” The biography, on the other hand, says that the crew flatly refused to leave Cape Lyon until Wilkins had promised them considerably higher wages and left a note, conspicuously marked with a flag, on shore 150

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Fig. 36. South coast of Banks Island east of Cape Lambton, showing the bedding of the rocks, as viewed from the Mary Sachs, 23 August 1914. This is one of the earliest photographs taken of the island. (Photo 50845 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214020, nac )

for Dr Anderson stating that if they were all lost, their pay was to be given to their families.4 Dr Anderson’s field notes do not mention his finding either a flag or a note, however. That evening they ran into a thick fog bank. Early the following morning, 23 August, during a brief lift in the fog, Wilkins caught his first glimpse of Banks Island. What he saw was Nelson Head, one of two prominent headlands on the island’s south coast. Two hours later sheer cliffs almost 1,000 feet high suddenly loomed out of the fog. Wilkins immediately used his field glasses to search for some sign of Stefansson’s presence on the cliff top, but the fog was too thick. The Mary Sachs turned westward along the cliffs, keeping about a quarter of a mile offshore for safety, unable to anchor because her cable would not reach the bottom. The absence of any safe shelter from a storm gave Wilkins some concern for their safety, but he was also distressed not to find any sign of a beacon that might have indicated the survival of Stefansson and his companions: The fog cleared about ten a.m. and although we could clearly see the coast for miles we could see no sign of a beacon or trace of human inhabitation. A polar bear was noticed on the side of a rugged cliff and as the boat approached he came down and entered the water. We launched the dory, and Thomsen, Billy, the search for stefansson

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and I went after him, and after a long chase I managed to shoot him and Billy gave him another bullet before we hauled the carcass to the schooner. He was not so very big but will prove a welcome addition to our supply of dog food. Once when the bear landed I got out of the boat and pursued him, and so was the first of the party to land on the island, but it was not until the bear was again in the water that we could get near enough to shoot it.5 They tied up for the night to a cake of ice opposite the mouth of a river a few miles northwest of Cape Lambton.6 Cape Lambton is the southernmost promontory on Banks Island, about eight miles west of Nelson Head. The next morning Wilkins went ashore with Captain Bernard and Natkusiak to obtain water from the river. It had several outlets, and they went to one of the smaller ones. Once there, they found an old muskox head, saw numerous caribou tracks, several small birds, and some ducks and geese, but only a few small sticks of wood. Wilkins described the water from the river as clear and excellent for drinking and washing. The Mary Sachs continued along the shore, soon finding itself among some ice floes. Although there was a lead about seven miles to seaward, the ice ahead was packed close to the beach, and Wilkins was forced to tie the Mary Sachs to a grounded floe that lay about 100 yards off a 35-foot-wide gravel beach. Back of the beach, the hills rose abruptly to about 400 feet. I climbed the hills (two rows running parallel to the beach) and on the other side was a long valley with a river running through it. Numerous small lakes were scattered about and some even amongst the ranges some two or three hundred feet above the sea. Wilkins saw a number of cranes, geese, owls, jaegers, hawks, and oldsquaw ducks, but was unable to approach within 600 feet of any of them. He saw no caribou or muskox. On 25 August the Mary Sachs proceeded northwestward for about three miles before again being stopped by ice. Most of the crew went ashore during the day. Wilkins trekked west for about three miles, where he came upon a wide embayment (now known as the mouth of the Sachs River): A large river appears to empty into the bay about a mile from the point, and from there on the land is more low lying, although where water meets land there is a cutbank as far as the eye can see. The ice is loosely packed in the bay and would not prevent a decent ship from passing, but with the one we have I fear we cannot move tonight. Tomorrow if this wind still continues I will try and reach the mouth of the river, where we may find fish and seal. The wide valley behind the hills looks as if it should hold game, but none was in sight.

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Wilkins was understandably concerned over the apparent scarcity of game and wondered if that was why there had been no sign of Stefansson or his two companions. He had evidently forgotten that Stefansson’s instructions the previous April had stated that Wilkins should wait for his commander around Norway Island, which lay well to the north. “I have kept my camera set up ever since we reached the island with the hope of coming upon them suddenly, and will not give up hope until we reach [Cape] Kellett and see if they have left any trace there.” A change of wind to the southeast during the night resulted in the ice crowding the Mary Sachs towards the beach, so all hands were called on deck at 5 a.m. to move the schooner behind a grounded floe. By early afternoon the wind had pushed the ice far enough to the northwest that Wilkins was able to move the Mary Sachs another two miles. He had hoped to round the point into the shelter of the wide bay at the mouth of what is now called the Sachs River, but instead had to tie up for the night short of reaching it. The ice was farther west by morning, so Wilkins moved the Mary Sachs into the bay. He then decided to leave a cache for Stefansson and his men on the chance they might pass that way, and directed his men to place an iron drum on top of the bluff near that part of the shore where the land got lower westward. In the drum they placed 200 pounds of flour, 50 pounds of sugar, 5 pounds of tea, a .30-30 carbine with 200 rounds of ammunition, a Primus stove, two cooking pots, and matches. Then they placed a five-gallon can of kerosene alongside the drum and a wooden cross on top of the cache.7 On his return, Wilkins had his crew move the Mary Sachs to the mouth of the river and anchor it there, for he had concluded that this was really the only place to haul the ship from the water if they were unable to get around Cape Kellett and farther north. There they remained, waiting for the ice to clear away. Wilkins meanwhile trekked briefly along the cutbank for about a mile towards Cape Kellett, assessing the terrain and their chances of getting any farther. He saw little wood along the shore, but during his absence some of his men gathered a dory-load of it. On his return they told him they had found three old campsites, so he went to examine them. They appeared to be the winter camps of hunting parties, many years old. He noticed with interest that the wood had been cut with a sharper-edged tool than a knife made from copper. Pieces of chopped wood and of bones were scattered about, as were also several muskox skulls and caribou antlers. Open water greeted them on the morning of 28 August, and Wilkins promptly got the Mary Sachs underway. By the time they had proceeded about five miles, however, they encountered the pack ice and by noon had to tie up to a huge grounded cake of ice in seven fathoms of water. Fog now

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enveloped them, but it cleared towards evening, at which time they followed a lead hoping to find a major opening. That did not materialize, however, and they turned about and tried to get back to the beach. About a mile from the beach they sighted two small islands with two sand spits extending from the shore towards them for about one hundred yards. They continued onward for another mile and then tied up for the night. The inshore ice was packed against the shore in the morning, preventing the Mary Sachs from continuing west. I walked ahead about four miles along the coast towards Cape Kellett and reached the highest point on this cape, the tundra covered hills sloped gradually down for about another mile and then a sandspit forming almost a semicircle reached out into the sea. The end pointed towards the north was crowded with ice and to the west the solid floe extended as far as I could see. A pressure ridge about 200 y[ar]ds wide extended from the most westerly part of the sandspit in a westerly direction and appears as if it had remained unbroken this season. We could by “bucking” probably reach the sandspit, but I doubt if any boat could pass there at present. To the N[or]th could be seen water sky and to the S.E. a wide lead extended. A boat in good condition could have made an attempt to get round this huge floe, which seemed to be hinged on the cape, but I did not think it advisable to try with the Mary Sachs. The ice conditions around Cape Kellett now prevented Wilkins from continuing northward along the west coast of Banks Island as Stefansson had expected him to do. He undoubtedly felt frustrated at the time by the wretched condition of the Mary Sachs and the unreliability of some of its crew. But he was certainly not as desperate as was suggested in his biography, which claimed that Wilkins and his crew had been sailing for 120 days before reaching the desolate, uninhabited coast of Banks Island.8 From the cape Wilkins walked towards the highest hill. En route he examined a dry creek bed and a small lagoon that connected with the sea at high tide, but was separated from it at the moment by a low sandy beach for about 200 yards. This appeared to be a suitable place to haul the Mary Sachs out of the water if it was unable to proceed farther. Operating with only one of its two engines, it could not push its way through any thick, young ice such as was forming in the bay where Wilkins had contemplated wintering. Through his binoculars he spotted enough wood to feed a kitchen stove for the winter. There was no sign of fresh water nearby, but he noticed several lakes only a few hundred yards away. There is much in favour of this place for establish[ing] here our winter quarters, should we not be able to round the cape but there is also one serious objection – the

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ice in the bay appears not to have moved out at all this summer, but to have been carried from side to side ... I do not wish to winter here if I can help it, especially as I could see no sign of anyone having been on the cape this season. I had been hoping to find traces of Stefansson on this cape, for if they have landed on the island at all they must surely have had time to reach this place, but failing to find any trace here I have almost given up hope of finding them on the island at all and must be prepared to make a trip to Prince Patrick [Is]land this winter. However, I am of the opinion that they must have been carried to the westward by the winds we experienced and have either landed somewhere near Point Barrow or have been carried off on the ice. Wilkins now moved the Mary Sachs into the open water opposite the lagoon, where he and his men would wait a few days to see if the wind moved the ice away from the sand spit. Then he had his men stack the driftwood so it would be ready to take on board if they were able to proceed around the icebound cape. With the sea ice still blocking any further progress of the Mary Sachs on 30 August, Wilkins and Natkusiak went inland to look for game. Neither of them saw any, but Natkusiak saw a few caribou tracks, which was an encouraging sign. Wilkins tried to get to a range of hills about seven miles to the north along the coast, but was prevented from doing so by a medium-sized river (given the name Kellett River in 1953). The [British Admiralty] chart we have of this island is by no means correct and although from its position Cape Kellett is recognizable the contour of the coast is entirely different. I expect where ever we winter I will be able to make a more careful survey of it. During his brief surveillance of the terrain, he noticed that the bay on the north side of the cape was shallower than was marked on the chart. Additionally, the coast line to the north seemed to be rising, “for the sea had at some time been high up on the tundra and now at high tide the waves lap the turf.” A strong southeast wind blew throughout the night but had no evident effect on the ice pressure ridge off the end of the cape. Young ice that had been forming for several days was now even thicker, making further progress by the Mary Sachs unlikely. Wilkins therefore decided to winter where they were. Wilkins’ crew began unloading the Mary Sachs on the morning of 1 September, and by evening had most of the cargo on the shore. The next day a polar bear appeared suddenly at the foot of a bluff a few hundred yards from the schooner. Its appearance caused quite a commotion. Several of

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Fig. 37. The Mary Sachs being unloaded near Cape Kellett, southern Banks Island, 1 September 1914. (Photo 50856 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214021, nac )

the men stopped unloading the schooner and went after it with their guns, managing to shoot it after it had taken to the water. Captain Bernard and Wilkins, assisted by a number of the dogs, pulled the bear from the water and skinned it. The men worked around the schooner on 3 September, getting her ready to be hauled onto the beach. The next day, some of them erected tents on the beach near the schooner, in preparation for making their living conditions as comfortable as possible. While they were thus occupied, Wilkins collected a few biological specimens from the nearby lakes and shot several birds. He then skinned and prepared these for the expedition’s collection, putting to good use the specimen-preparation procedures he had learned from Dr Anderson in the spring.9 On 5 September the men started to haul the Mary Sachs onto the beach. The task quickly proved difficult, however, for they lacked timbers on which the schooner could slide. As a result, it dragged heavily on the sand, breaking part of the hauling equipment. During the day, Captain Bernard finished the construction of a “go-cart,” on which he had been working for nearly a week. It provided a set of wheels for the small sled, which he hoped would prove a useful means of transport 156

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before the snow came. When completed, it seemed initially to work fairly well, but proved to be quite unsuitable on the tundra. Wilkins then instructed his men to haul the launch Edna onto the beach for safety. He wanted to use it for hauling wood along the coast, but it needed several days of repair work to be reliable for a trip of any distance. The ice moved offshore overnight on 7 September, but Wilkins reasoned that while the Mary Sachs could have navigated safely to the cape it was doubtful whether it could have proceeded much farther north. (Stefansson later criticized Wilkins in reports to the Department of the Naval Service for beaching the Mary Sachs too soon, maintaining that most of the coast north of Cape Kellett was free of ice for the next week.)10 Captain Bernard, Thomsen, and Natkusiak took the dory during the day and collected a boatload of wood from the two small islands in the bay. They also shot and brought back a large seal. Both activities extended their fuel and food supplies a little. Wilkins went offshore about a mile and dredged for marine life, seeking to provide some new scientific information but having little success. He concluded that there seemed to be little life in the water there. The weather then turned exceptionally warm after a week of wintry weather. This was the time when Stefansson later claimed a ship could have navigated well up the west coast of Banks Island, but by then the Mary Sachs was already out of the water. Wilkins therefore decided to go inland for a few days to look for signs of Stefansson or his companions, to hunt caribou, and to make some geological observations in this region not previously studied by white men. He would travel parallel to the coast, but about eight miles inland from it, which would enable him to reach the coast each day. He and Natkusiak then gathered the supplies and equipment they needed for their trip. Wilkins planned to transport them on Captain Bernard’s wheeled sled, which they dubbed the “dog mobile.” Wilkins also caught a lemming, two spiders, and a beetle for his scientific collection, pursuing his new role as explorer and scientist with zeal. Meanwhile the rest of the men started to build a sod house measuring fourteen by eighteen feet for their winter quarters. Lowell Thomas’s biography of Wilkins introduces some strange claims for this trip inland. According to Thomas’s version, Wilkins built a sled and set off to find Stefansson, determined to go around the entire island if necessary. Wanting to travel as quickly as possible, he took little food with him, intending to obtain his food along the way. The feelings of the people at the camp were so strong against him that he thought it best to leave Natkusiak and the cook there, taking instead two Eskimos with a dog team and sled.11 Thomas’s account contains several serious inaccuracies. Wilkins did not construct the sled, and Natkusiak, the only male Eskimo at the camp, accompanied him on the trip. Further, Wilkins did not leave camp because the search for stefansson

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Fig. 38. Wilkins’ crew laying the foundation “stone” of the house for the Northern Party on the beach near Cape Kellett, southern Banks Island, 8 September 1914. Left to right: Natkusiak, Bernard, Crawford, Bauer, Thomsen, Elvina Klengenberg Storkerson with daughter Martina, and Jennie Thomsen. (Photo 50862 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214022, nac )

of hard feelings against him, and his diary makes no mention of his intent to circumnavigate the island in search of Stefansson, although he might possibly have entertained such a notion at some later date. Finally, he took sufficient food with him, having no intention of “living off the land” as Stefansson was prone to do. On 9 September, Wilkins recorded: “Everything had been prepared yesterday for our journey inland, the ‘dog mobile’ had been loaded with tent and supplies and immediately after breakfast this morning we started off.” Captain Bernard helped them get to the top of the nearby hill, for the wheeled sled pulled “heavy” despite the efforts of their five dogs. They then progressed slowly across a broad valley towards the highest hill on the far side, where Wilkins intended to make his first camp: “The going was very bad, for where the tundra was not deeply cracked it was covered with water and we were almost continually extricating the wheels from cracks or carrying the sled through water.” After a while Wilkins called a brief halt to make a pot of tea. While he was thus occupied, Natkusiak shot two ptarmigan. 158

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They had just started off again when Wilkins noticed five objects on the hillside in the distance. Thinking they were bears, he stopped to look at them through his field glasses: a closer examination proved them to be wolves, and while we looked they started up a rabbit. Three of the wolves gave chase and the rabbit had but little chance from the first but managed to dodge successfully several times but at last with a sudden turn ran right into one of the wolves. There was a general scuffle for a moment and the three wolves were seen to be eating the parts that each had secured. [The rabbit mentioned here was an Arctic hare.] The two men forded the Kellett River during the day at a place where it was about seventy-five yards wide but only a foot or so deep. The sun had set long before they reached a grassy knoll under the highest hill. Wilkins decided to camp there, thinking that if the wolves followed along the bottom of the hill, he might be able to shoot one for his collection of mammals. Having been forced to haul the wheeled sledge with shoulder straps for most of the day to help the dogs, both Wilkins and Natkusiak were tired by the time they stopped to camp. [We were] leisurely erecting the tent when we saw seven wolves approaching. We concealed ourselves until they were within about a hundred y[ar]ds. They then stopped and sniffed the air; they could probably smell the camp. This was rather far to shoot in the failing light but as the wolves seemed about to retreat we both fired; each bullet hit a wolf but the one I had fired at only remained down for a short time and then started to run off. I gave chase and had soon killed it with another bullet, but when I went to look for the one I thought Billy had killed I could not find it; it had evidently crawled off, and I could not find it in the gathering darkness. Wilkins started early in the morning to hunt for the caribou whose tracks they had seen the previous day. He returned late in the day with two ptarmigan. He had seen muskox skulls, caribou antlers, and the skeleton of a polar bear, but no big game. Natkusiak had killed two Arctic hares. He had also seen fourteen foxes, five wolves, and possibly two caribou. He was cooking wolf meat when Wilkins got back. Wilkins tried some: “Wolf meat is fine eating and somewhat resembles chicken, but as usual the thoughts of taking some unaccustomed food was repugnant to me, but never-the-less I enjoyed the supper, and any more wolf meat that we have will not go to waste if I am hungry.”

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11 Appearance of Stefansson 11 september–1 october 1914

Six months had passed since Stefansson started north over the Beaufort Sea ice from Martin Point with Andreasen and Storkerson, a sled and team of dogs, and provisions for two months. By early September most of the non-scientific members of the expedition and many individuals along the Alaskan coast were convinced that all three had perished. Even Wilkins had some doubts over Stefansson’s ability to remain alive for so long. On 9 September, Wilkins and Natkusiak went inland, hunting for both game and signs of Stefansson and his men. On their first two days they saw several wolves, a few ptarmigan, and a few Arctic hares, and shot one or two of each, but saw no caribou. The absence of caribou troubled Wilkins, for he knew that without them chances of human survival on the island for any prolonged period were slight. On 11 September, he and Natkusiak started another day of hunting. After shooting and caching an Arctic hare, he climbed a nearby hill and scanned the horizon with his field glasses. Suddenly he noticed a beacon in the direction of the coast: I hurried towards it with no little excitement and discovered on the top of the sods a short note in Stefansson’s handwriting. I could hardly persuade myself that the party were all safe and not far away, but the note, which read “Make camp in bay below this hill and 1/4 miles S.W.” and was without date or signature, implied that all three were on land. I was quite familiar with the handwriting, and the message was written on the back of a Mannlicher cartridge box. I knew Stefansson’s method of travel was to hunt parallel to the coast and inland while the main party skirted the beach. If there had been but two of them, they would have met before camping time and helped one another put up the camp, but with three in the party V.S. would leave directions and then go off for further investigations. That they were travelling in the direction of the schooner could be seen by the directions on the note, and I have no doubt that they have arrived home before this.

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Greatly excited by his discovery, Wilkins hurried back to his tent to get Natkusiak and return to Cape Kellett. Natkusiak was not there. He was still absent towards midnight when Wilkins wrote up his diary. Wilkins’ excitement at finding Stefansson’s note slowly faded as he grew increasingly frustrated by the absence of his companion: It would be just my luck if those people have arrived at the schooner while I am away and not able to take a picture of the excitement. I never seem to be in the right place to get the important pictures on this expedition, and goodness knows these occasions are few, and to make any success of my work I should be at them all. Fog now settled over the land, so Wilkins placed a lighted lantern on the hilltop to guide Natkusiak to the camp. Thomas’s account of Wilkins’ actions after discovering Stefansson’s note differs considerably from that in Wilkins’ diary. In the Thomas version, Wilkins left a message at his tent for his two Eskimo companions (neither of which was Natkusiak), then walked thirty miles back to the main camp, shooting en route seven caribou, a couple of polar bears, some Arctic hares, and several wolves.1 The diary states that Wilkins remained overnight at the temporary camp, then searched for Natkusiak in the fog the following day: I walked until about 2 p.m., but could find no trace so then returned to camp. This place was still empty when I returned, but before I had cooked a meal Billy came in. He had killed a bear and five deer within seven miles of the camp, but had taken some time to cache the meat safely from the wolves. He was as pleased and surprised as I at the discovery I had made, and after a hurried meal we started out for home. Fog greatly hindered both their visibility and their progress: These small rolling hills are so much alike when covered with snow that they afford but poor land marks, and when obscured by fog one has but little chance of finding anything which would serve to guide them. As we neared the cliffs we could hear the muffled roar of the waves below, and shortly afterwards arrived at the camp. Wilkins and Natkusiak reached the ship in the early hours of the morning of 13 September. No one was up: Everyone was sleeping soundly, so we did not disturb them, but searched noiselessly in the various bunks for the three of the ice party. Stefansson was fast asleep in my tent, and Storkerson and Andreasen in the fo’castle of the [Mary] Sachs. By the dim light of the lantern they did not look at all emaciated, but fatter and more appearance of stefansson

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healthful than I had ever before seen them. I could hardly control my curiosity until morning, but finally crawled into the wheel house of the schooner and shivered till daylight, for I had left my sleeping bag at the [hunting] camp. In the morning, Stefansson started to go inland to look for Wilkins, unaware of his return during the night. He was called back by Bauer, who had noticed Wilkins’ dogs. Wilkins and the others arose shortly thereafter, and they had a cheerful reunion: All three men are looking exceptionally well and say they have had a comparatively easy and comfortable time. They have never been without a meal, but were for a few days on limited rations. They have lived for over sixty days on straight boiled meat and found it a satisfying diet. This meat of course was fat seal, bear, or caribou. They had killed 49 of the latter, all big bulls, and had besides feeding themselves and their dogs dried some 1500 lb for future use. They have made a remarkable trip, reaching about 240 miles off shore, and landing at Norway Island on the 20th June ... I spent most of the day talking over the news with V.S. He is disappointed that the North Star is not here, but after hearing the evidence of both sides agrees that I did the right thing to transfer to the [Mary] Sachs, although he thinks that Dr. Anderson should have engaged other men at Herschel Island to bring in the N[or]th Star. Certainly if I had thought that someone else would have taken charge of either boat I would not have come myself, but would have returned to London. Two statements in the previous paragraph deserve comment. Firstly, Wilkins’ observation “V.S. is disappointed that the North Star is not here” is a gross understatement. Stefansson may have appeared merely “disappointed” to Wilkins at the time, but inwardly he was seething over what he regarded as Dr Anderson’s defiance of his orders to send the North Star. So intense was his anger, in fact, that he verbally berated his co-leader for years in letters to G.J. Desbarats, the deputy minister of the Naval Service in Ottawa. And the one letter he wrote Dr Anderson during the next nine months truly dripped with sarcasm. Stefansson, although extraordinarily talented in many ways, evidently had an ego of such fragility that he could tolerate no questioning of his instructions, authority, actions, or knowledge. Captain Bartlett had questioned his instructions and knowledge of Arctic marine conditions, and was thereafter in Stefansson’s “bad books.” Most of the scientists had questioned his actions and authority at Victoria, Nome, and finally at Collinson Point. One of them actually dared to suggest that Stefansson was not even a scientist, an accusation that hurt Stefansson to the quick, as some of the latter’s many letters to Desbarats reveal. 162

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Fig. 39. V. Stefansson’s arrival at Cape Kellett, southern Banks Island, five months after leaving Martin Point on his first ice trip, 13 September 1914. (Photo 50869 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214023, nac )

The Department of the Naval Service had placed him in full command of his expedition, of which he was extremely proud, constantly signing his correspondence “Commander, Canadian Arctic Expedition.” As such, he both expected and demanded the respect a naval commander was entitled to receive. The local natives and most of the sailors and traders appear to have been somewhat awed by his extensive knowledge and gifted communication skills. All of them were certainly influenced by his seemingly unlimited supply of government money and were willing to take advantage of it. The well-educated scientists in the Southern Party, however, secure in their steady though meagre monthly paycheques and intent on carrying out their own specialized work for the Geological Survey of Canada, not the Department of the Naval Service, were not impressed by his status nor did they feel any particular loyalty to him. Time and again they questioned his plans, his actions, and even his lack of plans or actions, particularly when their work might be affected. He regarded many of their questions as insolent and disrespectful and thereafter went about his affairs avoiding these scientists as much as possible. appearance of stefansson

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The last sentence in the excerpt from Wilkins’ diary reveals that he led the rescue party to Banks Island out of moral duty and obligation, not by choice, much preferring to return to London. It is especially revealing since he recorded it when his spirits were at their highest after his successful discovery of Stefansson and his two companions. Wilkins’ diary then hinted at some latent hostilities surfacing at Cape Kellett during this first meeting: “Although Mr. Stefansson blames Dr. Anderson for a number of things, and rightly too, there are some charges against him both by the crew of the [Mary] Sachs and the commander of the expedition that I think are not justified.” Unfortunately he did not elaborate on these observations. Within the next twenty-four hours Stefansson had developed new exploration plans, not all of which met with favour by Wilkins: “V.S. discussed several plans for the coming season, some of them I think too extensive to be carried out by the men we have and the resources available. However, we hope to accomplish a great deal, and I trust we will not be disappointed.” The sea on 12 September, despite the lateness of the season, was surprisingly free of ice. Stefansson told Wilkins that the same conditions existed farther north along the west coast of Banks Island, and brought up his original plan of establishing a base camp near Norway Island for his northern exploration work. Wilkins suggested they launch the Mary Sachs right away to try to carry out this plan, but Stefansson replied that it would be impossible to launch it without beams to slide her back into the water. This was a curious response in view of Stefansson’s instructions to Captain Bernard three years later to repair and launch the Mary Sachs in preparation for the departure of the Northern Party from the Arctic. After dismissing the idea of launching the Mary Sachs, Stefansson instructed Crawford to prepare the launch Edna for use shuttling supplies immediately to a new site near Norway Island. He was confident that it was in excellent condition, for he had been assured as much when he purchased it in the spring. And although he had heard comments from members of the crew of the Mary Sachs in the past few days that Chipman had been unable to get the Edna to work satisfactorily, he had dismissed them as merely indicating Chipman’s mechanical ineptitude. The launch had run well when Wilkins used it shortly before leaving Herschel Island, but Wilkins knew of its structural inadequacy for coping with ice conditions and of some of the idiosyncrasies of its engine. In consequence he did not approve of Stefansson’s decision to use the Edna for freighting supplies to Norway Island, but refrained from arguing the matter with him: It would be much better in my opinion to repair the [Mary] Sachs and take all that we require for the ice trip up there, for although they were able to haul her out on the beach with an exceptionally high tide during my absence, she could be made 164

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seaworthy in less time than the launch, and we would be sure of getting somewhere with her even if young ice forms, but it will be impossible to do anything with the launch in young ice. Wilkins’ opinion proved correct, for the repair work on the Edna took almost ten days, by which time the frosts had brought an end to the navigation season. As Wilkins had been at his temporary hunting camp when Stefansson and his two companions arrived at Cape Kellett, he had been foiled in his desire to film the special event. He therefore asked them to re-enact their arrival at the camp for his still and motion-picture cameras: I am afraid the result will be a miserable failure, for they are not good actors. I was getting impatient with their clumsy attempts and by the time I was ready to take individual portraits I am afraid that some of the party at least were not looking their pleasantest. The portraits clearly demonstrate the healthy state of the three men after five and three-quarter months of travelling on the Beaufort Sea and Banks Island.2 Unfortunately, there seems to be no trace of the motionpicture films he took that day, and I suspect they may have been destroyed in the fire of 1967 in which nearly half of Wilkins’ films were lost. Storkerson and Andreasen subsequently told Wilkins that they had both demanded twenty-five dollars a day in wages when Stefansson decided to head for Banks Island, which was paid to them until they reached this ship. I do not believe that this and remaining at Norway Island until all chance of meeting with ships (other than those remaining on the island for the winter) was passed was a deeply laid scheme for publicity, but it could easily be interpreted as such. Implied here is that Stefansson deliberately delayed journeying to the south coast of Banks Island from the Norway Island area to enhance the drama of his reappearance. If true, it shows the same disregard for the safety of his companions that he showed for himself. Later, of course, he maintained in several letters to the Department of the Naval Service that he had planned to await the North Star at Norway Island and had sent Wilkins instructions of that intent from the ice in April. However, the wording in those instructions (see chapter 8) does not convey that message clearly. Later that day Stefansson sent Andreasen to the temporary hunting camp to collect Wilkins’ tent and other equipment. Meanwhile he asked Wilkins to accompany him in the launch as soon as Crawford had it ready. He did not make clear their intended destination. It did not matter, howappearance of stefansson

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ever, for the repairs took much longer than Stefansson anticipated, and no one went anywhere in the launch that day or for several subsequent days. The winter house was almost completed by the following day: The main house has sod walls three feet thick and five feet high. A peaked roof over this will consist of two covers of drilling separated by an air space. Above this again will be a sail separated by a space of five or six inches. Wood is scarce with which to make rafters, and the booms have to do duty for ridge poles. We cannot well have the stove in the middle of the house, for that would mean cutting the sail, so it will be in the corner. Bunks and a platform for Jennie to work on will occupy all the wall space and in the centre will be the table made up of old boxes. For light we will have to depend on the small and very unsatisfactory kerosene lamps. I have a quantity of calcium carbide and a generator, probably enough to last for the winter, but the smell of the gas makes some of the company’s head’s ache, so I cannot install it in the main room and will use it myself. The place will not be over[ly] warm, I am afraid, unless we have two stoves in it, but it seems to be what the majority of the people want, and as I have my own room I do not mind. Unfortunately, no one took any pictures of this makeshift but historic first house located near the present settlement of Sachs Harbour. Wilkins, with the assistance of Thomsen, then built a room by the side of the main room, with a short connecting passage. This was where he would prepare the scientific specimens he expected to collect during the coming winter. On 16 September, Wilkins and Thomsen sledded west to Cape Kellett, a fishhook-shaped feature that extended almost five miles west from the southwest corner of Banks Island, then bent gradually around in a broad semicircle. Stefansson later described it as the greatest sand spit in the Arctic except for Point Barrow.3 At the cape Wilkins piled up enough driftwood to supply the camp for much of the winter. On their way back he noticed “several fairly well preserved logs of wood protruding from the cutbanks about thirty to fifty feet above sea level.” He thought at the time that they would be worth investigating but did not stop to examine them. He also mentioned that “Billy [Natkusiak] reports having seen a large stick of wood some twelve miles inland sticking out of a river bank, and V.S. has also seen several large sticks even on hilltops and found a pine cone some distance inland.” These are the first recorded observations of tree remains in the southern part of Banks Island. The embedded logs indicate the existence of tall trees many thousands of years ago in that region where the climate now prevents any large trees from growing.4 Wilkins also noticed the remains of an ancient Eskimo village on the tundra about 300 feet from the start of the sand spit:

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more than twenty houses can now be distinguished. The village may have originally consisted of many more, for some of those that remain are right at the edge of the beach. The frames of the houses were of whale bone, but I did not have time to examine them thoroughly, for the dogs bolted with the sled and I had to go after them. They were a mile or so towards home before they stopped, and as it was getting late we did not go back. Investigations in 1953 by Tom Manning5 revealed that these were the ancient dwellings of the Thule people from Alaska – predecessors of today’s Eskimo – who had hunted whales and wintered on the shores of many islands across the Arctic about 500 years ago when the climate was warmer than it is today. Crawford finally completed the repairs on the launch Edna on 20 September. Why he took so long and why such repairs were necessary remain unanswered questions. The launch had run satisfactorily for Wilkins and Blue before they left Herschel Island in mid-August. Perhaps Crawford deliberately worked slowly to thwart Stefansson’s freighting plans. Wilkins wrote: “The launch was ready for a start by Sunday night, and I had received instructions to go with it, taking Crawford as engineer. V.S. decided that he would not go at the last minute and thought he would go out hunting instead.” Stefansson was still writing about his ice trip when the Edna was ready, so asked Wilkins to take the Storkerson family and their supplies and equipment up the coast where they could hunt and trap, as well as a load of supplies to Norway Island if possible. Wilkins was familiar by now with Stefansson’s last-minute changes of plans. The day dawned clear and without wind, but a skin of young ice covered the sea. Wilkins, Crawford, and the Storkerson family got underway early, towing the freight-loaded dory. Their northward progress was unexpectedly slowed by both repeated trouble with the launch engine and a light headwind and slush ice encountered as soon as they rounded Cape Kellett. A belt of grounded and young ice ultimately prevented them from landing on the coast to make camp, and they were forced to tie up to a large ice floe for the night. In the morning, Wilkins and Storkerson walked over the ice to its highest point, from where they could see an island about ten miles farther north. The sea ice had solidified overnight, however, preventing them from proceeding any farther: and it was with some difficulty that we managed to get the boat within a few yards from the beach in order to unload the freight and cache it on a sandspit which extended from the beach, forming an enclosed lagoon, except for a narrow opening

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about ten yards wide. The ice in the lagoon was solid enough for us to walk on, but was partly covered near the edges with water. There Wilkins deposited Storkerson and his family with a tent and supplies. They had progressed only about twenty-five miles north of the base camp. Stefansson had hoped to get Storkerson and the freight far enough north along the west coast to serve as an advanced base for his spring work.6 A short while later Wilkins and Crawford tried to work the launch through ice to open water and return south to the main camp, but old ice forced them back to the beach. They landed there, helped Storkerson fix his tent, and stayed for the night. Wilkins waited a day for the ice to open up, then with his men hauled both launch and dory out of the water for the winter. A polar bear decided to investigate their camp the next morning just as Wilkins and Crawford were about to start on foot back to the main camp, and they helped Storkerson kill it and haul it to his camp. That activity and a blizzard the following day resulted in further delays, so that it was September 27 before they finally started back to the base camp. They kept inland to avoid the narrow inlets along the coast, for the ice in these inlets was not strong enough to hold their weight: When attempting to cross a narrow end of one of these, I fell through the young ice into the water, and my gun went in also. It was still wet and there appeared to be no ice in the barrel so I thought to clean it out by firing a bullet through it, but had I stopped to reason I might have known the inevitable result – the foresight was broken off and the end of the barrel split for a couple of inches. It was fortunate that Crawford had his rifle with him also, for on that we now had to depend for supper. A flock of ptarmigan conveniently provided them with enough food for their evening meal. Continuing homeward afterwards, despite the chilling wind, they found themselves too tired to continue when only about seven miles from the base camp. After building a wall of snow for shelter from the wind, they waited until daylight. At daylight they shouldered their packs and trekked the remaining distance, arriving at the base camp tired but none the worse from their long walk. Wilkins noticed that during his absence the men had built a barn for the dogs: “The walls consist of the distillate and coal-oil cases, the roof being of doubled canvas supported by the main boom as a ridge pole. In front of the main structure a tent has been erected for the storage of harness and dog food.” Stefansson had seen no game during Wilkins’ absence. He handed me a letter which he was to have left for [me] in case I had not returned. In it he was pleased to say that I had done as much as, if not more 168

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than any others of the staff to further the interests of the expedition and that he would recommend to headquarters that I should receive a salary equal to that of the highest paid to any of the scientific staff. I have no reason to doubt that his recommendation will be approved. If so, it will assure me of some remuneration, for I have broken the contract with the Gaumont Co[mpany] by coming with this party. However, they may appreciate the circumstances which led to this and continue my salary, especially if I am able to get some pictures of the “Blonds” [Blond Eskimos] next spring. By consenting to receive a salary from the Expedition direct, it will necessitate my doing work other than photographic, but I do not intend that this will in any way interfere with my particular branch, in so far as the important subjects are concerned. But there is a considerable time when picture making is impossible throughout the year, and during that time I am only too anxious to further the interests of the Expedition by assisting in whichever branch of science that I may have the opportunity. There are so few of us with this division of the Expedition that each and every one will need to do their utmost. Stefansson’s request to Ottawa resulted in Wilkins receiving a salary from the Department of the Naval Service of $1,500 per annum from 7 June 1914 (when he left Collinson Point to take charge of the North Star) until 9 October 1916, when he left Ottawa for England.7 The following day, Wilkins had Levi Bauer show him how to set fox traps so that Wilkins could catch them for his mammal collection. Foxes were plentiful, as were also the lemmings on which they fed. Stefansson told Wilkins that American museums would be interested in purchasing good collections of Arctic foxes, so Wilkins considered accumulating a large collection, especially of the summer-coated foxes, for that purpose. In making such a suggestion, Stefansson showed a blatant disregard of the instructions sent him that spring by the Canadian government, which Wilkins had brought from Herschel Island. These instructions made it perfectly clear that any items obtained during the operation of the Canadian Arctic Expedition rightfully became the property of the Canadian government. Wilkins was aware of this also, but at the time thought he was operating without remuneration for his services since breaking his contract with the Gaumont Company. He did not learn until many months later that the Canadian government had put him on salary as Stefansson had requested.

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12 Hunting with Stefansson 2 october–26 november 1914

The addition of Stefansson, Andreasen, Storkerson, and their six dogs at Cape Kellett soon made it apparent that more meat was needed to augment the diminishing food supplies. Stefansson also told Wilkins and the others that they needed fresh meat to avoid getting scurvy. Although Natkusiak had hunted unsuccessfully for the past several days, Stefansson was confident about his own ability to find caribou. He and Wilkins therefore set off on 2 October to join Natkusiak at the temporary hunting camp. They took little food from the base camp, for Stefansson never took many provisions with him when he went hunting. Wilkins skied ahead of the dogs on the newly fallen snow, and they reached the camp without incident shortly before dark. Natkusiak had still seen no game. Sizing up their supplies – plenty of flour and sugar, but little dog food – Wilkins concluded that they would probably have to live on flour cooked in bear’s grease and caribou fat until they were successful in their hunt. He was looking forward to hunting with Stefansson this time. They had both left the Karluk for that purpose a year earlier, but Wilkins had soon discovered that Stefansson preferred to hunt alone, and he had been left to look after the camp or to hunt on his own. The present hunting trip would prove little different. Continuing fog severely hindered any hunting efforts for several days, but during that time they moved camp northward twice in hopes of finding caribou. Fog still blanketed the land on 9 October, and Stefansson returned to the camp after only a short while, telling Wilkins there was no use hunting in such weather. That evening, however, Natkusiak returned with the news that he had killed fifteen caribou and wounded three others about six miles away.

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Next morning, the first clear day in more than a week, they hitched the dogs to their sleds and moved to the site where Natkusiak had killed the caribou. On the way Stefansson killed a large bull and shot another one that Natkusiak had wounded. When we arrived to where the dead deer were we found eight within a space 200 yards square and seven others not far away. Billy had only skinned one the night before, so as soon as we had pitched camp he and I started in with this work while V.S. went after the meat that he had killed. The foxes had eaten a quantity of the meat, mostly from the fawns, of which there were two. It was after dark by the time we had finished skinning. I had measured two for specimens, a big bull and a fair-sized doe. We had our first supper of boiled ribs tonight. It was particularly good eating. Wilkins shot two foxes that were attracted to the dead caribou and could have shot many more for his collection if there had been time. Stefansson then asked Wilkins and Natkusiak to haul the caribou meat to the camp, while he went off in search of more caribou. Some time later he returned with the startling news that he had killed an entire band of twenty-three, claiming that “it took but forty bullets to kill them. He says that the U.S. cartridges did not seem to carry up as well as the Winchester [cartridges], this accounting for some misses.” A few years later, Stefansson boasted that he had killed all twenty-three caribou with only twenty-seven bullets, adding that the feat was not remarkable.1 He neglected to mention the other thirteen bullets he had used. By 11 October, Stefansson and Natkusiak had killed forty-one caribou, all within three days, while Wilkins had not even had a chance to hunt. Instead he was getting more experience than he cared for in skinning caribou killed by the other two. “I have been calling these animals sometimes deer and sometimes caribou and of which variety they are I do not know. Neither does anyone else that is here know for sure.” Stefansson knew they were caribou, of course, but the animals on Banks Island, now called Peary Caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi), are somewhat smaller than the mainland caribou, a fact that was not known to any of them at that time. Wilkins collected the first specimen for scientific study.2 On 13 October, Wilkins commented in his diary, “We have started to live exclusively on meat, and I cannot say I enjoy it as yet, though I expect soon to enjoy it as well as the others.” Not content with the forty-one caribou already killed, Stefansson went off the next day to shoot some that were visible in the distance, leaving Wilkins and Natkusiak to harness the dogs and follow. As they were about

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to start, Wilkins noticed another group of caribou within a mile of their camp. Seizing the opportunity to do some of the kind of hunting he had expected on this trip, he and Natkusiak went after them: We approached them from different sides of a hill, and Billy happened to get nearer than I. He started to shoot when about 100 yards off. I was then about 300 [yards away] and could not get any nearer without exposing myself. I tried a few shots, but the distance was too far for the carbine that I had. I managed to get one, however, and Billy got seven from the nine that were in the band. V.S. heard the shooting and came back, afterwards setting out again for the band he had seen. We skinned the ones we had killed. I kept three for specimens – a doe and two fawns – and then we set out to bring in a load of those that V.S. had killed three days before. We reached the place which proved to be about five miles from the camp and brought home five deer. V.S. was home when we returned. He had approached a band of thirteen, but had only secured one. He had seen in the distance a band of about a hundred, but it was too dark to approach them tonight. This gives a different aspect to the country. A few days ago we were thinking ourselves lucky to get any at all, and now it seems we will be able to get all we want. They do not appear to be all travelling in the same direction either, so it can’t be that we have come across a band that is migrating. Wilkins spent the next four days gathering caribou carcasses and bringing them to the temporary camp. Many of the carcasses were too frozen to skin and had to be transported whole. And as the animals had not been gutted and skinned immediately after killing, their meat was unfit for human consumption, although the dogs would eat it. On 19 October, Stefansson decided to return to Cape Kellett and took Natkusiak with him, leaving Wilkins to guard the meat they had accumulated. They also left him with only a three days’ supply of coal oil. When it was used up, he would have to subsist on frozen meat and snow until Natkusiak returned with more. The fog continued throughout the next two days, so he remained in his tent and read. The fog finally lifted on 22 October and Wilkins spent much of the day hunting, but saw only a single raven, which he was unable to add to his bird collection. Natkusiak returned late in the afternoon with coal oil from Cape Kellett and a note from Stefansson asking Wilkins to continue hunting until 5 November: “He also thoughtfully sent me some ink and writing paper so that I might write letters in case someone should go to Coronation Gulf.” This reference to Coronation Gulf stemmed from discussions Stefansson had with Wilkins about sending a small party with the letters and reports of the Northern Party to find the camp of Dr Anderson’s Southern 172

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Party near Coronation Gulf. Stefansson was eager to get news to the newspapers in the south of his own safety. He assumed that someone from the Southern Party would be going overland during the winter via Great Bear Lake to Fort Norman with their mail and would take his mail with them. Natkusiak had shot a caribou during his trip to Cape Kellett and two more on his return trip. He told Wilkins that one of these looked very much like a mainland caribou. Wilkins would have saved its skin and head as a specimen, but the skin was badly cut up, and Natkusiak had eaten the head the previous night. In two weeks of hunting, Stefansson, Natkusiak, and Wilkins had killed nearly sixty caribou. Many of the slain animals were fit only for dog food, however, because the hunters had killed them faster than they could bleed, gut, and skin them, and the meat was tainted. Additionally, many of the slain animals had been partly eaten by the foxes in the area. Today environmentalists would be horrified by this seemingly senseless slaughter of the caribou, but in 1914, with no means of rapid communication, rescue, or provisioning, survival was of paramount importance, and the people at the base camp near Cape Kellett had to acquire their food when and where it was available. Natkusiak’s arrival freed Wilkins from his meat-guarding responsibilities, so the following day he asked Natkusiak to build a snowhouse during his absence and went hunting. He did not sight a single caribou the entire day. On his return he contemplated the newly constructed snowhouse with interest: It is a rough-looking structure, but stands up all right. We cooked supper in it tonight, and it is easily seen why a snowhouse does not melt in cold weather even if a high temperature is maintained inside. The walls being of soft snow absorbed the moisture as quickly as it is formed, and the temperature of the air converts the wet snow to ice on the outside of the house. Eventually, if the interior was kept sufficiently warm, the whole wall would become a mass of ice and the house would then be cold and probably drip. But if the temperature of the outside air is cold enough to neutralise the warmth of the interior of the wall and so keep the whole below the freezing point, a snowhouse is as comfortable and dry as any other. Wilkins and Natkusiak moved into the snowhouse, using the lining of the tent as an inside liner. That night, when he was inside the snowhouse, what struck Wilkins most was that “not a sound of the wind can be heard through the walls, although it is blowing a gale outside.” Both men hunted without success the following day. The next day, Wilkins killed one caribou and wounded another. Darkness had fallen by the time he finished skinning the dead one, but undaunted he put the meat on the skin and started to haul it back to camp. After struggling for about two hunting with stefansson

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miles, he realized he would have to wait until morning to avoid becoming totally lost. He then proceeded to make a small snowhouse for shelter, an operation at which he had little experience, and lay down on the caribou skin to sleep, passing a fairly comfortable night. A blizzard overnight blanketed the land with snow, preventing Wilkins from finding the caribou he had injured or any others, so he headed for the temporary camp, hauling the caribou meat behind him: “It was hard work travelling, but as I was going with the wind I did not mind. I arrived home about 3 p.m. and was glad of supper, although I had made one meal of frozen meat and ice. Billy had caught two foxes, but did not see any deer yesterday.” Adverse weather forced Wilkins and Natkusiak to remain in their snowhouse for the next three days. Wilkins wrote letters. By 31 October, his twenty-sixth birthday, he was utterly bored and frustrated by the forced inactivity and wrote that the day differed “very much from my two previous birthdays, but I would sooner go through either [of] those experiences again than suffer this inactivity.” After five more foggy days, he wrote: “Fog, fog, fog, and wind, varied today with a little snow fall, making it very disagreeable out doors. Still letter writing.” On 2 November the dogs suddenly started barking as Wilkins was cooking breakfast, so Natkusiak took his gun and went out to see why they were barking. Seeing two caribou nearby, he shot them. Natkusiak later caught three foxes, bringing to thirty-seven the number they had trapped or shot in the past month. The weather finally improved, and on 6 November Natkusiak went off to examine his traps. Wilkins was about to depart for a day’s hunt when he noticed a dog team approaching, driving a number of caribou before it. Unfortunately, the barking of his dogs frightened off the caribou before he had a chance to shoot any. A few minutes later Thomsen pulled in with the dog team and news that Stefansson and Storkerson were at a camp about seven miles away. They had left the base camp several days earlier and taken Ole Andreasen with some supplies about fifteen miles up the west coast, where Andreasen intended to hunt and trap for a while. Stefansson, Thomsen, and Thomsen’s wife and child had proceeded the remaining ten miles to Storkerson’s camp, where Mrs Thomsen and her child remained with Mrs Storkerson and her daughter. Storkerson informed them that he had caught only one polar bear and a few seals during the weeks he had been camped north of Cape Kellett. Stefansson, Storkerson, and Thomsen had then headed for Wilkins’ camp. Acting upon Stefansson’s instructions, Thomsen gathered a load of caribou meat from Wilkins’ cache and headed back to get Stefansson. He

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returned with the latter and two dog teams shortly after Wilkins had finished his breakfast. Thomsen and Natkusiak then went back to the vacated camp, leaving Stefansson to discuss his latest plans with Wilkins: We talked over the advisability of going to Coronation Gulf, and I think that he has decided not to go. It has been a difficult point to decide which is the better – to risk tiring the dogs and so hinder the ice trip this year and possibly gain more resources for next season, or stay and be sure of a good start on the ice this year, letting next take care of itself. There was also the advisability of sending out news as early as possible to consider. Following a stormy day, Thomsen and Natkusiak got back early on the morning of 9 November. They had killed and transported twelve caribou to the camp Stefansson had vacated, where Storkerson was presently staying. Thomsen reported that Storkerson now wanted to return to his camp at the coast and set his fox traps. As Wilkins needed coal oil, which was stored at Storkerson’s camp, Stefansson asked him to take a load of meat to Storkerson’s coast camp and bring some coal oil back. Thomsen would accompany him with his sled. At this point Wilkins startled Stefansson by asking him to put his instructions in writing. This was the first time he had used this tactic, one he had learned from Dr Anderson. It was a protective measure in case Stefansson later found fault with activities he himself had asked either of them to undertake. V.S., in compliance with my request, gives me written orders for everything which I am to do and be responsible for, but he says, and truly, that he does not care for such formality. This is because he would perhaps never make a success by its means, especially if one carried out the written instructions to the letter. Several of those issued to me have contained contradictions, and the one today makes no mention of coal-oil, the principal article for which I am to make a forty-mile journey. Starting out on 10 November, Wilkins and Thomsen reached Storkerson’s temporary hunting camp early in the evening after an all-day trek. Getting away at nine the following morning, they reached Storkerson’s coastal camp shortly after dark. They had brought with them from Storkerson’s hunting camp four whole carcasses of caribou meat, two extra back fats, and seven skins. They found Mrs Thomsen unhappy and wanting to return to the Cape Kellett camp, but this was not possible for the moment. After letting the dogs rest for a day, Wilkins and Thomson loaded their two sleds with coal oil, distillate, hardbread, and a Primus stove and started for their hunting camp. They did not bother to take a tent as they expected

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to reach their destination the same day. The weather was fine when they started, but they encountered fog and a nasty headwind before they had gotten any distance inland, rendering their old trail impossible to follow. Thomsen and his team were in the lead, “and although I told him to keep more to the left we were still too far to the right, and at dark we could not find the camp, so made a snow wall and, covering it with the sled cover, spent a comfortable night.” The wind reversed its direction overnight and was blowing a regular blizzard the following morning. Visibility was less than fifty yards, but Wilkins and Thomsen started out for the camp where Stefansson was staying. Soon the dogs refused to go on, so the two men reluctantly returned to the site of their overnight stop. Lacking dog food, they shared some of their hardbread with the dogs and set about improving their shelter: We completed a snowhouse, building on the walls we had last night. It is the first one I have helped to complete. We had no shovel with which to shovel snow in the cracks, and it is by no means pleasant work stuffing snow into them with one’s hands. A snowhouse is decidedly more comfortable when finished than a tent, but were it not for the extra load of the tent on the sled I would prefer to put up with the slight discomfort than spend the energy and time to build a snowhouse. The blizzard continued in full force all that day and the next. Nevertheless, they set off early, but again the dogs soon refused to face the blistering wind, forcing Wilkins to change direction and head for Storkerson’s temporary camp for the night. The following day’s entry reads: The weather cleared last night, and we started out once more for the camp, reaching within a couple of miles of it tonight. We were again overtaken by darkness, and as the trail was covered and we were sure of reaching the main camp easily tomorrow, we did not mind digging a hole in a snowbank and spending the night there. Wilkins and Thomsen finally reached the hunting camp occupied by Stefansson and Natkusiak early in the fifth morning, after a journey that normally should have taken them only two days. During their absence, “V.S. had conceived of a plan to go east to DeSalis Bay from here, but after discussing it, he decided to stay and help clear up this camp and then go to the coast for Jennie [Thomsen], and then start for home.” Wilkins and Stefansson then discussed the latter’s various plans. Stefansson wanted to go to DeSalis Bay to visit Copper Eskimos from Victoria Island whom he thought might be there. He had met some of them in 1911 in Prince Albert Sound, and they had told him they wintered on the southeastern part of Banks Island.

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Meanwhile, Thomsen and Natkusiak headed for the main camp near Cape Kellett with a load of caribou meat, intending to cache it about halfway to the coast. A blizzard prevented them from getting back. Left to their own devices in the isolated snowhouse, “V.S. and I got into an argument about theology and other things, which lasted until nearly morning.” Neither man recorded any details of their argument, but Wilkins recalled later that they had discussed the possible uses of airplanes and submarines for Arctic travel in the future. He favoured the probable use of airplanes. Stefansson argued instead for the more likely use of submarines. Stefansson must have been impressed by Wilkins’ arguments, however, for within a few years he published an article on possible future air travel in the Arctic.3 Likewise, Wilkins found Stefansson’s arguments sufficiently intriguing that in 1930 he purchased an old submarine from the U.S. Navy, had it refitted, and attempted the first exploration beneath the Arctic ice in a submarine.4 On 19 November, Wilkins and Thomsen proceeded to Storkerson’s temporary hunting camp to clean it up and group all the caribou meat. Stefansson remained behind writing. Natkusiak also remained behind, gathering his fox traps from the surrounding area. Wilkins and Thomsen returned the following morning as the others finished breakfast. Hastily gathering everything up, they started for Cape Kellett. After following their old trail throughout the day, they made a temporary camp just before dark. On the next day Wilkins wrote: “I noticed the comet this morning about 6 a.m. It appeared to be about as bright then as when I first saw it, but it will soon be too near the horizon for us to see it.” This was a comet Wilkins had first observed on 12 October when it was located under the first star in the handle of the Big Dipper. Today identified as the Comet Delavan, it officially disappeared behind the sun on 26 October according to Dr Ian Halliday, a leading Canadian authority on comets. He interpreted this later sighting as the result of light refraction in the northern part of the globe.5 Leaving Stefansson to protect the temporary camp, Wilkins, Thomsen, and Natkusiak continued southward to establish another intermediary camp before moving the balance of the caribou meat to it: We travelled four hours in a southwesterly direction and, finding no very suitable place for a snowhouse, decided to build the best we could from a hard snow drift on the top of a hill. From this place we could see the depression in the coastline which indicated where the Mary Sachs lay. It can’t be more than twelve miles from here. Leaving Wilkins and Natkusiak to build the snowhouse, Thomsen returned to the temporary camp to start ferrying the meat. He came back before noon the next day with a load of meat. When that was unloaded, he

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and Natkusiak shuttled back for another load, leaving Wilkins to protect the camp: I built another small house over the entrance of the other one. It was warm during the afternoon, and the snow had melted thoroughly, wetting my woolen mittens. As evening approached it became colder and my mittens froze on my hands. I had to light the primus with them on and thaw them out before they could be removed. By this time my wrists and fingers were badly frost-bitten, and are swollen considerably in consequence. Stefansson caught up to them shortly after noon on 23 November. The next day, ably assisted by Natkusiak, he took a sledload of meat the rest of the way to the main camp. Thomsen, meanwhile, brought another load from the temporary camp, and said he could bring everything else in two more loads. Natkusiak returned from the coast the following day with a note for Wilkins from Stefansson asking him to come to the coast with Thomsen the next day, if the latter was able to make the trip all the way from the temporary camp in one day. Thomsen reached Wilkins’ camp early, and the two men then proceeded to the base camp near Cape Kellett, reaching it about five o’clock. “This was Thanksgiving day in the [United] States, and Levi [Bauer, the cook] had a special dinner for us.” No details survive of the delicacies provided on that occasion. In the eight weeks they had been away hunting, Captain Bernard had caught more than fifty foxes. He had kept fifteen of them alive for some time in the hold of the schooner Mary Sachs, hoping their fur would improve, but when this did not happen he turned them loose. While he had been inland with Stefansson, Wilkins had listened to some of Stefansson’s visions for the Arctic, had gained much experience in living in isolation but little in hunting, and had endured frequent discomfort, bad weather, and lonely frustration. He did not know it at the time, but it proved to be an indoctrination for the days ahead.

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13 Cape Kellett 2 7 n o v e m b e r 1 9 1 4 – 8 f e b r ua r y 1 9 1 5

Eight weeks of hunting, freighting, uncomfortable overnight accommodations, and frequent loneliness left Wilkins relieved to be back at the base camp. During the dark winter days that now enveloped Banks Island between mid-November and mid-January, when the sun failed to appear above the horizon, he could do little with his cameras. He could, however, skin and clean bird and mammal specimens, and process film. He needed to keep active. He was not one who was content to remain idle for long. A day after Wilkins arrived at Cape Kellett, Stefansson sent Thomsen and Bauer back to the temporary camp and caribou meat cache, twelve miles away. Bauer was to replace Natkusiak, whom Wilkins had left guarding the meat from the wolves and foxes. This would free Natkusiak to return to the base camp. Once Bauer was properly settled, Thomsen was to continue on alone to Storkerson’s camp and bring his wife, Jennie Thomsen, back to Cape Kellett. Soon after Natkusiak returned to Cape Kellett, he and Stefansson started east along the coast for De Salis Bay. Stefansson hoped to find and visit some of the “Blond Eskimos” from Victoria Island there, whom he had met in the spring of 1911 on the ice in Prince Albert Sound. They had told him they wintered at De Salis Bay, so he had decided to go there on the chance of meeting them again. They might even know the whereabouts of the Southern Party. During the next week Wilkins developed and printed some of his own films and three rolls that Stefansson had exposed during his ice trip north from Martin Point.1 Then he had a snowhouse constructed for his use to clean caribou skins for specimens. When he found the snowhouse too cold to work in without a Primus stove, which he considered an unnecessary waste of fuel, he moved his caribou-skin cleaning activities into the house. Stefansson returned unexpectedly on 7 December, excited about finding a whale carcass partly buried in the sand on the beach about ten miles

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to the east. The carcass would supply the camp with dog food for the winter. As it turned out, it supplied them with enough for the following winter as well. Wolves and polar bears were feeding at the carcass, and despite the darkness Stefansson had succeeded in killing one of the bears. He told Wilkins that the whale carcass would be a fine place to obtain animal specimens for the mammal collection he was making. Thomsen and Bauer arrived the next day with Thomsen’s wife and child and the last load of meat from the temporary cache site. Bauer told Wilkins that wolves had been around the cache every night for the eleven days he was there, but he had not killed any. Mild weather delayed Stefansson for a day, but he started east for the whale carcass on 10 December, holding a lantern and followed by Wilkins and Thomsen with Stefansson’s dog team. Wilkins wrote: We then came to the fresh tracks of a bear, which had evidently been frightened off the trail by our approach. I followed his tracks for some distance while the other two continued their journey. It was too dark to see far, and while I saw where the bear had smelled me and run off in a different direction, I did not catch sight of it. Stalking a polar bear alone in the December twilight was a foolhardy act, but fortunately no harm came of it, and Wilkins returned to the base camp. En route he investigated an offshore lead in hopes of finding seals, but found that a layer of ice had formed over the lead, too thick for the seals to break through. Stefansson returned from the whale carcass two days later, bringing three bear skins and two blue foxes for Wilkins’ collection.2 He reported that foxes were so numerous about the whale carcass that after Thomsen and Natkusiak placed ten traps at each end of the carcass they caught thirty-two foxes within twenty-four hours. The monotony of the dark, cold winter months now settled in. Wilkins skinned and prepared his fox and caribou specimens for many hours each day. Meanwhile, Stefansson and Thomsen ferried load after load of whale meat to the base camp to build an adequate supply of food for the large number of dogs at the camp. But even when so involved, Stefansson chafed to get away to De Salis Bay. To accommodate him, the men at the Cape Kellett camp held their Christmas dinner on 21 December, and he started east with Natkusiak immediately afterwards, leaving Wilkins in charge of the camp and its operations. The latter took his new duties seriously: V.S. left instructions with me in which he addressed me as “Second in Command, Canadian Arctic Expedition (Northern Division)”. Considering our numbers this is a trifling matter, but on paper it looks well enough, and I greatly appreciate his kindness and thoughtfulness for my prestige with the expedition. 180

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Crawford and Ole Andreasen arrived on 24 December. Crawford had caught 41 foxes, Andreasen 110. Andreasen had seen Storkerson on the previous day and reported that he and his family were well but too busy to come to the base camp for Christmas. Storkerson had killed four caribou and caught 43 foxes since Wilkins had seen him,3 and asked for a snow knife and some books. Wilkins dispatched these with Andreasen when the latter departed on 26 December. For Wilkins, Christmas had always been a special day, but this Christmas on Banks Island was far from memorable. Certainly it lacked any of the enthusiasm and drama of the previous Christmas at Collinson Point. With Stefansson, Natkusiak, and the Storkerson family miles away, there were only eight people at the base camp: Wilkins, Captain Peter Bernard, Andreasen, Bauer, Crawford, and Thomsen, his wife Jennie, and their small daughter, Annie. Apart from Wilkins, Jennie, and the little girl, they were all men of the sea and not the most intellectually stimulating crowd for Wilkins’ quick and innovative mind. He provided few details: “We had another Xmas dinner on the right date, but it was rather a tame affair and not the happiest I have spent.” Crawford, Andreasen, and Thomsen left a day or two after Christmas to continue their trapping, hoping thereby to provide income to compensate for their lost salaries. As in the previous year, since they were not in the employ of the government during the winter months, Stefansson had agreed that they keep any skins they acquired. He justified this action to the government on the grounds that it kept his men busy and out of mischief at little or no cost to the government. Wilkins began taking tide readings on the day after Christmas. Every four hours, day and night for the next six weeks, he walked from the camp out to a snowhouse observatory he had constructed over a hole cut in the ice, about thirty-five yards from the beach. He also arranged with Storkerson to take tide readings at similar intervals during part of this period at his camp, some twenty miles to the north. This way there would be simultaneous readings north and south of Cape Kellett.4 Wilkins also worked daily between 8:30 in the morning and 11:30 at night cleaning the skins of the foxes and caribou he had accumulated. It was a tiresome and dirty job. He worked so diligently that by the third week in January he had cleaned 68 fox skins and 7 caribou skins. His hope was to have 100 fox skins in his collection, with representative skins from all stages in the life of the white fox. His diary informs us that he also collected and cleaned several wolf skins.5 New Year’s Day came and went as just another winter’s day. Wilkins did not even bother to mention the day’s activities. Before he went east, Stefansson had said he would be back from De Salis Bay in a few weeks, for he wanted to start on a second trip out on the Beauc ape kellett

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fort Sea ice about 10 February. Wilkins assumed he would bring some Blond Eskimos back to the base camp and set up his cinematographic camera about the middle of January in order to catch their arrival on film. Stefansson and Natkusiak finally returned towards the end of January but were alone. They had a very disappointing trip, and their journey across the mountainous southern part of Banks Island en route to De Salis Bay was the worst travelling Stefansson had ever experienced. He had found no Eskimos around the bay, so had continued around the southeast coast of Banks Island and crossed Prince of Wales Strait to Victoria Island, but still saw no one other than Natkusiak. Wilkins commented: He can’t understand why they were not able to find the Eskimo, for they went as far as Ramsay Island and followed the coast from De Salis Bay almost to Nelson Head. He thinks that the Eskimo must have got word that the southern party are somewhere down south and that they have gone to visit them. Several years later Stefansson explained that the Eskimos visited the De Salis Bay region in March and April, not January as he had understood at the time.6 Stefansson was very pleased with Wilkins’ accomplishments during the former’s six-week absence. In addition to the tidal data he had accumulated, he had measured, skinned, cleaned, dried, “cured,” and labelled with age, sex, size, date, and place of killing, seventy-one Arctic fox skins.7 He was well satisfied with the way things had been going on and told me that he was astonished at the amount of work that I had done. Pete Bernard had been telling him about it, and although I was satisfied to do it, it is no joke working sixteen hours a day and everyday for about two months, and that when it is almost continually in the flickering light of a broken down oil lamp. However, we got through the work, and that was the main thing, and everything was ready for the ice trip three days ahead of the scheduled time. Stefansson later remarked that he had never known anyone who worked harder than Wilkins, and that a half dozen such men would make an invincible polar expedition.8

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14 Stefansson’s Second Ice Trip 9 f e b r ua r y – 2 5 a p r i l 1 9 1 5

For months Stefansson had planned to explore for land to the northwest of Banks Island. To do so, however, he needed to have a base camp well up the west coast of Banks Island, or preferably even farther north on Prince Patrick Island. With that in mind, he had written Wilkins the previous April, asking him to establish a base on Prince Patrick Island during the summer of 1914 or, failing that, at Norway Island near the northwest corner of Banks Island. Wilkins had tried to carry out these instructions but problems with his ship, his crew, and ice conditions, prevented him from getting north of Cape Kellett and forced him to establish the camp more than one hundred miles south of where Stefansson wanted it. After recovering from his initial annoyance over the location of his base camp, Stefansson decided to move the supplies he needed by sled and dog team up the west coast of Banks Island. Once he had established a more northerly supply base, he would cross M’Clure Strait to the southwest corner of Prince Patrick Island and explore for land northwest from there. He therefore asked Wilkins to lead the advance freighting party, saying that he would follow within a few days. Wilkins had completed the preservation work on his animal and bird specimens, so he was amenable to the challenge, seeing it as his opportunity to get new experience as an Arctic explorer. As several of the dogs had died recently, there were only two good dog teams and one poor one available to pull the heavily loaded freighting sleds. There were, in addition, only two good sleds. Wilkins would have to make the best of what was available. Accompanied by Thomsen and Natkusiak, he started off on the morning of 9 February with Stefansson’s instructions to establish the new base camp near Cape Prince Alfred on the northwest corner of Banks Island. Before they had gone far he realized that he had forgotten lard, fresh caribou meat, and syrup, but would not turn back for them, much to the annoyance

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124° Cape Wrottesley 120° Cape Prince Alfred

Feb. 26 Feb. 20

Gore Is.

Feb. 16

Bernard I.

Feb. 14 Feb. 13

73° Storkerson

a rd

BANKS

Terror I.

let

Feb. 99 Feb.

ce

ISLAND

VICTORIA

tR .

Thesiger Bay

ISLAND M asi k R .

De Salis Bay

71°

it

in

Big R .

Ke l

ra

of

Feb. 12

Feb. 11

s

St

W al

e

Bay

72° Cape Kellett

Bern

. n R

Feb. 15

R.

BEAUFORT SEA

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Feb. 18 Feb. 17

Robilliard I. Norway I.

M'CLURE STRAIT Mercy Bay

Feb. 19

74°

Feb. 10

Feb. 24–25

Pr

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Cape Lambton

0

40 miles

Nelson Head 0

80 km

Fig. 40. Route of Wilkins’ advance sled party to northern Banks Island, 9–26 February 1915.

of Thomsen. He had also forgotten a book he wanted to read, and that bothered him more than the forgotten food. With the temperature just below zero Fahrenheit, which was warmer than he liked for comfort, they made slow progress with the heavy sledloads. They encountered fog soon after crossing the neck of Cape Kellett. Winding erratically this way and that because of poor visibility, they finally covered the fifteen miles to Andreasen’s trapping camp and decided to stay for the night. Andreasen had anticipated their arrival and served them a

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welcome pot of stew and a bowl of canned fruit. That evening Wilkins wrote: “My ankles gave out about seven miles from home, but I expect they will get stronger after a few days marching, for we are only travelling at a walking pace. We took our primus [stove] from Ole, thinking to have one good one at night.” Wilkins and his two companions departed early the following morning in a fog that kept visibility under one hundred yards. Despite the fog, however, they covered the ten miles to Storkerson’s camp by early afternoon. From the supplies Wilkins had brought and cached with the launch in the fall, they added one hundred pounds of biscuits, some distillate and coal oil, 300 rounds of ammunition, and several tools to their already well-loaded sled. Later, Wilkins talked with Storkerson about Stefansson’s new ice-trip plans and found him still undecided about going on the full trip. They all overslept the following morning when Storkerson’s alarm clock did not go off. As a result, Wilkins’ freighting party got underway ninety minutes later than he had intended. We travelled until 4:10 [p.m.], passing first along the lagoon, across some mud flats, another lagoon, and numerous mudflats to a sandspit, which was north but inside of a small island about seven miles from Storkerson’s. We passed outside of an island with an abrupt cliff at its northwestern end and on to the south side of the next island [probably Rabbit Island, which was then unnamed]. It has been a hazy day, and one could not see any snowdrifts without stumbling over them, and my ankles got awfully tired. It became dark very suddenly as a thick fog set in, and when we stopped it was really too dark to build a snowhouse successfully. We managed to get one up after a fashion, but it is rather smaller than our standard size. The other party [Stefansson’s, which was to follow Wilkins a few days later] may have to build a small one beside it, but I think they will be able to squeeze in alright. The distance we travelled today is really too far for our dogs with the load we have. I will not travel more than seven and a half hours after this, no matter how far we have gone. Wilkins estimated they had covered sixteen miles that day and hoped they could reach Bernard Island in four more days. Getting underway earlier the next morning, they Passed to the east (inshore) of the island against which we were camped last night and headed for the first visible point. This proved to be in a bay. We then cut across a sandspit and passed between another island and the mainland, and then headed to pass inside another island near the south side of Storkerson Inlet.1 This, I think, is Terror Island. We reached the shore abreast [of] the island and camped for the

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night. We had good snow and made a fine snowhouse, and we are comfortable and warm tonight. Wilkins suffered from a slight attack of snow blindness during the day, making it necessary for Thomsen to pick the trail. They covered about fifteen miles, and similar distances during the next two days. On 14 February, Wilkins discovered that about seven gallons of distillate had leaked from the large can they were freighting, which added to the list of things troubling him that day: Everything has been going wrong today. My feet are much worse, and it has been hazy so that one is always stubbing toes against ice projections, and I am still a little snow-blind. The snow was not too good for building, and the house fell down after we had it about three parts of the way finished. All of our mittens got full of snow, and Thomsen and I both froze two of our fingers. The next day, Wilkins caught a glimpse of Bernard Island through the fog. Stefansson had cached some caribou meat nearby on his way south the previous summer and wanted Wilkins to pick it up. Thomsen had been shown by Andreasen three months previously where it was cached, but a two-hour search now failed to find it. Wilkins camped and found the snowcovered cache in the morning. With the temperature hovering around minus fifty-three degrees Fahrenheit, their sled proved heavy to pull, forcing them to divide the meat they obtained from the cache, taking only half of it at a time to their next camp. We crossed the river flat and made camp on the north side of the river directly behind the island, while Thomsen went back for the other load. He came in a little after 8 p.m. We did not feel the cold much more today than we have done some days when it has only been about –10 with a wind. Although it was clear, there was such a mirage across the river flat that we could scarcely distinguish anything.2 The day of 17 February was calm, clear, and cold. The three men followed along the river bank for two miles, then crossed a deep bay with mud flats and sand spits extending quite a distance seaward. After passing about four miles inside Norway Island, so-named by British Royal Navy Captain Robert M’Clure in 1851 after Navy Lieutenant Nevell Norway, they camped just short of Pennell Point, opposite Robilliard Island. The next day was also calm and cold: We started at 7 a.m. and reached the point at eleven, and it looked so close last night. We could see nothing to the northeast until travelling a mile or so, and then 186

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we could see a sand spit to the west. We turned out to sea to go round it and found that we were crossing over mud flats. The map is evidently very wrong here, and what is charted as sea is really low-lying land. After crossing the sand spit, they passed Robilliard Island and camped on the ice south of a small island. From there Wilkins could see that the surface of the land dropped away to the north towards Cape Prince Alfred. A two and a half hour trek the next day took them to the small island (probably Phillips Island), from which Wilkins headed for what he thought was Cape Prince Alfred. Fog soon surrounded them, but when it lifted briefly Wilkins saw that he was heading for an island, one of several extending from there northward: The coastline was soon obscured again by fog, so we headed for the foot of a high hill, whose peak we could see above the drift. This is probably Cape [Prince] Alfred, but the drift was too thick to see tonight. I hope it is fine tomorrow for I want to get a look to seaward, for there seems to be more islands about here than those charted as the Gore Islands. It has been frightfully cold travelling today. I have frozen all one side of my face and my nose and one wrist. Thomsen and Natkusiak have frozen their faces also. Billy the dog has frozen his flank, poor beggar. He works too hard and is getting very thin. Wilkins had good reason to complain of the cold, for the thermometer he carried with him had not risen above minus forty degrees Fahrenheit in the past three days. The cold spell continued for several more days. From an elevated point onshore, Wilkins saw only two islands on 20 February where his map (a British Admiralty chart from the 1850s) showed a cluster of Gore Islands. As he had seen at least three more islands running south from the cape, however, which were not shown on his map, he derived satisfaction in correcting it. Fog impeded their progress northeastward during the day, forcing Wilkins to proceed more on instinct than real sense of direction. When a sudden, brief lifting of the fog revealed that he had been heading too far to seaward, he quickly changed to a more easterly direction. Telling the other two to continue on, he climbed a high point of land from which to look seaward. From that vantage point he thought he saw land off to the southwest, which he considered might be the rest of the Gore Islands, “but after consulting the map I came to the conclusion that if they were the Gore Islands they were very wrongly charted.” He recalled Stefansson telling him that he, Andreasen, and Storkerson had spent six weeks on the coast immediately east of Bernard Island during the summer, and because of fog had only been able to see Norway Island stefansson’s second ice trip

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twice. Under such conditions they could easily have missed the land Wilkins now thought he saw. Open water lay directly to his west, but none to the north, where there seemed to be a large area of young ice. Being aware of Stefansson’s plans to cross M’Clure Strait to Prince Patrick Island, Wilkins decided they should continue along the coast to the northernmost point on Banks Island, as that was the closest jump-off locality to Prince Patrick Island,3 and cache their freight there. He then hastened to catch up to Thomsen and Natkusiak, who had rounded Cape Prince Alfred and proceeded northeastward along the coast with the two sleds. Wilkins walked along the top of the cutbanks that lined that part of the coast, from where he could observe their surroundings better. The cutbanks were not steep at the cape, but gradually became higher and steeper eastward. The three travellers, weary from twelve days and 175 miles of travelling, overslept on the following day and got off to a late start. Continuing eastward along the coast for a few miles, they passed what Wilkins described as “a fiord, which I should judge to be about half way to Cape Gifford.”4 Ever on the lookout for possible havens for schooners, Wilkins noted that the island “appears as if it would serve as [a] good shelter from most winds for a small boat provided one could get behind it, and I think this is possible, for there are several large grounded cakes behind the spit.” Pressure ridges of young ice close to the cutbanks soon made sledding along the shore impossible, forcing the men to head inland over some of the hills. From high ground Wilkins examined the condition of the sea ice farther off shore and concluded that they could travel outside the pressure ridges the next day. Despite good weather, they progressed only ten miles during the day. Six and a half hours of travelling the next day, some of it outside the pressure ridges that hugged the coast, brought them to the mouth of Ballast Brook, where they camped. Wilkins noted some old decayed driftwood around the mouth of the river, evidence of former tree growth where only small ground willows now grew. During the day they spotted twenty-seven caribou. Wilkins sent Natkusiak after them, but he failed to get near enough to kill any. Nevertheless, it appeared to be fine game country. Wilkins resolved to hunt the next day if the weather was fine, as they needed food for their dogs. “We also noticed where some caribou had been chased over the cliffs by wolves, and some had evidently been killed, for we found the entrails of one frozen on the snow.” The bitterly cold temperatures of the previous week gave way on 23 February to much warmer, foggy weather with lightly falling snow. Wilkins therefore abandoned his plans to go hunting and continued onward, travelling outside the near-shore pressure ridge, covering about sixteen miles 188

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after nearly eight hours of sledding. A lengthy lead of level young ice provided some easy travelling and ultimately led them to the beach, where they camped. Wilkins had seen the tracks of several polar bears during the day, but the only game obtained was an Arctic hare Natkusiak shot during the morning. A headwind and thick drifting snow kept freezing Wilkins’ eyes shut the next day, hindering him from seeing where he was going and forcing him to halt his freighting party after travelling about ten miles. “We seemed to have passed the cape [Wrottesley] and turned in a direction slightly south of east when we camped. We travelled along one long lagoon before coming to the turn, and now we seem to be on another lagoon.” Here they built a snowhouse for the night. A strong southwesterly wind and heavy drifting snow kept them inside the snowhouse most of the next day. Another spell of frigid Arctic weather (with temperatures in the forties and fifties below zero Fahrenheit) began on 26 February. However, a wind in their backs encouraged them onward to the end of the lagoon, where they encountered heavy ice piled on the cutbanks, “and by about 11 a.m. we could not get along at all without making roads or going back several miles in order to get up on the land.” Wilkins instructed Thomsen and Natkusiak to turn back and find a good place to make camp and then to make a road out onto the smooth ice offshore for them all to follow the next day. Meanwhile, he continued on alone in order to examine a cape he could see in the distance and to check the shape of the coastline against its outline on his map. From the day he left Cape Kellett, he had checked the shape of the coast of Banks Island with the outline on his map and made many modifications to it. It was a British Admiralty Chart based on observations made in 1851 from Captain M’Clure’s naval ship, the bark H.M.S. Investigator, and was the only map of Banks Island then available.5 From the top of a high hill a mile or so back of the cape, he then looked northward over M’Clure Strait. Rough ice bounded the cape, but a mile or so offshore the ice appeared smooth for as far as he could see. He was pleased to see this, for now he could tell Stefansson that he should have no difficulty in crossing to Prince Patrick Island from a nearby site. He would soon learn, however, that Stefansson had other plans. From his elevated location Wilkins observed a shallow bay on the east side of the cape bordered by a high rock cliff, the foot of which extended seaward somewhat like what he had seen at Cape Lambton on the south coast of Banks Island. The rocks here were also well stratified like those he had seen at Cape Lambton and “looked to be of the same formation,” which he thought was probably dolomite and sandstone.6 From the hilltop, Wilkins could see that the place where he had instructed Thomsen and Natkusiak to turn back was probably the most suitstefansson’s second ice trip

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able one for Stefansson to start across the strait to Prince Patrick Island. The cape that lay before him, Cape Wrottesley, was the closest point on Banks Island to Prince Patrick Island, which was not visible from where he stood because the strait was eighty-two miles wide there. That evening (26 February) Wilkins recorded in his diary: I have decided to turn back tomorrow and meet V.S. They should be well on their way by now, and if we can get right along there should be no difficulty in getting to Prince Patrick Land by the middle of the month, unless we have to double trip across the straits. From this comment it is clear that Wilkins was expecting to accompany Stefansson on his second ice trip. Wilkins wore a hole in the heel of his boot while climbing the rocky terrain to reach the hilltop that morning. Snow penetrated his boot, and his sock soon became wet and frozen. He hurried back, hoping to avoid catastrophe, but by the time he located the large snowhouse Thomsen and Natkusiak had constructed, his heel was badly frozen and very painful. The snowhouse “will do well for a starting out place if V.S. decides to cross the straits. We should be able to get caribou around here too.” The next day, Wilkins and his companions cached some of their supplies and started retracing their steps. Despite his painful heel, Wilkins urged the others along, here and there taking shortcuts they had not known about before. With the diminished load on their sled, they made faster progress than on their outward trip, and continued past one of their former snowhouses to the second one, where they stayed the night. The low temperature (minus forties Fahrenheit) plagued them throughout the day and Wilkins’ face froze continually as he led the dogs. The dogs also suffered visibly from prolonged exposure. The following day, Wilkins instructed Thomsen to continue towards Cape Prince Alfred with the dogs and sled, while he and Natkusiak headed inland to replenish their food supply. Employing Stefansson’s hunting technique, Wilkins travelled parallel to the coast and about a mile inland, but saw few caribou and was unable to get close enough to those he did see to even attempt a shot. Two days later they passed Cape Prince Alfred and started south. Wilkins had his first clear view of the cape and commented that his map was “very wrong.” On 3 March they reached a position between the coast and Robilliard Island. That evening they fed the last rations to their dogs, and Wilkins wrote, “we ourselves have only a few crumbs left, but it is not far to the cache on the river, and I think we can make it easily tomorrow.” Wilkins worried that they might have missed Stefansson’s sled party during the day because of the haze. However, with their food virtually 190

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exhausted, they had no time to look for the others and had to hasten on to the meat cache. The following day, they passed one of their old snowhouses shortly before noon and continued on towards the next one, which they had built on 16 February on the north bank of the Bernard River in the lee of Bernard Island. Stefansson’s summer cache of caribou meat was supposed to be only a short distance inland and would provide them with the meat they desperately needed now for both the dogs and themselves. They reached their intended destination that evening and were greatly relieved to find both Stefansson and Storkerson there. These two had arrived but a few moments earlier and were busy building an additional snowhouse in expectation of the arrival in a day or so of Crawford and Andreasen. Stefansson told Wilkins that they had been delayed for several days because their dogs had sore feet. The temperature had been so cold they had not dared to tie leather boots on the dogs’ feet to protect them lest the tight bindings interfere with their blood circulation. All of his dogs now had foot problems: They have the team of big dogs and loaded them with about 250 lb per dog. This was too much for the very cold weather we have been having, and the dogs have nearly all got frozen feet, but they are in good condition. My team is in a very bad shape and really need several days rest. Wilkins reported on his activities to Stefansson, and together they ate rice and what Wilkins called “the Amundsen pemmican.” 7 He thought it had a peculiar taste but liked it better than the Underwood brand, which was American-made. Wilkins and Stefansson rested the following day, catching up on news and plans. Storkerson and Thomsen went inland with six dogs to bring back caribou meat and fat for the dogs from Stefansson’s summer cache. Wilkins appreciated both the rest and a change of menu: “We tried malted milk and raisins and rice for breakfast. I like this fare and with pemmican and rice for supper we should get along very well.” The next day Natkusiak killed four caribou. Never one to shun a task that needed doing, Wilkins accompanied Natkusiak to bring in the caribou meat. Their trip was not without problems: It was dark long before we came to the carcasses, but we managed to find them and got home safely, but [it] was very late, about 11:30. It was fearfully cold coming home against the wind. We could not see hardly a yard in front of us but had to follow in the coast direction until we came to a cutbank, which we went over before we knew it was there, and then we followed the bank until we came to the house. stefansson’s second ice trip

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Storkerson and Thomsen returned on 7 March from the meat cache, bringing about 1,000 pounds of caribou meat and fat. The next day, they retrieved the part of the load they were forced to leave about eight miles inland after the full load had proven too much for the dogs. Wilkins’ diary includes daily temperature readings and sky and wind conditions from 9 February, when he left Cape Kellett, to 7 March. The entries cease thereafter without explanation. Either he gave his thermometer to Stefansson then or it had somehow become broken. Andreasen and Crawford also arrived on 7 March with their load of supplies from Cape Kellett. On checking these, Stefansson concluded that someone would have to return to Cape Kellett for about twenty gallons of coal oil, as they were otherwise going to be short for his ice trip. Much of the coal oil they had freighted north had leaked from its containers. Thomsen and Storkerson started south two days later. Stefansson then decided to push ahead for Cape Prince Alfred with Natkusiak to hunt seals for dog food. Fog delayed their departure for a day, but they got away safely on 11 March. Andreasen and Crawford accompanied them, continuing the freighting of supplies northward with their two sleds “fairly well loaded.” Once again, Stefansson left Wilkins alone as caretaker of the camp, as he had done the previous September at the hunting camp north of Cape Kellett. This time, however, Wilkins also was to look after the dogs that were deemed in too poor condition to work. After Stefansson and the other men had gone, Wilkins gathered some pebbles from the riverbed to take back to Australia as keepsakes, because Stefansson had informed him that he was going to name the river after him.8 On 14 March, Wilkins walked with the dogs to Bernard Island, where he looked without success for game. Then, for a week he was confined inside one or other of the two snowhouses by a never-ending blizzard, the worst he had ever seen. The blizzard abated at last and was followed by three cold, clear days. Alone and without any books to read, Wilkins found the days tedious and the nights long. He spent many waking moments pondering his future, thinking of his parents and siblings in Australia, and wondering when Thomsen and Storkerson would get back from Cape Kellett, and Crawford and Andreasen from Cape Prince Alfred. Thomsen and Storkerson appeared about noon on 25 March with supplies from Cape Kellett. They had brought all of the items Stefansson had requested as well as some extra lard and biscuits, all of which they had cached at the end of Bernard Island. They told Wilkins that three of the six dogs left at the cape with Captain Bernard and Levi Bauer had died, that they had left Captain Bernard’s homemade sled at the cape for repairs, and that Bernard had caught thirty foxes in three days. Wilkins

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explained the tardy arrival of Thomsen and Storkerson as being due to a near-fatal accident: Thomsen and Storkerson have been delayed for three days owing to having been ill through eating bear liver. At first they did not think that it was the bear liver that made them ill and they ate a second meal of it, and that made them ever so much worse. They say the symptoms are a severe and a peculiar headache in the back of the head. They did not care what became of them and Thomsen would have frozen to death had it not been for Storkerson, who was not so ill and kept covering him up. Soon after their arrival, they informed Wilkins that they were not prepared to continue with the ice trip unless either Stefansson or Wilkins returned to Cape Kellett and took charge of the camp. Bauer, the camp’s cook, had been making liquor from prune juice, and they were concerned for the safety of their families if Crawford returned there and got into the liquor. This presented a bit of a problem, for Stefansson had decided not to take Crawford on his ice trip. Crawford had insisted on having regular food if he was to accompany Stefansson, for he was not prepared to live solely on meat as Stefansson had told him might be necessary. Storkerson and Thomsen rested for a day, then continued northward with their supplies, leaving Wilkins alone once more. On 29 March, Wilkins went hunting and killed two caribou. Andreasen and Crawford arrived shortly after he returned to camp. Curiously, like Storkerson and Thomsen, “They too had been ill through eating bear liver, they declared, but V.S. had assured them it was only an illness through overeating of fresh meat.” Neither man intended to eat bear liver again. Since their symptoms were similar to those of Thomsen and Storkerson, Wilkins concluded that there must be some truth to the general belief that bear liver was toxic to humans in spite of Stefansson’s assertions to the contrary.9 The following day, Wilkins and Andreasen retrieved the two caribou Wilkins had shot, leaving Crawford at the snowhouse camp mending a dog harness and cooking. Needing to move the rest of Stefansson’s ice-trip supplies northward, Ole [Andreasen] and Crawford took half of the load nearly to the first snowhouse and left it with the sled, for we have two sleds to take along. I stayed and packed up the other sled with all but the sleeping gear and cooking utensils. I have been trying a ration of Amundsen pemmican and biscuit (Mackay’s dog biscuit), and the boys like it fine. That and malted milk to drink is to my mind the best ration for the trail. It is both easy and economical to prepare, for it is not

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necessary to bring anything to a boil, and consequently you do not steam up the house. It is almost much more palatable than most of our foods. On 1 April, Wilkins, Andreasen, and Crawford left the camp at the mouth of Bernard River, which had been Wilkins’ “home” for nearly a month, and headed north with the second half of the load. They left behind a cache of some specimen skins, sleeping skins, and a few other items and proceeded as far as an old snowhouse Wilkins had helped built on 17 February. Storkerson and Thomsen arrived a short time later, on their return trip from Stefansson’s camp farther north. As there was insufficient room in the snowhouse for all of them, Storkerson and Thomsen took some of Wilkins’ load and started back north for the next snowhouse. The next day Wilkins wrote: “We packed up early and made the third snowhouse from the river tonight against a strong breeze which we felt very cold. However, it is not so bad when one can go right into a snowhouse already built and warm it up.” Previously used snowhouses, in Wilkins’ view, were never as warm as newly built ones, but did afford shelter from the wind. On 3 April he reported: We reached the snowhouse under the hill tonight [near Cape Prince Alfred]. They [Stefansson, Natkusiak, Andreasen, and Thomsen] took my suggestion and cut overland to the north coast and are living in the first snowhouse that we built on our way along there on our first trip. We will reach the camp tomorrow early and shall then know what to do, for then for the first time will all our resources be available at the same place at one time. The following morning, they reached the snowhouse where Stefansson was temporarily staying, and Wilkins and Stefansson soon were immersed in a deep discussion over plans: We seem to be surrounded with difficulties and drawbacks. Thomsen and Storkerson still refuse to go on the ice if Crawford goes home [to Cape Kellett], and Crawford won’t go on the ice [trip]. He also told me that he would not go to Coronation Gulf if V.S. was to go, but that he would go with me. V.S. wants to go to Coronation Gulf, but does not care to risk the chance of finding land on the trip into the Beaufort Sea by someone when he is not there. He told me that Storkerson and Thomsen volunteered to go on the ice with me in command. I told [him] I didn’t believe it, and that apart from himself Storkerson was the logical man to go in charge of an ice party, for he had had more experience than anyone else, Stefansson included. However, his judgment is not of the best, and he lacks determination to carry things through. V.S. has made such a point of

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getting the North Star that he does not care to let it be thought that anyone but himself could get her from the Southern Party, but I don’t think that there would be any trouble about that, for I would take her anyway whether they agreed or not, provided it was not going to cripple their section of the expedition. The foregoing quotation offers revealing insight into the characters and relationships among the men involved. First, it provides a clear indication of Wilkins’ newly emerging abilities as a leader of men, with both Storkerson and Thomsen expressing their preference to follow him rather than Stefansson. It also reveals a new self-confidence and a touch of brashness, a far cry from the modest and unassuming person he had been while at Collinson Point. In spite of his high regard for most of the members of the Southern Party at that earlier time, he now boasts almost disdainfully of taking their schooner from them over their objections. Clearly there has been a significant change in Wilkins from the expedition’s somewhat reticent photographer of the previous year. Second, it exposes the strong hostilities towards Crawford held by Wilkins, Storkerson, Thomsen, and possibly Andreasen at that time. These feelings were not then shared by Stefansson, who described Crawford as “an excellent man” and found fault only with his refusal to live solely on meat. Stefansson had not witnessed Crawford’s drunken behaviour as the others had, however, and both Storkerson and Thomsen had wives they wanted to protect. Stefansson only became aware of Crawford’s unreliability many months later. Third, Wilkins’ comments also reveal Stefansson’s passionate reluctance to share any exploration accolades with anyone else. These he wanted for himself. Some time after his lengthy conversations with Wilkins, Stefansson decided to forego his journey to Coronation Gulf and delegated the responsibility of getting the North Star to Wilkins. He, meanwhile, would continue northward with his own exploration. Wilkins was not impressed with the reasoning behind the decisions, and his comments add further insight into the differences between the two men at that time. Wilkins continued to find fault with some of Stefansson’s ideas, decisions, and actions: He also talks now of the excellent opportunity I will have of photographing the Eskimo at Coronation Gulf, but there is not much to look forward to in that respect with the [photographic] outfit that I have to work with. I do not mind that part of it though; it is the matter of having to go and do work [photographing the natives and bringing back the North Star] which I don’t think that he could do, while he thinks that it would be hard for me to do it but easy for him.

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130° 0

120°

110°

100°

100 miles

0

June 19

200 km

May 6

June 15

ARCTIC OCEAN PRINCE

June 24

P AT R I C K

June 7

ISLAND June 30

June 4

May 1

75°

M M Cape Prince Alfred

Apr. 6–7 Apr. 5

North Star camp

Bernard I.

July 7

'' C C

LL U U

M E LV I L L E I S L A N D

R EE R

SS TT

July July 14 14–20 14–20 20

Mercy Bay

RA R A

II TT

BANKS ISLAND Cape Kellett

Aug. 12

VICTORIA ISLAND

Fig. 41. Route of Stefansson’s second ice trip, north of Banks Island, 5 April– 12 August, 1915.

Possibly sensing Wilkins’ dissatisfaction, Stefansson sought to appease him by granting him “a power of attorney both as the Commander of the Expedition as well as a private individual.” Although this newly bestowed authority seemed of little importance to him at the time, Wilkins would soon assert it in an unexpected manner after he reached the base camp of the men forming the Southern Party. On 5 April, Stefansson was finally ready to start his new and second trip over the frozen Arctic Ocean in search of land. He had originally planned to cross M’Clure Strait from the nearest point on Banks Island to the southwest corner of Prince Patrick Island and to proceed from there northwest over the ocean, which was why Wilkins had cached his load of freight near Cape Wrottesley. However, as Wilkins had experienced so many times previously, somewhere along the way Stefansson had changed his plans. As a result, when all was ready, he started seaward from Cape Prince Alfred,

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accompanied briefly by Wilkins, Natkusiak, and Crawford as a support party, and landed on the southwest corner of Prince Patrick Island many weeks later at the end of his ice trip instead of at its start. Considering how little was then known about Prince Patrick Island, and the distance Stefansson intended to separate himself and his two companions from any known human contact, his ice trip was both courageous and reckless. He expected to return to Cape Kellett during the summer. We started out on the ice this morning. V.S. went ahead soon after breakfast to pick out a trail. I went ahead of the dogs, then came Ole and Crawford with seven dogs and Pete’s [Captain Bernard’s] old sled. Then Thomsen and Storkerson with six dogs and the big sled, then Billy [Natkusiak] with six dogs and the Point Barrow sled. Stefansson shot a polar bear about a mile from the camp they had just left, but they had no room on their three sleds to take any of the meat or the skin. The needlessness of this killing and abandonment of the skin of such a fine animal troubled Wilkins, who wrote: we were already loaded down with fresh meat ... so we left the carcass untouched. It was the finest skin I or any one of the men had ever seen. It was perfectly white and the fur long. It was also a rather large one. It was a shame to have to leave it behind, but we could not do anything with it. After the first mile, they travelled over newly formed ice about six inches thick, making good time. Then they crossed a lead about five miles from shore, and continued on for three more miles before making camp on an old cake of ice. While the others were setting up the camp, Wilkins and Stefansson walked on another three miles to assess the travel conditions for the following day, which appeared to be fine, and to discuss Stefansson’s latest plans: after talking it over he told me that he had decided that we should go back from here. As Crawford would not go on the ice, I had better take him with me to Coronation Gulf and Herschel Island and get rid of him there, for we could not be bothered with him any more and we could get along without him alright. On the morning of 6 April, Wilkins and the others rearranged the sledloads in preparation for their return to Cape Kellett, while Stefansson wrote letters he wanted Wilkins to take with him. Thus delayed until about 4 p.m., Wilkins left with Natkusiak and Crawford as soon as he was handed the letters. A water sky appeared between the ice camp and the shore, cus-

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Fig. 42. Stefansson’s first camp on his second ice trip, M’Clure Strait, northwest of Banks Island, 7 April 1915. (Photo 50893 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214025, nac )

tomarily an indication of open water, and as they might have been carried westward by the ice “we were not sure that we would get ashore but be carried past the cape and out to sea.” After travelling only a short distance, Wilkins’ party came to a lead of open water, just as the water sky had suggested. Unable to cross it they returned to Stefansson’s camp. The letter of authority Stefansson had given Wilkins contained little in the way of instructions for his trip to Coronation Gulf,10 but gave every right, power, or privilege that he himself had ... I remarked to him that he had [not] placed any limit or restrictions on what I might do, and he said that he was satisfied with that, for he had every confidence in my judgment. I am to send a telegram to the papers and a report to Desbarats and to reply to all official letters.11 Wilkins now expressed in his diary his annoyance over a matter he considered minor but Stefansson did not: V.S. is always harping on the idea that he has, that everybody thought that the ice party [members] were dead, and refers to it in a letter to Dr. Anderson and in a way excusing Dr. Anderson on that account. I have repeatedly told him that Dr.

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Fig. 43. Storkerson (striped parka) and Natkusiak (?) preparing a sled raft, M’Clure Strait, northwest of Banks Island, 7 April 1915. (Photo 50885 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214024, nac )

Anderson at least never said to me that he thought that they were all dead, but told me to tell V.S. if I saw him all the news, for he did not have time to write to him. Wilkins, Crawford, and Natkusiak started for the shore again the next morning, accompanied by Stefansson, Storkerson, and Andreasen. They left Thomsen to guard the temporary camp. Stefansson’s group brought the “sled raft” (Stefansson later called it a “sledboat”) to be used to ferry Wilkins’ group across the open water if the lead had not frozen during the night. When wrapped in a group of skins, this particular sled had sufficient buoyancy for the men to paddle it across small bodies of open water. As it turned out, Wilkins was able to drive his sled across on the newly formed ice in spite of there being a great deal of open water in parts of the lead. However, he halted long enough to shoot a dozen photographs of Storkerson and Natkusiak (?) making up the “sled raft” and demonstrating its use to cross the open part of the lead.12 The ice party this year consists of V.S., Storkerson, and Thomsen13 with two sleds – one that they had last year and a new one that Pete [Bernard] built this winter. There were seven dogs in the old sled and six big ones in the newer one. They had

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60 days’ full provisions for men and 40 days for dogs; all of it except the fats is especially prepared food. The fats amounted to about 200 lb and was whale blubber rendered and poured over biscuit and would do well for either man or dog food ... They intend to keep well to the north and may yet reach Prince Patrick Island before they really start to the west, if they find the going good in that direction. Their aim is to reach Latitude 77°[N] and Longitude 140°[W], then go northeast to Prince Patrick Island if land is not found. Stefansson’s ice trip that spring in due course saw him and his three companions return to Prince Patrick Island after days on the sea ice to the west, then continue farther north where they discovered what they thought to be two large islands.14 As for Stefansson’s plans for him, Wilkins wrote: I am to start for Coronation Gulf as soon as I like and bring back the North Star and seven men, white men if possible, and as many dogs as I can as well as supplies. He [Stefansson] also wants some Eskimo women and children, particularly one Minnie, Alinnak’s wife from Baillie Island[s]. She is the one who told him so many folk-lore stories, which are included in his book.15 Stefansson had met Minnie, also known as Guninana, and her husband, whose name Stefansson spelled Alignak, at Baillie Islands in 1912. They were not there in 1914 when Wilkins stopped at Baillie Islands while en route to Banks Island. I particularly asked advice as to what to do in case the Southern Party thought that it was necessary to bring in supplies with the North Star before letting her go for the Northern Party. He agreed with me that this would not be at all advisable and should be avoided if possible, but if it is going to be of great service to them I could make some little use of the boat in their interest before coming north. Once free of Stefansson, Wilkins expressed how he felt about the entire ice-party operation: The whole party on the ice trip has been on the trail for six weeks, and three men and seven dogs out of the full number of seven men and twenty-one dogs were on the trail for eleven days extra, and we have only succeeded in getting a base about 175 miles away from the main camp. We have eaten up a great deal more food than that we have left, and our dogs have been continually at work. If the same two sleds had left Cape Kellett with enough food extra to what they have now to do them for a fortnight they could have easily been in the same position and with the dogs fresher and in better condition. The first month of cold weather pulled them 200

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down dreadfully. It is not too early to go on the ice though, for it takes too long for the leads to freeze over now. I think it would be better to have started on the ice a month ago in spite of the darkness. On a more positive note he added: Everyone is satisfied nevertheless that they are in a better position to carry out a better trip than they were last year. They have as good sleds, but one more, as well as another man. They have more provisions [than last year] and just as good, and they have the advantage of experience. Wilkins and his two companions reached Banks Island safely on 7 April, pausing briefly en route to see if they could recover some meat from the polar bear Stefansson had shot the day they left Cape Prince Alfred. Unfortunately the meat had gone bad. Even the dogs shunned it, so they left it where it lay. Taking stock of their situation, Wilkins noted that they had five days’ supply of food and were about 160 miles from Cape Kellett. He intended to collect a two-days’ supply of food at a cache along their route, provided that the polar bears had not carried it off. Wilkins asked Crawford to do the cooking during their journey south to the base camp. They would probably have to use seal blubber for fuel at least some of the time, as there was not likely to be any oil in the leaky tanks cached at the snowhouse at the mouth of Bernard River. Following the coast southward for the next week, Wilkins, Crawford, and Natkusiak reached Storkerson’s now vacant trapping camp on 15 April without incident. The only food they still had with them was pemmican, but Crawford was able to make biscuits with flour and sugar they found at Storkerson’s camp. The next day they progressed another ten miles to Andreasen’s former camp. There were fox tracks everywhere and three badly torn fox carcasses on the ground near the house. Wilkins suspected the foxes had been attacked by a pack of wolves. At about lunchtime on 17 April, they reached the base camp near Cape Kellett and found everyone well. Wilkins quickly noticed that the countryside around the camp, including the almost snow-free sand spit towards the cape and the nearby cutbanks, also showed many more signs of the approaching spring than farther north. He feared that this and the recent arrival of the snow buntings, a harbinger of spring in the north, forebode travelling difficulties ahead. Wilkins had counted on using some of the dogs at the base camp for his 500-mile trip to Coronation Gulf, but three of the six dogs had died since his departure in February. Fearing that the surviving ones might be carrystefansson’s second ice trip

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ing the unknown disease that had killed the others, he tied his dogs on the sand spit a good distance away as a precautionary move. He also made sure that his dogs rested and were well fed during the following week. Meanwhile he developed the films he had taken on the ice trip and found that most had turned out well. Then he typed Stefansson’s correspondence, which he was to take with him to Coronation Gulf: It has taken a good deal of time to write letters and reports and type copies of V.S.’s letters for him, but I think that we are all ready for a start in the morning. I am going to take Rusty the big dog. Otherwise we will have hardly a team at all, and we have about 900 lb to take, including Crawford’s fox skins, which V.S. promised that I should take out. It will mean that we will have to pull on the sled until we reach the Eskimo and are able to buy more dogs. By 25 April all was ready for the start of his trip to Coronation Gulf.

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part three

S T E FA N S S O N ’ S E M I S S A R Y

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15 Journey to Bernard Harbour 2 5 a p r i l – 2 0 m ay 1 9 1 5

Wilkins had several reasons for making the 500-mile sled trip east that spring, a journey involving both hardship and risk. First and foremost was to find the base camp of the expedition’s Southern Party and to bring back the schooner North Star for Stefansson’s Northern Party. Second, he was to take the Northern Party’s mail with him and deliver it to the government police at Herschel Island who would see that it went south. Stefansson was particularly anxious that his reports get south to both the Canadian government and his newspaper contacts during the summer. Third, he wanted to photograph many of the Copper Eskimos he would meet around Coronation Gulf, as this could fulfill his photographic commitments to the United Newspapers Limited and the Gaumont Company in London and might even salvage his employment status with them. He also expected to photograph plant and bird life for Dr Anderson and anthropological objects for Jenness. Fourth, Wilkins was to take the troublesome engineer Crawford with him and leave him at Herschel Island. Crawford wanted to leave the expedition, but his skills were needed to get the North Star’s engine into operating condition before he left. Stefansson had agreed to let him leave the expedition on condition that he help run the North Star as far as Herschel Island. Wilkins would then pay him off for his services and leave him there, where he could obtain passage south. And finally, Stefansson had asked Wilkins to give Natkusiak the opportunity of finding a wife among the Copper Eskimos around Coronation Gulf. Natkusiak had been single and living alone ever since Stefansson first met him in 1908, and Stefansson felt it was time he had a mate. His reason was pragmatic, not romantic. He simply needed more native women on his Northern Party to sew the skin clothing and footwear needed by the men, including Natkusiak, for the next stage of their Arctic exploration.

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130°

130°

BANKS ISLAND Cape Kellett

VICTORIA

Apr. 25

ISLAND

Apr. 27

Apr. 26

Mt Phayre May 3

Baillie Is.

Cape Lambton

May 8

Minto Inlet

May 11

AMUNDSEN GULF

70°

Cape Bering

Williams Pt May 17

Cape Bexley

0

0

100 miles

150 km

May 18 May 20 May 20

Bernard Harbour CORONATION GULF

Fig. 44. Wilkins’ route from Cape Kellett to Bernard Harbour, 25 April– 20 May, 1915.

When Wilkins finally set forth from Cape Kellett with Natkusiak and Crawford, he had no idea where he would find the base camp of the Southern Party. All he knew was that the scientists intended to work in the Coronation Gulf region, and so would have established their base camp somewhere between Cape Bathurst and the mouth of Bathurst Inlet. Figure 56 reveals the large amount of mainland coast confronting Wilkins in his search. His plans called for his sled-journey route to take him around the southern coast of Banks Island, up its southeastern shore, across Prince of Wales Strait to Victoria Island, and around that island’s western and southwestern coast to Dolphin and Union Strait. He would then cross the strait to the mainland and start looking for the Southern Party’s base camp east or west of Stapylton Bay. 206

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Once he found the base camp, he hoped to start photographing the Copper Eskimos, including, if he was lucky, some with “blond” or European physical features. Then, when the navigation season finally opened in July or August, he would bring back the schooner North Star and use it to establish a base on northern Banks Island for Stefansson’s further explorations. Wilkins, unfortunately, neglected to keep a daily record of his activities during the twenty-six days he took to reach his destination. Instead, at some later date he wrote a general account of his journey east to retrieve the North Star. He left the Cape Kellett camp with Crawford and Natkusiak on the morning of 25 April with a heavily-loaded sled pulled by seven dogs. On the sled were 256 pounds of food and an additional 700 pounds, consisting mainly of Wilkins’ photo equipment and supplies, Crawford’s furs, and a wood-burning stove. The stove got little use, however, for they found driftwood only on the first and last two days of their four-week trip. Captain Pete Bernard accompanied them from Cape Kellett east to the whale carcass, checking his traps along the way. They all lunched near the carcass; then Wilkins continued on with his party for another ten miles before making camp. The next morning [26 April] we followed the coast for a few miles. It was very warm, and there were already pools of water beside some of the ice cakes, from which we could get a drink. We thought that we were in for a bad time before we should reach the Southern Party’s camp, wherever that might be. We had only a vague idea that they might be near Cape Bexley, and that was only because [Captain] Joe Bernard had told us that there was a good harbour near there and that he was going to tell Dr. Anderson about it. I knew that the Dr. thought a good deal of Joe Bernard and would be likely to take his advice about a camping site, for the Dr. did not have any particular place in view when I left him at Herschel Island. Dr Anderson was well acquainted with Joe Bernard, having spent several weeks with him in 1912 near the mouth of the Coppermine River and then sailed west to Herschel Island with him when the navigation season opened. About twenty-five miles down the coast, Wilkins decided to take a shortcut overland to the east shore of Banks Island between Cape Treadwell and Schuyter Point. He started inland a short distance east of the cache he had established the previous August: We soon crossed the first low range of hills and dropped into a large lake, which was drained by a small river, which apparently entered the sea a few miles further down the coast from where we turned inland. We heard reports later from the Minto Inlet natives that there are any quantity of fish in this lake. journey to bernard harbour

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Crossing the lake in the same direction we took the first pass counting from the southeast end. It was a long but a gradual slope, and we were able to make fair time, although we had to pull ourselves most all the way. After travelling for eight hours, they came within sight of the highest point of land. Here Wilkins left Crawford and Natkusiak to set up camp and walked to the highest point to examine the surrounding countryside. He could see Cape Kellett far to the northwest and Cape Lambton to the south. He also spotted two caribou in the latter direction, but they were concealed in fog before he could pursue them. The route taken during the next week led them over a large frozen fishing lake (Raddi Lake), across a broad valley (of the Kellett River),1 and then to a section of land Wilkins described as a mountain range with deep ravines, giving way to a plateau or “sort of table land.” They then climbed a long sloping valley onto the tableland, where they immediately encountered fog, greatly hindering their progress. The next day, they followed a river southward for a brief time, unsure of their location. That evening, after the fog lifted, Wilkins climbed a high hill to look about and saw that they had been following the De Salis River, a direction too southerly for his liking. In the morning he continued in a more easterly direction. After following a small but expanding creek, they camped that evening at the foot of the hills they had been among for the previous several days. By the end of the week, after travelling up and down a seemingly endless succession of ridges and valleys, Wilkins finally caught a glimpse of the ice in Prince of Wales Strait: It had taken us eight days to reach this far, five days of which we were more or less climbing and two days of descent ... I had not expected to cross the island under twelve days, allowing for bad weather in the hills, but although it was foggy we were never held up by blizzards. They increased their food supply by shooting ten caribou during the week. Wilkins and his men reached the coast northeast of Cape Cardwell on 3 May and then started the sixty-mile trek across Prince of Wales Strait for Victoria Island. Rough ice forced them to take an erratic course across the strait, and haze and fog impeded their progress as well. However, on the fifth evening the fog cleared briefly and Wilkins recognized the domeshaped outline of Mount Phayre on the north side of Minto Inlet, Victoria Island. Turning southward on 9 May, he came upon some old tracks of Eskimos and their dogs. Scanning the surroundings through his field glasses, he

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spotted a snowhouse and headed in that direction. As he drew closer, he was able to see several dogs lying at the mouth of a tunnelled entrance to the snowhouse. Presently a woman came out, and seeing a sled approaching she began a sort of Swedish drill. With outstretched arms she bobbed up and down, bending at the knees, then with an upward motion she brought her hands above her head, then letting them drop until the tips of her fingers almost touched her shoulders, repeating the motion several times. We followed her lead and continued arm wagging until we were almost at the door, then all our attention was needed to stop the dogs from fighting with the Eskimo dogs. We held ours securely but the others, not to be done out of a little exercise, started fighting amongst themselves. The Eskimo did not trouble to stop them. Wilkins’ only previous encounters with the local natives had been with Alaskan Eskimos who lived on the Mackenzie Delta, all of whom had years of contact with white men. This was, therefore, his first encounter with Eskimos who had little or no such contact. The woman and her family belonged to the people Stefansson called Copper Eskimo, the very people Wilkins wanted to meet and photograph. He also intended to make observations of an anthropological nature as a scientific contribution to the expedition. This meeting introduced him to the Eskimos’ method of signalling to strangers that they were friendly and unarmed. An Eskimo man and boy now appeared and stood smiling outside their snowhouse, totally ignoring the scuffling dogs. Natkusiak approached the man, “who grasped him around the shoulders and made as if to rub noses with him, but Billy did not respond so the Eskimo released him. They were talking intermittently and then came around and were told each of our names.” A “rather pretty girl” then emerged from the snowhouse with a little boy of about five. Wilkins noted that all looked like kindly and pleasant folk. We unhitched and tied up the dogs and followed the family inside. Their house was not very large – about 9 feet in diameter, built of snow-block walls and a caribou skin roof. It was entered through a passage about 3 feet wide, 4 feet high, and about 10 feet long, built of snow. The floor was the sea ice, and a bed platform of snow supports and boards across, covered with a quantity of caribou skins. On the right-hand side of the house, looking towards the door, there was a sort of a table and on it a seal-oil lamp, over which was suspended a stone pot about twenty inches long. The pot was just full of cold water made from melted snow, and of this we were given to drink out of a horn ladle. The woman then asked if we would like some seal blubber but Billy, knowing our taste for seal blubber, declined but

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said that we would like some caribou fat if they had any. They had plenty of it, not so much with them but in a cache ashore. They also had some meat left over from last fall, as well as some fish, which they would be glad to share with us if we cared to stay with them for a while. They had heard of white men but had not seen them before, and they did not know that any white men had been near them this winter. They did find a strange sled track near the Banks Island coast last winter and followed it until it went on the land, when it was covered so that they could follow it no longer. They knew it was not any of their people for they travelled too far between snowhouses, and the sled runners made different tracks. They knew the people must have been very hungry for they could not find any evidence of them having had anything to eat. There were no bones about any of the camps. They had heard that white men never built snowhouses, so they thought it must have been a strange family of Eskimo, and they were sorry for them and sorry that it was not possible for them to follow the trail. This must be V.S.’s and Billy’s trail that they saw. Wilkins’ observation of boards in this snowhouse raises the question of their source in this treeless region. He offered no explanation for them and may not have wondered where they came from. In all probability the Eskimos found them at nearby Walker Bay, where Captain Richard Collinson and his crew on the British naval ship H.M.S. Enterprise wintered in 1851–52 during their five-year search for the missing Sir John Franklin expedition. Alternatively, the boards could have been left there by the men on Captain Billy Mogg’s ship Olga, which was wintered at the same locality in 1907. Yet another possible explanation is that the Eskimo family found the boards at Mercy Bay on northern Banks Island in the residue of material left there in 1853 by the men of Captain Robert M’Clure’s British naval ship H.M.S. Investigator. The boards might even have been discarded by a whaling ship while cruising in the strait, and washed ashore. It is unlikely that the boards drifted to Victoria Island from the mainland. The Eskimos repeatedly addressed Crawford and I, but we could not recognise hardly anything that they said and had to depend on Billy to tell us what they were saying. He had some little difficulty with them at first, but he soon got used to their dialect.2 They said that they were the most northerly of the people on the coast that year and that there had been a large village a day’s travel to the south of them but by this time they might have gone inland. They wanted us to stay with them, but I asked if we might not go to the village where all the people were. They said that they would come and show us the way if we preferred to do that. There had been an abundance of caribou in the fall, they told us, and also many fish, and during the winter they had caught a number of seals, so they were well off for food, fuel, and clothing.

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A poke of seal blubber and a sealskin bag of caribou fat lay inside the house on an elevated surface on the left. The fat was a little mouldy. Wilkins found its taste very bitter, but his hosts ate it with relish. After trading a six-inch knife for some seal meat and an eight-inch knife for a dog whose name is Pisuak, we harnessed up the team and were ready to start for the distant village. Crawford emptied a half-pound tobacco can just as we were about to start, and as we had decided to keep all the cans we had for trade purposes, he was going to put it in the sled bag when the woman asked for it. He asked her what she would give for it, but she had no idea what to offer, so he pointed to a fox skin. She seemed delighted to think that a fox skin was worth so much and was willing to trade any amount more at the same price. She produced a bundle of about forty. They had heard, they said, that white men wanted these skins but did not think that it was true, for nobody ever came and asked them for skins before. They had caught these with deadfalls during the last three years. I told them that other white men would very likely come next year who would give them good trade for the skins, but that we had far too heavy a load to think of taking any more with us. They were clearly disappointed, but as everything was ready to start they indicated the direction we should go, and the women waddled ahead, looking strangely grotesque in their curious costumes. I am not taking to describe the costumes of these people, for I expect to be able to show photographs to people who are interested, and they will then see for themselves much better than I can tell them what the clothes are like. Wilkins photographed this family shortly before they started for the distant village, identifying the picture with his field number 167. Unfortunately, it was not among his photographs that were later numbered and preserved by the Geological Survey of Canada, and its present location remains unknown. Once underway, Wilkins soon found that the Eskimos travelled too slowly for his liking, owing to the erratic course they followed and the frequent delays caused by their three dogs getting entangled. He therefore learned the direction to the village from them and proceeded at his own pace. The Eskimos managed to keep up after he allowed the two women to ride on his sled. Some miles later Wilkins stopped to scan the horizon with his field glasses, an activity that aroused the curiosity and fear of his new acquaintances. The Eskimo were very much astonished that when I wanted to see I held something in front of my eyes and asked Billy about it. He explained that I really could see through that apparatus and that it brought the objects so close that I could recognise a man or a seal much further off than they could even see them. It must

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be an extraordinary spirit, they said, that was able to do that. It might be possible for me to have a spirit that would do that, but they had never heard of an Eskimo who had such a spirit. I asked if the man would not care to look through the glasses, but he stoutly declined, saying that he knew that it was not right for one man to use another’s familiar spirit, for it might get angry and not have anything to do with the man again. Despite assurances from Natkusiak that the field glasses were used by himself and Crawford as well, without harm to any of them, the Eskimos would not touch them. Through the glasses, Wilkins discerned that the snowhouse village now within view was deserted by all but a few ravens. We reached the place and found it to have been a very large village of thirty-five houses, two houses of three compartments and one section of six joined together having in front of them a large house without a snow roof. It was about 18 feet in diameter and about 9 feet high. It had been roofed with deer skin at one time, as we could see by the few hairs sticking to the top. It served as a common entrance for the six houses. Numerous bones of all the feathered and four-footed game of the arctic were found in the various houses, and under the position of the table in each house were scraps of blubber and stains of oil. This was evidence of plenty, for I believe that the Eskimo do not waste much as a rule. Wilkins concluded from the variable amounts of snow on the roofs of the snowhouses that not all of them had been occupied at the same time, and from other signs that none had been lived in for more than two weeks. He also concluded that the houses had been abandoned for at least two weeks. His new Eskimo acquaintances said they thought the people were now probably inland, but a few might still be living on the ice at the east end of the bay (Minto Inlet). The Eskimos agreed to visit the Mary Sachs the following winter, then started east along Minto Inlet to look for their friends. Wilkins, Natkusiak, and Crawford now turned south and headed for the next cape, stopping after a few miles to set up their tent alongside some rough ice. The barking of his dogs later awakened Wilkins, and looking out of his tent he saw three men approaching. They stopped about one hundred yards away and tied up their dogs. Natkusiak was unwilling to get up, so Wilkins ventured forth, doing his best to demonstrate that he had no desire to fight with them. He invited them with gestures into the tent but they refused to enter until he had gone inside first. Natkusiak then awakened and started conversing with them. The strangers had encountered the family Wilkins had recently visited and learned from them that he was wanting to obtain a dog by trade:

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They knew what white men wanted, they said, for they had traded with them before. They remembered V.S. and Billy when they visited them some time ago [in 1911] and they had seen Billy Mogg when he had stayed for a winter on the coast of Victoria Land [in 1907–08]. They had some clothes and fish which they would like to trade and also some native copper. Through Natkusiak the visitors told Wilkins that there were indeed large blocks of copper on Victoria Island, the largest near the foot of Minto Inlet.3 They had no knowledge, however, of any boat wintering on the coast, even though they had been visited by some of the Prince Albert Sound Eskimos during the winter. Wilkins concluded from this news that the Southern Party was not wintering on the west coast of Victoria Island, one of its possible destinations. The three Eskimo men had heard of a boat the previous winter, but had not seen it themselves. That boat was probably Joe Bernard’s Teddy Bear, which had spent the winter of 1913–14 in Lady Richardson Bay on the southwest coast of Victoria Island. A fish in the possession of the three visitors caught Wilkins’ eye: The fish they had brought was a species new to me. It was about two foot six [inches] long and about eighteen inches in girth, with a dorsal and two ventral fins. The outer skin was dark in colour, but all of the same hue. The flesh was a bright pink, as bright as any salmon that I have ever seen, and inside the fish was a smaller one of the same shape but not quite so bright in colour. It had evidently been swallowed whole by the larger one. This was Wilkins’ introduction to the Arctic char, today highly prized by fishing enthusiasts. The old man told us that there were any amount of the same kind of fish both on Victoria Island and Banks Island and that they caught them by jigging through the ice with a hook on the end of a line in the early spring. He had been to Banks Island many times and used to go often when there were plenty of musk oxen there. He went to look for musk oxen there last year, but he only saw one, which he killed. He does not think that there are any more left there now. Stefansson did not see a single muskox during his travels across Banks Island in 1915 and 1917, giving credence to the old Eskimo’s claim. Indeed, it is now generally believed that the last of the muskox were killed off by the late 1800s by Copper Eskimos from Victoria Island, who made regular pilgrimages to Mercy Bay on the north coast of Banks Island to salvage wood and metal that had come from Captain M’Clure’s ship H.M.S. Investigator, and assorted other items cached there by the captain or

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his men. M’Clure’s men saw only four muskox during their two years (1851–53) wintering at Mercy Bay in spite of the large area covered by their hunting parties. Muskox subsequently repopulated Banks Island, probably from Victoria Island, and the island now harbours much of Canada’s muskox population, more than 45,000 animals.4 These strange-looking, exclusively Arctic inhabitants are suspected of having survived the last glacial period by living in a small part of the northwestern side of Banks Island that was not glaciated,5 although many other strange mammals living in the region at that time became extinct. Wilkins, ever mindful of the diminishing number of dogs at Cape Kellett, negotiated a trade with his visitors for a dog, the second addition to his team in two days. He also traded items for some Eskimo clothing and fragments of native copper. As the visitors made ready to depart, Wilkins decided to have an early breakfast and continue southward. He offered the visitors each of the items he and his men were consuming, but they did not care for the taste of them. The visitors did drink some tea, but they considered the pemmican to be rotten and showed an interest only in the lard, though they did not even care much for that. The old man took a great fancy for a spoon, and the only thing that he had which I had any use for was the pair of water boots that he was wearing. I hardly liked to ask him to give them to me, but when Billy mentioned it to him he was only too delighted to give them in exchange. He said he could very well walk home in his socks, but I gave him my old pair of winter boots to go home in. He seemed awfully pleased with the transaction. Soon after they got underway, Wilkins noticed many seals sunning themselves here and there on the ice and dispatched Natkusiak to shoot one. With nine dogs in harness now, and a diminishing load, he felt that the weight of the additional seal meat, even of the large ugruk 6 that Natkusiak managed to kill (which measured almost thirteen feet long), would not impede their progress. His dogs, in fact, “were in a much better condition than when we left Cape Kellett, for they had had as much as they could eat each night except one, when they were fed on two pounds of pemmican and some blubber.” Rough ice lined the coast of the large peninsula Wilkins journeyed around (now called Diamond Jenness Peninsula), so he steered his companions seaward about a mile, where the travelling was easier: I had thought of going right into Prince Albert Sound and looking for the Eskimo who are supposed to be there in the spring, but I thought that if the Eskimo of

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Minto Inlet had already gone inland then these further south would surely have gone. Billy also told us of how he and V.S. had had to double trip across the mountains when crossing [Wollaston Peninsula] to the sound from the Gulf [in 1911], so it seemed likely that we too would have had to have done it. The hills, too, looked barren and almost bare of snow, and our sled runners were not too strong. Taking into consideration the condition of his sled runners, the smooth ice at the mouth of the sound, and his greater chances of photographing the Eskimos at Coronation Gulf, Wilkins decided against going into Prince Albert Sound and headed his party across the ice for the Wollaston Peninsula, a distance of more than thirty miles. That night they camped near the Horizon Islets, three small islands about halfway across the sound. The Admiralty chart showed the islands as a single island. Noting the scarcity of vegetation, Wilkins was surprised to see an Arctic hare near the top of one of the islands. Two days later, after going several miles out of their way to get around the end of a lead near the shore, Wilkins and his companions passed Cape Bering and continued southward along the shore until they were just outside Bell Island. Near Williams Point, Wilkins came upon a track that he recognized had been created by an iron-shod sled. Thinking it must have been someone from the Southern Party, he tried to follow it, but it was not distinct enough and he soon lost it. At the time, he thought the tracks might have been made by a sled traded by Captain Joe Bernard to an Eskimo a year or two before. Later he learned that they had been made by the sled of Diamond Jenness, the ethnologist with the Southern Party, who had journeyed to Lady Richardson Bay in mid-April with his “adopted” father Ikpukhuak to get some caribou meat cached there the previous summer.7 At Williams Point, Wilkins climbed to the top of the 600-foot cliff to look southward across Dolphin and Union Strait. From that vantage point he was easily able to see the mainland coast about thirty miles away. He also noticed that the south coast of Victoria Island seemed less advanced into spring than the coast at Cape Kellett more than two weeks earlier. Some while later, after again looking across the strait to the mainland coast and also at the intervening ice, Wilkins decided to start across the ice to Cape Bexley. He calculated that the distance from where he was then standing to the cape was about eighteen miles. His point of departure may thus have been near the promontory now known as Cape Caen. He and his companions reached the mainland the following afternoon, 17 May, about a mile east of Cape Bexley and immediately noticed sled tracks. Wilkins examined them and decided that they had been made by members of the Southern Party, for the footprints were larger than those of any Eskimo he had known, and he knew of no other white men in the area.

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The sled tracks were heading west. Thinking that the base camp might therefore be in Stapylton Bay, he decided to follow them west at least that far. At Cape Bexley he found a cache of pemmican and a pile of driftwood, and astutely interpreted the cache and stacked wood to mean that the base camp was somewhat more than a day’s journey away. Natkusiak then discovered fresh tracks nearby from an Eskimo sled. Wilkins now decided to halt and celebrate their pending arrival at the base camp by shaving and changing into the clean spring clothes he had brought with him, “for we had been doing with part of our winter outfit in order that we might arrive at the base looking at least a bit respectable.” The following morning he decided to follow the Eskimo sled tracks. As he started across South Bay, he noticed people walking about at the next point (Cape Hope). Thinking they were Eskimos, he stopped to look at them through his field glasses, while his companions rolled cigarettes. The figures he saw kept darting in and out of their tent, and then one of them waved his arms: We thought that they must be awfully afraid of us, but as we got closer we could see them peering over the top of a boulder, and then we could see that they were using field glasses. We wondered if they had met and murdered a party of our men and were now afraid of us because they would not get up and show themselves. However, they soon did, and then I stopped to have another look at them with the glasses. I could then see that they were not Eskimos, for they had no tails on their coats and looked too tall and thin. It was some of the expedition. The two strangers now approached Wilkins’ party. When they drew near, Wilkins recognized John Cox, the assistant geographer on the Southern Party, whom he had last seen at Herschel Island the previous August. Cox introduced his companion as Cockney Sullivan, a man who, unknown to Wilkins, had replaced Charlie Brook as cook on the Alaska. The two expressed astonishment over seeing Wilkins and his companions, for they had thought it to be a party of policemen. I asked them why, and they asked why we had fired a rifle at them. We denied this and asked if they heard a report. No, they had not heard a report, but they had seen the flash when we had first stopped. I was a bit surprised at first but then the thing dawned on me. I had noticed the shiny nickel-plated lining of Crawford’s tobacco can heliographing the sun’s rays when he was making a cigarette and offered this as a solution. Cox realized it at once and we all had a hearty laugh over the incident. In his biography of Wilkins, Lowell Thomas included a fictitious conversation between Wilkins and Cockney before the latter knew the identity

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Fig. 45. Wilkins, Crawford, and Natkusiak (wearing goggles) on arrival at Hope Point, west of Bernard Harbour, after four weeks of travel from Banks Island, 18 May 1915. (Photo 39679 by J.R. Cox, gsc )

of the newcomers. It included a comment by Cockney that Wilkins must have been lost searching for Stefansson the previous year, but that it really did not matter a lot for Wilkins had not amounted to much.8 This amusing and disrespectful comment may indicate some of Wilkins’ later sense of humour, for by the time he got around to relating his life to Thomas he was world-famous for his exploits. Cox finally asked if Wilkins had seen any sign of Stefansson and was obviously surprised to hear that he was not only very much alive but was at that moment on his second ice trip over the Arctic Ocean and planning a third one. Wilkins then told Cox that the main reason for his trip east was, on Stefansson’s instructions, to bring back the North Star. After listening to Wilkins’ explanation of why Stefansson needed the schooner, Cox replied that although Stefansson’s demand for the schooner seemed reasonable, the work of the Southern Party would be materially hampered if Wilkins took it north. This was because their other vessel, the Alaska, had been icebound at Baillie Islands since the previous September and might not be available

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during much of the coming summer. Cox then added, however, that the North Star might not be of use to anyone, for it had been under water for the past several weeks at the base camp. Cox next informed Wilkins that the Southern Party was camped about fifty miles to the east and told him about the work of the others, the state of their provisions, and their preliminary summer plans. Dr Anderson was somewhere west of Stapylton Bay, but intended to return with Chipman and O’Neill by 1 June to finalize summer plans. At this point Wilkins debated whether to go east to the base camp or to head west alone to Baillie Islands with the Northern Party’s mail. If he went west he would meet Dr Anderson en route, then go from Baillie Islands on the Alaska to Herschel Island, where he could dispatch the mail and obtain the supplies needed for the Northern Party. Then he could return to Baillie Islands and wait there for the arrival of Crawford, Natkusiak, and Castel with the North Star. If he did that, however, he could not be certain that the North Star would show up, either because it was unseaworthy or because Crawford might not carry out Wilkins’ instructions. By heading west right away he would also miss the opportunity of photographing the Copper Eskimos in Coronation Gulf. He therefore decided to go east to the base camp and meet with Dr Anderson there. The following morning, Wilkins turned over most of his remaining food to Cox, who was without several staples, and headed east. Cox, meanwhile, continued his survey around Stapylton Bay. While Wilkins and Crawford followed around the coast with the sled, ultimately camping on a gravel beach, Natkusiak went inland a mile or so in search of caribou. Some while later he arrived with the tongues and brains of two caribou he had killed. He had cached much of the rest of the meat on the coast nearby for Cox’s use on his return trip. With nine dogs pulling their sled on 20 May, Wilkins, Crawford, and Natkusiak were able to travel at about four miles an hour and covered the remaining distance to the North Star and the base camp in a few hours. Both were located in a small embayment about halfway between Cape Bexley and Cape Krusenstern. The dogs sped up as we neared the house, and there was only time for a casual glance at the ship as we passed [it]. She looked very low in the ice. Someone had been digging the snow away from her, but the water could be seen halfway covering her decks. As we came near the house, which is situated on a rocky depression between two low hills, Castel came out to see what the dogs were barking at. He was surprised indeed to see us, but is apparently cheered by our arrival, for the work on the schooner was really too much for him to do alone.

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Fig. 46. Cox and Castel studying the condition of the schooner North Star, Bernard Harbour, 20 May 1915. (Photo 50899 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214026, nac )

Fig. 47. Southern Party headquarters with porch made from provision boxes and tarpaulins, Bernard Harbour, 5 October 1914; seen from the south, with schooner North Star in distance. (Photo 42235 by F. Johansen, e 002280202, nac )

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The Southern Party’s camp consisted of a lone wooden house, twelve feet wide, sixteen feet long, resting on stony ground about one hundred feet from a pebbly beach in a small embayment sheltered by Chantry Island. The ground was partly snow-covered and the embayment was still frozen when Wilkins arrived. The schooner North Star was icebound a short distance from the shore. Several tents and piles of boxes covered with large tarpaulins were scattered around the house. The house had a three-paned window on one side, a two-paned window on the other, and was enclosed by layers of turf as insulation. Inside were a stove and two tables, the large one for meals, the other small one for writing or drafting activities. Two double-tiered bunks and two single bunks lined the sides and end of the house. Jenness’s single bunk was immediately to the right of the door, and Dr Anderson’s bunk lay across the far end of the house. Castel told Wilkins he did not know why the other men had not hauled the North Star out of the water the previous fall. He himself had not been present during freeze-up because he had gone west on the Alaska to Herschel Island with Dr Anderson late in August to collect the summer’s provisions and mail coming from Vancouver on the Hudson’s Bay Company supply ship Ruby. Unusually adverse ice conditions along the north Alaskan coast had prevented the Ruby from reaching Herschel Island, so after waiting until 6 September, Dr Anderson had headed the Alaska back east. It had then accidentally run aground at Baillie Islands and been caught by an early freeze. Late in November, all but two of the men on the Alaska had headed east by dog sled for the base camp. They reached it on Christmas Day. Castel then told the story of his and Dr Anderson’s failure to get through to Fort Norman with the outgoing mail in February. When the Dr. and Castel returned on the 1st of April they found that the [North] Star was leaking and that they had to bail about 150 buckets of water from her every day. She soon leaked worse, and although they rigged the pumps and kept them going most of the time, they could not keep the water down. Therefore, they cleared everything out of the hold and allowed her to fill up. The water came up well over her decks. After catching up on the news from Castel, Wilkins went to find the naturalist Fritz Johansen, who was in the nearby hills looking for insects for his collection. Johansen was as surprised at seeing Wilkins as the others had been: we had been talking about ten minutes when he casually remarked, “Of course, you did not see anything of VS” but my reply did not startle him, for it takes a lot to move him from his phlegmatic mood. He seems to have done a fair amount of

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work, but complains of lack of opportunity, owing to having had to do menial work about the camp, and support and various supplies. He tells me that Jenness also has room for complaint in this respect, and that everything has been sacrificed for the [Geological] Survey party. He says that they have not allowanced out their provisions, but have used them economically, and if they have always been as sparing as he and Castel are now, I can well believe it. Wilkins then showed Johansen the letter he had brought from Stefansson about the North Star. Like Cox, to whom Wilkins had also shown the letter, Johansen thought Stefansson’s demand for the schooner was reasonable, but was visibly disappointed at the realization that he might not be able to use it during the summer to dredge for biological specimens. Later in the afternoon Wilkins and Natkusiak set off to visit an Eskimo village about three miles away, accompanied by several Eskimo men and boys who had been loitering around the camp. At the first group of three skin tents, Wilkins found a man, two women, and a young baby: We went into a tent owned by a man named Atigiak and were entertained with some frozen deer [caribou] meat. All the others of the village came in and sat around the tent as best they could, and we stayed with them for about three hours. Billy did most of the talking, which was mostly about the last visit he had made to them. Most of them he had met on that occasion, and Billy seemed to be thought quite a personage amongst them. Atigiak (or Attigiriak as Dr Anderson spelled the man’s name) was a fiftyish Copper Eskimo from the Tree River area. He and his wife Attorina had come to Bernard Harbour to trade with the members of the expedition. They had met Natkusiak in the spring of 1911 when he accompanied Stefansson in wanderings between Great Bear Lake, Coronation Gulf, and Victoria Island. At the other group of four houses we found two more men, seven women, and three children. We went into a large tupik-shaped tent and had a drink of water from a copper kettle, which they said had been traded from Melvill and Hornby. The owner of this tent was the fellow that Cox had told me about [Uloksak] who has two wives. He also had a priest’s robe, a prayer book, and a large crucifix. He says that he traded them from a French priest amongst the Indians, and as he has another book of biblical stories in the French language, this is possible. Cosmo D. Melvill and John Hornby were Englishmen who lived, hunted, and traded at Great Bear Lake between 1909 and 1911. Both were known to Stefansson and Dr Anderson as well as to many of the Eskimos. The

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owner of the large tent was Copper Eskimo shaman Uloksak Meyok, a man about thirty years old. He had two wives at that time. In the fall of 1913, two French Oblate priests, Fathers Jean-Baptiste Rouvière and Guillaume Le Roux were killed by two Copper Eskimos, Uloksak Avingak and Sinnisiak. The two Uloksaks were not related. The shaman Uloksak Meyok subsequently visited the cabin of the dead priests at Lake Rouvière and took the objects Wilkins reported here. He had not obtained them by trade. We were given marrow bones to eat by a very pleasant looking but rather bashful middle-aged lady, and much amusement was caused over the fact that I broke my sheath knife when trying to crack mine. One of the other women took the bone at once and cracked it with a stone and gave it to me again. They were almost continually expressing their happiness caused by our visit and asked if I were not pleased to come and see them. I really was, for they seem such a happy contented people, full of fun and good fellowship. They are mostly all well dressed and especially three of the women, one of whom I was told was the owner of the tent’s other wife.9 The three soon brought out a big drum and performed a sort of dance of welcome. They stood in a row in the tent and, each taking the drum in turn, they beat it rhythmically, leaning forward and bending their knees at each beat and occasionally varying the movement by swaying their bodies quite gracefully. Soon after they had commenced, one of them, evidently not satisfied with the tone of the drum, called for some water and when a little girl had brought it, it was taken in the mouth and sprinkled over the drum in the manner that Chinamen sprinkle clothes when ironing them.10 She then rubbed the water into the parched skin with the palm of her hand, and after about a minute’s wait for the skin to stretch, the performance continued for about half an hour. The dance was interrupted by the arrival of the owner of the tent, the shaman Uloksak, whom Wilkins described as a “fine-looking young fellow”: “He shook hands with us and seemed to know a little more of white mens’ [sic] ways than any of the others. A youth came in with him.11 They had been hunting, they said, but had not killed anything that day.” Through an arrangement with Dr Anderson, Uloksak had been given rifles and ammunition in exchange for which he was to provide the Southern Party with all of the caribou he shot that were not necessary for his own household. As Uloksak was a competent hunter, as was also his older wife, Kukilukkak, both his own household and the Southern Party now had a great quantity of meat. Following his entrance into the tent, Uloksak was served with a small tin cup filled with tea, to which he added sugar. The young boy was not permitted to have any tea, however, until Uloksak had finished his second cup, and then had to drink from the pot. 222

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Next a large quantity of boiled caribou meat was brought in from a nearby tent. Wilkins, as honoured guest, was permitted the first selection from the container, and the others then each helped themselves. During the meal there was a good deal of laughter and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. I asked Billy what it was that pleased them so much, and he said that they were all saying how glad they were to have us to eat with them, and the most popular remarks were from the host, who was repeatedly saying how pleased he was that he was able to entertain so many people in his house. Hospitality seems to be their greatest virtue. After dinner it was very interesting to see the expressions of affection towards Uloksak from both his wives. One sat on the bed behind him with her arm around his neck, while the other sat at his side and held his hands and fondled them. He made goo-goo eyes at both of them in turn, and they smiled lovingly at him. Wilkins reveals here a sensual relationship between Uloksak and his two wives that the ethnologist Diamond Jenness did not address in his classic report on the Copper Eskimos.12 The women may have put on a special “show” for Wilkins of a kind not witnessed by Jenness. It is also possible that Jenness knew of such behaviour but considered it unsuitable fare for a government report. Wilkins then commented: “Some of the other women were quite coquettish and had a very alluring smile, and some of them even a perceptible wink. They are awfully quaint, but quite charming in their flirtations.” Wilkins also noted the behaviour and activities of two of the men on this occasion: One middle-aged man who had been engaged in making the separate parts of a bow from pieces of drift wood when we came in still continued with his work. His moustache is of a much lighter colour than any of the others that I have seen, but his features are very much the same as the ordinary Eskimo. One old and very dignified looking old fellow sat on a seat by the door and did not speak a word until we were about to leave, when he came up and enquired my name and then went off repeating it to himself. Wilkins’ interest in the colour of the Eskimo’s moustache reflects his search for signs of the European traits Stefansson had ascribed to the “Blond Eskimo.” His employers at the Daily Chronicle and the Gaumont Company in London were especially keen on receiving pictures from him showing the existence of Eskimos who might have been of European origin. The party finally ended about 10:30 that evening, and Wilkins and Natkusiak returned to the main camp, accompanied for part of the way by some of the Copper Eskimos. journey to bernard harbour

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Castel and Johansen were eating their supper when Wilkins arrived, but he was not hungry, having eaten all he wanted at the Eskimos’ camp. Instead he sat and listened for a while to music played on the gramophone before retiring for the night. Later, while reclining in Jenness’s vacated bunk, which he found very comfortable after four months on the trail, Wilkins reflected on his first significant visit with the Copper Eskimos: If their language had not been strange and their dress so peculiar, one would have scarcely known that they were not amongst our own people in some out-of-the-way country place. Fundamentally, they are very similar, and it is hard to realise after all the advantages of the continual bitter struggle between the classes and individuals in the so-called civilised world when you see the happy contentedness of these people, who are supposed to be the lowest in the scale. One not only wonders whether we are the better off for the so-called advances but whether they really exist.

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16 Visiting the Copper Eskimos 2 1 – 3 1 m ay 1 9 1 5

The day after he reached the Southern Party’s headquarters, Wilkins decided to go east to Coronation Gulf to visit a group of Copper Eskimos on the ice somewhere near the Coppermine River. These Eskimos had had little or no contact with white men, unlike those living near the base camp. If he delayed his trip until after Dr Anderson’s return, sled travel to and from Coronation Gulf would not only be more difficult but probably unsafe. He asked Crawford to prepare breakfast in the morning, for he had been unimpressed with Johansen’s cooking the previous evening. Crawford made some bread and biscuits, which gave us some relief from the miserable hot cakes and Karo and bread of Aarnout’s chief endeavours. Also some experiments with sugar syrup. The others [Johansen and Aarnout Castel] had been living on cold hot cakes mostly for the other meals than breakfast, when they would have hot hot cakes. In preparation for his trip east, Wilkins tested his motion-picture camera as well as his 3a Kodak Special single-picture camera, then gathered the things he needed to take with him. Johansen provided him with dog biscuits, tabloid tea, sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, and syrup from the supplies of the Southern Party. Wilkins commented on how Johansen dispensed the supplies: “He was not at all liberal and took very good care that we should not take too much, for he said we would only give it to the Eskimo to eat if we did not use it.” Wilkins also took a can of lard, oil for the stove, and a little pemmican that he had brought from Cape Kellett. Natkusiak, meanwhile, went off in search of caribou and shot five. As Wilkins was loading the sled on 22 May, three women arrived from the nearby Copper Eskimo camp with some caribou heads and tongues, which they offered in trade for a lard pail. Two of them were young, one being

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Fig. 48. Copper Eskimo shaman Uloksak Meyok and his three wives. Left to right: Haqungaq, Uloksak, Kuptana, and Kukilukkak, at the mouth of the Coppermine River, Coronation Gulf, 1 June 1916. (Photo 39690 by J.R. Cox, gsc )

Uloksak’s second wife Kuptana, the other Haqungaq, who was about sixteen years old. Wife at that time of Qiqpuk, an adopted son of Jenness’s friend Ikpukhuak, Haqungaq later became Uloksak’s third wife. The third woman was noticeably older and dressed in squirrel-skin pants. Wilkins thought she was Kuptana’s mother. Wilkins photographed the three women trying to make a deal with Johansen, surprised that they were not in the least afraid of his camera when they noticed what he was doing.2 It was rather amusing to see Johansen trying to avoid trading with the women for the caribou heads. He would put them off from time to time, but they would not be bested. They would be very serious and earnest before his face and plead with him, but as soon as his back was turned, they would make faces and imitate him, much to the amusement of a group of small boys, who had gathered around the house. When Crawford and Natkusiak returned with the carcasses of the latter’s five caribou, Wilkins and Crawford entertained the three native women with a brief gramophone concert. The women showed a marked prefer226

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ence for the vocal recordings over the instrumental ones, especially the songs of Harry Lauder, a well-known Scottish singer early in the 1900s, perhaps because they related better to the male vocal sounds. The three women finally completed their trading and started back to their camp. Wilkins decided to accompany them in hopes of getting pictures of everyday life at a Copper Eskimo camp. Natkusiak went with him. Upon the two men’s arrival several Eskimos helped them pitch their tent, and then almost everyone in the little camp tried to crowd into it to see Wilkins and Natkusiak. Natkusiak talked with them for some time; then all were called to an open-air supper. Kuptana first placed all of the meat from a large pot onto a dish and covered it with a blood broth. Then everyone took a piece of the meat and stood or sat as they ate it. After consuming a few pieces, Wilkins had Natkusiak ask the others if Wilkins might look at them through his camera while they were eating. When no one objected, he photographed the feast.3 After the meal, everyone proceeded to Uloksak’s tent, where various women and a man named Hitiak danced and sang to the beat of a drum. Later, when Wilkins and Natkusiak retired to their tent for the night, most of the villagers came with them and sat in Wilkins’ tent watching with almost childlike curiosity as Wilkins and Natkusiak undressed and crawled into their sleeping bags. At that point, a few took their leave, but others continued to sit while he and Natkusiak tried to go to sleep. All had gone when Wilkins awoke in the morning. Finding that a thick fog blanketed the land, Wilkins remained in his sleeping bag awhile, hoping the fog would disappear. When it failed to do so, he arose and cooked breakfast of caribou brains and tongues, which some of the women had given him the previous evening. He and Natkusiak had barely started eating when the first Eskimo visitor appeared at his tent. Later in the day, when the lighting became suitable for close work, he filmed both men and women to show their attire and features, having them turn around while he cranked his camera. May 24 was a sunny day. Wilkins sought to get through breakfast before being interrupted, but had barely lit his Primus stove when Atigiak appeared, and shortly afterwards, one by one, other members of the little settlement drifted into the tent. He was soon hosting the entire group: We had pemmican and biscuit prepared, and for the Eskimo I added a further preparation of an over-abundance of black pepper. They were welcome to the amount of food, but it was a mistake, I believe, on the part of the expedition to give them biscuit or pemmican to eat at all, and I wish to counteract their desire for this food as much as possible or they will want it always, and the caches will never be safe. The pepper had a good effect and very little of the “hooch” was eaten by the visiting the copper eskimos

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Eskimo. They would only taste a spoonful of it and then hand it on to the next one. They were too polite, however, to say that the food was no good or that it was nasty. They said that they were not accustomed to such food and would rather not eat it. Wilkins found it futile to doctor the tea as a disincentive, however, for they already knew how it should taste. Breakfast was just over when someone spotted several caribou browsing a mile or so away. All of the people rushed from Wilkins’ tent to prepare for the chase, and before he knew it he was witnessing a full-blown Eskimo caribou hunt. In his diary Wilkins wrote that Uloksak and his “help mate” (probably his adopted son), ran for their sled and pushed it hastily towards the deer, shouting to three youths to harness the dogs and follow after them. The youths with the dogs caught up with Uloksak and his companion about half a mile from the camp. Startled by the barking of the excited dogs and the shouting of the hunters, the caribou quickly disappeared over the nearest hill.4 Caribou migrated north each spring from the forests miles to the south, and crossed Dolphin and Union Strait east of the Southern Party’s base camp before ice breakup, heading for Victoria Island to have their young. They returned in November once the new ice had formed in the strait. Being naturally curious and still unfamiliar with firearms, the caribou fleeing from the shouting hunters circled around to see what had frightened them. Uloksak and his companion were well aware of this trait and drove their team and sled in a smaller circle towards the top of the hill. Just as they were about to reach the crest of the hill, the caribou came in view from the other side, close enough to fire upon. In their excitement the two hunters peppered the rocks around the caribou with bullets, and the caribou dashed away with the men and boys in hot pursuit. A chance shot felled one of the caribou at long range. The dogs then taking heart needed no one to run ahead of them, so all the men were able to sit and ride on the sled. From this position they kept up a regular fusillade of chance shots, for there was no chance whatever of taking aim on a fast-moving sled over the rough wind-driven snow. They must have expended fifty cartridges at least to kill five of the deer. Then, as there were only two left out of the herd, they stopped to collect the wounded and skin those they had killed. They seemed to have run out of cartridges too, for one of their number could be seen running with all speed towards the camp. With good judgement as to what was needed Uloksak’s wife ran off to meet him with another two boxes of cartridges. The two caribou that had escaped then turned back and approached the sled and were felled by the expenditure of another twenty cartridges. Wil-

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kins soon learned that most of the seven caribou killed on this occasion were does with unborn fawns, had poor skins, and offered little meat. Disturbed by their needless slaughter, he wrote, “it seems likely if this sort of thing goes on it will either drive the caribou away from the country or kill off the herds.” His observation proved highly prophetic. Within two years the caribou ceased migrating to Victoria Island through this region, with dire effects upon the Copper Eskimos living there.5 Leaving the caribou carcasses where they had fallen, Uloksak and the others rode on the sled back to their camp, too tired or too lazy to walk. When they got to the camp several women took their sled and brought in the carcasses. While the hunt was in progress Wilkins remained at the camp, alternately watching the hunt through his field glasses and taking motion-picture film and several still shots of the women at the camp as they mended boots, cleaned a seal skin, repaired an arrow, and later brought the caribou meat back from the hunting grounds on the sled. They had put away their warm winter clothing and were wearing “any old thing that they can find.” Wilkins was elated over having the opportunity at last to film the Copper Eskimos, nearly two years after coming to the Arctic for that purpose. It made him all the more determined to go to Coronation Gulf to film the Eskimos there, for they had had little or no contact with white men and would be more representative of the original inhabitants of the region. He therefore started for Coronation Gulf with Natkusiak on 25 May, determined to be back at the base camp when Dr Anderson returned from taking the mail to Baillie Islands. They were unexpectedly joined by Uloksak and his young wife Kuptana, and together they made their way slowly along the shore of Dolphin and Union Strait towards Cape Lambert. When Uloksak’s team began to lag behind, Wilkins, in hopes of speeding up their progress, halted his team briefly and had Natkusiak go back to join Uloksak. Kuptana then came forward and climbed onto Wilkins’ sled, and the two dog teams got under way again. As they approached Cape Lambert, Uloksak suddenly caught up to Wilkins’ sled, leaving Natkusiak to drive his team, and then walked ahead of the dogs, holding his large snow knife in his hand. His behaviour puzzled Wilkins. When they reached the cape Natkusiak drew Wilkins’ attention to the body of an Eskimo man a few yards from the water’s edge, above the high-water mark. Wilkins learned later that it was the remains of Haviron (or Haviraun), who had died just a month before on Victoria Island after a long illness. His body had been conveyed across the strait to the cape for burial. He was a brother of Ikpukhuak, with whom Jenness was now spending the summer on Victoria Island:

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115°

114° Liston I.

VICTORIA

LP

Chantry I.

DO

Bernard Harbour

113°

Sutton I.

ISLAND

HI

May 31

N

AN D

"Fishing Lake"

Lambert I.

"Fishing Creek"

UN

IO N

May 30

ST RA

Cape Lambert

20 miles May 25

0

30 km

May 29

Deadman Is. May 26

IT

0

Douglas I. Cape Krusenstern.

CORONATION GULF

68°

May 27–28

Berens Is.

R.

Sir Graham Moore Is. ne

C o p p e rm i

jenness

Fig. 49. Wilkins’ route from Bernard Harbour to Coronation Gulf and back, 24–31 May, 1915.

I stopped the team and went over and had a look at it and took a picture.6 Uloksak came with me still carrying his knife, but he did not seem at all afraid of the dead body or to have any respect for it. He turned over the clothes with his foot and picked up and looked at a few of the broken instruments that had been placed near the body. These consisted of a broken bow and arrows, a worn out knife, a battered lard can, and a few other broken and useless tools. After they started on their way again, Uloksak continued to hold his knife as he walked ahead of the dogs. He finally dropped back about a mile farther on and placed his knife on his sled. When the opportunity presented itself, Wilkins asked Natkusiak for an explanation of Uloksak’s behaviour: Billy in his usual evasive way said that Uloksak always carried a knife with him when he went ahead, but this is not so, for he went ahead several times later on in 230

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the trip and did not carry his knife. I don’t believe [this] or many other things that Billy tells me when I ask him about things. Uloksak, although unafraid of the dead body, was deeply afraid of the dead man’s spirit, which he thought might be hovering about. He therefore held his knife ready to defend himself in case of attack. That evening, Wilkins and Natkusiak pitched their tent on the beach on a patch of gravel which was pretty covered with sea weed. From this I got a smell of the sea, the first ocean breath I have smelt since leaving the Atlantic, although we have been living by the sea side for about 2 years. [Seaweed] is very scarce along this coast, and one scarcely ever gets a whiff of the familiar sea-beach breeze. Uloksak and his wife slept in Wilkins’ tent, using two sleeping skins and a double white wool blanket for warmth. Wilkins wondered at the time if Uloksak had obtained the blanket through trade with either some expedition members at the base camp or with the traders Melvill and Hornby at Great Bear Lake. However, the former did not trade blankets, and Melvill had left the Arctic in 1911, Hornby in 1914. Uloksak might also have obtained it from the trader D’Arcy Arden, who began trading north of Great Bear Lake in the summer of 1914, or from Captain Joseph Bernard, who spent the winter of 1912–13 at the little harbour where the Southern Party was now housed, but Wilkins did not know of these possibilities. In reality, Uloksak probably obtained it from the cabin of the two murdered Oblate priests, Fathers Rouvière and Le Roux, when he took their clothing and religious articles. From Pasley Cove the two sleds headed across the longer of two portages inside the Cape Krusenstern peninsula. Their twenty-mile route to the coast west of Locker Point proved to be a circuitous one, as they were forced to avoid the bare patches on the higher ground from which the snow had already disappeared. About halfway across the portage, they suddenly sighted several caribou. Natkusiak and Uloksak went after them while Wilkins and Kuptana continued on with the two sleds and the dogs, with Kuptana leading the way. The two hunters finally succeeded in killing one of the caribou, a young bull. They immediately skinned it and added some of its meat to the loads on their sleds. The trip across the portage took them about three and a half hours. They then set off across Coronation Gulf, heading for the nearest island. Sometime during the day, Natkusiak learned from Uloksak that the Copper Eskimos they were seeking were probably on the mainland somewhere near the mouth of the Coppermine River. visiting the copper eskimos

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In the evening, they camped on a cosy little gravel beach in a bay on an unidentified island (probably one of the closely spaced Deadman Islands). Using driftwood from along the beach, Wilkins soon had a fire burning in his camp stove for the evening meal. I took this opportunity to have a comfortable shave, which much interested our Eskimo companions. Kuptana was delighted with the small mirror that I carry, and it was amusing to see her preening herself and making herself as pretty as possible. She borrowed my comb and brush and would have borrowed my tooth brush also if I had been agreeable. However, she indulged in a wash, and after her hair was brushed and newly braided she looked very pretty. While the toilet operations had been going on Billy and Uloksak had been enjoying a smoke. The latter, failing to find his own pipe handy, reached over and borrowed mine. I did not mind, for I smoke very little and mostly always cigarettes, so I will make him a present of the pipe before the trip is over, I expect. He and Billy seem to be getting [to be] great pals, and Uloksak is very interested in religion. I am often being called upon to explain some unexplainable theosophical point for their benefit. Uloksak was naturally interested in such matters, being a shaman. Later that evening, Wilkins noticed several Arctic hares scampering among the rocks and quite a few birds newly arrived from the south for the summer. The four travellers continued across Coronation Gulf the next morning, 27 May, following a recent Eskimo trail for four hours under fairly foggy conditions before seeing land. Wilkins’ Admiralty chart seemed to indicate that he was at the islands forming the Duke of York Archipelago, but he wondered if he had already passed them in the fog. A while later the fog lifted somewhat, and through his field glasses he saw a group of islands in the distance and a large Eskimo settlement on a sand spit. The sight excited him immensely, for now at last he would meet a group of Eskimos who had had little or no contact with white men. They would still be living as their ancestors had lived for centuries. He would be able to obtain photographs showing their physical characteristics, clothing, and camp activities; he would also be able to describe their activities and way of life and thus make a contribution to Arctic ethnology. He assumed that the islands he was approaching were the “Moore Islands,” which were shown on his Admiralty Chart. In this, he was incorrect, owing to the deficiencies of his map.7 Wilkins had hoped for fine weather so he could film his sled approaching the Eskimo village and the reception he and his three companions were given, but the foggy conditions dashed his hopes.

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As we reached the village a dozen or so small children came running to meet us. They were not so very shy but were rather inarticulate. They caught hold of the sled and clambered on wherever they could, and rode and stared at us but would not answer many questions. Our sled had got well in the lead, and Billy and Uloksak were back with the other team. As soon as Kuptana said something about Natkusiak being with the other sled, all the children left ours and waited for the others to catch up. They had evidently heard of Natkusiak. Billy Natkusiak had encountered some of these Copper Eskimos when he accompanied Stefansson on his wanderings through the region sometime between 1910 and 1911. The crowd of older people stood on the beach until we were quite close to them, and then the men came running down to meet us, leaving the women still hesitating, but they did not hesitate for long and soon joined the men in their eager questioning. They too had heard of Natkusiak, and as soon as his name was mentioned our sled was almost deserted. When Natkusiak and Uloksak arrived with the second sled, they conversed briefly with the villagers, who then led Wilkins about 200 yards away from the settlement to a sandy site where he could erect his tent. Uloksak and his wife, meanwhile, were housed somewhere in the settlement. The sleds were drawn up and willing hands helped to take out and tie up the dogs, while others were busy unlashing the sleds. They were all willing enough helpers, but they were really much more of a hindrance, for they did not know the things that we wanted from the sled[s], and it was with difficulty that we could elbow our way through the crowd to get at the things. The instant they saw what it was that we wanted, they would grasp it from our hands and carry it to the place where it was needed. It was not long before we had the tent pitched and everything inside. Wilkins now set about arranging the sleeping bags and cooking gear inside his tent, carefully observed by several of the villagers who had crowded inside to watch him and to examine every object in the tent. Natkusiak, meanwhile, had wandered off to converse with some of the men of the village. He soon returned with an invitation for both himself and Wilkins to eat with a rather prosperous looking member of the community. Wilkins cleared the curious visitors from his tent and closed it down, then accompanied Natkusiak and their host to the village. Once there, they entered the host’s tent, which contained the host’s wife, brother, sister, and father. All were better dressed than most of the other villagers. Soon others crowded into the tent, and with the jostling of those moving about inside

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and other Eskimos outside curious to see what was going on inside, the tent suddenly collapsed. After considerable confusion, several men succeeded in re-erecting the tent, but by that time a welcoming dance had gotten underway nearby. Wilkins went to see it. The performers danced and gestured to the accompaniment of drumming, singing, shouting, and much laughter. Wilkins stood and watched the performances for some time, then realized that his feet were cold, so returned to his tent to change his footwear. He was followed by several small girls and boys, many of whom crowded into his tent to watch him. While there he took a few moments to jot down notes on an assortment of things he had observed: three men with beards and moustaches; the prosperous appearance of the villagers; one man with Russian features; the women’s hair styles; and the kindly hospitality of the wives. Natkusiak wasted little time in pursuing his own mission, that of obtaining a wife. His first choice was Tupik, the young sister of the man who had invited him and Wilkins to eat. She was said to be a good huntress, having killed a number of caribou with both bow and arrow and with rifle, and seemed well qualified, therefore, to make him a fine wife. Natkusiak spoke first about his intentions with the brother, then with the girl. She, in turn, referred the matter to her father for consideration. The brother then enquired about payment should his request be granted. Natkusiak offered a quantity of gunpowder and lead. The brother, however, fancied Natkusiak’s rifle and asked to be allowed to try it in the morning. There the matter rested for a while, and Tupik brought the men a piece of fat to eat, the “skimmings of the pot,” an action Wilkins likened to his own people producing a silver tea service to serve special visitors. Wilkins and Natkusiak returned soon afterwards to their tent for the night: A whole crowd followed us to the tent and added to the crowd there who had already taken possession. With difficulty we forced our way inside. I say “with difficulty,” not because of the rudeness or intentional obstruction caused by the Eskimo, but because of their profound curiosity and natural inquisitiveness ... However, when once inside there was no chance of getting to bed for a while. I had not the heart to turn them out when they were standing around with wide-open mouths watching my every movement. They watched while I removed boots, socks, and straightened out my sleeping bag, thereby depriving several of them of a resting place. As I settled down on the pillow some of them cautiously withdrew, but many stayed and watched, being careful not to make a noise or disturbance as long as my eyes remained closed. Sleep was impossible under the circumstances, and as soon as I would open my eyes they would begin again with the voluminous chatter. Presently one with more sense of propriety than the others asked if I should like the tent closed, and upon my assuring him that I would, he immediately sent all the 234

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people out, but even then some of them could not resist the temptation to take a final peep through a few small rents made in the side of the tent. My last impressions were, before finally dropping off to sleep, of a crafty rolling eye showing ominously through the stove-pipe hole from which the pipe had been removed, and a confused mingling of uttered sounds on the outside of the tent. Natkusiak remained restless, thinking about his wife-obtaining prospects. Wilkins finally fell asleep, but did not sleep for long, being awakened by the farting of a stranger in the tent. I roused myself sufficiently to observe a youth settling himself on the ends of our sleeping bags, but fearing to assume a too watchful attitude lest we should be enticed into a lengthy conversation, I settled once more on the pillow and sought slumber. [The] youth, resting his head on his hand, contented himself with an absorbing gaze at my features. My physiognomy must have lost its interest when wrapped in slumber or else his curiosity waned, for when I awoke at 6 a.m. the intruder was stretched on his back fast asleep, his mouth forming an admirable retreat for a few of the season’s first flies, who were playing a game of hide and seek around his molars. Peering cautiously through a rip in the tent, Wilkins saw that no one was astir in the village, so hastened to prepare breakfast and have it consumed before the villagers awoke. His eagerness to eat without the curious gaze of the villagers troubled his conscience: Not that I begrudged them as much as they cared to eat of our grub, but with a primus and limited supply of coal-oil one cannot unendingly supply two to 50 other people. On the other hand, I knew that I was perfectly welcome to whatever I desired in the nature of edibles from any one or all the camps in the village, and it is when under such circumstances that comes the shame of comparative poverty. But this is somewhat nullified by the knowledge that you [are] a small party on the trail depending to some extent on your limited supplies and that your inroad upon local provisions is distributed between several families, while when you are entertaining, the populace of the village is drawing upon an irreplaceable supply. His efforts to have his breakfast of pemmican, biscuit, and cocoa alone with Natkusiak failed: when I murmured the customary call for breakfast, scarcely louder than a stage whisper – and this one must needs do when living with and among Eskimos or be thought uncommonly mean – several smiling faces were thrust between the tent flaps, each followed by a body doubly propelled by another person in the exterior. The panorama continued until the holding capacity of the tent was taxed to its utmost. Still more people remained outside, struggling for even a glimpse. visiting the copper eskimos

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His visitors tasted his efforts at cooking pemmican “sauteed with crumbed biscuit,” but showed little enthusiasm for it. A few spoonfuls portioned into a frying pan proved adequate for all. Natkusiak, I observed, with his customary hospitable spirit, was unstintingly seasoning with red [pepper] a spoonful of the mess for an adventuresome youth, who gulped the dose with a sang froid capable only by an Eskimo, and without even a preliminary blink eloquently recommended the Kabluna’s [cooking] to his nearest neighbour. The second course of dried biscuits with lard found more favour with the Copper Eskimos. They did not care at all for the cocoa, however, so Wilkins quickly prepared a pot of tea, which was well received. He noticed, however, that few cared for tea if it had been sweetened with sugar. After sharing his somewhat Spartan food with his new acquaintances, Wilkins expressed concern about introducing the Eskimos to his whiteman’s foods and drinks: One feels a pang of regret to learn that these irresponsible improvident people should learn to use these imported articles common to civilized consumption when for years they have lived healthfully on the natural resources of the country. For by experience we know that with the advent of traders the Eskimo will trade or give away a tool or weapon almost invaluable for his support in order to gratify a whim or two for a day or so ... With an expedition equipped such as this it would be almost impossible to prevent the natives tasting (and acquiring a taste for) an article of diet. He then remembered that some members of the Southern Party might already have been in contact with these people during the previous months, and decided that he would be expected to act like them in his dealings. He would have to “go with the tide,” therefore, for it was futile to attempt to protect the Eskimos by refraining from offering them any of his food. During the day, Wilkins wandered about the village seeking interesting scenes to photograph. The weather continued to be unfavourable, but he still managed to obtain several satisfactory pictures. He also obtained motion pictures of the Eskimos going about their normal daily activities and a number of close-up photographs (he called them “figure studies”) of men, women, and children. One of these was of an intense young Coppermine River Eskimo, Anivrunna, seated by a tent singing and drumming, a picture that has been reproduced many times since.8 Wilkins had hoped to be able to film an open-air dance but was told that the Eskimos “did not dance any spectacular dances during summer.”

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Fig. 50. Copper Eskimos drying skin clothing at their spring camp, Berens Islands, Coronation Gulf, 28 May 1915. (Photo 50908 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214027, nac )

At one point his attention was drawn to a man who was preparing a long thong from the skin of a bearded seal: Starting at one end, cutting a strip of about 3/4 inch, a complete circuit is made around the hide having the form of a spiral until the hide is stretched into one long continuous line. It is then stretched out on [a] wooden pole to dry. Lines are made of varying width for strength for various purposes. From time to time during Wilkins’ wanderings around the village, emissaries from one or other of the tents invited him to partake of their modest food. Some even brought him offerings, such as a piece of seal meat, a caribou rib, a marrow bone, or a handful of uncooked fat from the intestines of the caribou. He sampled them all. To his surprise he found the raw fat to have an especially fine taste. He had observed that these Eskimos had only two cooked meals a day when camped on the ice, the second one about 10 p.m., but at any other time “one could not walk through the village without noticing someone or other eating a piece of raw meat.” These people, like other Eskimos he had encountered, showed an intense interest in his wristwatch. Some even enquired about its practical value. Their principal means of telling time were daylight and darkness, sunrise and sunset, yet they seemed able to maintain a fairly regular sched-

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Fig. 51. Three Copper Eskimo women (the young widow Kaudluak or Kaullu on the left, Tupek or Tupik on the right), at their spring camp, Berens Islands, Coronation Gulf, 28 May 1915. (Photo 50914 by G.H. Wilkins, e 002213616, nac )

ule in their daily activities. Wilkins tried to explain to them how his watch worked, using Natkusiak as his interpreter as usual: In explaining the working of a watch I tried to illuminate an analogy between the spring of a bow and the spring of a watch, explaining a mechanical device which would guard the amount of energy. They followed the explanation so far as the conservation of power. They knew that much from the bow. They also admitted the governing of power by human hand, but when it was said that the white man had small round bits of metal do this for him, that was incredulous unless the metal had a spirit familiar to the white man, for who but a spirit could tell that small black arrow when it was tomorrow. I flatly denied any association with these ethereal spectres, but they only thought I was trying to fool them. They were so insistent in their enquiries of Natkusiak that for his own peace he at last confessed 238

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Fig. 52. Group of Copper Eskimos gathered around Wilkins’ motion-picture camera, Berens Islands, Coronation Gulf, 28 May 1915. (Photo 50913 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214028, nac )

to them that there really was a spirit concerned. It was in the form of a man who used a small rock to knock the second hand around. They accepted this as final and were perfectly satisfied, knowing of course all the time that something of the sort must have been in order to produce the ticking sound. Wilkins made no effort on 29 May to rise early and prepare breakfast after his experience of the previous day, and simply slept in. Suddenly a little girl came to his tent and asked Wilkins and Natkusiak to come and have something to eat at her parent’s tent. Wilkins emerged from his tent to foggier conditions than on the previous day, much to his disappointment. Nevertheless, being aware that he had to start back to Bernard Harbour that afternoon, he spent a little time taking a few more pictures before packing his belongings. Natkusiak was obviously disappointed by Wilkins’ decision to leave. He had just learned that Tupik’s father considered her too young to leave home, but had said that if Natkusiak remained with them for a year, or returned in a year’s time, he could marry the girl. Unfortunately, Natkusiak had neither option. His only alternative was to find another woman. He had heard of one, an eligible widow named Kaudluak, but she “was much older and inclined to be stout, and Billy did not fancy her much,” so Wilkins and Natkusiak visiting the copper eskimos

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started on their homeward journey. Wilkins walked in front of the dogs, selecting their route. Uloksak and Kuptana were already some distance ahead with their dogs and sled. What happened next and over the next three days somewhat resembles the activities in a theatrical farce. In this instance, however, they marked the unfolding of a real-life tragicomedy, one that might have occurred occasionally then among the Copper Eskimos, but could not happen today. Wilkins had gone but a short distance when Natkusiak stopped the dogs and called to him to wait. Wilkins looked back to see what the problem was and he found Natkusiak seated on the sled busily discussing terms of purchase of the widow Kaudluak with her brother. Within minutes the two men had reached an agreement: Natkusiak was to give his own .30-30 rifle and one hundred rounds of ammunition to the brother, who in turn would turn over his unsuspecting sister to Natkusiak. While the brother counted the ammunition, someone went in search of Kaudluak to inform her of the arrangement and bring her to the sled. She appeared moments later, looking somewhat bewildered, and Natkusiak promptly told the slightly astounded Wilkins they could now get underway. The entire transaction had taken about fifteen minutes: I asked if we should not wait for the woman to collect her spare clothes and few instruments, but I was informed that they were not included in the bargain, so motioned the woman to climb on to the sled and we started off. There were no demonstrations at the parting between her and the people, her brother not even deigning to look around but kept his eyes and attention focussed on the rifle, and not even a suspicion of goodbye or au revoir was noticed on either side. She looked at me suspiciously from the top of the load, reflecting no doubt as to what pressure I would exact for thus ill-treating her. She bore it bravely until we had left the last of the most tenacious of the youngsters behind. She had clung to various parts of the sled, accompanying us for a mile or more, and then while my back was turned she slid quietly off the sled and made a wobbly dash for the leader dog. The dogs, thinking the whole thing a huge joke, making playful attempts to grab the baggy pants and flapping tail of her costume, kept close on her heels, and she was compelled to exert her utmost speed to keep out of their way. I let her run until her second breath was almost spent and then told Billy to tell her to come back to the sled. Reluctantly Kaudluak climbed back on the sled, and for the next little while Wilkins concentrated on catching up to Uloksak’s sled. Two men, two women, a boy, and twelve dogs pulling their loaded sled now accompanied Uloksak’s sled, but their sled had stopped and all were busy searching for something among its load. Having decided the missing object had been left behind, one of the men started back to the village to retrieve it. Wilkins

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decided to continue on and had Natkusiak tell the others where he intended to camp. Uloksak and Kuptana then brought their sled over and joined Wilkins’ group. Wilkins continued striding ahead of his dogs and sled, leading the way across the gulf. Some while later he chanced to look back and noticed that Kaudluak was sitting on the snow more than two miles behind. On checking with Natkusiak, he discovered that the latter had not even noticed his new “bride” was missing! Through his field glasses Wilkins saw that the people with the other sled were busy trying to repair a runner, and Kaudluak was not far from them, lying on the snow, apparently weeping: “Billy was very much concerned and almost tearfully complained ‘he not come along now, he lay down on snow, cry, may try to run away by ‘n by.’” Natkusiak wanted Wilkins to turn back with their sled, but this Wilkins refused to do, unless Kaudluak refused to come along. He told Natkusiak to hurry back and persuade her to come on, and to signal if she refused. Only then would he turn back, and they would camp where she now was. Meanwhile Uloksak, confident of Natkusiak’s persuasive abilities, or perhaps simply indifferent to the problem, walked on alone towards the intended camping site on Deadman Island, hoping to shoot a seal on the way. He left his sled and Kuptana with Wilkins. Billy on a dogtrot soon reached his bride, and settling down beside her racked his vocabulary no doubt to expound his apologies and his persuasiveness, but to no avail, for after about a quarter of an hour he was compelled to seek reinforcements from the other sled. The two women came up to help, and the three of them managed to get the faltering Mrs. Newlywed on to her feet and assist her a few yards towards the sled. Then Billy took up the job single handed and, walking a few yards behind, drove her slowly but surely towards our sled. Reaching it with the half smile of a conquering hero, she straddled the load once more, and we proceeded to the island where we made camp for the night. When Wilkins reached the mainland (probably in or near the first bay west of Locker Point), he deliberately let the Eskimos lead the way across the portage to Pasley Cove. He did not think they would like having a “foreigner” pick the trail around the snow patches, for their sled had bone runners and would be damaged if they went over bare stony places where he might have taken his steel-shod sled: “I soon found out my mistake, for they went over much more gravel and through more water than I would have done, and moreover their bone-shod sled dragged more easily than did our steel-shod one.” To make matters worse, the Eskimos set a slow pace across the long portage and stopped frequently to rest the women, who were leading the dogs.

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As we neared a lake I tried to get ahead a few hundred yards or so that I could take a cine picture of their team, but the women, seeing me going ahead, thought it a fine opportunity to get a ride. They are not adverse to riding on a white man’s sled, yet I have never yet seen but one riding on an Eskimo sled, and she was not in a physical condition to run far. Wilkins asked Natkusiak to tell the three women to get off his sled. Natkusiak spoke to them then assured Wilkins that they all agreed. Wilkins immediately picked up his motion-picture camera equipment and hurried some distance ahead of the dogs to film the approaching sleds. When he stopped and turned around to start filming, he found that the women were again riding on his sled: I stopped to explain the situation once again. They all smiled and assented, but still stuck to their seats on the sled, and it took several minutes of argument to get Billy to tell them definitely to get off. By this time the other sled had caught up, and it meant another run of a mile or so to get ahead. Wilkins ultimately did succeed in filming the sled procession, “but it was not so picturesque or true to custom as I should like it to be.” A caribou suddenly appeared as they approached Pasley Cove at the north end of the portage. Uloksak chased after it, taking a box of Wilkins’ cartridges, and succeeded in killing it. Wilkins then decided to stop and set up the two tents while Uloksak skinned the caribou. He had wanted to film the Eskimos erecting their tent but now had used up all of his film. This did not disappoint him greatly, however, for their tent was not a traditional skin tent. Instead it was made of calico, material the Eskimos had obtained by trade either from Captain Joe Bernard a few years earlier or from the ethnologist Diamond Jenness at Bernard Harbour during the winter. While Wilkins, Natkusiak, and the other two men sat eating in Wilkins’ tent, they suddenly heard the sound of marrow bones being cracked in the nearby calico tent, which was occupied by Kuptana, Kaudluak, and the wives of the two unidentified men: Uloksak shouted out for the women to send in some of the bones for me, and soon the little girl brought in a [ ? ] 9 already cracked. I forthwith began to distribute its contents to all the men, but this did not meet with their approval. They could not understand our code of behaviour and wondered how anybody could be so foolish as to share anything to eat of which he was particularly fond with anybody else after it had once been given to him. After a deal of persuasion they accepted their portion, but [through] an enquiry from Billy I afterwards ascertained that they did not in any way appreciate my unselfishness but merely thought that I did not

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particularly care for marrow, and they were actually doing me a favour by helping me to eat it. In the morning, Wilkins informed Uloksak that he could not carry the latter’s tent and other belongings on his sled, for he wanted to reach Bernard Harbour without camping again and needed to lighten his load. He added that Uloksak and Kuptana were welcome to accompany Natkusiak and himself, however, for he felt that Kaudluak would probably refuse to go with his sled if there was no other woman. The Eskimo started before we did, but we soon overtook and passed them, but then all four women jumped on our sled and wanted to ride. With this increased load we could scarcely make better time than the Eskimos’ team. I told two of them they would have to get off, but either they would not or could not understand Billy or me, for if one got off they all got off, and we would get some distance ahead only to have to wait for Billy and Uloksak’s wife to catch up. After an hour or so of explaining and demonstrating I finally managed to persuade them that I was in earnest. Then putting the two [Kuptana and Kaudluak] on the sled almost by physical force we started off, but no, Uloksak thought he would like to stay behind with the other team and make a cache of blubber at some place or other along the coast. His wife then also wanted to stay and with her, Kaudluak, so I told Billy he may as well stay too, and I would go on alone, for I [was] determined to reach the other camp [Bernard Harbour] tonight. I started off, but we could come to no division of forces, people were strung out between the two sleds, and presently by a short cut across a narrow neck of land two women caught up to my sled and jumped on. My patience was about exhausted. I waited for Billy to come up and told him to tell them definitely that I would either go ahead, along with Kaudluak and Uloksak’s wife and Billy to the tents10 and wait there, or I would make camp, but I would not have all of them riding on my sled. It took some time for them to realise my purpose, which was to reach the camp while there was still light enough to take pictures, and this I could not do unless we were lightly loaded, consequently making good time. Already most of the forenoon had been spent in trying to explain this to them without avail, and I have mentioned it at some length only in order to show the futility of trying to impress anything on the Eskimo mind by means of an Eskimo interpreter. During the conversation Kaudluak and Kuptana had seated themselves on my sled, so without warning I started off the dogs and got a few yards start while the other Eskimo were untangling their dogs. Thus taken by surprise they made no effort to alter the arrangements, and we got a considerable distance ahead and were a fair way to reach our destination [when] Kaudluak once more slipped from the sled and made for the hills. She had tried to divert her loving husband so many times, always being overtaken after a short pursuit and coming back smiling

visiting the copper eskimos

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through tears that I began to look upon this as a custom of the country, but the custom today was particularly exasperating, for I wished to make as good a time as possible. She was retrieved, however, and another start was made. It was not long before she made another attempt and still another, but a close watch was kept, and she was not allowed to get far from the sled. After rounding Cape Lambert, Wilkins followed around the edge of the ice along the shore. Dark clouds now appeared from the east and a snowstorm overtook them just as they reached a place Wilkins considered suitable to camp. They hastily erected Wilkins’ tent and crowded inside for shelter, all except the little girl, Kaipanna, who gathered enough stones together to hold down Uloksak’s tent before coming into Wilkins’ tent. A short while later the other sled arrived, and the men crowded into Wilkins’ tent for warmth while the women untied their dogs and set up the second tent. Suddenly one of the women shouted that there were two caribou nearby, and Uloksak and Natkusiak rushed off in chase. Despite the heavily falling snow, which reduced visibility to less than one hundred yards, Uloksak succeeded in killing both: “Billy was very disappointed at this [and] was de-jected the rest of the evening, whether through jealousy or through fear of his reputation as a hunter, for he had not provided any of the game during the trip.” Getting underway early on 31 May, Wilkins and his companions soon reached the Eskimo camp near the expedition’s headquarters. There they all hastily consumed a meal of half-dried meat before Wilkins and Natkusiak continued on to the base camp. Kaudluak remained at the Eskimo camp, but said she would come to the base camp later with the other Eskimos. From the people in this camp, Wilkins learned that the various members of the Southern Party had returned “four sleeps” ago from their survey work to the west. Wilkins arrived at Bernard Harbour about 7 a.m. and was welcomed by Chipman, O’Neill, and Dr Anderson, whom he had not seen since the previous August, as well as by Cox and the others. In relating his activities over the past ten days, he told them that he had visited two Eskimo camps, the small one nearby, the other a village of fifty to sixty people in the islands northeast of the Coppermine River. At these two camps he had exposed about 2,000 feet of motion-picture film and taken about one hundred still photographs, so expected to have a fine ethnographic film record. The North Star looked as she had when he left for Coronation Gulf, but Crawford and Castel had guyed her up so she would not sink to the bottom.

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17 Confrontation at Bernard Harbour 3 1 m ay – 6 j u n e 1 9 1 5

Wilkins handed Stefansson’s letter to Dr Anderson shortly after he (Wilkins) returned from Coronation Gulf. Cox and Johansen had already told Dr Anderson about its contents and the latter showed considerable displeasure when he saw the opened envelope. Dr Anderson had been free of Stefansson’s presence and interference for more than a year, and his Southern Party was functioning smoothly and peacefully, accomplishing the work it had come north to do. Now, suddenly, he was confronted with what he viewed as a demanding and offensive letter. He was also upset by the manner in which he received it. Stefansson’s demands and tone of writing rekindled Dr Anderson’s longsuppressed personal hostility towards Stefansson and created a confrontational atmosphere at the base camp that was stressful for everyone there. The letter read as follows:1 At sea, Lat. 70°20′ N, Long. 124° W (Appr.) Apr. 6, 1915 Dr. R.M. Anderson– Second in Command of the Canadian Arctic Expedition. Dear Sir: It will not be possible for us to continue north of the parallel of 78° the exploration of the Beaufort Sea, which it is likely we shall complete to that latitude this spring, without a base on Prince Patrick Island. It has never been my intention to try to establish such a base with the [Mary] Sachs and it is now uncertain if we can launch her safely, and unlikely that we shall have much fuel oil after next winter. The “North Star” was purchased for the specific purpose of making this base and we cannot now hope to make it without her. I have therefore detailed Mr. G.H. Wilkins to get the “North Star” and to bring her to us in Banks Island. You will accordingly please transfer her to him upon the presentation of this authorization, and do what you can to facilitate his bringing her to us. There are also certain things we need and with which you are hereby directed to furnish him, as follows: (1) the heavier

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of the two sleds we brought to Collinson Point when we came ashore from the Karluk. (You may keep in exchange the lighter sled he, Wilkins, will take away from here, and if you could send for them you could have one or more other light sleds that are of practically no value to us, tho suited to the level ice of Coronation Gulf, or to land travel). (2) 5000 metres sounding wire. I consider that the deep sea soundings we are making are of more scientific importance than any soundings which your party can make in your territory and for which they might conceivably need sled wire, so even should the above quantity of wire leave Mr. Johansen short, that will not be a reason for not sending us the above amount, provided you have it. We had only 1386 metres of wire last year and could never get bottom except near land. This year we have about 1000 metres only left. (3) Any scientific equipment that you can spare – we have no thermometer except an “advertizing” one, for instance. (4) The dogs Denby and Tuhlurak, for which we have special needs. Mr. Castel, who was originally engaged for the “North Star” should continue with her. I suppose that your sending me no report or written communication of any sort last year was due to the supposition that we were dead, or had drifted west, both of which opinions I am told were held last summer at Herschel Island. I should like this summer to receive from you a brief summary report that will indicate salient things, including something as to the scientific work of the various members. The launch “Edna” is here in good condition. I gave definite instructions that she should be taken to Coronation Gulf last year, and I never thought a launch would be of value in Banks Island to us commensurate with the bother of bringing her. If it is possible for you to send some one to get her (by the Star) we should if the season allowed convey her if desired across Prince of Wales strait or to [Cape] Parry or [Cape] Bathurst for I consider it important that the topographers have her – otherwise she is a mere white elephant. I hope you are having good success in your work and that the party have been comfortable and in good health. [signed] V. Stefansson, Commander, Canadian Arctic Expedition I have given Mr. Wilkins a power-of-attorney to represent me in every way, for he knows our plans and needs and I have confidence in his judgment and good will. He will receive my mail to bring it here, but I have asked him to open any letters there may be for me from the Department of the Naval Service and to furnish you with a copy of these. V.S.

At the start of the third paragraph, which concerned the lack of any written progress report from Dr. Anderson, Wilkins had penned the words “(See note on this paragraph. Wilkins),” and added the following explanation at the end of the letter:

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Dr. Anderson– (When Mr. Stefansson gave me this letter to read I pointed out that there were several opinions held at Herschel Island but that I had never heard you express an opinion. I also told him how busy you were at Herschel Island and that you asked me to tell him so and I expected that he understood that was the reason you did not send a written report.) Geo. H. Wilkins.

Stefansson and Dr Anderson held widely divergent views on the prime objectives of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, their respective responsibilities to the Canadian government, and their loyalties to the people working with them. In the two years since its inception, there had already been three heated confrontations with Stefansson about a number of topics related to the priorities, supplies, and operations of the expedition – at Victoria, Nome, and Collinson Point. Dr Anderson was not present during the Nome meeting, but had fared rather badly against Stefansson’s skilful verbal responses at the other two. Dr Anderson now suspected that Stefansson had sent Wilkins to carry out the unpleasant task of taking the North Star, men, and equipment from the Southern Party because he had been afraid to face the hostilities he had fostered in Dr Anderson and his men. His suspicions may have been partly true. However, the principal reason Stefansson sent Wilkins as his representative was almost certainly his intense desire to be the one who made any new geographic discoveries. Wilkins was a good choice. He had much of Stefansson’s love of adventure, impulsiveness, and willingness to take risks. Dr Anderson, older and more academically trained than either Stefansson or Wilkins, was in contrast, a quiet, serious, fiercely loyal, predictable, and highly principled individual. He was also thoroughly dedicated to ensuring that he and his men completed successfully and safely the work they had been assigned by the Geological Survey of Canada. As opponents in this latest confrontation, Wilkins and Dr Anderson were therefore almost as opposite as were Stefansson and Dr Anderson. Wilkins had played no role in the confrontations at Victoria, Nome, or Collinson Point for he saw himself then as merely the official photographer of the expedition, seconded to it for a year by his English employer. Now, however, in his new role as second-in-command of the Northern Party, loyal and responsible to Stefansson and provided with the latter’s full authority in his dealings with the Southern Party, he had become a major combatant. From Wilkins’ account of the positioning and posturing that went on between these two men after he handed Stefansson’s letter to Dr Anderson, a new side to Wilkins seems to emerge, different from that shown dur-

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ing his first year in the Arctic. His earlier expressions of absolute respect for the scientists and of his own intellectual inadequacies in their presence are gone. In their place is a new brashness, even arrogance, towards the scientists, and especially towards Dr Anderson. This may reflect his new sense of power as a result of the authority Stefansson had bestowed upon him. He is now Stefansson’s chief ally, not his critic. Where previously he had frequently expressed his irritation over Stefansson’s changes in plans, delays, demands, and unreliability, while praising Dr Anderson’s leadership qualities, he now stood face-to-face confronting Dr Anderson, a role he admitted he enjoyed. The biographies of Wilkins by Grierson (1960) and Thomas (1961) say little about this encounter. A bit more appears in Diubaldo’s excellent study of Stefansson and the expedition (1978).2 However, the ensuing conflict between the two antagonists and the influential roles of the other scientists warrant a more detailed account, which is presented on the following pages, gleaned from the diaries of Dr Anderson, Chipman, and Wilkins. Dr Anderson’s terse description of their meeting reveals just a little of his considerable anger over the contents of the letter as well as at Wilkins for permitting Cox and Johansen to read it before he saw it himself: “Mr. Wilkins brought me an ‘open letter’ from V. Stefansson which had been read by Mr. Johansen and others, and the substance already reported to me. The letter was very arbitrary in tone and quite characteristic of the writer.”3 Having been well aware of the contents of the letter in advance, Dr Anderson had already decided on his response. Wilkins reported Dr Anderson’s reaction to receiving the letter: He read [it] and said that he had heard the substance of it from others. He did not feel bound to obey V.S. orders, he had pulled him out of a hole before at Collinson Pt. and didn’t feel prepared to do so again. He was sorry that I had been placed in such a position, and according to V.S.’s letter I was apparently given more authority than V.S. had himself.4 He was in charge of the Southern party and felt responsible for giving them facility to carry out their work. The N[orth] Star was an absolute necessity for them. V.S. might be able to manage affairs up there, but as far as the [Southern] Party was concerned he was up against a stone wall. They did not intend to give up the boat, the sled, or the dog, only one of which was available ... There were no scientific instruments available, and as for the sounding wire Johansen could please himself about that. I was placed in an awkward unfortunate position because of which he was sorry, but they had left caches along the west coast, and we could undoubtedly reach the Alaska at Baillie Island[s] and thence [get] to Herschel [Island], from where it might be possible to get a passage on a whaler ship to Kellett, or I could stay with

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them altogether or until fall and return by sled. They could spare enough provisions for that ungrudgingly to Billy [Natkusiak] and I, who naturally have business here, but he did not see why V.S. had thrust the can [care?] of another of his “instructions” on him as he did at Collinson Pt., and wanted to know why Crawford should have been forced on the hands of the Southern Party. Wilkins explained Crawford’s “position.” 5 He was no longer needed, since both Wilkins and Ole Andreasen at Cape Kellett were capable of managing the engine on the North Star, and his services with the Northern Party had therefore been terminated. Furthermore, both Wilkins and Stefansson had assumed that the Alaska would be going to Herschel Island from Bernard Harbour that summer and could take Crawford with it. Assuming as neutral a position as he could at the time, Chipman observed in his diary that “Wilkins with an even temper put the case for V.S. as well as any one could possibly have put it but R.M.A.’s mind was made up.” 6 Cox, O’Neill, and Johansen likewise chose to keep out of the quarrel. Wilkins then told Dr Anderson that if his mind was really made up and that what he had already said was his official position, then the only thing I could do under the circumstances was to ask for it in writing addressed to Mr. Stefansson and I would upon receipt of the statement reply according to the authority given me by V.S., but to bear in mind I had instructions also from V.S., and whether I considered them morally justified or not, they were from the commander of the expedition, and it was my duty to obey them. It was also to be considered that the season was getting late and that whatever was to be done must necessarily be done as soon as possible, and until I received his formal refusal of the boat I could not well say what my reply would be. Wilkins was pretty sure that Dr Anderson had discussed the subject with Chipman, Cox, O’Neill, and Johansen (the other scientist, Jenness, was then away on Victoria Island), so had formulated this plan to get Dr Anderson’s decision in writing before I officially declared that it was my intention to take the boat anyway, whether they decided to give her up or not for I know that Crawford, Billy, and I could run her, and was fairly confident of Aarnout [Castel] joining us, and if it came to a show down I did not doubt that our side would win. Dr Anderson had good reason to be angry, but even in the close, cramped quarters of the expedition house he carefully maintained his composure during most of his lengthy discussion with Wilkins. Later he revealed some of his inner anger in letters to his wife and others. He also

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felt betrayed by Wilkins, whom he had always respected and treated considerately. In a letter dated 17 January 1916, he wrote that Wilkins now was hand in glove with V-S in the Kaiser Wilhelm II, von Bernhard’s theory, that anything is all right that can be put across successfully. Wilkins is much more of a real man than Stefansson, though, and has a few scruples. He had brains enough, too, not to trust V.S. to anything verbally – he admitted that.7

Wilkins’ intention of taking the North Star was the chief problem, for that would seriously interfere with the work planned by Dr Anderson and most of his men for the summer. After careful reflection, Dr Anderson quietly informed Wilkins he would respond to Stefansson’s letter in due course and retreated to a nearby tent to contemplate his course of action: It was late so we all went to bed without anything further to be said on the subject until Dr. gave me his answer. The Star was still in the same predicament as when I left her, but Crawford and Aarnout had put down dead men on the ice and guyed her up so that she could not sink to the bottom. The following day, 1 June, Wilkins wrote: [I] waited nearly all day for Dr. [Anderson’s] written reply. During the afternoon we talked of the matter again. He listened to my arguments and speaking of how the work could be successfully carried on without the aid of the Star, or by the Star putting in a depot in the early summer. He admits of its reasonableness, but is still firm in his decision that he will not hand over the Star. I hinted at my definite intention of taking her anyway, and he said if V.S. had sent a piratical boarding party to get the boat we could just go ahead and see what we could do, but he would surely prevent me. Dr Anderson, meanwhile, recorded in his field notes on 2 June that during this discussion, Wilkins stated that he and Stefansson had talked about the possibility that Dr Anderson or other members of his Southern Party might disagree with Stefansson’s instructions on the grounds that they exceeded his authority and countered the scientists’ original instructions or the latest orders sent from Ottawa. In that case, Stefansson “was prepared to stand to consequences of disregarding any orders from the Government which interfered with his plans.” Dr Anderson then added that “in his [Wilkins’] opinion Mr. Stefansson had the right to do as he pleased with the expedition and it was the duty of every man in the party to follow his orders, regardless of any other considerations.” 8 The day before Wilkins’ return from Coronation Gulf, Dr Anderson had written his wife about Stefansson’s latest demands, based upon information 250

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he had obtained primarily from Crawford but also from Johansen and Cox, who had talked with Wilkins and seen Stefansson’s letter: As to the fact that Mr. Stefansson might be exceeding his authority, Mr. Wilkins gave the statement that Mr. Stefansson said that he did not consider himself subject to Government orders, that he did not feel under very great obligation to the Government anyway, as he considered the Expedition his own personal property and his own affair. He says he is carrying out a great work for nothing, and has no [more] compunction about disregarding government instructions than he had about American Museum instructions in times past. He had intended, he said, to come down here himself to take charge of things, but his new ice trip demanded his attention and he sent Wilkins instead. He seems to have hypnotized Wilkins into believing that whatever he says is law and gospel, but of course Stefansson and Wilkins are the only men not in the Government employ and the latter has to work out plans according as Stefansson wants for their common employers – the Daily London Chronicle and the Gaumont Cinematograph Company. Wilkins is busy covering this end now.9

While he waited for Dr Anderson’s written reply, Wilkins sounded out the views of the other scientists. The geologist O’Neill agreed completely with Dr Anderson that Stefansson had no right to have the schooner and despite Stefansson’s orders it should remain with the Southern Party. The two geographers, Chipman and Cox, although agreeing with Wilkins that Stefansson’s need for the schooner was reasonable, declared that if Wilkins took it from the Southern Party their work would be so greatly curtailed there would be no point in attempting to continue with it. Rather than waste yet another year, they would want to go west on the North Star to Herschel Island with Wilkins and from there return to Ottawa by whatever means came available. Johansen told Wilkins that as he saw little opportunity for being able to use the North Star for his marine studies, Wilkins might just as well have it. Wilkins, though pleased to have the support of at least one of the scientists, sensed Johansen’s general dissatisfaction with his circumstances and personal isolation from the others: “He looks at it from an entirely personal and narrow point of view, not considering either party or individual feelings.” Wilkins was apparently enjoying the power Stefansson had bestowed upon him and looked upon the confrontation as a game: “The survey of the situation tonight is: Dr. and O’Neill willing to carry on a big bluff to keep the boat with mutinous intent, Cox & Chipman passive and subordinate to orders but positively decided to resign, Johansen neutral.” Wilkins may have been correct in thinking O’Neill was playing a bluffing game, but he totally misjudged Dr Anderson in thinking he was bluffing. Dr Anderson was deadly serious about his position on the matter and was confrontation at bernard harbour

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not prepared to budge from it. Cox and Chipman were also far from passive about Stefansson’s demands, but they deliberately kept as much out of the conflict as they could, leaving the decisions to Dr Anderson. Wilkins’ assessment of Johansen may have been correct, for the latter by then was much discouraged over the seemingly minor role he had been able to play on the expedition. Before the day ended, Wilkins had formulated an alternate plan if he was prevented from taking the North Star. It involved the spare marine engine and persuading Dr Anderson to exchange schooners: I conceive of a scheme to take the Gray engine as far as Langton Bay, purchase the Argo [from the trader Scotty McIntyre], and bring her in for the [Coronation] Gulf work. This is not preferable, means a long trip and many risks before it is successfully accomplished, but [I] will hold this for a final card. Although not mentioning the idea for the moment, he must have spoken about it shortly thereafter, for Chipman mentioned the plan in his diary, adding that he thought it unlikely Wilkins would succeed in reaching the Argo with two heavily loaded sleds. Wilkins spent most of the next day writing letters while he waited for Dr Anderson’s written reply to Stefansson’s letter. At some point during the day, Dr Anderson asked Chipman, his second-in-command, privately for his views on the situation. Chipman responded that although the final decisions had to be made by Dr Anderson, he personally felt that Stefansson had no authority to stop their work, and if Wilkins took the North Star he would feel free to go back south. He added further that “while refusal of orders might be serious, I believe he [Dr Anderson] was justified in refusing them and that the Gov’t would uphold him.”10 Dr Anderson prepared a seven-page, handwritten response to Stefansson’s letter and presented it to Wilkins sometime on 2 June. Wilkins flatly refused to accept it, perhaps deliberately to keep the pressure on Dr Anderson.11 Dr Anderson then wrote a second letter12 and presented it to Wilkins the next afternoon. The latter commented on this letter, which among some other unnecessary impertinence and useless paraphrases stated that without the aid of the Star “that practically the entire Southern Party would be unable to move far enough from this base to do any work of sufficient importance to justify their remaining in the country.” Many of the other points were irrelevant and there was not time to even discuss some of the others, so I confined my reply to the one question saying that if by this it was meant that they would not move far enough from the base etc. I would, upon [receiving] a signed, definite, and concise statement to this effect, endeavour to make some other arrangements for the benefit 252

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of the expedition. It only took me a minute or two to write this out and hand it to the Dr. He was much annoyed that I should be so particular and surprised that I was not afraid to stick to my guns, and refused to discuss the subject further.13 In his reply to Stefansson, Dr Anderson stated that the North Star was essential for his men’s summer work and could not be spared; that the large sled Stefansson wanted likewise could not be spared, being their only heavy sled, and the main hardwood sled material had been sent north on the Mary Sachs for Stefansson’s use; that the 5,000-metre sounding wire would be sent to Stefansson as requested; that they could not supply the two dogs Stefansson had demanded, one of them having gone with Jenness to Victoria Island, the other (Denby) being the only large one still available to the Southern Party, which had lost six of its dogs during the past year; and no scientific equipment could be spared other than one thermometer. It was a long and thorough letter, responding to all items raised in Stefansson’s letter, but it stated clearly that Dr Anderson would not give up the North Star. Still fuming over Stefansson’s latest interference with the operations of his Southern Party, Dr Anderson included the following personal remarks: If, as I have been informed by the party which came from the north, you have decided to consider yourself as independent, and under no particular obligation to obey Government orders, I can only say that you, and possibly Mr. Wilkins who accompanied the expedition as an individual under private employment with certain privileges, and who now comes bearing your power-of-attorney, authorizing him to act as your agent in every way, are the only members of the expedition, so far as I know, who could possibly have any valid excuse for assuming that standpoint. So far as you personally are concerned, I suppose that you have the privilege of outlawing yourself, and being as irresponsible as you please, that all members of the Southern Party as at present constituted are in Government employ at present, in what they have heretofore considered as being a Government Expedition, are trying to operate a Government vessel, and consider themselves bound by loyalty as well as professional ethics to abide by Government instructions as long as they are in the Government service.14

Dr Anderson had explained his position on the North Star to his wife in a letter written a few days earlier: “This is a government vessel and a government party, and I have charge of it until I get relieved of it by competent authority, and I decline to recognize Mr. Stefansson as having the slightest authority to interfere, and every member of the Southern Party thinks likewise.”15 At this point Dr Anderson refused to discuss the matter further, causing Wilkins to wonder if he had overplayed his cards: confrontation at bernard harbour

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The bluff did not work either, and not knowing how long he would hold out I began to wonder what interesting times there would be when the [North] Star was afloat, ready to leave, with four people determined to take her west, two determined that she should go east, and three men in sympathy with them. I nevertheless have no misgivings as to the result, and it would make a good story anyway. However, Dr Anderson renewed the discussion on the North Star about an hour later. Finally Wilkins asked for a statement on the matter of Southern Party members abandoning their summer plans if the North Star was unavailable. Dr Anderson’s statement (quoted in full in his field notes) mentioned the Department of the Naval Service instructions of the previous year regarding not weakening the efforts of the Southern Party, and stated that if Stefansson’s orders were carried out some or all of the Southern Party “would be justified in suspending operations and returning to civilization this summer.”16 Wilkins commented: “I now had something definite to work on, and on the receipt of the signed statement carefully pointed out my reason of how the things could appear to government officials upholding my commandeering the Star against his desire to keep her.” After receiving Dr Anderson’s two-paragraph note, Wilkins initiated a new scheme to get the North Star. Without revealing his ultimate purpose, he now spoke of his plan to go west immediately to get the Argo. Stefansson had authorized him to purchase the Argo if the North Star was not available because of unseaworthiness or some other reasons, “among which were included mutinous attitude on part of the Southern Party.”17 At some point Wilkins chanced to reveal that Stefansson had said he could pay up to $6,000 for the Argo if necessary. Dr Anderson promptly responded that the ship’s owner, Scotty McIntyre, had been willing to sell it the previous year for $900. Thinking that Wilkins intended to use the Argo instead of the North Star, he then added that Wilkins would need to take the 7 h.p. Gray engine with him to install in the Argo, along with enough cylinder oil and gasoline to get the Argo safely to Baillie Islands. Wilkins and Crawford could use the food caches Dr Anderson, Chipman, and O’Neill had left along the coast to Pearce Point, and supplement these with fresh seal meat, for there were plenty of seals on the ice at this time of year. He added further that he was reluctant to go along with the Argo plan, but he finally agreed. Wilkins wrote: “So he at last decided that the scheme should be carried out, and I was beginning to fear that I would be caught in my own trap.” Clearly Wilkins was continuing his bluffing game in order to get Dr Anderson to yield the North Star. He now deliberately set in motion another scheme, getting Crawford to discuss with Cox the problems the latter might have getting the engine of the North Star to run after it had been sub254

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merged in the ocean water for much of the winter. Crawford, of course, would be going west with Wilkins, leaving Cox to deal with the problem. Without Crawford’s experience with ship engines, the men at the base knew they might be unable to get the engine to work, a factor Wilkins was counting on to force Dr Anderson to change his stand. If the engine would not work, the scientists would be forced to depend on the schooner’s sails for the summer. Their only other water transport was the small launch, and its engine was not reliable. There is some confusion over what happened next. Dr Anderson’s field notes state that Wilkins and Crawford loaded two sleds in the evening of 3 June, but Wilkins’ diary that day states only that “I let it stand over for the night, making as little preparation as possible but assuming a sincere attitude to expedite the plans.” Wilkins’ latest scheme soon showed signs of proving effective. By the next day, Cox had developed some misgivings about the engine in the North Star after conversing with Crawford. He aired his concerns later with Chipman and Dr Anderson. When word of this reached Wilkins, he sought to force Dr Anderson’s hand. In his diary he wrote that he decided to take the long odds and chance the result as an amicable and most effective method to overcome the situation, so had Crawford and Aarnout load the sled. Chipman got out the provisions, and everything but the full effects to be loaded was placed in readiness. But the Dr. was still obstinate in manner at least. Wilkins’ bluffing game continued on 5 June as he made his preparations to go west. The trouble was that the longer he prolonged his delay, the riskier his trip west to get the Argo would be, a trip he had proposed but really did not want to make. The break in the seeming impasse came the next day, when Chipman approached Wilkins with a compromise plan that he and Cox had developed for the North Star. If the Gray engine was put in the launch in place of the defective one then in it, and if the North Star established a base somewhere to the east before Wilkins took it to Banks Island, they thought that they could do a reasonable amount of work. Wilkins promptly took their suggestion to Dr Anderson: I thought I would give [the] Dr. a last chance to change his mind, and after a talk of half an hour he said he would talk it over with the others. The battle was fought and won. There was only O’Neill to be considered. I felt that I could persuade him, so we all gathered at the end of the house and in less than an hour it was decided that I should take the boat, after establishing a base a short distance to the east. I had confrontation at bernard harbour

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won my point without exercising the authority that I felt that V.S. had given me, and there would now be a few weeks amongst pleasant home and surroundings. The minor point of sled dogs and sounding wire could be easily settled afterwards, but my main object was to get the boat. The compromise plan had Cox and O’Neill heading east by dog sled within a few days to start their coastal mapping of the south coast of Coronation Gulf. In addition to the usual equipment and provisions, they would take an umiak and outboard engine for summer work and two teams of dogs. Natkusiak and an Eskimo family would accompany them. Natkusiak would assist Cox and O’Neill until the North Star caught up to them sometime in the summer, at which time he would return to Banks Island with Wilkins. The Eskimo family would look after the dogs near Tree River until Cox and O’Neill returned in the fall from Bathurst Inlet.

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18 Waiting to Go East 6 j u n e – 3 0 j u ly 1 9 1 5

Once the new plan found acceptance, the men dug the umiak frame out of the thick snow, and Crawford got to work repairing it. With the likelihood of an unpleasant showdown between Wilkins and Dr Anderson averted, tensions at the camp diminished, and preparations for both the departure of the survey party and the overhaul of the North Star got underway. They progressed slowly, however, because the men, in Wilkins’ opinion, were neither systematic and efficient in their efforts nor abundantly energetic. Wilkins had been so engrossed in his power struggle with Dr Anderson during the past several days that he neglected to mention the NatkusiakKaudluak marital affair. Kaudluak evidently joined Natkusiak sometime after 1 June at the base camp as she had promised, but proved unhappy and restless. Dr Anderson recorded an observation in his field notes on 5 June: Natkusiak was gone most of the day – said by some to be hunting for his new wife who had gone out in the country again. Wilkins says she kept running away repeatedly on the way up here, but he thinks it was mostly bluff or coquetry. The lady known locally as “the Merry Widow,” (Kaudluak by name) has been looking for a man all winter. Billy bought her from her brother for a .30-30 rifle, which he brought from Banks Land. She is perhaps twenty-five years old; has a little girl 5–6 years old staying with other people. Billy returned with her in the evening, and said that she had not gone far.1

Kaudluak wandered off again the next afternoon. Wilkins by then suspected she wanted out of her contracted marriage, especially after learning from Dr Anderson that her behaviour was not, to his knowledge, following Eskimo custom. Kaudluak’s brother came to the base camp two days later, and after returning the rifle to Natkusiak, took his sister and returned with her to Coronation Gulf. The hastily arranged marriage had failed. Wilkins re-

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ported that Natkusiak was “glad to get out of it so easily.” Natkusiak also told Dr Anderson that he did not want a wife from this region anyway, in spite of Stefansson’s instructions, because he expected to get a good woman when he returned to Alaska. Crawford ultimately finished the repairs on the umiak frame and soaked the skins for it for two days so that they could be stretched and stitched onto the frame. Wilkins set up a ten-by-twelve-foot tent in which to process his films, helped Johansen find the tide gauge and current meter among the piled-up equipment, and offered to look after it. Cox, O’Neill, and Natkusiak started for Coronation Gulf in the afternoon of 10 June. The shaman Uloksak was supposed to accompany and guide them as far as the Coppermine River region, where he intended to spend the summer hunting. However, he decided at the last minute to remain near Bernard Harbour, forcing Dr Anderson to seek someone else. The latter was fortunate to be able to arrange with Mupfi to serve as their guide. Mupfi2 was a Copper Eskimo from the Tree River region, about thirty years old, who had come to the expedition headquarters from the Eskimo village in Coronation Gulf with Wilkins at the end of May. He agreed to hunt seal for Cox and O’Neill’s dogs until the ice disappeared, then to dry fish, look after their dogs, and hunt caribou around Tree River during the summer until their return from Bathurst Inlet. His wife Kilaudluak (or Kilauluk) and little girl Mingauk (or Minguyuk) would accompany them. In return for his services, Dr Anderson issued Mupfi a .44 rifle and ammunition. With all arrangements and preparations finally completed, the survey party got underway. Wilkins noted that “They took two teams and 17 dogs and are going east as far as the Tree River and work from there around and eastwards towards Cape Barrow, where we shall overtake or precede them and lay in the cache.” There now remained for those at the base camp weeks of frustrating waiting for the ice in the harbour and adjoining strait to break up and melt, freeing up the North Star. Only then could Wilkins, Dr Anderson, Chipman, Castel, and Crawford head east on the schooner to meet the Cox-O’Neill party at Cape Barrow as planned. Under normal navigational conditions they could expect to sail out of the harbour in about five weeks, that is, around the middle of July. But ice conditions in 1915 proved to be far from normal, and the men were delayed several additional weeks. During the frustratingly long wait for suitable navigational conditions, each man sought to carry out as much useful work as possible within walking distance of the base camp. Most of them operated independently, for the tasks expected of them varied greatly. Wilkins devoted much of his time to photographing birds and animals for Dr Anderson, plants, fish, and insects for Johansen, and assorted Copper Eskimos, their activities, and their apparel for Jenness. He also spent 258

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hours developing and printing the many pictures he took, working with makeshift conditions far removed from those of a controlled photographic laboratory. Many fine early Eskimo portraits resulted from his efforts at this time. He was especially disappointed, however, with the pictures he had taken on his trip to Coronation Gulf, fully a quarter of which were worthless because of a shutter problem with his camera. Not all of his time was spent with his photographic tasks, however, for once the problem over the North Star was resolved, he frequently enjoyed the luxury of reading and smoking after his meals. As for the others, Dr Anderson roamed the surroundings collecting many varieties of birds, then devoted many quiet hours to skinning and preserving the ones he had obtained. Chipman undertook a detailed mapping of the harbour depths and surrounding terrain, ably assisted by a teenaged boy, Patsy Klengenberg. Patsy was the oldest son of Danish sailor and trapper Captain Charles Klengenberg, who was then living with his family around Pearce Point, far to the west. The father had agreed to let his son work with the Southern Party for a year in order to learn as much as he could from the scientists, including reading and writing English, in exchange for his hunting and camping labours. Johansen poked about the region, deliberately on his own, collecting, preserving, and describing as many plants, insects, and marine species as he could find in the stony neighbourhood. Crawford and Castel, meanwhile, were busy salvaging the partly sunken North Star and getting it into condition for its pending journeys. The first thaw since Wilkins’ arrival at the base camp occurred on 12 June. Water running off the hillside soon got into the expedition’s cache and approached the tents, forcing the men to dig drains to divert the flow away from these sites. The turf they had packed around the main house kept the water away from it. Taking advantage of bright and sunny weather on June 17, Wilkins, Chipman, and Dr Anderson headed east along the coast with a sled and team of dogs to examine and photograph the body of Haviron, the Copper Eskimo, which Wilkins had seen in May near Cape Lambert while on his way to Coronation Gulf. Following Haviron’s death, the Eskimos had held a shamanistic inquest at Bernard Harbour a while later, which satisfied them that the men of the Southern Party had not caused the death. They had then taken the body to Cape Lambert and left it there without stone or driftwood cover. After they had progressed a few miles, Dr Anderson went inland to shoot birds for the National Museum’s ornithological collection. Wilkins and Chipman continued on to the site of the corpse and artifacts, which Wilkins then examined, described, and photographed for the ethnologist, Jenness. On 27 June, Wilkins trekked inland with his motion-picture camera and its accessories, and his 3a Kodak Special camera, for an overnight visit to a waiting to go east

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Fig. 53. Copper Eskimo camp at the “fishing lake” (Hingittok Lake) near Bernard Harbour, 28 June 1915. (Photo 50991 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214030, nac )

fishing lake, where he expected to photograph some of the Copper Eskimos in action. He took Patsy Klengenberg with him as his interpreter and assistant and a little dried meat and biscuits, carried in packsaddles by two dogs. They took neither tent nor sleeping bags with them, anticipating that they would be sleeping in one of the Eskimo’s tents. After walking for about two hours, they came upon an elderly Eskimo couple who had about seventy fish hanging up to dry by their camp. Presently Aksiatak arrived with his wife Niq and their two boys, Naqitoq and Itaiyuk. Wilkins took the opportunity to film some of their typical daily activities – arriving from fishing, removing their water boots, putting up a wind break, and cooking supper. All were invited to dine with the Aksiatak family when the supper was cooked. Wilkins contributed some dried caribou meat, while the wife of the elderly couple brought a bowl of fish heads. After the meal the caribou skins were set out to sleep on. The Eskimos did not arrange the skins into a tent, but spread the bedding in the shelter of the wind break. The old man’s tent was rather small for both Patsy and I to share it with them, so I slept behind the wind break with the others. They were exceedingly hospitable and set aside two skins for me and insisted on covering me with their 260

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attigi’s, although I would have been comfortable enough with my clothes and an extra attigi and deerskin boots on. [One] cannot help being impressed by their kindness. With the sun remaining above the horizon throughout the twenty-four hours at this time of year, day and night became as one, forcing Wilkins to rely heavily on his wristwatch for time orientation. His hosts seemed untroubled: “the Eskimo seem to have no difficulty in keeping fairly regular hours, going to bed about 11 p.m. and getting up about 8 a.m.” None of the Eskimos seemed hungry in the morning when they arose: “each had set a large portion of fish, enough for two ordinary meals such as we know them, on a flat stone near their pillow before going to bed, and I noticed that none of it was in evidence this morning.” The day proved cloudy, but Wilkins managed to film an old woman, Hiakok, catching a fish through the ice on the lake and a few other activities before his film broke. Wilkins developed his film negatives during the next few days, then returned to the fishing lake for two days on 2 July. This time he was accompanied by Dr Anderson, and filmed various scenes of fishing, cooking, and eating at the Eskimo camp. He also took a few photographs of birds for Dr Anderson. During their return trek, two of their pack dogs fell into the icy salt water in the inlet just south of the base camp. Wilkins rescued both dogs and 300 feet of motion-picture film they were carrying, but the accident forced him to develop the movie film to avoid spoilage. This was not an easy task, for he had accidentally left his developing outfit for the motion-picture film at Herschel Island in the summer of 1914. He spent much of the next day making tank frames in which he could develop the water-damaged film. The primitive nature of the resulting tanks forced him to develop the film in segments of about sixteen feet of film each. He was pleased with the resulting film negative, even though it was badly scratched: “It could not be very well otherwise handling 7 frames together and working in a base about 3 ft x 2 [ft] with a bag tied around one’s head.” The following day, Wilkins volunteered to stay up throughout the night to monitor the pumping of the water from the North Star, so that Crawford and Castel could start work on the engine the next day. The North Star suddenly broke free of the ice in the evening of 6 July, and the men quickly hauled it onto the ice. The hull of the little schooner showed little damage, and Wilkins felt his patience much challenged during the next three weeks while he waited to get out of the harbour and on to Coronation Gulf and then Banks Island: This period has been spent in successions of anxiety, extraordinary labour, suspension, and dull inactivity, and at the time of writing we are once more in waiting to go east

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Fig. 54. Schooner North Star on the ice awaiting repairs, Bernard Harbour, 6 July 1915. (Photo 50977 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214029, nac )

the latter state. For the first week or two there were hopeful signs of an early break-up in the ice. Several warm days and favourable winds took it in a few yards from the beach. The estuary became more and more clear of ice, and there only remained the section on the north and south side of Chantry Island that prevented us from going out. A strong easterly or south wind would do this in a few hours, and everything was being hurried towards having our final arrangements completed so as to avail ourselves of the first opportunity. On 20 July he took his various cameras and with Chipman and Patsy paddled the canoe to the Eskimo fishing camp at the mouth of a shallow boulder-strewn stream, locally known as Nulahugyuk Creek, three miles south of the expedition’s base camp. There he filmed the activities of the Eskimos during the downstream run of young salmon: We arrived at the camp early in the afternoon and found the natives lying indolently around their tents. The fish do not run often in the day time, and

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we are told that they have caught but very few during the last few nights. We waited until about 8 p.m., and then with a shout someone announced that there were fish in the trap. The Eskimos had placed stones across the stream in three arcuate rows.3 Additional stones were placed in such a manner that the fish became trapped between the three rows, where the Eskimos could impale them in quick order with their three-pronged spears. Some of the fish were soon eaten, but most of them were split and dried for dog food, an Eskimo activity that had been carried on for generations. Most always a few fish will get caught between the stones and will be taken out by the women, while the men entering the water in various stages of undress keep a sharp lookout for the fish that are swimming about in the enclosure. With arms upraised and spears poised they step cautiously around the limits [of the traps]. All the senses are alert, and presently a gleaming silver streak flashes past. The main hunter or any member who may be within reach plants his spear but does not let go of it. With this signal every one rushes excitedly about and with wild cries plunges and jabs their spears at the terrified fish which, surrounded on all sides, darts and bursts about with astounding rapidity. The men in their excitement do not pay particular respect for one another, and an occasional cry of pain from one or another whose toes have received the brunt of a fellow man’s spear thrust mingle with the cries of the chase. This does not lead to a wordy altercation between the parties, and the injured one after a hasty glance at the painful member resumes the hunt. The spears are three pronged and made that they will straddle the fish. Two curvy hooks progressing from the inside of the outer hooks keep the fish transfixed on the middle prong. When the pond has been cleared of fish the people gather on the beach once more and banter each other about one another’s success. Sometimes the women set to work at once to cut up the fish and prepare them for the drying rack, but on this instance very few fish were caught, so they did not bother to start about cleaning them. For the last day or two the fish have been scarce, and it was decided to hold a meeting in the largest tent and pray for more fish to come. While Wilkins was thus engrossed in the fish chase, Patsy Klengenberg and two small boys were chastised by an old man for practising shooting with bows and arrows. They were told that they should not be shooting their arrows near the stream while the others were spearing fish. It was permissible to shoot caribou at such times, should one venture near, and also land and fresh-water birds, but not sea birds. The Eskimos then gathered in the tent of Attigiak to hold a seance. Wilkins was invited to join them:

waiting to go east

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A seat had been reserved for me beside the medicine man at the back of the tent. Everyone remained silent for a minute or so, and then there commenced a general conversation of which I could understand but a few words. This lasted about 20 minutes, then the man beside me started a prolonged harangue, but with numerous brash hesitations, gave a start, uttering a prolonged articulate sigh. He was frequently encouraged during the lapses by an impatient “tokki tokki” from the others. After about 20 min[utes] of this he then settled into a confused muttering.4 The other members of the party were evidently waiting for this event for they also uttered “sighs” of satisfaction and refraining from conversation for a moment or so, gazed intently at the spirited one, alert for any familiar word or sound. They did not appear to understand the muttering of the medicine man, but occasionally he would mutter a familiar sound, which they would repeat eagerly to one another and ask what it meant. Attigiak, who was seated next to me, gave me to understand that there was now a Kabluna spirit inside the performer. That man kept up his mutterings, swaying gently backwards and forwards, his left hand was clasped tightly over his eyes and his right rested on his leg. Fully half an hour passed in this monotonous way before the performer began to get really excited and his mutterings became louder and faster, his motions more violent. Beads of perspiration stood out over his face. He uttered something intelligible to the other Eskimo. An old woman, taking one of the outside prongs of a fishing spear, requested the Eskimo seated to the left of the performer to grasp the performer’s head in both hands. She then placed the copper hook firmly and with some weight on the performer’s head just above the left temple (this was the nearest side to her). He gave a start, uttered a gurgling sound, and took his hand from over his eyes. The others released him, and he gazed with bloodshot eyes from one to the other of the audience and commenced to nervously rub the palms of his hands together. He now seemed to be talking in altogether comprehensible language and was predicting the people who were going to be successful in the fish hunt. He indicated that there would be numerous fish by fluttering his hands in front and then pointing to one or another of the members of the audience in pronouncing them as the fortunate fishers. He included everybody with but two exceptions, but returned repeatedly to two women who were, by the way, energetic fishers at all times. This was kept up for almost an hour. I was repeatedly asked questions by the people, but most of them I did not understand. I gathered that they were enquiring whether I had an idea that they were going to catch any fish. I certainly thought so and told them as much, for they had by means of the performance been kept away from the riverside for nearly 4 hours, from about 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., and if any fish were running at all there would surely be some in the traps by this time. Presently a woman sitting near the door looked out and exclaimed that she could already see the fish in the traps and hastily made an exit and, grasping her fishing spear, made for the water. It seemed to require no great effort on the part of the performer to release himself from the trance, and he too with the others hurriedly 264

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scrambled out of the door and entered the water with their fishing spears, after having first divested themselves of the most of their clothes. In fact, two of the men discarded everything and entered the water as naked as they were born. One of the women stopped at her short attigi only, for this probably afforded some protection to her shoulder from the cord on which she was briskly stringing the fish she had taken from the stone traps. It was evident that there were many fish in the dam, and in a remarkably short time they had about fifty speared and threaded on the separate lines. This thinned out the fish considerably and there was much competition for the remaining few. The persons whom the angatok had predicted to catch a number of fish certainly did make a good showing, but so did all of the others. Attigiak and his wife caught the most, and when all had left the water and [were] done now, donned their clothes, he brought a small piece of raw fish cut from the throat of the two biggest and presented a piece each to myself and the angatok. Patsy went with Ookhruktak while I was invited to Attigiak’s tent where he made a bed as comfortable as he could for me. The man who performed the seance was Iglisiak, perhaps forty-five years old. He had arrived at the fishing stream that very evening and had a great reputation locally as a shaman. Patsy was thoroughly skeptical of all Eskimo shamanism at that time, and was, therefore, rather surprised when he caught only two fish after Iglisiak’s seance while another boy, Hogaluk, caught three, both the exact numbers prophesied by the shaman.5 After the others had bedded down, one old Eskimo woman remained sitting at the door of her tent throughout the night, from time to time getting up and looking at the nearby stream. About 5:30 a.m. she awakened Attigiak and some of the others: A hurried pattering of feet passing the tent had a magical effect on him and, leaping out of bed, he grasped his spear without waiting to don his clothes and was in the water about as soon as a couple of middle-aged men who had not been so very successful the night before and who evidently thought it advisable to adopt the spirit of the old saw “The early bird catches the worm.” The whole community was soon aroused and hurried to the water’s edge. The women, with one exception in their eagerness to support their husbands, disdained to protect themselves with clothes from the frosty morning air and skipped [and] hopped about on the bank like nymphs collecting the sports of the chase. When the last fish had been secured they gathered in front of the tents and laughed and talked as they rubbed themselves with their hands for warmth or to dry the water from their skins. The women soon went to the tents, brought out their clothes and their husbands’, and all dressed themselves. A joyful meal followed, after which the Eskimos undertook various activities, including whittling wood to repair arrows and hammering native copwaiting to go east

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per into the shapes of hunting instruments. Wilkins finally used up all of his film so returned to the base camp. Some days later, several Eskimos, including Aksiatak, visited the base camp. As they sat in the house, Dr Anderson noticed that Aksiatak had on a pair of pants under his atigi that were made of heavy green canvas. A strip of green canvas had disappeared from outside Chipman’s tent a day or two earlier, and as none had been traded, Dr Anderson accused Aksiatak of stealing it. The latter initially denied the charge, then lapsed into silence, and was banished from the house. A short time later Wilkins noticed him seated on the hill near the camp struggling to remove his boots: When he saw us he took up the cloth from which the pants had been made and shouted that he would give it back. He had taken off the pants and inspected the stitches and returned the cloth in one piece. He returned the cloth to the tent from where he had taken it and wended his way home trouserless. That afternoon, Crawford succeeded in starting the engine on the North Star and steamed around the little harbour for a while to wear the rust off of the engine. Wilkins roused Johansen, helped him collect his dredging instruments, and they boarded the schooner and took it out to the outer harbour. Once there, Johansen obtained three dredges of marine life. Johansen was delighted at his accomplishment, for it was the first opportunity he had had to undertake any marine sampling since the previous August. He spent the entire night sorting his specimens. By 30 July there was enough open water for the North Star to motor to the east end of Chantry Island, but ice blocked the sea beyond that, so it returned. Wilkins went there several more times in the launch, hoping to be able to get underway soon, but the ice in Dolphin and Union Strait remained packed tight to the shore as far east as he could see.

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19 Taking the North Star to Banks Island 1 – 2 4 au g u s t 1 9 1 5

Most of the supplies needed by Dr Anderson and his men for the summer were loaded on the North Star during the last week of July.1 Loading of the tents, dogs, and dog food had to wait for the day when the schooner could finally leave Bernard Harbour. An easterly wind blocked the entrance to the inner harbour on the morning after Wilkins and Johansen undertook their biological dredging and put an end to any thoughts of immediate departure. Wilkins’ impatience increased as the days passed. Everyday he looked eastward over Dolphin and Union Strait through his field glasses from the top of a hill behind their headquarters, hoping to find that the winds had broken up the ice in the strait so that the schooner could at last go east to Coronation Gulf. To the west the strait seemed to be open, but he could not head west to Herschel Island until he had taken Dr Anderson and Chipman east to Cape Barrow and established a summer depot for them there. Wilkins’ concerns increased further as the first days of August came and went, for he knew that he had to reach the northwest coast of Banks Island before freeze-up time in early September. On 3 August the ice in the strait outside Chantry Island finally showed signs of breaking up, and for the next few days its condition changed regularly, keeping Wilkins in a state of continual suspense. Dr Anderson, on the other hand, appeared unworried over the continuing delay: “The Dr. seemed resigned and almost happy in the fact that the [North] Star could not leave the harbour, and it was with difficulty [that] I persuaded him on the morning of the 9th to complete the loading and go to Chantry Island with the schooner and wait our chance.” What Wilkins interpreted as Dr Anderson’s unworried state of mind was in reality a preoccupation with other matters. The camp had run out of dog food, and he had to arrange for Castel and Patsy Klengenberg to go seal hunting regularly to obtain food for the dogs. The cook, James “Cockney” Sullivan, was tired of his job and insisted on going west to Herschel Island with the North Star. It was also the height of the bird season, and for days Dr

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Fig. 55. Schooner North Star leaving Bernard Harbour for Coronation Gulf, 9 August 1915. (Photo 42307 by F. Johansen, e 002280203, nac )

Anderson had been busily collecting and skinning various species of birds for the National Museum of Canada every spare moment he had. The men finally loaded the tents and dogs on board, and the North Star steamed out of Bernard Harbour2 a little after four in the afternoon of 9 August and headed east. On board were Wilkins, Dr Anderson, Chipman, Castel, and Crawford. Dr Anderson had refused to let the cook sail with them on the grounds that there might now be no time for Wilkins to go to Herschel Island as he planned. Furthermore, as he recorded in his field notes, if no ships come in, we have no grub at Herschel Island, and the Royal North-West Mounted Police detachment there want no castaways to care for, and I am responsible to see that he gets out safely, which I can not guarantee if I discharge him here ... He has done pretty good work the last part of the year, a distinct improvement over the early part of the year, and the main trouble seems to be restlessness in a job which he cannot run away from as he has been accustomed to do in his earlier career.3

Left behind at the base camp were the naturalist Johansen, who was in charge, and Patsy Klengenberg and Sullivan. As for the North Star, Wilkins said that it was “lightly loaded, well trimmed, and steered like a bicycle.” It progressed only four miles on the first day, however, before being stopped by ice jammed on shore at the east 268

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end of Chantry Island. The men could see that the jammed ice was moving slowly, however, and took turns standing watch during the night to avoid missing any opportunity to proceed further. Dr Anderson, Chipman, and Castel stood deck watch in turns, while Crawford and Wilkins took alternating shifts in the engine room. About nine o’clock the next morning the men started to work the North Star through loosely scattered floes along a lead opening to the east. The lead ended with solid ice about the middle of the south side of Lambert Island, forcing them to turn back and try the north side of the island facing Victoria Island. In avoiding the visible rocks, they narrowly escaped running aground on concealed rocks in the shallow water that extended for several hundred yards west of the island. About 3 p.m. they reached a position opposite the east end of Lambert Island and found the ice jammed ahead of them against several smaller islands and rocky reefs. The current flowed strongly eastward against a light wind. Farther east the sea appeared to be free of ice, so the men decided to work the schooner through the jammed ice that blocked their way: Soon we became aware of a furious eddy, and the ice which had been going parallel to the ship began to close in and pack and crunch against one another. With surprising rapidity the ice formed a complete barrier, but we had only about 50 yards to go to get out of the eddying mass. In panic we tried to force our way out. Several times the ship jammed between the ice, and it seemed impossible for her to escape without being crushed. Then a huge floe pivoted on another and turning slowly around formed an opening astern, which led to a tortuously navigable route towards the shore. Dark rocks could be seen emerging from the water near the beach, but if the boat was to be crushed, far better for her to be crushed on shore than between the pivoting mass of ice. We backed out into the clearing and threaded our way towards the beach between the poorly grounded floes, which soon would be packed high on the rocky shore. Sounding became shallower; we had scarcely enough water to float, and there still remained several hundred yards to pass before reaching open water and safety. To hurry meant certain destruction on the hidden rocks, and to proceed cautiously would appear to sacrifice all chances of escape from the ice. With the engine just turning over we moved slowly on, trusting to unseen forces to stay the ice a moment. An ominous bump on the keel startled us, and the vessel hung a moment on a rock, but then turned partly over and slipped off. We moved on slowly, hugging the edge of the encroaching ice. Once more the bottom touched and yet again and then dragged slowly over the loose rocks below. A sound of splintering of timber, but go on we must or wreck for sure. We reached a slight depression and breathed again. Three times more we scraped the bottom and then approached the last forked tongue of ice, which seemed almost impassable. In this we were mistaken, for the ocean bed now deepened, and we glided past quite smoothly to the welcome lead beyond. taking the

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130°

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Cape Prince Alfred Mercy Bay Aug. 26 Sept. 7

BANKS

Aug. 25

ISLAND Cape Kellett Aug. 17–24 Minto Inlet

VICTORIA Cape Bathurst Aug. 14–15

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ISLAND AMUNDSEN GULF

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Cape Barrow Aug. 12

Fig. 56. Wilkins’ route from Bernard Harbour to Cape Barrow and Banks Island with the North Star, 9 August–7 September 1915.

It was sometime after 6 p.m. when they got clear of the ice and headed for Douglas Island. They passed on the east side of that island two hours later and found a seemingly unlimited expanse of open water in Coronation Gulf ahead of them. They also encountered a misty rain, a chilling fog, and an increasing roll of the North Star, which was top-heavy because of the launch it carried on its deck. Soon the breeze from the northeast increased to a gale, and the little schooner tossed and rolled dreadfully as it headed slowly across Coronation Gulf. Chipman was at the wheel, Wilkins in charge of the engine. About midnight the North Star passed between the islands in the Duke of York Archipelago. By then Dr Anderson’s stomach was queasy and he had gone to his bunk in the after hold. Chipman also felt a bit sick, but remained bravely at the wheel until about 4 a.m., when Castel took his place. Crawford then replaced Wilkins, and the latter prepared breakfast. 270

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By the time it was ready, neither Chipman nor Dr Anderson had any interest in eating. In the morning they sighted Port Epworth, the large bay at the mouth of Tree River. Eager to find a suitable site to leave a cache of supplies for when they returned from Bathurst Inlet in the fall, they entered the bay by the channel on the western side of the island at the harbour entrance. As they passed through, they noticed a beacon on the top of the island, and a cache with the two sleds O’Neill and Cox had taken from Bernard Harbour. They continued to the beach in a little cove on the east side of the harbour, as Dr Anderson wanted to leave his cache on the mainland. There they left their cache of flour, pemmican, sugar, rice, and fuel. Meanwhile, Chipman paddled the canoe to the island, where he found a message from O’Neill and Cox, dated 30 July, near the two sleds. It stated that they were leaving that day and that seven of their dogs were with Mupfi and his family about five miles up the Tree River. The note also requested that two bales of fish they had cached there be left for their return journey. As Wilkins was eager to continue to Cape Barrow, the North Star headed out of the harbour shortly before noon. About fifteen miles to the east they observed a beacon on a point near a small island, but were unable to land to look for a message because of the winds. Proceeding along the rocky coast, they continued to watch for O’Neill and Cox or their camp. Navigation proved treacherous because of the number of rocks projecting only a few inches above water as well as those just below the surface. It therefore necessitated a continuous lookout to avoid running aground. By 10 p.m., it was too dark to see either the rocky shoals or a camp on shore, so they tied up in a sheltered place on a granite island on the east side of Grays Bay. They continued eastward early in the morning, 12 August, carefully avoiding the numerous rocks and islands. Wilkins wondered if they had missed the two men, for Chipman did not think they could have surveyed that far along the coast adequately since leaving Port Epworth if they were doing an accurate job. A brief foray two miles into the narrow Inman Harbour failed to reveal any sign of the two men. Continuing eastward they came to Cape Barrow and promptly encountered a heavy sea rolling in from the northeast when they tried to round the point into Bathurst Inlet. Just as they were deciding that the heavy sea rendered it unsafe to continue along that part of the coast, Dr Anderson spotted a beacon on a steep rocky island nearby. Anchoring in the lee of the island, they paddled to the shore and found a note from O’Neill and Cox dated 3 August at the beacon. It read: “Reached here last night and are camped in a little bay on east side of point, about 1 mile from this island.” 4 Castel steered the North Star back about two miles and entered a deep, narrow harbour, where he ran its bow onto a small sandy beach in a well sheltered cove. After they landed, Chipman hiked overland to get O’Neill taking the

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Fig. 57. Schooner North Star in a sheltered harbour at Cape Barrow, Coronation Gulf, leaving supplies for Dr R.M. Anderson and his men, 12 August 1915. (Photo 43277 by K.G. Chipman, gsc )

and Cox, while Wilkins, Dr Anderson, Castel, and Crawford started unloading the supplies and the launch. Chipman returned a short time later, followed by O’Neill, Cox, and Natkusiak. Natkusiak had brought his blankets and other possessions so that he could return to Banks Island with Wilkins. O’Neill and Cox both told Dr Anderson that Natkusiak had been a great help to them and that he now preferred to remain with the Southern Party rather than return to Banks Island. That change in plans was not possible, however. Cox and O’Neill reported that they had found the umiak with its Evinrude outboard engine unsuitable for the kind of work they had intended doing. They had therefore journeyed from Tree River without stopping to do any surveying, leaving that section of the coast to be mapped after freeze-up in the fall or in the spring of 1916. O’Neill had concluded that the rocks along the coast did not warrant a close examination, being chiefly granite. He had been waiting in the little cove where Chipman found him for a chance to visit one of the Lewes Islands a few miles across Bathurst Inlet, in order to examine a place where copper had been reported, but rough water had made the trip impossible. Dr Anderson was far from 272

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pleased with how little they had accomplished: “Dr. Anderson seemed more put out about this amount of work that had been done, or rather had not been done, than about any other concern of the expedition’s progress.” Wilkins did not have time to hear more details from the two men of their activities.5 Unloading the supplies and equipment took six hours. Cox and O’Neill then told Dr Anderson that they regarded the relatively small amount put on shore as insufficient because they were already short of supplies. Wilkins quickly agreed to let them have some of his provisions, as he would be able to restock at Bernard Harbour. They finally completed the unloading, Dr Anderson gave Wilkins notes for Stefansson, Sweeney, and Mrs Anderson, and Wilkins then started west. As he cast off, however, the idling engine suddenly stopped, and the North Star drifted rapidly towards the rocky shore. The four men on board (Wilkins, Castel, Crawford, and Natkusiak) scrambled to save the schooner from certain damage: The entrance was not more than 15 yards wide and was lined with rocks, as was the most part of the harbour. The Star touched the rocks on one side before we had time to hoist the jib, but I pushed her off with a pole, while Aarnout [Castel] and Billy set sail, and with jib and foresail we cleared the entrance. By this time Crawford had the engines working again. It was a fair wind, so to make the best of it we hoisted the mainsail, and with Aarnout at the masthead and myself at the wheel, we steered our way through the dangerous passes between the islands at the rate of about 7 1/2 knots. It was a risky game, but I wished to take every advantage to increase our speed and reach Herschel Island as soon as possible. Making use of engine and sails, the North Star crossed Coronation Gulf, passed between Lambert Island and the mainland, and reached Bernard Harbour at nine the following morning. Wilkins hastily replaced the items he had turned over to Dr Anderson, said goodbye to Johansen, Patsy, and Sullivan, and continued west. The North Star encountered some ice around Cape Bexley and later in the day also around Pearce Point, but skirted outside the ice on both occasions and entered the harbour at Baillie Islands early in the morning of 14 August. The schooner Rosie H. lay at anchor behind the sand spit. As soon as Wilkins anchored, Tom Emsley (a Hawaiian whom Wilkins called Tom Kanaka), the man left in charge of the Rosie H. by its owner, Fritz Wolki, came on board with the news that Stefansson had arrived at Baillie Islands the previous day on Louis Lane’s schooner, the Polar Bear, “looking miserably thin and poor,” Ole Andreasen was lost on the ice, Europe was at war, the Japanese were fighting in China, and the Mary Sachs was a complete wreck. Wilkins remarked: “This amount of news in less than five minutes after over twelve months of isolation was staggering.” taking the

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There was more news. Emsley handed Wilkins a letter from Stefansson, which stated that he had chartered the Polar Bear and it would no longer be necessary for Wilkins to go to Herschel Island. Wilkins might wish to wait for Stefansson’s return on 20 August, but it would be preferable for him to proceed at once to Cape Kellett, taking all the coal oil and coal from Baillie Islands he could carry. The letter contained not a word about the Mary Sachs or Andreasen. Emsley knew little about the war other than that the United States of America was not involved and that many people were killed. An Eskimo named Old John then arrived with a bundle of letters which the police had brought to Baillie Islands from Herschel Island in February, but Wilkins was far too busy hearing the news from the local people to look at them right away. Crawford, meanwhile, learned from some Eskimos who had come on board the North Star that the engineer of the Alaska, Daniel Blue, had died during the winter and his grave was marked by a large cross near the local graveyard. Sweeney had taken the Alaska to Herschel Island, although her engines were now in bad shape. Once at Herschel Island, Sweeney had gone on a drunk and been locked up by the police. The preceding fall, while at Baillie Islands, Sweeney had married an Eskimo girl known as “Red Calico,”6 who had been with trader Joseph Bernard. Stefansson and the Polar Bear had only remained at Baillie Islands long enough for Stefansson to write his short note to Wilkins, and then had continued on to Herschel Island. Wilkins’ mail, when he finally examined it, consisted of five letters from his family in Australia and several from his English acquaintances, all more than a year old. These old letters, together with his shock at Stefansson’s latest actions and instructions, renewed old feelings of restlessness and resentment: How I wish that this was the last year, and that we were on our way out. Even now I feel as if I would be justified in going out this year if an opportunity offered. Now that V.S. has chartered the Polar Bear and the North Star need no longer go to Herschel [Island], I don’t see the need of my remaining with the expedition. If the Polar Bear would only come while the North Star is here I should certainly broach the subject to V.S., that is, unless my mail contains some news of extraordinary importance bearing on the subjects. For the expedition to make any showing and receive any notice from the public now that such a wholesale war is in progress it must accomplish something extraordinary, and if V.S. has not discovered land this year, and I don’t suppose he has or we would have heard of it, there is not much chance of anything sensational next year, for from what I can hear it seems that it will be impossible to secure the men and dogs necessary for an extraordinary trip next year. That we will have supplies there is no doubt, but they say the [Hudson’s Bay Company supply vessel] Ruby was at Point Barrow when the Polar Bear came past, but whether we will be able to see them is another thing. 274

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My position is just this: I have spent two years, one, because I had at the beginning favourable probabilities of carrying out an assignment from the firm. The second, because it appeared to be and was the general belief at Herschel Island that there was no other person available to take charge of an expedition for the relief of V.S. and his men and the carrying on the work of the expedition. My only inducement to accept this was the possible chance of succouring three men who would otherwise be dependant on a very uncertain livelihood. To carry on my original work was impossible for I had not the where with [all], but I willingly sacrificed this. Now this third year, after receiving but little appreciation for last year’s efforts and after using up practically all of the available supplies necessary for my own departmental work, there is little else for me to do but carry on with the expedition as a laborer. I might as well be carrying bricks for a mason in a one-horse town of the provinces. Certainly as second in command of the Northern Section of the expedition one might make up an imposing story for the “outside,” but this means little to me, and I can’t see where I will derive much benefit from staying with the expedition or how I can be of service to V.S. In accordance with Stefansson’s new instructions, Wilkins decided he must leave for Cape Kellett as soon as he had the coal oil and coal on board. Sometime during the day, Pete Lopez, a Portuguese Negro sailor from the schooner Rosie H., asked him for a job. After Wilkins’ enquiries determined that Lopez was both willing and capable, he hired the sailor to help run the North Star. Lopez wanted to bring his Eskimo woman with him, which Wilkins readily agreed to, for she could assist with the sewing of clothing and footwear. While his men loaded the North Star, Wilkins wrote a number of letters and left them and a note for Stefansson. From a Hudson’s Bay Company man named Larsen, newly arrived to construct a trading post at Baillie Islands, Wilkins learned that John Hadley, a survivor of the Karluk disaster, was in charge of the company schooner that brought Larsen and his supplies. Wilkins regretted not having seen Hadley to get first-hand news of the men he had known on the Karluk. Larsen thought that Captain Bartlett and twelve others had survived the sinking. Wilkins and the North Star left for Cape Kellett on 16 August with Amundsen Gulf ice-free as far as he could see. He had paid Crawford his wages and left him at Baillie Islands to find his way to Herschel Island and south. Wilkins and Castel would henceforth look after the North Star’s engine. They encountered some ice near shore as they approached Banks Island, but were able to nose the schooner into the shore at Cape Kellett the next morning. There Wilkins was greeted by Captain Pete Bernard, Storker Storkerson, and to his relief, also Ole Andreasen. The Mary Sachs looked just as he had last seen it. Obviously some of the news he had received at Baillie Islands was false. From Storkerson and Andreasen, Wilkins heard taking the

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about Stefansson’s second ice journey, which he had helped get underway the previous winter. The most exciting news came from Storkerson, who confirmed that they had found new land. Wilkins asked if it was big land: “‘We don’t know,’ he said, ‘but we traced it for over a hundred miles. There are high mountains on it, and it looks as if it might extend some distance.’”7 Stefansson, Andreasen, and Storkerson had reached Cape Kellett early in August. Captain Louis Lane and his schooner Polar Bear appeared a few days later, and Stefansson had chartered it for $1,000 a day to go to Herschel Island. Wilkins was surprised at the amount of canned goods now at the camp, and was told that Stefansson had bought the entire cargo from the Polar Bear. Two children had been born at the camp during Wilkins’ four months’ absence. Jennie Thomsen had given birth to a son, and Elvina (“Weena”) Storkerson had her second daughter. All four were well. Stefansson had left instructions for Wilkins to wait at the Cape Kellett camp with the North Star until 23 August. If he had not returned by then, Wilkins was to proceed north and make a second base at Mercy Bay on the north coast of Banks Island, or at some other suitable place. To ensure the safety of the North Star while he awaited Stefansson’s return, Wilkins moved it into the bay to a safe anchorage about three miles from the camp. The news rekindled Wilkins’ old doubts about remaining with the expedition and his relationship with Stefansson: I do not see how I can justify my staying in here to the firm when there surely will be so much work to be done outside ... I feel that it will be more noble to be protecting the government’s interests than spending the money on Polar exploration. In V.S.’s place, however, I should play the game for all that it was worth, it is his only chance to make a name for himself. Kudlak and his family, whom Wilkins had encountered on Minto Inlet the previous May, appeared on 19 August and Wilkins welcomed them on board the North Star. They had spent the summer on Banks Island. They ate whatever was available “and not in small quantities either! Butter was a special titbit for them.” Wilkins installed the engine in the launch Biffin on 22 August and towed Captain Bernard’s dory and crew to the carcass of a whale that had washed ashore several miles east of the camp and brought back a large quantity of whale meat for dog food. On 24 August, with still no sign of Stefansson, Wilkins had the North Star loaded ready for sailing north the next day.

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part four

MORE EXPLORING

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20 Up the West Coast of Banks Island 2 5 au g u s t – 1 7 n o v e m b e r 1 9 1 5

With no sign of either Stefansson or the Polar Bear by the morning of 25 August, Wilkins reluctantly steered the North Star west to the end of Cape Kellett. Broken ice off the cape delayed his progress briefly, but he finally worked the heavily laden schooner clear of all but scattered ice and started north along the west coast of Banks Island. Castel was in charge of the engine, and Pete Lopez and Natkusiak carried out assorted shipboard tasks. Wilkins hoped he would find a suitable site near the northwest corner of Banks Island to establish a new northern base camp for Stefansson’s explorations. At Terror Island, two miles southwest of Meek Point, shortly after midnight, the North Star’s progress was blocked by a heavy mass of grounded ice. Wilkins was forced to tie the schooner to the ice a mere fifty yards from more open water. The grounded ice shifted several hours later, allowing Castel to carefully manoeuvre the North Star through a new lead to the open water. They passed Bernard and Norway islands twenty-four hours later and pulled abreast of Robilliard Island. Here they ran into solid ice that barred any further northward progress. Recognizing this as old ice that had not moved during the summer, Wilkins steered the North Star into a small bay nearby on Banks Island. In his biography of Wilkins, Lowell Thomas claimed that Wilkins sailed the North Star to Cape Prince Albert [sic], farther north than any ship had ever gone.1 The cape is actually called Prince Alfred, not Prince Albert, having been named in 1851 after Queen Victoria’s second son, not her husband Albert, and the North Star got only within thirty miles of it. Furthermore, the British naval officer Captain Robert M’Clure sailed past the cape in 1851 on the Investigator and then eastward along the north coast of Banks Island to Mercy Bay, before his ship became icebound and ultimately met its demise. Thomas also mentioned that a

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one-eyed Swiss cook was on board the North Star, but the man referred to, Levi Bauer, was then at Cape Kellett. Why Thomas included such blatantly inaccurate statements is a mystery when he had ready access to Wilkins while writing his biography. Perhaps Thomas was simply inclined to embellish the truth, as several previously cited anecdotes have suggested. Or could Wilkins have been the real culprit? Might it be possible that in the depression years of the 1930s, when Wilkins related his Arctic adventures to Thomas, the flavour of the story mattered more than its accuracy? About the time the North Star reached Robilliard Island, Wilkins had a nearly disastrous experience: For some reason or other I fainted while trying to escape from the engine room to open air this morning and narrowly missed falling with my head in the governor cogs. I recovered consciousness in about 5 minutes without the others knowing anything about it. This is twice I have fainted in this country, but have luckily escaped injury. Toxic fumes in the confined engine room were the probable cause of his fainting spell. On 29 August, Wilkins raised anchor and steered the North Star back to Robilliard Island, four miles off the coast and sixteen miles north of Bernard Island. From the island’s highest point he searched for signs of open water and leads to the north and northwest, but saw only unbroken ice which lay tight against the shore of Banks Island. He quickly realized that he could progress no farther unless the ice shifted and opened a passage northward. A day later he headed the schooner back to the shore and carried out some repairs on the launch engine while Natkusiak and Castel gathered driftwood. On the afternoon of 31 August, Wilkins, Castel, and Natkusiak found a small sheltered cove a short distance to the south. After examining it briefly, Wilkins decided to move the North Star there in case they could get no farther north. A week passed while they waited for the chance to continue northward. Natkusiak went seal hunting frequently but saw few seals and shot only one. Wilkins and the others collected driftwood from the beach for fuel, most of it from close to the high-water mark. The temperature dropped and snow fell overnight on 3 September, covering the ground the next day. Stiff winds from the northwest whitened the land and created snow drifts in the gullies. Everything froze on the deck of the North Star. On the morning of 7 September, Wilkins climbed to the schooner’s masthead and saw a narrow lead running northward and disappearing into the haze near Cape Prince Alfred. Thinking this might be the opportunity

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he was awaiting, he loaded the dogs and men onto the schooner, started the engine, and headed northward along the lead. Visibility was soon reduced by the occasional squalls of snow, forcing the schooner to proceed slowly to avoid accident: I was almost hoping we were through and would reach the shelter of the low islands south of the cape and then be ten or more miles further on our way. The ice was but widely broken, mere cracks in extensive fields, and it was not long before we were really to the end of the open water in the direction we wanted to go. Hemmed in at last, Wilkins considered tying up to the ice and waiting for the wind to change, but his experience told him this was unsafe. Reluctantly, he turned the North Star about and returned to the little cove he had left earlier in the day. Despite the discomfort of the accommodation and frustration over the weather-induced confinement, Wilkins managed a little poetic writing on 8 September. His handwriting, however, is extremely difficult to read, with three virtually undecipherable words: A storm was raging this morning. The wind had hauled a few degrees and is now from the south of west. The sandspit was awash with the water now, two feet higher than its wont. Stately fenders[?] of ice and scattered floes hurried on their way to join their fellows hard pressing the lee shore. The shallow waters of the bay are turned to a dirty yellow colour by the thrashing waves, and the snow clouds scurrying overhead occasionally let fall a shower of small hard crystals which sting the face or hand exposed. No faltering fluttering fall or angelic softness theirs but vicious and taunting in their flight as if mocking our frail warmth bony[?] and comfort puny[?] bodies. Several stormy days left cakes of ice along the coast and old floes scattered in the bay. Young ice formed rapidly around the schooner on 10 September, forcing Wilkins to move his ship to the shore so that the men could pull it up on the beach for the winter. They did so just in time, for the next day the harbour was completely frozen. Under Wilkins’ supervision, all hands then started to build a house, using oil drums, canvas, and the spars and beams from the schooner to make the winter quarters as comfortable as possible. This task took a week. When completed, the house consisted of a living room and a shed, the latter flanked on each side by a store tent. The living room was a double tent inside a canvas shed, the spaces inside being 11 x 11, 6 ft 6 high at ridge, and 4 ft at sides. For a raised platform to serve as a bed we used the cases of

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canned goods and floored the remaining portion with batten from the hold of the schooner. It makes a cosy place. The least fire heats to a desirable warmth, and when cooking is being done it is almost too hot. But of course, like all canvas structures, it gets cold as soon as the fire is out. This was the first time Wilkins had set up a camp in the Arctic, for the camp near Cape Kellett was set up by Captain Bernard and some of his sailors. Neither Natkusiak nor Castel could offer particularly useful suggestions. Nevertheless, Stefansson later described it as the most comfortable and sensibly arranged of the three winter base camps established for his northern party.2 After the house was completed, Wilkins decided to hunt caribou with Natkusiak, for they needed to obtain a good supply of meat before the weather turned much colder and it was time for Wilkins to return to Cape Kellett. Starting out on 19 September, they headed their loaded sled and seven dogs inland and, after travelling about seven miles, camped on a double-crowned hill, hampered by a strong breeze, swirling snow, and poor visibility. Natkusiak shot two caribou the following day, so they moved to the site of the downed caribou, following a valley for some distance before crossing a pass and continuing along a river flat3 for about three miles. Fog plagued their hunting for the next three days, but on 25 September they moved their camp several miles upriver to a place where the river branched. During the next few days they saw many caribou and killed fifteen, bringing the meat to their temporary camp and caching it. Wilkins’ sled had been damaged, so he headed to the coast on 29 September for repairs. By following the river valley for about six hours, then turning south across a flat area dotted with small frozen ponds, he reached the schooner some four hours later. Castel and Lopez had beached the schooner during his absence, but had also had a tent fire two days after he had gone hunting, with some resultant damage. Wilkins repaired his sled the next day. Wilkins and Castel returned to the hunting camp on 1 October, where they learned that Natkusiak had killed another twenty-four caribou. This brought the number of caribou killed during this hunting trip to forty-one. Over the next two days, they collected the carcasses from various caches and brought them to the temporary hunting camp. On 4 October, Castel ferried eight carcasses halfway back to the schooner, where he constructed a rack and cached the eight carcasses before returning. During his absence, Wilkins and Natkusiak shot seven more caribou, which they collected during the next two days. On the second evening, they loaded ten carcasses on the sled in readiness for taking them to the coast. Wilkins headed the heavily laden sled for Castel’s rack on 7 October:

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I had not gone two miles before the sled running into deep snow on the bank turned over, and I had to unload to get it out of the hole. Twice again the sled got stuck in the deep snow, and the dogs would not pull it out until I had set my atigi out some distance ahead. Whether they thought I had lightened the load by doing so I don’t know, but they certainly pulled with more vim when they could see the atigi ahead. I had loaded seven carcasses on the rack, which made a total of sixteen (it was only put up to accommodate eight) and was wondering if I should try to place a few more on it when it swayed and came down with a crash, breaking one of the tripod legs and board cross pieces. I allowed it to remain, and stacked the rest of the meat on the pile, covering it with the skins. It was now necessary to change the plans, for I had contemplated going home tomorrow, but now it will be necessary for some[one] to live at this cache to protect the meat from wolves and foxes. I determined that Billy [Natkusiak] should do this while Arnout [Castel] and I carted the remainder of the meat from the other camp to this one. I set up my snow shirt with arm outspread like a scarecrow and set out for home [the temporary camp on the river] – reaching there soon after dark. The following day, Castel and Natkusiak took another load of meat to the rack cache, where Natkusiak remained to guard the meat from marauding wolves and foxes. Castel returned after dark. After letting the dogs rest for a day, Wilkins ferried another load westward on 10 October, reaching the rack cache in five hours. There he found Natkusiak comfortably settled in a little tupik-style tent he had made from “the material on hand.” On his return trip Wilkins took a shortcut, eliminating two long bends in the river and saving himself threequarters of an hour. Wilkins remained alone at the hunting camp the next day, while Castel took another heavy load of meat to the halfway cache. Castel returned by evening. That night, Wilkins was awakened by angry snarling noises at the far end of the line of tied-up dogs: I being nearest the door [of the tent] looked out and saw a big yellowish wolf fighting with Lil. He heard me speak to Aarnout and turned his eyes, which glowed like lamps to me. I reached back for the lantern and once outside reached for my gun. The wolf was by no means frightened of the light but went along the line of dogs to the end and began a fight with Pingatuk. I could not shoot for fear of hitting the dogs. The fight stopped and the wolf advanced toward the other end of the picket line. As he went past, old Gray made a spring for him but the battle was short, two or three bites, and Gray was satisfied to give in. The wolf next approached Ginger, but he profiting by the experience of Gray did not show fight but shared olfactory obligations with the great yellow brute. This did not last long

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and the wolf walked away from the line. Now it was my turn to act, and holding the lantern in one hand and the rifle in the other I fired and luckily knocked him over with a shot through the shoulders. All this time Billy, the only loose dog, had sat on his tail near the door of the tent with his back to the proceedings, looking over his shoulder with a pleading penitent countenance as much as to say please don’t blame me, I didn’t invite him here. Aarnout had by this time succeeded in getting into his pants in the dark and came out holding these refractory garments up with one hand. He took the lantern in the other, and as the wolf was still struggling, we waited to see if it would require another shot to actually kill it. I did not want to shoot unnecessarily and spoil the skin for a specimen. However, it was taking so long for him to die that we were getting cold, so I gave him another shot and hauled the body close to the tent and went to an undisturbed night’s rest. Wilkins and Castel took down the tent in the morning, loaded the sled, and got underway with the camp equipment and the remaining caribou meat. They reached the midway cache after travelling for eight hours, and all three men somehow managed to crowd into Natkusiak’s makeshift tent for the night. The following day, 13 October, Wilkins and Castel proceeded with a sledload of caribou meat, mostly back fat, to the schooner. During their absence Lopez had constructed a two-foot-thick snow wall several feet high all the way around the house and tents to shelter the canvas. He had heard wolves nearby and had seen one, but had not been able to shoot it. That night the dogs commenced barking as if a wolf was nearby. Castel and Lopez investigated with their guns and Wilkins soon heard several shots, followed by “a fearful howling.” This proved to be one of their dogs at whom in their excitement Castel and Lopez had been shooting. Fortunately the dog was unhurt, for neither man was a good shot. Wilkins remained at the schooner for the next three days, writing up his diary and attending to various other matters. Natkusiak stayed at the midway cache site to protect it from predators, and Castel ferried three heavy loads of caribou carcasses to the schooner, each journey taking him close to nine hours. On the completion of his third trip, the dogs started fighting before they could be tied up, and one of them bit Castel on the foot when he tried to break up the fight. The injury forced Castel to remain in camp, so Wilkins went the next day to get another load from the midway cache. On his return journey a wolf suddenly appeared about 200 yards to one side of the trail, then turned and ran in the direction Wilkins was going. The dogs immediately took chase, but were greatly impeded by the heavily loaded sled. Wilkins managed to stop them after about two miles. He then fired several shots at the wolf, one of which struck it on the leg and

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knocked it down. It hobbled off, however, before he could get near enough to kill it. On 18 October, Wilkins sent Castel with the sled to collect Natkusiak and the remaining load of meat. Eight of the forty-six complete caribou carcasses he and Castel brought in were tainted. Wilkins was highly pleased with the quantity of meat the three of them had collected. While waiting for Castel and Natkusiak to return, Wilkins made a small tent for his intended journey south to Cape Kellett. During the next two days, Wilkins and the others gathered supplies for Natkusiak, including a small sled and a canvas boat. Wilkins intended to take him to Cape Prince Alfred and to leave him there to hunt seals for another supply of dog food. On the morning of 21 October, Wilkins, Castel, and Natkusiak headed for Cape Prince Alfred. They had good travelling on the ice along the coast and camped at the foot of the same hill where they had camped the previous winter. The next morning they reached the island nearest to Cape Prince Alfred. Here they stopped and put up a small tent for Natkusiak, for the snow was not yet suitable for the construction of a snowhouse. Leaving four dogs and the smaller sled with Natkusiak, Wilkins and Castel returned to the schooner. Wilkins and Castel then set out for Cape Kellett on 25 October, leaving Lopez to mind the camp and the North Star. They reached Bernard Island late in the afternoon and decided to camp there. Hampered by fog, drifting snow, and a cold wind from the northwest, they crossed the deep embayment now known as Storkerson Bay and continued southward, camping about three miles south of Terror Island on 28 October. The following morning they stopped to exchange news with two men with a sled and team of dogs heading north. Wilkins recognized Charles Thomsen immediately, but the other man was a stranger, a young sailor from Captain Louis Lane’s schooner Polar Bear. Thomsen informed them he was taking a load of pemmican to Norway Island to cache there for Stefansson. Wilkins promptly asked him to take it a little farther on to the North Star, and to leave a beacon and note about the change in destination at Norway Island. After agreeing to do so, Thomsen offered some surprising news. Stefansson had reached Herschel Island in August on the Polar Bear two days after the Hudson’s Bay Company supply ship Ruby had arrived. It was still unloading its cargo, so Stefansson had to wait until it unloaded the Canadian Arctic Expedition freight he was expecting. Having the Polar Bear remain idle at Herschel Island when he had agreed to pay Captain Lane $1,000 per day for its use made no sense, so Stefansson had arranged to purchase it for $20,000 and the North Star, in addition to the $12,000 he

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already owed Lane for twelve days’ charter. He also bought the Gladiator, a gasoline schooner, from Fritz Wolki, for $7,000, as well as a lot of dogs, and had hired a number of men for his northern exploration work.4 The Polar Bear had reached the base camp at Cape Kellett on 28 August, three days after Wilkins had gone north on the North Star. Stefansson had arrived later on the Gladiator, having waited six days at Baillie Islands for the Eskimo Alingnak and his wife Guninana, whom he wanted to add to his new party. On finding that Wilkins had already gone north with the North Star, Stefansson turned over the Gladiator to Captain Lane as an alternative to the North Star, so that he could return to Alaska. Ice conditions prevented the Polar Bear from following Wilkins north, so it had headed up the east side of Banks Island, with Stefansson and about thirty others on board. Stefansson had taken Wilkins’ mail with him, expecting to meet him on northern Banks Island in due course. This news was a bitter disappointment to Wilkins for he had looked forward to getting his mail on his twenty-seventh birthday, 31 October, and had been waiting eagerly for news of his ailing father and elderly mother. He expressed some of that disappointment in his diary: it nevertheless requires a great deal of self control to suffer so many disappointments without impatience, and I for one feel dreadfully impatient for news which will doubtless be contained in my mail, and which I shall not probably receive until next year some time. Wilkins was pleased to hear that Stefansson had been able to resupply his Northern Party with men, dogs, supplies, and a vessel at Herschel Island, for if the expedition is to get any showing at all we must all do our utmost for the notoriety of the expedition. I am glad that he has secured the services of extra men, for it may now be possible for me to devote my time to scientific collecting and photography, something decidedly more to my taste than keeping on the right side up and attending to dogs. After their brief but informative conversation, Wilkins and Thomsen then each went his separate way. Wilkins soon passed the launch he had left on a sand spit a year earlier. Travelling was good all day, and he and Castel camped near the mouth of the Kellett River. A trip of three and a half hours across the snow-covered tundra on 30 October brought the two men to the base camp. Their arrival after an absence of several weeks did not appear to surprise anyone. Captain Pete Bernard confirmed Thomsen’s news, but corrected the price Stefansson had paid for the Gladiator to $6,000 from Thomsen’s $7,000. He also mentioned that Jack Hadley, one of the survivors of the expedition’s ill-fated 286

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flagship Karluk, was now on the Polar Bear, along with Pannigabluk, Bill Seymour and his native wife, and Iglun and his wife. Bernard added that Stefansson intended to return from the Polar Bear to Cape Kellett for two months during the winter so that he could collect ethnological information from an Eskimo woman he left there. The base’s cook, Levi Bauer, had gone with the Polar Bear, while Ole Andreasen had left the expedition and gone out on the Gladiator with Captain Louis Lane. Andreasen subsequently bought the Gladiator from Lane and started his own trading business. There were now fifty-one dogs at Cape Kellett, requiring a great deal of dog food. Fortunately there was sufficient food for them until February. Wilkins then learned from Captain Bernard that Stefansson intended to have Seymour lead a party north along Stefansson’s intended ice-trip route, building snow houses as he progressed: “It was V.S.’s intention to carry out the programs broadly that he discussed with me last year, taking six sleds at the start of the ice trip and adopting Peary’s method of travel.” In view of Bernard’s news, Wilkins decided he should wait until 1 December for Stefansson’s return to Cape Kellett, or at least for news of him. If Stefansson arrived soon, he intended to suggest that he (Wilkins) commence a pace-and-compass survey of the west coast of Banks Island, a coastline he knew from personal experience to be highly inaccurate as it was shown on the map in their possession, “but to make any time it really needs three men and cannot even then be done with any degree of accuracy.” He was never able to undertake this project. He also learned that caribou had been extremely scarce near the camp. Thomsen had hunted for twenty-five days without seeing a single one, and the others had shot only nine all summer, although they had shot many seals and polar bears. Wilkins then was told that when Stefansson was at Herschel Island he had engaged Jim Crawford as engineer on the Alaska to replace the deceased Daniel Blue. Stefansson had then suddenly recognized the undesirable character of the man, “for soon after he engaged him as engineer on the Alaska Crawford and Sweeney had a fight, and Crawford got the worst of it. He was then dismissed and was caught disabling the engine of the Alaska, as he had threatened to do on the [Mary] Sachs at Herschel Island last year.” Additionally, while at Herschel Island, Stefansson had “loaded up the Alaska with goods for the Southern Party and besides chartered another vessel [the El Sueno] to take in six tons of supplies for them. For these services the Southern Party will no doubt ‘bless’ him with curses for loading them down with unnecessary junk.”5 Wilkins then was startled by another bit of news from Captain Bernard, whose wife had written saying that “McConnell was in New York trying to raise $100,000 to organize an expedition to go in search of Stefansson and up the west coast of banks island

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proposed making a base at Pt. Barrow and working with aeroplanes.” These were the same plans McConnell had developed while he and Wilkins were camped near the mouth of Clarence Lagoon in July 1914. McConnell had also published an account in an American magazine of the disappearance of the Karluk and of the reunion of the Southern Party in northern Alaska. Bernard’s wife had sent him a copy of the magazine, but the captain had given it to Stefansson.6 Wilkins now relaxed for a few days, glad of a break after weeks of strenuous activities and discomfort. On 31 October he penned some thoughts in his diary that reveal his increasing maturation: With each succeeding birthday I find one is inclined to reflect more and more on the problems of life, and now on my 27th birthday and after having had varied experiences in several different quarters of the globe and coming in contact with all classes of people, I have changed my ideals of living for the last 10 years. Needless to say I have not lived up to those ideals; who does? On the preceding three anniversaries of this occasion, I have been more or less occupied and had but little time to engage myself with any other than immediate concerns, but this year I have spent the day quietly lying [in] the house with any amount of time for thought. Twelve months ago – how short a time in the history of the world, yet how many events may happen within that time to change the whole nature and meaning of life to the millions of human beings and how little man, with all the progress of civilization is able to govern or foretell events. But I am not capable of philosophising or of much else of importance to myself or my race, so why chronicle thoughts which undoubtedly occur to most human beings who have time for anything but procuring the necessaries as the word is understood in this phase of civilization of life. He also had some thoughts of a less than philosophical nature: The half-breed girl here reminds me forcibly of the warm temperate and tropical climes. She resembles almost the Tamil caste in Ceylon as far as I remember them, and every time I look at her the ever present desire to be away from the frozen north is augmented to almost a painful degree. The girl he found so attractive was Elvina (“Weena”), wife of Storker Storkerson, and oldest daughter of Danish Captain Charles Klengenberg and his Alaskan Eskimo wife Kenmek. During the next week, Wilkins wrote up his diary and prepared a report of his Coronation Gulf trip for Stefansson, then read several newspapers Stefansson had left with Captain Bernard. News of the war in Europe particularly interested him. One of the papers had an article about the rescue

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of the Karluk survivors, including a black cat that was the ship’s mascot. Captain Bernard started building a new sled on 5 November, and Wilkins resolved to return to the North Star once the sled was completed. Two days later Thomsen and Mike7 arrived back from their sled trip north and reported to Wilkins that they had been unable to find the North Star and so had cached their load of pemmican elsewhere. Wilkins was relatively unperturbed by their news, for there was enough caribou meat cached at the schooner for the exploration work during the following year. Thoughts of the war troubled Wilkins, who admitted, “How I wish I was in Europe amongst the thick of it.” After completing his most important writing and, feeling well rested from a week of relative inactivity, Wilkins grew restless: I began to feel anxious for some activity to prevent me from worrying for the arrival of V.S. with the mail. Thomsen is going to the hills hunting. I suggested to Pete [Bernard] that three men would better go and for them to keep on travelling until they did find deer, but Pete said Thomsen wanted to go alone, taking Jennie Topsy [his wife] and the two children. This crowd seem to be so dependent on V.S. and themselves, resenting any other slight authority, that while I think I ought to go out and hunt for them, for I am almost sure that caribou could be found if one tried hard and long enough, I will allow them to conduct their own affairs. For whatever they do except building the sleds will make no material difference to the success of the expedition. Wilkins then decided to spend a week at the whale carcass twelve miles to the east, hoping to photograph polar bears, foxes, or wolves. He left on 10 November, accompanied by Thomsen and Castel. Their arrival frightened off seven wolves feasting at the carcass, but there were no signs of bears or foxes. Thomsen and Castel then returned to the base camp, leaving Wilkins alone for the week. Wilkins watched diligently for the next week, getting no photographs but catching one wolf and three foxes in traps he had set around the carcass. Castel and Mike arrived on 17 November as prearranged, and took him back to the base camp.

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21 Back and Forth to the North Star 1 1 8 n o v e m b e r 1 9 1 5 – 4 f e b r ua r y 1 9 1 6

Wilkins quickly grew restless with the inactivity at Cape Kellett and the uncertainty over when Stefansson would return. There was no game near the base camp, and Thomsen was having no luck in finding caribou inland to augment the camp’s food supply for the fifty-one dogs. Wilkins resolved, therefore, to take advantage of the full moon and go back to the North Star camp, taking four additional dogs with him. There was a good supply of meat for all and the extra dogs could be of considerable assistance at the North Star camp. The sun made its last appearance for the year on 17 November and would not reappear until late January. Travel during the intervening two and one-half months was possible only during the four hours of twilight each day or by moonlight. After two days of preparation, Wilkins and Castel started north on 20 November. A blizzard delayed them for a day, but they reached Storkerson’s former camp at lunch on the third day and camped that night between the Terror Islands, just south of Meek Point. The next day they reached the south side of Storkerson Bay, and two days later were within seven miles of Bernard Island. Fog and the limited number of daylight hours retarded their progress. On 26 November, Wilkins recognized Bernard Island and noticed a cache on its southern end. Being in a hurry to reach the North Star camp the following day, he assumed it was the pemmican Thomsen had left a few weeks earlier and continued onward. Foggy weather and the absence of recognizable landmarks prevented him from finding the camp for two more days. On the twenty-ninth, nine days after he left Cape Kellett, Wilkins spotted the North Star’s mast during a brief break in the fog and finally found the snow-covered camp. It was a lucky glimpse, for he and Castel could easily have travelled right past it.

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Lopez and his wife2 were well. They had caught thirteen foxes and two wolves in the five weeks since his departure for Cape Kellett, but had not seen Natkusiak in that time. This news troubled Wilkins: “I hope Billy is safe. If there is anyone able to take care of himself it is he, and in these latitudes of uncertainties it is almost foolish to worry over anything which might be or might have been, yet I cannot help but worry over Billy.” He resolved to try to find Natkusiak’s camp at the next full moon (16 December), if Natkusiak had not shown up by then. Wilkins placed a lighted lantern on the masthead of the North Star to guide Natkusiak or anyone else looking for them. He hoped that someone from the Polar Bear would turn up with news from Stefansson, “for without it this will be a long and dreary winter, yet no doubt I will resign myself to it as I have had to do with so many things during the last three years. I have suffered three relapses of expectation of news and probably can survive another if necessary.” Wilkins made up a weekly menu for Lopez for the four of them (Wilkins, Castel, Lopez, and Mrs Lopez), which reveals that nutritionally they had both variety and sufficiency: Sunday: bacon, potatoes, carrots Monday: rice and peas Tuesday: tomatoes, string beans, sweet potatoes Wednesday: honey, cabbage Thursday: corn, mashed vegetables Friday: fish, rice, cabbage, sweet potatoes Saturday: beans, oysters, tomatoes. Some kind of dried or canned fruit was included each day, and “always doughnuts and preserves and butter on the side, so we are not actually starving.” Stormy weather during the first ten days of December hampered outdoor activities, but Wilkins kept busy cutting snow blocks and constructing connecting snowhouses to protect the dogs. He completed his first snowhouse on 3 December and was rightfully proud of it, although admitting that it was far from elegant. By 9 December he had completed enough interconnected snowhouses for all of the dogs, and made covered passageways between these and the main house, which proved convenient when it was time to carry cooked food to the dogs. The seasonal darkness, hostile weather, and restricted outdoor activities proved a challenge to Wilkins’ normally good humour, and he complained in his diary about little things that otherwise would have passed unnoticed. Lopez was his chief target for criticism. He considered “intolerable” the

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wasteful habit by both Lopez and his wife of leaving appreciable amounts of food on their plate, which they evidently thought was the proper thing to do in “polite society.” As they were short of coal, he also criticized Lopez for using more coal than seemed necessary to melt snow to make water for the purpose of observing certain customs, such as washing hands and face before each meal (while it is certain he has not had a complete bath for six months, perhaps longer), washing meat and rice in three different waters before cooking, transferring foods from one pot to another equally obnoxious from an aesthetic point of view, and in fact doing many other things that irritate me almost beyond measure. Well aware of his unusually irritable behaviour, Wilkins blamed a lot of it on his accumulating frustrations over missed mail, having to wait so often for Stefansson, feeling that he was being used as a freight porter, increasing age, and the conditions of living in “this country”: “but I am more affected by these slight differences than I was wont. Another year up here and I would be beyond repair, and it is only the hope of going out next year that keeps me at all more normal.” One day, on a whim, he gave Mrs Lopez a notebook and some coloured pencils, hoping to obtain some unique and original art creations, for she had expressed her fondness for drawing. He was disappointed with the results, however, for her inspiration came from looking at pictures in books and magazines, not from within. On another day he checked on their supply of dog food and found that it was sufficient until the first of March, barring the arrival of someone with another team of dogs. And by then they would be on an ice trip or able to hunt for more. Reading gave him solace and mental stimulation during his spare moments, but he had brought few books from Cape Kellett. He commented on one of these, The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue, “an interesting and elegantly phrased book ... relating to the social and religious question. There is abundant food for thought in its pages.” He also read some Shakespeare, reflected on life, even tried his hand half-heartedly at some writing, but considered it unlikely that anyone would benefit by what he wrote. His diary at this time, however, provides further insight into his psyche: There is no doubt that I have obtained the bulk of my education from books, or I should rather say, the articulate expression of knowledge, for it is very little that strikes me forcibly as unfamiliar at first sight. I seem to have had a bowing acquaintance at least with most of the philosophic principles in some previous state, and while the knowledge laid dormant in my mind until awakened by suggestions

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from others, I find it to be on investigation as extensive as that of any other with which it may be compared. This trend of mind may be accounted for by adaptability in its grosser sense, but I don’t believe it to be so in my case. On 15 December, hoping that a few days of fine weather would accompany the full moon, he prepared the sled for a brief journey to Cape Prince Alfred to see if Natkusiak was all right. He and Castel started off early the following morning, carrying a lantern to help them see the trail. Wilkins soon developed severe pains and cramps in his legs and hips and had to ride on the sled during the afternoon. They reached Natkusiak’s camp the following afternoon and found him well, much to Wilkins’ relief. Natkusiak had accumulated twenty-five seals, three wolves, and forty-five foxes. He had even kept a blue fox skin as a specimen for Wilkins. It had been too dark for him to hunt caribou. His dogs were sheltered in snowhouses and looked fat. He reported that he had seen open water in M’Clure Strait, sometimes close to shore, sometimes several miles away. Wilkins commented: “From what he has noticed of the ice’s condition there appears not to be any rule of drift or constant current; sometimes the ice goes off in a calm and sometimes does not go with a wind.” After resting for a day, catching up on local activities, the three of them loaded seven seals, twenty foxes, and a wolf on the sled and then headed for the North Star camp. They reached the camp the following afternoon. Thomsen reached the camp the night of 21 December, accompanied by two Eskimos, one an Alaskan named Emiu but usually called “Split the Wind” because of his fleetness on foot, the other a man unknown to Wilkins. Thomsen told Wilkins that Stefansson had reached Cape Kellett on 16 December, having travelled from the Polar Bear, which had been icebound since 6 September about ten miles south of Armstrong Point on the northwest coast of Victoria Island. Stefansson’s route had taken him by Ramsay Island and the southeastern part of Banks Island. He had sent a party to Mercy Bay from the Polar Bear to bring back two sleds he had left there the previous year. Thinking that the North Star would have gotten at least to Mercy Bay, Stefansson had sent Wilkins’ mail with that party and expected they would bring it back to the Polar Bear if they found no trace of Wilkins’ freighting party. This meant that the mail for Wilkins was now somewhere between Mercy Bay and the Polar Bear – just one more frustration. Thomsen said he was to bring Wilkins back to Cape Kellett to discuss Stefansson’s plans for the spring expedition. Wilkins, brooding over the inconsequence of his recent activities and disappointed once again at not receiving his mail from the past summer, inwardly questioned Stefansson’s sincerity in requesting his presence and views, complaining in his diary:

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I don’t believe this and feel sure that the spring work will be carried on regardless of my opinion and that it is a mere whim of his regardless of the effect it will have on the dogs, which should be resting for the ice work instead of running about and being physicked with whale meat permeated with sea water. Any load to be brought from [Cape] Kellett could be brought by some of the five sleds and 59 dogs down there already, for most of these, if not all, will be needed for the spring work, and V.S. intimates his intention to come to the North Star before going to the Polar Bear. Going away will prevent me from attending to the specimens already collected besides various other work. Most all of Thomsen’s dogs are sore-footed and need resting for several days. It is probable that our dogs will be in the same condition by the time we arrive at Cape Kellett. According to Thomsen, Stefansson claimed there were thirteen men on the Polar Bear willing to go on the exploratory ice trip. Wilkins reckoned there was also Lopez, Natkusiak, two men from Cape Kellett, and himself. However, at this time he was less than enthusiastic about his own involvement with Stefansson’s ice work, and felt that Stefansson could mount two ice parties without him: “I feel disposed to devote the whole of my time to photography and collecting this year.” Meanwhile, he and Natkusiak completed the construction of the dog house, while Thomsen made mukluks for the dogs and Castel cooked dog food. Then Wilkins set about gathering the items Stefansson had requested that he bring back to Cape Kellett from the North Star’s supplies. Blustery weather prevented them from starting for Cape Kellett on 24 December, but the delay provided another day of rest and recovery for Thomsen’s dogs. Wilkins, Thomsen, and the two Eskimo men who had come north with Thomsen finally got away with two heavily laden sleds early on Christmas morning. After travelling slowly for nine and a half hours they finally halted about a mile from Bernard Island and built a snowhouse. I hardly expected to walk and carry my Christmas dinner 30 miles and then build a house and eat it in all on Christmas day, but that is about what has happened this year. However, we made a very comfortable snow house and had boiled beans for dinner, with coffee, and went to bed without fearing that we should have gout. In the morning, after gathering up some food cached at Bernard Island, they continued on their way. Following the winding trail Thomsen had made on his way north, where the trail had not been obliterated by drifting snow, they slowly proceeded across Storkerson Bay and the bay south of it and by the evening of 29 December reached an old camp of Storkerson’s near the mouth of the Kellett River. A blizzard blowing strongly in their backs plagued them the following day, but Wilkins plodded steadily on294

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ward, leading the others, knowing that he had a better sense of direction than they did, and they reached the main camp that evening. Stefansson came out of the house to greet them. This was Wilkins’ first encounter with Stefansson since the previous April, when Stefansson had started on his second ice trip, and Wilkins experienced a variety of emotions: I had half a mind to tell him what I thought of his actions and congratulate him on his tenacious memory and precisive [sic] deductions instead of following the ordinary custom (as I did) and congratulate him on his success. This may seem to be hypocrisy and is not my idea of good behaviour, but as the saying is, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” or in other words, when forced to deal with the unscrupulous, our minds must woe their methods or be overcome. My real mind with regard to the matter is that the efforts put forward on the actual trip did not amount to much. Wilkins’ use here of the word “unscrupulous” reveals the extent of his pent-up anger, frustration, and disappointment with Stefansson at that time. Here too he reveals his candid opinion of the significance of Stefansson’s geographic findings: “as an actual discovery the finding of these islands does not amount to very much. Publicly of course it is a great thing and reflects some credit at least on myself for being in command of the party that prepared the outfit at his disposal.” Wilkins continued his complaints about Stefansson: the story of Louis Lane expecting to get the North Star is, I understand, a case of misremembrance by V.S. This habit of misremembering on which he prides himself is a mighty convenient thing, as in this case, in which in my opinion he purposely made use of it for his own ends and to “work” Louis Lane, even though it did cost the Canadian government several thousand dollars. He seems to have no compunction in utilising us as go-betweens. This seems to be his general attitude to me, although it is hard to prove these things to the public satisfactorily because of what he does for me, such things as naming geographical features after me, consulting me with regard to plans, etc., (although he invariably did the opposite to what I suggested until I found out; now I suggest mostly opposite to what I want), and giving me the title of Second in Command. Wilkins then revealed how he reacted to Stefansson’s actions: I can put up with this sort of thing as long as it suits my purpose, but so far as I can see my purpose on this expedition will be fulfilled by next fall and I would like to go out next Summer provided father and mother are still well. If anything has happened by then and it seems probable that I shall not see them again, I don’t mind if I stay another year or so if it is made worth my while. back and forth to the

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He then decided to wait until he received his mail and the news from home before making up his mind on whether to leave or stay with the expedition after the following summer. Some while later Stefansson told Wilkins the news he had heard recently from John Hadley about the survivors of the Karluk and their rescue from Wrangel Island in September 1914. Hadley was one of the survivors. After his rescue, he joined the crew of the Polar Bear and was present when Captain Lane found Stefansson at Cape Kellett in August 1915. Wilkins was surprised to hear also that Stefansson’s former secretary, Burt McConnell, had been on the King and Winge, the ship that rescued the survivors. Stefansson was unable to answer Wilkins’ questions about the progress of the war in Europe. Stefansson then showed Wilkins a statement he had been given by Crawford about the “happenings” at Bernard Harbour the previous June after Wilkins’ arrival there to get the North Star. Wilkins found the factual account more or less correct, but as I expected it is useless for me to try and keep their opinions from V.S. I handed him a report covering the interval from April 17th to Dec. 31st in which I said very little of any trouble [with Dr. Anderson and the scientists], but he has asked me to write a private letter stating everything that passed between us at Coronation Gulf. I will do this after receiving his promise not to use it unless action is taken by the Southern Party.3 Wilkins then learned from Stefansson that he and his companions the previous June had sketch mapped that part of the west coast of Prince Patrick Island left unexamined (twenty miles) in 1853 by Lieutenant F.R.N. Mecham, a member of Captain Sir Edward Belcher’s naval squadron during the search for the Franklin expedition. Stefansson had found a cairn and a record left by another member of Belcher’s search squadron, Captain F.L. McClintock, at the northern end of the island and had removed the record. This he showed to Wilkins, who commented that it was remarkably well preserved.4 On New Year’s Day, 1916, Wilkins took a photograph of Stefansson at his typewriter and also one of the other members of Stefansson’s new Northern Party then at the Cape Kellett base camp. Both pictures came out surprisingly well considering they were taken inside the house with only gaslight and flashlight for illumination.5 Charles Thomsen and two sailors from the Polar Bear, Harold Noice and Lorne Knight, left to return to the Polar Bear on 5 January with two sleds and fifteen dogs. They returned the same afternoon after losing their way, but departed again the following morning. Thomsen carried a letter from Stefansson to Storkerson instructing him to select men for the next ice trip. 296

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Fig. 58. V. Stefansson typing at Cape Kellett, southern Banks Island, 1 January 1916. (Photo 51099 by G.H. Wilkins, taken by flashlight, pa 214031, nac )

Storkerson was to leave the Polar Bear for Cape Prince Alfred late in January and be prepared to start northwest from that locality with four dog teams at the full moon in March. Stefansson then suggested three projects for Wilkins. He could go in charge of the party investigating the “New Land” Stefansson’s party had discovered the previous summer; he could be in charge of the support party for the men to the “New Land”; or he could take charge of the support party on Storkerson’s ice trip northwest of Banks Island. Wilkins aired his thoughts about these projects in his diary: These arrangements were offered supposedly to enable me to obtain some publicity. V.S. himself would probably stay at the Polar Bear and do ethnographical work. I am as grateful as he is gracious with regard to these offers but now that we have a boat within reasonable working distance from the Eskimo (the blondest tribe) I feel that it is my duty to the Gaumont Co. and Daily Chronicle saving myself to get as many photographs as my outfit allows. I therefore declined the offer of publicity and asked to be facilitated in reaching the Eskimo by the 1st May or the middle of April. V.S. promised that it could be done. This necessarily relieved me of doing duty on any explorating [sic] trip this year for which I am truly thankful. There is however back and forth to the

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quite a little preparatory work to be done in which I can help. I don’t mind the work, it’s the walking I don’t like. Together with photographing and collecting specimens V.S. suggests that I map the west coast of Banks Island. Wilkins replied that he would be glad to undertake the mapping project, for it needed doing, but not if he decided to leave the Arctic during the coming summer. Stefansson then instructed Wilkins to start for the North Star camp with a load of supplies for Storkerson’s ice trip, taking Castel and Martin Kilian, a young man from the Polar Bear crew, who in Wilkins’ judgement seemed “capable enough but not over willing to work.” The morning of 8 January was the coldest of the winter, but Wilkins, Castel, and Kilian harnessed their two sleds – a big new one recently built by Captain Bernard, and pulled by nine dogs, and the light sled built the previous year, with six dogs – and departed. It was dark when they crossed the portage near the base of Cape Kellett, but “a moon still in its first quarter showed low down on the horizon, giving just light enough to silhouette the ice hummocks.” Guided by the ice hummocks, Wilkins headed for Storkerson’s old camp, but in the poor light followed an erratic course, frequently stumbling over rough ice that he was unable to see. After more than twelve hours on the trail he came to a sand spit that he recognized was about two miles north of the launch at which he had intended to sleep. Too tired and cold to return to the launch, he and his companions set up a tent. With the wind in their backs they continued onward in the morning, but managed to get only about twelve miles before it was too dark to see the sled trail they were following. Wilkins decided to build a snowhouse, but by the time he had the blocks cut it was totally dark and a blizzard was raging. The snowhouse when constructed was a big one, but several of the blocks fell down, the lantern refused to stay lit, and Wilkins had to feel in the darkness to position the snow blocks. In addition to these problems, Wilkins had another, his wrist: “I find my weak left wrist a serious drawback to snowhouse building, for when the third row is reached I have not strength to hold the block in position with my left hand and turn it with my right.” It was four hours before they were safely inside the snowhouse preparing to eat their supper. Outside the blizzard continued, and they soon discovered that the wind and drifting snow were cutting into the snow blocks on one side, largely because the snow from which the blocks had been cut was porous and of poor quality for the task. They were forced to bank up the threatened side of the house and later spent a miserable, cold night. The blizzard raged throughout the following day, forcing the three men to remain in their snowhouse.

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Five more days of slow freighting in the cold and darkness saw them in a hastily built snowhouse at a sand spit on the mainland opposite Bernard Island, where they again holed up from a bitterly cold blizzard: We have been living on beans, rice, pemmican, and doughnuts, but are now returning to peameal, bacon and pemmican. Aarnout [Castel] cooked a meal of peameal tonight. It was the most nauseating dish I have ever eaten, but with perseverance I might be able to eat it and enjoy it later on. One has to overcome dislikes and distasteful things in this country whether one likes it or not. With fine, clear weather on 17 January, Wilkins and his two companions proceeded to Bernard Island and took thirty-two pounds of pemmican from the cache, which left forty-five pounds of pemmican and three gallons of coal oil for Stefansson to bring or use when he passed the cache later on his way to the North Star camp. From the island, Wilkins headed directly towards where he believed the North Star camp to be, trusting that the next day would be clear, and camped in a snowhouse the three constructed near a pressure ridge running from Robilliard Island to the mainland: “It was awfully cold work building the snowhouse tonight. Both Martin and I got frostbitten, big toes and my thumb alike.” They struck the main trail about a mile south of the North Star camp the following afternoon, and shortly afterwards reached it, greatly relieved to have arrived. Wilkins wrote in his diary that his eleven-day trip had been the most disagreeable he had yet experienced. At the camp Lopez and his wife were both well, but had caught only four foxes in their traps during Wilkins’ absence. They had not seen Natkusiak since Christmas. Wilkins and his companions rested for two days, then loaded the two sleds with about 1,200 pounds of supplies for the new ice trip. Castel, Kilian, and Lopez then started for Natkusiak’s camp near Cape Prince Alfred on 22 January. Wilkins instructed Castel to remain there with his sled and team, while Kilian and Lopez returned to the North Star. Meanwhile, he stayed at the North Star awaiting the arrival of Stefansson and his party. While he waited, he collected the photographic material he would need for the trip he planned making to visit the Eskimos near the Polar Bear camp on Victoria Island in February or March. Altogether he had 1,300 feet of motion-picture film and about 1,000 exposures for still pictures. He hoped to use some of this film to illustrate his method of ice travel while he went around the north coast of Banks Island. Left alone with Lopez’s wife, Wilkins assumed the role of cook, with Uktuktouvik washing the dishes. Although cooking for two was not a major task, Wilkins grumbled:

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I hate the job anyway about as much as I do staying up here and putting up with the dirt and inconveniences and this company of men of the lower type of sailor, who care for nothing except eating and drinking and whose talk is of little else but the whaling ships in winter quarters and dives in ‘Frisco [San Francisco]. I much prefer solitude to this companionship but one cannot remain in solitude for years without it having some effect. I read and think really without actually forming sentiments, like when reading a novel we glance at the lines comprehending their meaning but not actually repeating the words. It has become the same way with my thinking for as I but seldom speak it is not necessary to form my sentiments. Therefore I have lost almost what little conversational power I ever had. I trust that the reaction of again entering civilization will enable me to converse freely once more. Thinking that Lopez and Kilian would get back by the evening of 25 January, Wilkins went several times with the lantern to the schooner and waved it to and fro, hoping they might see it. The brisk wind was causing the snow to drift heavily by then, raising Wilkins’ concerns about their safety, “for I don’t believe Pete [Lopez] could look after himself in a blizzard and Martin has not had much experience.” The two men arrived the next morning, Lopez with face and hands badly frozen. They had come within a half mile of the house the previous evening, having seen the light on the schooner when Wilkins waved it. The light had then disappeared and they wandered about seeking it until Lopez could go on no longer, at which point they stuck their rifles upright in the snow, pulled the sled cover over them like a tent, cooked their supper, and tried to sleep. Pete’s face is a horrible sight, scarred all over, but it was not frozen deeply and only the skin will come off. It is the same with his hands. In about five days one would not know that anything had happened to him. He admits now that travelling is not so pleasant as he thought it was, and being on the trail really very much different from attending to his own fox traps and going out only when the weather is fine. It will be a lesson to him, and he will be more content to stay in the house and do the cooking in the future. There was still no sign of Stefansson, who had intended to reach the North Star a few days after Wilkins in November. Having time now to reflect on the matter, Wilkins wrote: “I can’t imagine what prevents V.S. from coming, but as I have never known him to do what he proposed to do except once (and that was by accident), I will not expect him until he comes, and not worry if they do not show up until the middle of February.” This last comment was prompted by the news from Lopez and Kilian that not only had Natkusiak been unable to get any more seals, but that three 300

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polar bears had eaten a large quantity of his cached seal meat while he was visiting the North Star camp at Christmas, leaving him with only seven seals. Wilkins wondered how they would find sufficient food for all the dogs – more than forty of them – once Stefansson and Storkerson arrived. The weather was bad over the next few days, so Wilkins tried to keep occupied. He repaired snowshoes and a Primus stove, and attempted unsuccessfully to shoot four caribou that ventured within a mile of the camp. He also spent many hours reading several novels he had found in the cached supplies when he was searching for his photographic material. All the while he fretted increasingly over the non-appearance of Stefansson and his party. Early in February he wrote: “They are twelve days overdue, but I do not worry. It is a habit he has got. They are having unpleasant weather if they are on the road today, and they have my sympathy.”

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22 To Mercy Bay and Melville Island 5 f e b r ua r y – 1 7 a p r i l 1 9 1 6

Stefansson finally appeared shortly after lunch on 5 February. He had missed the North Star camp the previous night and continued northward for some distance before finding a sled trail and following it back to the camp. He immediately asked if Emiu (Split-the-Wind) had shown up. He had been with Stefansson and Alingnak and his family until three days before, when Stefansson had asked him to go about two miles to Bernard Island and pick up the residual supplies of pemmican and coal oil cached there. The trip should not have taken more than two hours, but Split had failed to reappear, and Stefansson had not seen him since. He had ascertained that Split had missed their snowhouse on his return trip and headed inland. Stefansson had then sent Alingnak to follow Split’s trail while he came on to the North Star camp in hopes that Split had gone directly there, for he had been there once before, in December with Thomsen, who knew where it was. As it was futile to search now with a blizzard raging, Wilkins and Kilian started south the next morning to contact Alingnak. Soon they sighted two sleds approaching, which proved to be teams driven by Split and Alingnak and his family. Alingnak had seen Split heading inland some while after Stefansson started for the North Star, and had caught up with him after a chase of many miles. All now proceeded to the North Star camp, where they later built a snowhouse for Alingnak and his family. Their arrival increased the dog population at the camp to twenty-three, placing a strain on both housing and food supply. Three days later, Kilian, Split, and Alingnak headed for Natkusiak’s camp near Cape Prince Alfred with two sleds loaded with supplies for Storkerson’s ice trip northwest from the Gore Islands. Storkerson was expected to reach Cape Prince Alfred from the Polar Bear by 10 February, which was the

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next day. Left to themselves, Wilkins and Stefansson discussed the latter’s ice-trip plans and assorted other matters: V.S. proposes to abandon the North Star and haul most of the supplies from here to Melville Island for the use of Alingnak’s family and Lopez and his wife. Eventually the schooner could be sold to any one of the numerous traders as she stands. This would probably be advantageous to the [Canadian] Government but I doubt if it will be carried out. This scheme fits well with his present plans, which I believe not to be his ulterior motive. Wilkins was not thrilled about abandoning the North Star after all the work he had put into it the past two summers, but by now he was rather used to Stefansson’s plans undergoing frequent changes. Nor was he enthralled by Stefansson’s plans to haul most of the supplies at the North Star camp all the way to Melville Island: He asked me to stay for the next winter and says he cannot very well do without me to take charge of either the affairs of the expedition on the western side should he go through the North West Passage, or to go in charge of the boat on that expedition while he looks after things to the westward. Stefansson had told Wilkins some time previously that he was thinking of using the Polar Bear to sail east through the Northwest Passage to the Atlantic Ocean. Were he to succeed, he would become the first to navigate the passage by ship from west to east, a feat that would guarantee him instant fame. The idea must have startled Wilkins at the time, but he probably regarded it as just another of the fanciful and dramatic ideas Stefansson aired with him from time to time. Wilkins was also not taken in by Stefansson’s self-introspective musings either, writing on 10 February: To-day he lauds his sympathetic imaginative nature which in its rarity and elevation responds to the sound of the harmonious and emphatic words of poets and novelists even into tears. This seems to me to be a common characteristic of human nature and is shared by myself for I am easily affected by a beautifully or emotionally expressed [ ]1 of passage of music, and doubtless many others alike. V.S. disagrees with the idea and says it is uncommon and was noticeable in some of the most distinguished and able men. Napoleon for instance. Another resemblance he claims to the French leader is his slowness of normal pulse said to be 66. This I again referred to as common at least so far as my own experience is concerned. My own normal pulse is 60 or less and I have known it to be as low as 47 and as high as 110 or more. He can remember when at one time his pulse

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was 45 but this caused him some anxiety. He claims that the slowness of Napoleon’s pulse accounts for his exceptional coolness and clearheadedness. One need not extemporize the influence. Stefansson’s likening of his personal characteristics to those of Napoleon suggests a brilliant visionary with a burning desire for fame and recognition, but with an egotistical mask concealing insecure inner feelings. Perhaps that was why he made such a point of identifying himself as “Commander” of the Canadian Arctic Expedition. That may also be one reason he was disliked by most of the scientific members of the Southern Party. Only the naturalist, Johansen, admired him, but he likewise longed to be famous. Some of Stefansson’s insecure feelings are revealed in his letters to Mrs R.M. Anderson in 1913 and 1914. In any case, Wilkins was not fooled by Stefansson’s idiosyncrasies. Stefansson’s idea of traversing the Northwest Passage never came to fruition, but while he still entertained it, he needed a reliable man to take charge of his exploration work. Wilkins was that man, but he was no longer eager to stay in the Arctic another year. Stefansson had told him on several occasions that he needed Wilkins to carry out his plans for the following year, and has offered me the Australian rights to lecture and make general use of the expedition’s information in that continent if I stay another year, but I told him that nothing that he could offer would have any influence on my decision, and this would not be made until after I had read my mail. Wilkins’ decision to remain or leave the Arctic depended largely on the news of his parents that he was awaiting from home and partly on what he heard from the Gaumont Company. Then he added a new twist: “I wish in a way, and so does he, that all my photo supplies were exhausted, so that I could turn my whole attention to the general affairs of the expedition, but as they are not, I consider it my duty to make the best use of them amongst the ‘Blond Eskimos.’” A blizzard from the southwest on 11 February delayed the return of the men from Natkusiak’s camp. Wilkins spent the day attempting to photograph the message retrieved by Stefansson the previous summer from the cairn left by Captain M’Clintock at the north end of Prince Patrick Island. He used a flashlight for illumination.2 During his conversations with Stefansson on 12 February, Wilkins found out that there was only a limited supply of dog food on the Polar Bear. Knowing that a considerable supply had been brought north to Herschel Island for the expedition the previous summer, he asked Stefansson where it was, and was told it was either still at Herschel Island or in Coronation 304

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Gulf. There had not been room for it on the Polar Bear when Stefansson bought it because of the large quantity of canned goods Captain Lane had brought north for trading purposes. Wilkins could not understand why much of the canned goods had not been left at the base camp near Cape Kellett or even at Baillie Islands. Obviously the ship had been considerably overloaded with the wrong kinds of supplies. Even Captain Pete Bernard had refused to go with the Polar Bear, although urged to do so by Stefansson, because it was already overloaded. Wilkins commented in his diary: “To start out with a ship in a condition obviously (to even a landman) unable to fulfil the conditions she was capable of and for which she was ostensibly purchased seems lack of judgment to me.” He added his blunt opinion on Stefansson’s recent accomplishments: The sum of V.S.’s activities this summer appears now to have been the purchase of two boats and outfits to cost $27,000 or more and the engaging of 21 people, half of them more or less unfit for service, and finally left with a cargo of useful supplies so small as to leave us short of some things even for one year. At this point Stefansson suggested that Wilkins and Natkusiak proceed to the Polar Bear, then go on to the vicinity of Ramsay Island to meet and photograph the Eskimos wintering there, returning to the Polar Bear to meet him before he went north on his “New Land trip.” However, the discussion ended as usual with nothing definite being settled. During the following week Castel and Alingnak took three sledloads of freight from the North Star camp to Cape Prince Alfred. Castel then used hemp canvas to sew a sled raft for use on Stefansson’s planned ice trip, smearing eight pounds of lard on one side to waterproof it. Meanwhile Stefansson remained at the North Star camp, devoting much of his time to obtaining and recording folklore and other ethnological material from Alingnak’s wife, Guninana. On 20 February he asked Wilkins and Castel to start ferrying supplies along the north coast of Banks Island to create a cache at a jumping-off point to Melville Island. He wanted them to take the fifty-gallon drum of oil and establish a hunting camp at “Cape Gifford,” a feature named by Captain M’Clure about halfway between Cape Prince Alfred and Cape Wrottesley on the north coast.3 He himself would follow in three or four days. Wilkins and Castel got everything ready during the evening for their departure for Cape Prince Alfred. The next day was clear and cold, and they progressed slowly, camping at the snowhouse halfway to their destination. Wilkins made the mistake of forgetting to wear his face mask and froze his face. It was not a cheerful start to a freighting task he did not relish. They reached Natkusiak’s camp near Cape Prince Alfred during the afternoon and found him there, along with Kilian and Split. The three to mercy bay and melville island

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130°

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Castel Bay Feb. 21

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Fig. 59. Wilkins’ route from the North Star camp to Melville Island and from there to the Polar Bear camp near Armstrong Point, Victoria Island, 21 February–25 April 1916.

men had just returned from two days of hunting and had killed two caribou. As their supply of dog food was now small and seal meat could not be obtained until there was open water, Wilkins concluded that they must obtain more caribou. He remained at Natkusiak’s camp for a day, however, to repair two Primus stoves. Leaving Castel to take care of the camp, Wilkins got underway on 24 February with two teams, his own and Split’s, along with Martin Kilian and Natkusiak. After travelling about twelve miles, Wilkins decided to camp on a cutbank near the northeasterly trending embayment (now named Bar Harbour) behind Shelter Island. The following day, Wilkins and Kilian proceeded along the coast an additional twelve miles to the river (now known as Ballast Brook). Split and Natkusiak remained behind to hunt for two days, after which Natkusiak was to return to his camp near Cape Prince Alfred. Wilkins reported, “The land does not appear to be as high as last year, probably because we were able to travel close to the beach.” Leaving Kilian to guard their temporary camp, Wilkins went hunting and was almost immediately successful: The snow is very crusty, and there was scarcely a breath of wind. I saw three caribou and approached them, but they heard me some distance off and started to 306

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run away. I stopped to look at them, thinking of the hopelessness of hunting under these conditions, when the caribou started running towards me. I waited, and they came so close, within 300 yards, and I shot them all. It was a case of them stalking me rather than the reverse. This might be a successful method of hunting them in crusted snow. Wilkins skinned the three caribou, then returned to his camp. He and Kilian brought the meat to their snowhouse the following day, despite blizzard conditions. Wilkins killed five more on the third day, and brought them in the next day. With his luck continuing, he shot two more caribou on the fifth day, 1 March, despite foggy weather, and another two on 2 March, on which day he sent Kilian back to Cape Prince Alfred. On 3 March, Wilkins remained alone in his camp and wrote up his diary, including a brief description of the little-known terrain in which he had been hunting: About 5 miles from the coast and at a height of about 1000 feet appears to be an extensive plateau dotted here and there with knolls. It seems to be extraordinarily well supplied with caribou food, for it is practically covered with tracks and signs of feeding. The river is not so big as I thought it last year, or rather does not carry such a flow of water in late summer. Fog forced Wilkins to return soon after he had gone hunting on 4 March. Castel arrived from Cape Prince Alfred a short while later, bringing news that Stefansson had reached the cape and was troubled that Storkerson had failed to appear. The latter was by now several weeks overdue coming from the Polar Bear camp on Victoria Island, and if he failed to arrive Stefansson might have to abandon his ice trip. Meanwhile, the men at the cape had secured four seals and a polar bear, and Natkusiak and Split had killed fifteen caribou, so there was an abundance of dog meat at the cape for Stefansson’s trip, though insufficient seal fat. Castel went back to the cape on 6 March, returning two days later with instructions for Wilkins from Stefansson. With the help of Castel, Split, and Kilian, Wilkins was to bring the big drum of oil eastward one day’s journey from Natkusiak’s camp, then remain there while the others continued eastward for another day. Split would then return, but Kilian and Castel would continue to the east in hopes of meeting Storkerson as he came west from the Polar Bear. Failing that, Kilian was to continue to Mercy Bay, and then return after leaving a message for Storkerson there. Stefansson, playing his usual game, would be along “as soon as possible.” Wilkins by that time wanted to head east to the Polar Bear in order to pursue his own plans to photograph the Eskimos in that region. He therefore begrudged the time and effort Stefansson’s new instructions required him to mercy bay and melville island

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to expend on the erratic piggyback-type method of moving Stefansson’s supplies northeastward. However, acting on Stefansson’s instructions, he and Split proceeded to Cape Prince Alfred to get the fifty-gallon drum. The four men and their two sleds loaded mainly with “blubber and oil,” started eastward on 10 March. Their loads proved to be too heavy for the dogs and they were soon forced to cache some of the supplies. The going became much easier after they crossed the mouth of Ballast Brook. About seven miles farther east, they came to two islands “formed by two branches of a river.” Here Wilkins noticed a beacon and dispatched Kilian to examine it. Kilian reported that there was no sign of a note, but the beacon had been disturbed. It was frozen, however, and he could not move the stones. It was evidently a beacon erected by Captain M’Clure’s party when it stopped to load ballast on the Enterprise in 1851. Wilkins had Castel build the snowhouse that evening for the experience, and commented that he made a “fairly good job of it.” Despite unfavourable weather, Wilkins sent Kilian, Castel, and Split onward with the two sledloads. Split returned with one of the sleds the next day as planned. During Split’s absence, Wilkins had trekked about nine miles inland, almost perishing from the cold. He saw no caribou and little evidence of fresh caribou tracks. About this part of northern Banks Island he wrote: The country is very barren, hilly, and scattered with sharp ravines and gullies. An abrupt-ending short range gives the appearance at a distance of canyons. To the eastward from the camp inland the country seemed lower, but along the coast it gradually gets higher. Stefansson, Natkusiak, and Alingnak were at Wilkins’ snowhouse when he returned. Stefansson had instructed Lopez and Alingnak to close the camp at the North Star and follow the trails of the others to Cape Prince Alfred, bringing their wives and Alingnak’s daughter with them. This they had done. Stefansson was now greatly worried about Storkerson, whom he had expected to reach Cape Prince Alfred by 25 February. On 13 March, Wilkins and Stefansson went hunting but encountered no game. However, Wilkins’ interest was drawn to a bed of lignite (he called it “coal”), which he thought might have some economic value. It was in an exposure 100 yards or more long, and at its greatest depth (solid) 3 feet ... It is situated in a river cutbank about 5 miles from the coast (directly inland) to the S.E.4 of the first high quadrangular topped high hill to the west of the river going inland from the coast. The river enters the sea about 40 miles from Cape [Prince] Alfred, although difficult to distinguish because of the numbers of rivers along the coast. 308

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After two days of blizzard and confinement to the snowhouse, Wilkins, Stefansson, Split, and Natkusiak moved eastward to the next snowhouse, one built the previous week by Split, Castel, and Kilian. Natkusiak and Split went back for another load the following day, while Wilkins photographed some rocks with a “peculiar castellated appearance.” Natkusiak and Split ferried two loads to the next site eastward on 19 March. Wilkins reported their supply of biscuits was now gone and also most of the distillate. About two miles farther east, Split found the cache that Wilkins had left the previous spring for Stefansson’s second ice trip. The four men moved eastward on 20 March to the next snowhouse, which was about eight miles past a cape that Wilkins and Stefansson believed to be Cape Wrottesley. Some doubt as to their location arose that evening, however, when Castel, freshly arrived with Kilian from caching the drum of coal oil, reported he had been twenty-five miles farther east along the coast without finding Cape M’Clure, which the Admiralty chart located a few miles east of Cape Wrottesley.5 Castel had, however, found a hitherto unknown bay and river mouth west of Mercy Bay.6 The snowhouse occupied by Castel and Kilian was in a bay about eight miles east of Cape Wrottesley, but was too small to house Stefansson’s group when they arrived, making it necessary to build a second snowhouse. Castel reported that a shortness of dog food had forced him to turn back before reaching Mercy Bay and without finding any sign of Storkerson. With no sign of Storkerson, Stefansson abandoned his proposed ice trip northwest from Cape Prince Alfred and decided to proceed to Melville Island and the “New Land” farther north. On 21 March he sent all but Wilkins west with three teams of dogs to bring back the supplies from the cape. Two days later, Stefansson, Wilkins, Natkusiak, and Split started east, soon finding that the far side of the bay Castel had discovered was much farther away than they had envisioned. Wilkins estimated it to be three miles wide and seven miles deep. After travelling nearly ten hours and covering about twenty-three miles, they camped “near the beach at the smaller bay and river mouth where Castel cached the drum.” The following day, Wilkins, Split, and Natkusiak hunted unsuccessfully, but Wilkins found coal seams on the cliffs at the head of the bay. Natkusiak told him that he had seen similar seams in the hills some miles inland. The seams resembled those Wilkins had noticed earlier near Ballast Brook. He thought that the presence of such a sizeable amount of combustible fuel in this treeless land might possibly permit its future development. Unknown to him at the time, the coal also signified the former presence of extensive forests and a considerably warmer climate on Banks Island than at present. For the next three days they hunted caribou to replenish their supply of dog food. Stefansson killed eight and Natkusiak six. On 28 March, Stefansson and Wilkins made geographic corrections on the Admiralty chart to mercy bay and melville island

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Feb. 60. Wilkins’ snowhouse near Cape Wrottesley, northern Banks Island, 20 March 1916. (Photo 51106 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214032, nac )

between Cape Prince Alfred and Mercy Bay while Natkusiak and Split returned to the previous snowhouse to bring the loads of supplies cached there. After their return Stefansson proceeded with them eastward to Mercy Bay to look for signs of Storkerson, leaving Wilkins to take care of the supplies. On 31 March, Natkusiak and Split returned with a note from Stefansson, who had found a letter from Storkerson at Mercy Bay and remained there. Storkerson’s letter stated that he had been to Mercy Bay in the fall and had taken back to the Polar Bear the two sleds Stefansson had cached the previous spring. All on the Polar Bear were well but their dogs were in bad shape. With the late arrival of Thomsen (about 31 January), Storkerson had decided that it was inadvisable to try to carry out the ice trip and had since confined his efforts to preparing for the “New Land trip” from his base at the Polar Bear. Herman Kilian, the brother of Martin, had left Storkerson’s letter at Mercy Bay late in February. Storkerson’s decision to abandon the ice trip northwest from Banks Island annoyed Wilkins, who wrote in his diary: “In my idea this is fundamentally wrong if the expedition is going to stay in another winter. The ice work is the thing and the New Land trip could be left till next year easily enough, but now it is almost impossible to conduct another ice trip.” He also criticized Storkerson’s decision to have Kilian leave Storkerson’s letter to Stefansson at Mercy Bay instead of taking it farther west to Cape Prince Alfred: “A few days extra towards Cape Alfred 310

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would have enabled Kilian to connect with us, and then all our energies could be put forward for the New Land trip.” Stefansson was also annoyed that Storkerson had taken both sleds left at Mercy Bay even though Stefansson had instructed him to take only one. Wilkins, Natkusiak, and Split then proceeded to Mercy Bay where Stefansson awaited them. Eager to get his mail which was at the Polar Bear camp, Wilkins continued to fret over the time he was forced to spend freighting Stefansson’s supplies around Banks Island. On 2 April he wrote: “It is about time I was moving towards the Polar Bear and the Eskimos to do my photographic work, but V.S. is worried about the hunting party left at Cape [Prince] Alfred and wants to see Castel before he goes to the Polar Bear.” While camped at Mercy Bay, Wilkins examined the remains of the cache and beacon (or monument) left in 1853 by British naval Captain Robert M’Clure and his men. There was little to see, as his photographs reveal.7 I walked to M’Clure’s cache and beacon to-day and photographed it. There is very little to see at either place. The beacon is rather conspicuous but the coal pile is not. I placed a couple of pieces of iron and some barrel staves on top of it before photographing it. There is a snow wall near it which Storkerson evidently used ... M’Clure’s monument is I should judge about 6 1/2 miles from the mouth of the bay on a point about 15 feet high. The cache is about a mile further down the bay. Castel arrived on 3 April from Cape Prince Alfred with a big load of supplies, though not the amount Stefansson had expected. Lopez and Alingnak were still at the cape when he left, but were thinking of leaving the following day. On hearing this Wilkins commented wryly: “That was about the 15th day they might have been thinking the same thing. However, no doubt they will start now.” Stefansson was anxious to see Storkerson before the latter left the Polar Bear camp. He now discussed with Wilkins the feasibility of going overland to the Polar Bear camp. It would save about 120 miles of coastal travel. After considerable discussion they decided that the travelling would probably be too difficult. Stefansson then changed his plans and announced they would head across M’Clure Strait to Melville Island because Storkerson might already have gone there and he wanted to catch up to him. This sudden shift of plans caught Wilkins by surprise, for he was looking forward to getting to the Polar Bear and receiving his long-awaited mail. He did not care for Stefansson’s new plan: Personally I am inclined to the plan of all three sleds that are now here going to Melville island, but professionally I am not. Professionally I spend nine months hunting, hauling, and fighting for the New Land party and the ice party, and to mercy bay and melville island

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when it comes to the time of the year when I can do some work in my own department I am begrudged a few days. On a more positive note, however, if he now went to Melville Island he assumed he could obtain photographs of muskox, and also get a better dog team and sled for his photographic work near the Polar Bear camp. He then thought about his need for an interpreter when he got among the Eskimos he wanted to photograph: I have not much confidence in Palaiyak, Illun, or Pikalu as interpreters. They might be alright, but they do not know me and I do not know them ... I have a good mind to demand that Billy should come with me, but I know that he has set his heart on going to the New Land. Stefansson’s party started across M’Clure Strait on 5 April. The distance to Melville Island was more than eighty-five miles, and the journey took them a week. Wilkins persuaded the men to halt one day in the middle of M’Clure Strait and build a snowhouse so that he could photograph the activity. He took almost two dozen photographs showing the various stages of construction.8 Eight of his pictures subsequently were reproduced in Stefansson’s book The friendly Arctic. On 10 April, the first sunny day since they started across the strait, they caught their first glimpse of Melville Island far to the northeast. Two days later they approached Cape James Ross on the Dundas Peninsula. On 13 April, Wilkins wrote: “Started for land early. After crossing rough ice, V.S. went towards coast more to west. I went ahead to ravine east of cape. Distance about 8 miles.” Finding old ice along the beach, Wilkins and Split turned back so the others could build a snowhouse while he scanned the coast with his field glasses for signs of Storkerson. Suddenly Split saw a polar bear walking slowly towards Wilkins. When he mentioned this to Wilkins, the latter told him to go with Natkusiak along the other side of the ridge, while he headed towards the bear. The bear, however, heard the voices of the two Eskimos, and ran away. Natkusiak chased it and shot it near an old camp, which proved to have been one made by Storkerson’s party. The camp consisted of three roofless snowhouses, and there were indications that someone had killed two muskox and three bears nearby. A note left at the camp stated that Storkerson had gone north from there on 4 April. Wilkins rebuilt one of the houses for their lodging that night. The following day, Wilkins suddenly felt the sharp pain of oncoming snowblindness. His eyes were worse the next day. Having failed to catch up to Storkerson, Stefansson suddenly proposed that he, Castel, Kilian, and Wilkins go immediately to Russell Point on the 312

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Fig. 61. Snowhouse camp on the ice in Liddon Gulf, southern Melville Island, bedded rocks on the snow-covered hillside beyond, 13 April 1916. This is the first photograph of Melville Island. (Photo 51146 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214034, nac )

northeast corner of Banks Island. Kilian and Castel would return from there to their Melville Island camp with a load, while Stefansson and Wilkins continued south to the Polar Bear camp. Stefansson wanted to confer with Captain Gonzalez9 about sledding supplies from his ship north to Melville Island and then, following breakup, bringing the Polar Bear to Liddon Gulf on Melville Island in the summer. Meanwhile, Wilkins could complete his photographic assignment among the Eskimos near the ship. This latest change of plans irritated Wilkins anew, because their rapid departure from Melville Island would prevent him from seeing and photographing any muskox, which had been his prime interest in going there. That evening as they sat in their snowhouse, they all undertook, at Stefansson’s suggestion, an experiment with bear liver. Stefansson was convinced that the Eskimo taboo on eating bear liver was based more on spiritual than factual beliefs and sought to test the belief whenever he could. On this occasion he persuaded the others to join him in eating some of the liver of the bear Natkusiak had just killed. They then divided it up evenly and cooked it for their supper. Some had their portion cooked well done, others a little underdone. They ate about 10 p.m. and retired shortly afterwards. Early the following morning, Split became sick to his stomach, vomiting intermittently over the next several hours. He also had a raging headache, a slight fever, and a fast pulse. Kilian developed similar symptoms some hours later. Wilkins had a slight headache, but attributed this to his snowblindness, having already suffered from that discomfort for two or three to mercy bay and melville island

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days. Castel likewise had a bit of a headache. Stefansson claimed to have suffered no directly related consequences. He decided not to repeat the experiment but later concluded that “certain polar bear livers are slightly poisonous while others are not,” the thoroughness of the cooking perhaps having a “protective effect.”10 Stefansson, Wilkins, Castel, and Split started south for Russell Point shortly after noon on 17 April, retracing their trail across M’Clure Strait. Split had replaced Martin Kilian, who was still feeling nauseous. They stopped for the night at one of their former snowhouses, about fifteen miles off shore. While they were unharnessing their dogs, Herman Kilian sledded up with Pikalu and another Eskimo. They had left Storkerson four days before while he was taking a second load of supplies across the portage from Liddon Gulf to Hecla and Griper Bay on the north side of Melville Island. Thomsen, Noice, and Illun were with Storkerson, who planned to continue the exploration and mapping of the coast of the new land to the northwest before returning to the Polar Bear by 10 July. Kilian mentioned that Storkerson and his men had killed twenty-five muskox and three polar bears. The muskox killed on the east side of Liddon Gulf were fat, healthy, and numerous, for about 200 of them had been seen. After hearing this news, Stefansson promptly decided to return to Melville Island to find Storkerson, obviously troubled that Storkerson was striking out on his own in search of new land. Stefansson discussed his latest change in plans with Wilkins, who pointed out that as Stefansson had more than enough men to carry out his sled exploration north of Melville Island, he (Wilkins) could now pursue his own photographic work and then leave the Arctic. Stefansson countered with the suggestion that Wilkins take command of the Polar Bear, thereby ensuring that it would do its best to proceed to Melville Island during the summer to establish a new northern base.11 Wilkins was upset by Stefansson’s decision to chase after Storkerson rather than go to the Polar Bear. It left him without an interpreter while he photographed the Copper Eskimos near the Polar Bear (he had counted on Stefansson being available), and without a team of dogs should he need to journey to Bernard Harbour. His diary gives no indication that he had any input in the decision, does not mention the offer of command, and puts a somewhat different slant on the matter: “After talking matters over, V.S. decided he would not go to the Polar Bear after all but hurry on with a fast team to overtake Storkerson.” Wilkins’ brief comment indicates that Stefansson’s real reason for changing his plans was to catch up to Storkerson and prevent him from discovering more new land and receiving the international acclaim Stefansson wanted for himself.

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23 Minto Inlet and the “Blond Eskimos” 18 april–1 june 1916

Wilkins transferred his gear to Herman Kilian’s sled, said goodbye to Stefansson, Split, and Castel, and started for the Polar Bear. Stefansson’s departing words were “I hope to see you next winter.” He would not, in fact, see Wilkins again for several years, for the latter’s decision to go south to the Polar Bear camp led to his departure from the Arctic a few months later. Kilian had told Stefansson that there had not been any trouble at the Polar Bear since Stefansson’s departure the previous December. Wilkins found matters otherwise: Gonzales had not much initiative, and all that had been done was due to the energies of Seymour and Hadley. V.S., therefore, told me he would be more than sorry for me to travel. He cannot very well put Seymour in charge over Gonzales so I am the only one that can take charge of affairs. He wrote a letter to Gonzales to this effect. Wilkins, Kilian, and Pikalu reached Banks Island on 22 April after being delayed a day by a blizzard. Turning east and travelling light, they covered twenty to thirty miles each day, following the same route and snowhouses Kilian had used going north some time earlier. They rounded the northeast corner of Banks Island (now called Passage Point) on 23 April and turned southwest, proceeding down Prince of Wales Strait. While they continued onward, Herman Kilian told Wilkins that Storkerson, Andreasen, and Noice, together with Storkerson’s wife and two children, had gone north to establish a base on Melville Island in accordance with Stefansson’s instructions. After reaching Cape James Ross, however, Storkerson had concluded that their dogs were not in good enough condition to undertake two trips – Mrs Storkerson had wanted him to take her to the North Star so that she and her children would be sure of getting out the next summer and he had had to persuade her to return with him to the

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Fig. 62. Winter quarters of the icebound schooner Polar Bear, with house, tent, and supplies, south of Armstrong Point, northwestern Victoria Island, 1 June 1916. (Photo 51181 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214036, nac )

Polar Bear. Storkerson was unaware at the time that Stefansson had abandoned the North Star. Continuing uneventfully southwestward along Prince of Wales Strait, Wilkins, Kilian, and Pikalu reached the Polar Bear late on the afternoon of 26 April. The schooner was fast in the ice about 150 feet from shore and about ten miles south of Armstrong Point on the Victoria Island side of the strait. The crew had built a one-roomed house the previous fall, with tiered bunks along one side and across the back. Snow covered much of the house, which was located on a 10-foot bank about 75 feet from the beach and 450 feet southeast of the schooner.1 Captain Gonzales and sailor Lorne Knight were busily shovelling snow from the deck of the ship as Wilkins and his two companions approached. Wilkins described Gonzales, who came to meet them: “He is something like I expected to see him, though even more gentlemanly. He is probably quick tempered, quick to decide, but rather unstable in purpose. A good man, no doubt, in charge of Latin people, but unsuitable for the more methodical Europeans.” Some of the men from the ship had been hunting on Banks Island. William Seymour, a sixtyish Australian and former prize fighter, and Palaiyak came back from Jim Fiji’s camp there, after having killed six caribou, 316

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the first they had seen since the fall. Fiji was a Samoan whom Stefansson had hired to look after the dogs. The only Eskimos at the camp were the women Stefansson had hired as seamstresses, all of whom wanted to “go out.” Frustrated once again at not finding any local Eskimos, Wilkins wrote: “This means that I will be practically too late for the work that I hoped to do.” At the Polar Bear, Wilkins finally received the mail he had waited for since the previous August. The news from his home was not good: “no news is good news,” but bad news is still bad news, no matter how long delayed. The news of dear old father’s death was sad and heart-rending, notwithstanding that he was getting on in years ... It must be lonely for mother now. How thankful I am she has the moral courage to withstand it so well. It is hard to bow [?] to the course of nature, but it is our inevitable doom ... She would no doubt like to see me, yet no more than I wish to see her. Still, to go home now would seem but a half return with father absent. After reading his mail Wilkins was still undecided about leaving the Arctic: It is hard to decide the better course for me. Last summer, had I seen my mail, nothing would have induced me to stay, but now the situation is entirely changed. It is probable that I would not get home for at least two years after father’s death. Who knows what may have happened during that time. Then by the time I reached London, the pressing need of my services by the Gaumont Company will probably have passed. I hope the war is over. To leave the expedition now would mean to sacrifice a full three years work, with probably little or no remuneration. By staying I can not only help up my personal reputation, but by so doing influence the Canadian Government to grant to the Gaumont Company more propositions than if I should quit now ... The Government seems to be unaffected by the activities of the expedition, and while I do not think from the Government’s standpoint V.S. did the best thing last summer, it will need the co-operation of all to justify the expenses which have already been incurred. After careful consideration and mature thought I have decided this morning to stay with the expedition should the Alaskan Eskimos decide to go. His decision was influenced in part by the burial on the day after his arrival of the second engineer on the Polar Bear, John Jones, who had been hired to take the Mary Sachs back to Nome in 1917. Jones had died from heart disease the previous November, but his burial had been delayed for the winter. His death left the ship shy of personnel to run its engine. In deciding to stay, Wilkins hoped to carry out some geological work and other scientific collections during the summer and thus make a significant contribution to the success of the expedition. minto inlet and the “blond eskimos”

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At the Polar Bear camp Wilkins met John Hadley, an experienced older man whom Stefansson had originally taken on board the Karluk in August 1913 at Cape Smyth. Hadley was one of the survivors rescued from Wrangel Island after the Karluk sank. Stefansson had met him again at Herschel Island in August 1915 and hired him for his Northern Party. From Hadley, Wilkins learned first-hand about some of the activities and conflicts among the men who remained with the Karluk after he, Stefansson, Jenness, and McConnell had left it in 1913. One of the incidents Hadley told to Wilkins was that the Karluk’s fireman, Breddy, had been shot to death with a revolver that Williamson had taken previously from Hadley’s tent.2 Williamson had not denied Hadley’s accusation that he had killed Breddy, and his guilt seemed to have been known even by those on the Revenue Cutter Bear after the survivors were rescued, because “Williamson was put in the forecastle and shunned by all officers while Munro and McKinlay were in the cabin and Hadley in the ward room.” Hadley also told Wilkins of many disagreements between several of the men on the Karluk and Captain Bartlett over how things ought to be done. Hadley confided that before he and the others were rescued, There had been continual talk between Hadley and McKinlay about showing up Bartlett and his methods when they got out, but after they reached Nome, McKinlay refused to make trouble, and Hadley was not anxious because he and Bartlett belonged to the same “order.” Now he thinks that Bartlett should be brought to book, but that his evidence alone is not sufficient and doubts whether any of the others would speak their minds now as they did on Wrangel Island.3 Wilkins recorded in his diary much of what Hadley told him of the Karluk and her personnel, but some details differ sufficiently from McKinlay’s well-documented account, published in 1975, that they should be accepted with reservation. Hadley, it will be remembered, had spent some time with Stefansson on the Polar Bear the previous summer and may have been influenced by some of the latter’s ideas about Captain Bartlett. On 1 May, Wilkins started south along the coast of Victoria Island to visit and photograph some Victoria Island Eskimos who were said to be seal hunting on the ice somewhere in Minto Inlet. He was accompanied by Palaiyak and Anna (the Alaskan Eskimo wife of the Polar Bear’s first mate, William Seymour), and a team of seven dogs. With any luck he might at last photograph some “Blond Eskimos” and fulfill one of his main commitments to his employer. They reached Hay Point the next day and started across Deans Dundas Bay. A strong wind and thick drifting snow delayed them for a day; then they

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120°

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ait

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Fig. 63. Wilkins’ route from the Polar Bear camp to Minto Inlet, Victoria Island, 1–15 May 1916.

continued across the bay and struck land close to Gordon Point. Six hours of travelling, assisted most of the way by a fair wind and a sail improvised by Wilkins with his camera tripod and a caribou skin, brought them within sight of Ramsay Island. Snow then began to fall, forcing them to camp. On 6 May, in clear weather, Wilkins headed for a portage to Minto Inlet from the bottom of Walker Bay. His route took him and his two companions past the long curved sand spit at Berkeley Point. When they reached the start of the portage (now called Winter Cove),4 Anna showed Wilkins

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where Captain William (Billy) Mogg had wintered in 1907–08 with the Olga, a schooner Mogg had obtained from the Royal North-West Mounted Police at Herschel Island after Charles Klengenberg had been forced to leave it with the police in the summer of 1906. Klengenberg was the one who told Stefansson in 1906 about seeing Eskimos on the western coast of Victoria Island with white-man’s features, people later referred to as “Blond Eskimos.” The next day, 7 May, proved bright, warm, and sunny. Wilkins’ party crossed the portage, finding the going easy, especially across a frozen lake about a mile inland and a mile or so in diameter. The outlet to the lake led east into a fjord not readily seen until one entered it. Now called Boot Inlet, it is flanked by hills of rock Wilkins thought to be granite, shale, or dolomite, but which are in fact very old (Precambrian-aged) limestones and sandstones cut by gabbro dykes. Wilkins soon sighted a snowhouse village about a quarter of a mile down the fjord and hoped he had found the Eskimo people he was seeking. Before proceeding, however, he noticed a collection of stones on a nearby hillside that looked like they might have been Eskimo graves. Thinking to contribute some anthropological data, I went to investigate and found seven traps of stones, under the stones of the first one were several snow knives, a broken bow, and other instruments, some of which seem to be toy imitations of their hunting weapons. I gathered most of these specimens, taking only the arrowheads and leaving the bow for I could not hide these larger specimens from the inquisitive natives, should I happen to see them. He then continued on to the snowhouse village, which was almost entirely covered with drifted snow. There was no one about. He peered into several of the houses, finding all of them empty. They had been closed with snow blocks, however, which puzzled him, for he understood that the Eskimos closed their snowhouses when they left them only if they had left caches there. I was proceeding to another group of houses when suddenly the snow gave way and I was precipitated into the central hall of a three-roomed house. The fall was quite 6 feet, but fortunately I was not hurt, having landed squarely on my feet. The house proved to be empty, but for an old iron pot, which had been traded for from some landing ship. Palaiyak, who saw me disappear, came running up from the sled to help me. We did not investigate any of the other houses, for one could not tell when another roof might cave in with more serious results. Emerging from the fjord, Wilkins led his party to the centre of Minto Inlet and then turned west in hopes of finding a trail. When that failed to 320

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materialize, he climbed to the top of a “fairly high hill” (probably Mount Phayre, 980 feet above sea level) and sighted another snowhouse village several miles to the southwest. He then led his small party towards that village, but found that it too was deserted. They camped beside it and ascertained that There were 15 snowhouses, most of which were partly filled with water which had evidently seeped through the ice. The houses must have been built in the early fall when the ice was young and because of the snowhouses it [the ice] had not reached a great thickness. Some of the houses had been closed when abandoned and the openings of the others were towards the south, which accounts for my not seeing them from the hilltop. From this abandoned village, Wilkins and his two companions headed west on 8 May, constantly looking for sled trails or snowhouses. In the afternoon they came upon some relatively young ice, which Wilkins thought was the kind on which the Eskimos liked to hunt, and he decided to camp. He would send Palaiyak and Anna south in search of Eskimos on the morrow while he went west. If they had no success, they would then cross to Banks Island and proceed from there to the Polar Bear, perhaps spending a day or two hunting caribou inland en route. Wilkins conjectured that “The Eskimo may have gone south in search of the other half of their tribe, who were to have visited them from Prince Albert Sound last fall, but who did not put in an appearance before Christmas.” The following morning they went their respective ways. Wilkins had not gone far when he came upon several seals. Employing the hunting technique taught him by Stefansson, he attempted to crawl within shooting range of them, and did, in fact, shoot one seal, but it slipped into its breathing hole and disappeared. A short while later he heard three rifle shots and saw Palaiyak returning to their camp. When Wilkins got back, he was told the others had seen a party of Eskimos in the distance. From the top of a nearby cake of ice, he too could see some black specks far to the south. They quickly proceeded towards these black specks and after travelling several miles came upon fifteen men, one woman, and an equal number of dogs. Several of the dogs were dragging seals the men had caught. Wilkins conversed with them briefly, through his interpreter Palaiyak, and all then headed for a snowhouse village some six miles away. Wilkins and Palaiyak put up their tent about one hundred feet from the village, but Wilkins soon realized that it would have been preferable to camp about a mile away to escape the enquiring eyes of the young and inquisitive members of the village. There were fifteen snowhouses in the village, some of them double, and Wilkins estimated the population at about one hundred people. minto inlet and the “blond eskimos”

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Gathering up his camera he sought to get pictures of some of the individuals in the village, but was distracted by a call from Anna. Seeing a crowd of people milling about her and Palaiyak in an unfriendly manner, Wilkins hurried to intervene, forcing his way to the centre of the group. There he found Palaiyak and Anna arguing with a man holding a gun. Everyone appeared to be talking at once, all in excited tones. Wilkins suspected that the man was mad and had stolen the gun: Mistaking Palaiyak’s English I thought that the Eskimo holding the gun had been deranged mentally by the excitement of our arrival and was not responsible for his actions. “He wants you to give him something” said Palaiyak. Thinking it was best to humour the insane until you are in a position to enforce your rights I asked if the majority of the people thought that I should give him something. The majority were for “aye” while a few said “nay.” I said that I would give him something, a knife, my own knife from my sheath. The fellow looked at it and then at me with a smile, he might have laughed inwardly. “He does not want the knife” said Palaiyak. “He is Kudlak and his wife has died. He wants you to give him something for that.” I realized now that the trouble was more serious. I said we could not give him anything for that. He then said he wanted to trade for the rifle, and I would not give it up.5 Palaiyak and Anna said it would be better to give him the rifle and go away from the camp at once, for everyone was getting mad. They did not want to stay there over night. To do this would have meant to sacrifice all chance of getting pictures. Palaiyak said the people would not be mad if I would trade the rifle. Wilkins ultimately decided that he would rather trade the rifle than give up his chances of obtaining photographs at this village, but said he would do so only in exchange for something from Kudlak. Kudlak evidently was willing to give everything he had as well as his brother’s belongings. Thinking of what would benefit the expedition, Wilkins said he would accept in exchange two dogs, a sled, one bow and quiver of arrows, a seal-hunting outfit, spear, and snow prodder. After completing the trade he tried to get two additional dogs but was not successful. Curiously, Stefansson later wrote that Wilkins had obtained only a dog in exchange.6 I had to do all the [sic] most of the bargaining by myself for Palaiyak and Anna [were] holding hands, the centre of a crowd could not be made to understand much of which I said nor could I understand much of what they said ... Kudlak and everybody assured us of their good feeling towards us. Kudlak did his best to tell me or so I understood that he did not want to steal the rifle nor exact payment for his wife’s death, but wanted a rifle. This is no doubt because of the impression he

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received at Cape Kellett when he saw Pete Bernard shoot 25 geese with the discharge of two barrels at once. I am afraid that he will be disillusioned err long, poor fellow, for he doesn’t understand the difference between a shot gun and a rifle. I asked Palaiyak to explain this to him and to try to persuade him that a rifle was not much use to him. This had no effect, however, Palaiyak seemed scared to talk to him although they went into his house and had some seal meat which Kudlak’s mother cooked. She is a particular old woman. Still seeking examples of Eskimos with European features in order to confirm and photograph Stefansson’s “Blond Eskimos,” Wilkins looked closely at the people in the village. In particular, he studied the family of Kudlak,7 whose appearance was the closest example that he would observe on this brief trip: One is struck by the comparison of this family with the others. They are more European-like than the others. Their eyes are of a lighter colour, particularly the young girl’s “Liklalak”. This was not so noticeable last year without the others for comparison. One could trace the similarity in all the family, mother, 2 sons and 3 grandchildren. The least marked of all was the youngest son. The men in Kudlak’s family were not as tall as the others in the village, their eyes were the lightest coloured of the group, and their skin was lighter in colour than most of the others, although one other man “of the pronounced Eskimo type had skin as fair as mine and my skin is particularly white.” Anna later told Wilkins that although Kudlak’s wife had died in childbirth, her child had lived. It had been taken by another woman, and Anna had seen it. Wilkins, however, did not see it. Wilkins took a number of photographs around the village, mainly of individuals, then returned to his tent.8 There he found Palaiyak and Anna crouching over the Primus stove in the rear of the tent, cooking seal meat given them by Kudlak, with an excited crowd filling the tent and questioning them unceasingly. The two were still frightened after their confrontation with Kudlak, probably fearing for their lives. Their fears may have been well founded, for Stefansson later revealed, following discussions with both of them, that only the intervention of others in the village may have prevented Kudlak from killing Wilkins or a member of his party. Stefansson suspected that Palaiyak and Anna Seymour had not interpreted Kudlak’s threats accurately to Wilkins at the time lest he react in such a manner that endangered them all.9 A little while later, after Kudlak’s anger had abated, Wilkins enjoyed some natural Eskimo hospitality:

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Fig. 64. Copper Eskimo snowhouse village and natives on the ice at the mouth of Minto Inlet, northwest Victoria Island, 9 May 1916. (Photo 51171 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214033, nac )

I had been invited and promised one of the families to have something to eat with them. I asked Palaiyak to come over to the village and look for me when he had eaten. When I reached the Eskimo house (Egutak’s), the supper of seal meat and guts was ready. The seal meat was excellent, succulent, juicy and tender. The guts were cooked a little longer than the meat, or at least kept in after the meat had been taken out. They were very good eating, but the sight of the dirty old woman squeezing them between her fingers before handing them over! The usual blood soup followed. Wilkins likened the manner in which he was offered the house delicacy to what one might experience in high society in London: These people were good mannered and polite. In so far as their education in ethics approached ours, one must admit that they only have the rudiments, but still it is there and the feeling is no doubt the same when a Kog[malluk]10 woman grasps a steaming hot length of seal gut from a black begrimed and greasy stone pot, squeezes it between her fingers and running it through them to extract the refuse matter, holds it out in your direction with an expressive “ugh!” as when the leader of society in the west end [of London] would say “Mr. – do try a little more of

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this – it was especially prepared to please your taste,” while an expressionless automaton stood by with a silver chafing dish. Wilkins ate enough of the offered meal “to satisfy the demands of hospitality,” and went looking for Palaiyak, who had failed to come for Wilkins as instructed: I found them both still huddled in the tent holding hands like two caged birds. The Kogmalluk filled the tent and peeped under the walls and through the canvas. Both parties were silent probably in consequence no doubt of the refusal of the two civilized Eskimos to answer questions. Wilkins urged Palaiyak and Anna to get out of the tent so that the people would dissipate, but although they did emerge briefly, they were soon back. Ignoring them now, Wilkins photographed scenes about the village. When the light got insufficient for further photography, he visited some of the houses, where he found the occupants curious about his clothing and everything in his pocket: In order to test their honesty and good feeling, I purposely went out of one house when one of the people were examining my sheath knife. I had not time to get to my next place of call before someone came running after me with the knife. At the next house they were anxious to trade a deer skin and an unscraped seal skin. In return they wanted matches. I only had about a 1/4 block in my [ ].11 I told them that I had only a very few matches and could not trade them. Before going out I managed to slip them unnoticed amongst the bed skins and presently went out. While I was seated in the next house visited a small boy came running in with my small section of matches. Where in the semi-civilised countries and the so-called civilised countries would you find such honesty especially where the chance of concealment of theft was so easy? In the next snowhouse the wife was a shaman or medicine woman. She showed him her fancy clothes and cap, which revealed hours of careful sewing. The cap was made of dozens of small pieces of caribou skin, with a strip of Eider duck skin extending over the head. The duck’s bill, still attached, stuck above the cap in such a manner that it reminded Wilkins of the spiked helmets of the German soldiers of that era. The woman’s pants had many stripes and were similar to ones from the Coronation Gulf region that Wilkins had mailed to the Gaumont Company the previous summer. Her coat was undecorated except for a row of eleven ends of caribou jawbone, complete with teeth. Pointing to these individually, Wilkins found that his hostess could count from one to five but not beyond, merely

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saying “annilut” and shrugging when he tried with the sixth item. She also showed some personal interest in him: She tried the cap on me and waggled her head coquettishly. When I removed it and gave it to her she slid her fingers gently and softly over mine and made goo-goo eyes. A regular flirt of modern type. How far have we progressed with 1900 years and more of civilization in the art of love making? Wilkins found he was getting cold, so returned to his tent, where he found Palaiyak and Anna “still huddled in the back of the tent for all the world like a couple of wild beasts huddled in a cage.” The tent was soon filled with villagers, but they departed when Wilkins indicated he wanted to go to sleep. Once they were alone, Palaiyak and Anna urged Wilkins to leave the village right away, for they were in fear that some harm would befall them all during the night. Wilkins refused to do so, however, for he wanted to get more pictures the following day. He was awakened early in the morning when an old woman from the village came into the tent and sat and watched its three occupants. Others arrived soon afterwards, so Wilkins arose to get some breakfast. The front of the tent was crowded with visitors before he had the breakfast ready: “As usual I handed round a plateful of our mess, pemmican, peameal and rice to the visitors, but they did not like it and after each had tasted it, it was handed back.” The mechanism on Wilkins’ motion-picture camera jammed when he tried to take some pictures after breakfast, forcing him to take still pictures. Before proceeding to another village that lay several miles towards Banks Island, he attempted to buy all the healthy-looking dogs from the villagers. When his efforts failed, he asked Palaiyak to shout and ask if anyone would trade a dog for a length of saw blade cut in the shape of a knife. The only one to respond was a youth who, after a lengthy examination and questioning about the knife, offered a “mangy-looking dog” in exchange. Wilkins took the dog and tied it to the sled, also tying a piece of paper with the dog’s name to the harness. Wilkins then drew another knife from his bag and instructed Palaiyak to ask if there were any other dogs for trade. After a brief commotion among the villagers, two more dogs were produced: These were both old and raggedy, going grey and eyes were sunken. I refused these reluctantly for I thought that I might not have any more brought up for inspection, but it would have been a sin to ask those dogs to even walk beside the sled for eight hours a day without crutches.

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When the owners pressed for the exchange, eager to have the knife, Wilkins held up one of the dogs and showed that most of its teeth had fallen out. The villagers laughed at this revelation and forced the owners to take their old dogs away. The youth now stepped up and indicated he had changed his mind and wanted his dog back, so Wilkins returned his dog and took back the knife. A few moments later, however, he was offered and bought three dogs, one a female soon to have pups. Satisfied with his dog purchases, Wilkins traded knives and empty tobacco cans for skins and complete clothing. Then he enquired about the source of the large chunks of native copper people at the Polar Bear camp had spoken of frequently. These, he was told, came from near the head of the inlet and about three days inland. He asked if anyone would take him there, but no one volunteered. Palaiyak and Anna informed him that they did not want to go if they had to travel with these people, whom they feared. Harnessing his dogs and tying the new dogs to the sled, Wilkins, Palaiyak, and Anna started back to the Polar Bear camp by way of the other village, where Wilkins hoped to purchase more dogs. Two men and a woman carrying a child went with them. All had been at Cape Kellett with Kudlak the previous summer, but they said that no one intended going there this summer. Once they were some distance from the village, one of the men, with Anna interpreting, told Wilkins that Kudlak was a bad man. No one wanted to live with him, and most of the people were afraid of him. He went on to say that on the previous day Kudlak had threatened to kill Wilkins and his two companions, but that he had taken away Kudlak’s knife. He said now that he would get Wilkins’ rifle back if they wanted him to. It finally dawned on Wilkins that Kudlak had truly intended to harm them all, and he understood why Anna and Palaiyak had been so frightened the previous day: I asked them if they had heard any talk about it yesterday, and they said, “Yes,” that a woman had told them to be careful for Kudlak and his brother were going to kill us for killing his wife, or rather letting her die. I thought it rather plucky of the fellow to take the knife away from Kudlak, and thanked him for volunteering to get back the rifle, but it was now too late. I had handed [over] the rifle with only a few cartridges. These would soon be spent and then, having no use for it and being without his bow and arrow, Kudlak would realize that it was not such a good trade after all, and thereafter they would not be so anxious to trade for rifles. A little while later the other man told Wilkins that Kudlak was a bad man who sometimes stole things. Kudlak had, he said, recently stolen a big knife from the man who had just told Wilkins about taking a knife from

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Kudlak. Wilkins was surprised at this news and decided he could not believe either man. Some miles farther along they sighted two sleds approaching. Wilkins was told these were relatives of Kudlak’s and that he should not stop to talk with them, for they might ask for something for his not having prevented the death of Kudlak’s wife. Wilkins was eager to buy more dogs, if possible, however, so insisted on stopping to visit. He found that none of the strangers was willing to trade a dog for the knife he offered. Continuing onward, they had progressed but a quarter of a mile when they noticed that the people they had just passed were running after them. Wilkins’ companions urged him to hurry on, for these people were surely going to steal from them, but Wilkins did not share their fears and stopped the sled: The natives stopped about 20 yards from us and had a conference then walked slowly up to the sled and stood looking around. I told Palaiyak to ask them if they wanted anything and he asked them. They said they didn’t so we started on again, the natives staying behind. I could not find out the reason they came running after us. Wilkins’ party ultimately reached a village of several snowhouses, three of which were inhabited: These people were very hospitable, respectful, and modest. They wanted me badly to stay with them for a few days which I would gladly have done if I had my camera in working order. They helped to put up our tent and took our boots to their house to dry and fed our dogs although we had lots of dog feed. They sent a present of cooked bears’ paws to our tent for supper, and we sent them bread and tea. We visited them, and they visited us till bedtime, and then they asked if we wanted to go to bed and when we said “Yes” everyone left the tent at once without our asking them, closed the door nicely and after repeated enquiries as to whether we were comfortable or did we want anything that they could let us have they went home and stayed there until we had nearly finished breakfast next morning. Shortly after midnight, Kudlak’s daughter and son came to Wilkins’ tent, bringing back one of the two dogs Wilkins had bought from their father. It had broken its line and run home, and they had brought it right back, thinking Wilkins would want to be travelling early in the morning. Wilkins now found that the other dog had escaped, but was assured by the young girl that someone would bring it back soon. Wilkins rewarded the two children with some needles and an empty can and they went to sleep in one of the other houses. In the morning, the villagers sent a young boy to bring

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back the missing dog. As soon as he returned with it, Wilkins hitched up his sled and started for the Polar Bear camp. His party was augmented by the addition of two young men who had asked to be taken to the ship. Wilkins’ diary bears no entries for the rest of his trip to the Polar Bear camp. After reaching it on 15 May, he learned that Thomsen had not arrived from Cape Kellett, where he had gone many weeks earlier from Melville Island. Thomsen was to return by way of the Polar Bear camp but had not shown up.12 Several of the Herschel Island Eskimos on the ship were unhappy and wanted to return to their homes by way of Cape Kellett and a hoped-for passing whaling ship. However, they were waiting until Illun returned from Melville Island to learn what he intended to do. During the next few days, Wilkins repaired his motion-picture camera and photographed some of the Eskimos seal hunting on the ice with their dogs. The dogs sniffed for the seals’ breathing holes, which were generally snow covered. Once a hole was found, the Eskimos cleared the snow away, enlarged the central hole to about three inches in diameter, and set a floating indicator in the hole. The hunter then stood back, spear in hand, poised ready to strike. He would maintain this position for minutes or hours. When the seal poked its nose through the surface to breathe, it bumped the indicator, thereby alerting the hunter, who immediately plunged his spear into the hole, sometimes striking the seal in the head, sometimes in the neck or shoulder. To his great annoyance, Wilkins’ motion-picture camera jammed after he had taken only a few feet, and he was unable to obtain the footage he wanted. With no other photography to do, Wilkins decided to take Herman Kilian, Palaiyak, and Jim Fiji and go to Banks Island to increase the camp’s supply of caribou meat. They left with two sleds and nine dogs on 23 May. Taking turns leading the dogs, the four men reached the low-lying coast of Banks Island and proceeded along it, looking unsuccessfully for caribou tracks. The next day they hunted inland but saw no sign of caribou. On 25 May they moved the sleds to a large lake Wilkins had seen the day before, eighteen miles north of Johnson Point, and crossed it, encountering surface water up to their knees. Palaiyak shot two caribou a short while later, so they put up their tent temporarily and had lunch. Palaiyak shot two more caribou during the afternoon, so Kilian and Fiji brought the sled and set up camp near the second set of carcasses. Wilkins failed to see any caribou all day, although he had covered a lot of country. He therefore concluded that the caribou were too scarce to spend more time hunting and with his companions started back for the ship. A short while later, however, they sighted three caribou, which Wilkins chased and shot. Collecting these and another one killed nearby, they pro-

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Fig. 65. Storker Storkerson, his wife Elvina (Weena) Klengenberg, and their daughters Aida and Martina at the Polar Bear camp south of Armstrong Point, northwestern Victoria Island, 1 June 1916. (Photo 51180 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214035, nac )

ceeded across the large lake, and sighted and shot three more. With their luck now changed, Wilkins decided to set up camp, leave Jim Fiji to guard the surplus meat, and return to the ship with two sledloads. He started out with Palaiyak and Kilian early the next morning, heading across the strait for the Polar Bear camp. With their sleds already heavily laden, they had to pass up the chance en route to shoot a number of seals sunning themselves on the ice. Eager to add some scientific information of value for the expedition, Wilkins recorded in his diary on 23 May having seen two species of hawks during the day in addition to gulls and snowbirds, but noted that lemming, ptarmigan, owls, and foxes were all scarce in that part of Banks Island. At the ship they found Storkerson, Martin Kilian, and Illun newly arrived from Melville Island. They had left Stefansson, Castel, Natkusiak, Split, Karsten Andersen, and Noice on the “New Land” on 7 May, ten miles far-

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ther north than they had reached the previous year. Storkerson reported that Stefansson had injured a leg, but hoped to continue on with his exploration. He brought from Stefansson a letter of instructions for Wilkins if he decided to remain with the northern section of the expedition for another year.13 From Storkerson, Wilkins now learned that Thomsen had decided to remain with Stefansson’s Northern Section and had gone to Cape Kellett to get his wife Jennie and their two children and take them to Melville Island. This was a surprise, because Thomsen had told him emphatically the last time they had seen each other that he intended to leave the expedition in the summer of 1916. Thomsen’s failure to appear at the Polar Bear camp was cause for concern. Wilkins also learned that the Herschel Island Eskimos at the ship had decided to remain with the expedition; Wilkins reported the reason: What has happened to change these ideas and those of the Eskimos is, I am told, the refusal of V.S. to pay them wages until after his section of the expedition returns and to stop the time as soon as they leave the Polar Bear. Those people for the Polar Bear were not to go to Coronation Gulf with the hope of getting out with the Southern Party. Their only chance of getting out was that of a ship calling at Cape Kellett, and in order for them to get to Kellett they would have to pack over there in the summer. This would mean leaving most of their household goods with the Polar Bear. True, they had sold at a profit most of their belongings – sewing machines, pots, extra clothes and skins – to the expedition, but there were still a few things they had kept that were priceless. They were all told that they would not be prevented from going, but the conditions under which they could go amounted to the same thing. Illun told me that he would have to stay under the circumstances, and this meant that Pikalu would stay also. Furthermore, two men of the New Land trip would be in a position to come to the Polar Bear if needed for the summer work. Storkerson told Wilkins he intended to return to Melville Island shortly, taking his wife and children, as well as Pannigabluk and her son Alex, and another Eskimo family, possibly Pikalu and his wife. He would connect there with Lopez and Alingnak, who were presently feeding a large team of dogs with which Storkerson and Martin Kilian would return to Victoria Island to finish charting that part of its northern coast that he had not finished earlier. Storkerson also told Wilkins that Stefansson had named a “sound” (between Brock and Borden Islands) after him.14 After mulling over this news of the various personnel movements, Wilkins concluded that he was no longer needed to take charge of the activities at the Polar Bear camp and was free to head for Coronation Gulf as soon

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as he could. He planned to take Palaiyak with him. He had, however, developed a bad case of snowblindness on his way back to the ship from Minto Inlet, and could not consider leaving until his eyes had healed. The snowblindness kept him close to his bed for the next three days. On 31 May, his eyes being a little better, he made a list of his needs for his trip to Bernard Harbour. The next day he wrote Stefansson about his decision to leave the expedition. His letter, unlike any he had previously written, clearly reflects his grieving state of mind at the time.15 It begins as follows: Dear Mr. Stefansson: You have a mother, and the love of parents is probably no less developed in you than in most others. Imagine yourself in the position I find myself, you can if you try and I feel sure of your sympathy. I quote a few paragraphs from my mail. “It was our constant wish and our greatest desire your dear old father’s & mine to be spared to see your safe return. I know how sad you must have been when you heard that he had passed away ... It is comforting to have so many of my children near me but I want you my son, my baby & it is consoling to think that you will soon be on your way home. I pray that I may be spared to see you again.”

Wilkins then quoted passages out of letters he had received from his brothers and sisters and from a personal friend, all telling of how much his grieving mother spoke of him and appealing to him to return home as soon as possible to see her while she was still alive. He then asked Stefansson, “In spite of the fact that it is now 18 months since the latest of these letters were written, would you in my place hesitate to choose your course of action?” Before going on to discuss local activities, he added that if he received news when he reached Herschel Island that his mother had passed away, he would make every effort to rejoin Stefansson’s Northern Party. Fog delayed his departure for a day and also prevented him from getting an instrument shot at the sun for location or setting the watches with the chronometers. Once he had the ship’s location established and the watches accurately set, he intended to take a watch with him to try to connect the Polar Bear’s location with that of Bernard Harbour for geographic control. While he was thus delayed, Captain Gonzales made a sled cover for him, which he could also use to create a sled-boat for crossing any open leads he might encounter en route.

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part five

S O U T H WA R D B O U N D

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24 Return to Bernard Harbour 2 j u n e – 1 3 j u ly 1 9 1 6

Wilkins decided to leave the Arctic and the expedition as soon as he was satisfied that the Northern Party could operate without him. For months he had been mainly freighting and hunting, with little opportunity for photography or exploration. Now he wanted to re-establish his status with the Gaumont Company, to get back to Australia to see that his widowed mother was well and properly cared for, and to play a role in the European war. The lateness of the season would necessitate travelling by night as the air temperature was lower then. There would be no problem with darkness, however, since it was the beginning of June. On the afternoon of 2 June the sun finally reappeared after days of fog, permitting Wilkins to obtain the sextant readings he needed to determine the geographic location of the Polar Bear camp. He and Palaiyak then left the camp that evening. Travel conditions proved very bad, and two of their dogs cut their feet in the first three miles in spite of the leather boots on their feet. Wilkins commented that walking on the ice surface was rather like walking on egg shells, as he broke through the surficial crust nearly every step. By 5 a.m., he and the dogs were so tired that he stopped to camp about eight miles north of Hay Point. Getting underway at noon, he and Palaiyak soon reached Hay Point. There they found Pikalu’s deserted camp and a sled trail nearby that indicated Pikalu had left the previous day to return to the Polar Bear camp, travelling well out in the strait. By following the coast, Wilkins had failed to see him. They camped about three miles south of Hay Point. During the day, they saw many seals on the ice, but did not shoot any because Wilkins wanted to use up the supply of dog food on his sled. A cooler spell of weather then allowed Wilkins to revert to daytime travelling. After crossing Deans Dundas Bay, they continued along the coast of

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Victoria Island, lunching on 5 June within sight of Ramsay Island, and camping between that island and Berkeley Point. The following day, they started the forty-mile trek across Minto Inlet. Part way across they encountered a thirty-foot lead, which they were unable to bridge or get around, and Wilkins decided to try the sled boat Gonzalez had prepared for him: It worked splendidly and is quite steady. It only took us 1 1/2 hours to cross and get started again. The ice was smooth and the going good. We camped a little early on account of shooting a young seal, just food enough for ourselves and the dogs for one meal. They reached the south side of Minto Inlet about lunchtime the next day, after being delayed briefly crossing small leads: “One never knows when you come to a fairly narrow crack whether it is better to follow it along with the hope of getting across or to launch the raft at once and cross the water.” Continuing along the coast, they camped several miles south of Cape Ptarmigan. The cool weather continued, much to Wilkins’ relief. The following day, they were forced to travel in soft, deep snow along the gravel beach because the ice on the seaward side of the beach was heavily broken with leads and open water. They camped a few miles south of Holman Island. On 9 June they started across the mouth of Prince Albert Sound, another trek of forty miles. Wilkins was agreeably surprised to find that the ice conditions were less difficult than he had expected. They had lunch the next day at Cape Bering on the Wollaston Peninsula, from where Wilkins followed around the coastline, keeping about a mile to seaward: towards evening [we] came to a crack that went too far out to sea for us to go outside, so we followed it back [towards shore] and managed to get across on a loose piece of ice by hauling it first to one side and then to the other while we were on it. Camped near the shore. As they sledded between Bell Island and the shore shortly after noon on 11 June, Wilkins noticed two Eskimos signalling to him from the island. Halting the sled on a nearby sand spit, he waited while the two, an old man and a boy, came down the slope to meet him. They told him they had been searching for wood to make arrow shafts. The boy had a .44 rifle that he said he had obtained from Jenness of the Southern Party early in the spring in exchange for two dogs.1 In response to Wilkins’ enquiry, the old man provided news of the Southern Party. One ship was in the harbour, which Wilkins assumed correctly

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was the Alaska, and a second one had been there the previous summer but had left. This, he later learned, had been the El Sueno, which had brought in the surplus supplies from Herschel Island. An Anglican missionary (Reverend Herbert Girling) had been at the house during the winter, but his boat was somewhere along the coast beside a big cliff. The ethnologist Jenness was back at the base camp after spending the previous summer near where they were now conversing. The naturalist Johansen had gone east along the coast of Victoria Island earlier in the spring, accompanied by Palaiyak’s brother Adam Uvoiyuaq. The other men had likewise gone east in the spring, but all intended leaving the Arctic in the summer. Wilkins later noted in his diary: “It is cheering to hear that all are well at the Alaska, but I can’t make out why the El Sueno went out again or why the missionary boat2 stayed so far west beside a high cliff ... We will soon know I hope, for it ought not to take us more than 4 days from here at the most.” The old man invited Wilkins and Palaiyak to come to his tent, which was on a hill a short distance inland near a fishing lake, but Wilkins declined in order to continue eastward. The man and boy then walked with them, as Wilkins was heading in the direction of their camp. As they progressed, Wilkins spotted a bearded seal on the ice, and thinking the Eskimos would welcome having it, sent Palaiyak to shoot it. When they got to it, Wilkins explained that he just wanted enough for the dogs that night and the Eskimos could have the rest. To his distress they merely removed the skin from the hind portion and left the rest: “I thought the meat would be a windfall to them, but they said they did not want it. It seemed a sin to see so much lying about going to waste, and I would not have had the animal shot if I had known they did not want it.” Wilkins camped a few feet from the abandoned carcass and later watched gulls and ravens make a feast of it. The two Eskimos stayed with them until Wilkins was ready to go to sleep, at which point, to his surprise, they headed for their own camp. The next day, Wilkins and Palaiyak crossed Lady Richardson Bay and followed the coast eastward, lunching near Williams Point. Afterwards Wilkins went ashore to look around and found three skulls and three lower jawbones, which he put on his sled for Jenness’s anthropological collections. Continuing onward he and Palaiyak camped at a locality (probably close to Point Caen) from which he intended to cross Dolphin and Union Strait to Cape Bexley. On 13 June, Wilkins wrote: The warm weather of yesterday gave place to still warmer [weather] today. The ice crust is almost completely melted, but underneath and in the water sharp pointed ice crystals made the walking unbelievably bad for the dogs. It is like walking on

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broken bottles. Strong canvas boots are soon worn out and every one of the dogs has sore feet tonight. Wilkins and Palaiyak then crossed Dolphin and Union Strait to the mainland safely in about eight and a half hours, covering about twenty-two miles. When about midway across, Wilkins recognized that he was heading for Cape Hope and changed his direction in order to land farther east at Cape Bexley. Over much of the route, they had to walk in water about twelve inches deep, and by the time they reached the shore, both dogs and men were footsore and weary. Fatigued after the tedious crossing, they made camp near a crack that ran out into the strait. Once the tent was up and water was on the Primus stove to boil, Wilkins instructed Palaiyak to go back out on the ice and shoot a seal for dog food. Palaiyak went off about 400 yards and quickly killed a seal, but had to return to the camp for a rope and his knife in order to haul the seal back to camp: “I was going to suggest that he take the knife and a rope when he went first with the gun, but thought I would not say anything and see how he would get along by himself.” They reached Cockburn Point, where Wilkins decided to camp, after travelling for nine hours, partly along the tide crack and partly following close to the coast. From there he was able to hear an occasional report of shotguns coming from the direction of the Alaska. Tired but relieved to be near his destination at last, he voiced his feelings: “It was consoling to think that we would soon be done with sled travelling for this year, and perhaps, perhaps for all time.” They reached the Southern Party’s base camp at Bernard Harbour about mid-morning on 15 June and were almost at the door before anyone saw them. Then a short thin person with a bandaged hand [Daniel Sweeney] wearing a woollen cap came out to meet us. I had not seen him before but supposed it was the police corporal.3 He said, “You have just come from er – the Polar Bear!” “The Polar Bear!” I replied. He exclaimed, “Why we thought it was a sled from the missionary boat.” By this time the others had seen through the window who it was, and Jenness, Dr. Anderson, and Cox came to meet us. They jokingly enquired if I had come from the Alaska. The Alaska, of course, was in the ice only a few dozen yards from the camp. It is not known which of the three men asked such a droll question, for all three were quiet, mature men, not prone to making jokes. Wilkins

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might even have fabricated the question to introduce a little humour into his diary. Wilkins now got caught up on all the news of the Southern Party. The two geographers, along with Dr Anderson and O’Neill, had not been able to do much work after Wilkins left them at Cape Barrow the previous August because of poor weather and heavy seas, but, with the use of sleds and dogs in the spring, had succeeded later in almost completing the work they had planned. They had found an almost unlimited supply of copper-bearing rocks in addition to native copper in Bathurst Inlet, which Wilkins felt certain assured the success of the Southern Party. Chipman had already headed south, packing overland from the mouth of the Coppermine River with D’Arcy Arden, a former government topographer and Chipman’s friend. Arden was now a prospector and trader representing the Northern Trading Company. The two men hoped to be able to sled across Great Bear Lake and on to Fort Norman in time to get the riverboat up the Mackenzie River. Inspector C.D. La Nauze, Royal North-West Mounted Police, was at the camp along with two Eskimos he had arrested for the murder of two French priests three years earlier. He had reached Bernard Harbour after being guided overland from Fort Norman by Arden. He intended taking his two prisoners, Uloksak and Sinnisiak, to Herschel Island on the Alaska, where they would be detained at the police detachment while he sought further instructions from his superiors.4 Inspector La Nauze, Corporal Bruce, and their prisoners were being fed and housed by the Southern Party while waiting for the spring breakup. Wilkins noticed that the two prisoners, Uloksak and Sinnisiak, were helping at washing dishes, getting water, and related tasks, and seemed both cheerful and content. The prisoner named Uloksak, however, was not the shaman of the same name with whom Wilkins had travelled to Coronation Gulf the previous year. From the other men, Wilkins soon learned many details of the murder and subsequent arrests of the two Eskimos: The case being unique will probably have to go before the Prime Minister and will take some time to be settled. Inspector La Nauze and Constable White5 with Ilavinirk [Palaiyak’s adopted father] as interpreter worked on the case from the [Great] Bear Lake end and Corporal Bruce from Herschel Island and Coronation Gulf. The latter, I understand, had gathered considerable evidence on the subject, but had not made any arrests when the inspector came. Inspector La Nauze had arrested both suspects without trouble. The two prisoners saw other Copper Eskimos around the base camp every day, but were not allowed much opportunity to converse with them.

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Wilkins explained to Dr Anderson that after he had received and read his mail at the Polar Bear camp he had felt impelled to leave the Arctic in the summer. He made a point of adding, however, that if he received certain mail6 when they reached Herschel Island and saw that there was a possible chance of rendering further service to the expedition by remaining in the Arctic and getting back to Banks Island, he was willing to do so: The first part of the statement was received with a smile of approval and condolence, but the latter seemed to have rather the reverse effect and immediately there was a suppressed feeling of antagonism likened to the few moments before the break of a thunderstorm or start of a battle. This puzzled me for a few hours. I could hardly realize that the staff would think less of me for sacrificing myself for the benefit of the expedition as a whole, but I came to the conclusion that they had only a slight grasp of the situation as it really is, and had formed the hasty conclusion characteristic of the Southern Party that while they did not thoroughly understand it, it could not be honourable if it was in [ ]7 with V.S. The strained atmosphere continued through lunch and supper and was rather amusing to me, knowing as I did my own side and thinking I knew theirs. Inspector La Nauze, whom I met for the first time at lunch, seemed the only one who had not formed a judgement on previous knowledge and who was content to take things as they appeared on the surface. La Nauze, Wilkins subsequently learned, had had two brothers killed in action since the war began in 1914, and a sister who was with the St John’s Ambulance Society in Malta. His most recent news of the war’s progress was from the previous December. Jenness soon found a tent for Wilkins to sleep in, replacing the sled cover he had used since leaving the Polar Bear camp. On 16 June, Jenness made the first attempt to squelch the hostile atmosphere between Wilkins and the scientists that had existed since his arrival at the camp, a situation, Wilkins commented, which to my mind was growing more amusing all the while. I did not care for their opinions, but when we came to talk things over I could see that they had more grounds to look askance at me than I thought; or rather, I had thought at one time those conditions would be likely, but these thoughts were dispelled last Christmas when V.S. showed me copies of some of the communications to Dr. Anderson last year. In these it said that what Dr. Anderson had done seemed to be alright under the circumstances, but it would appear that he had not received instructions sent in last year. Another letter instructed him to put two boats on the work of

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searching for V.S. and said that members of the scientific staff should be placed in charge of them. It now seems, according to Jenness, and this is borne out by each of the others, that they each received a letter requesting their immediate return and asking them to discuss with Dr. Anderson the ways and means of getting out. This seems curious on the face of the other instructions,8 but without the dates of the communications it is hard to form any conclusions. However, the mere fact that these communications were sent in to the individuals alter[s] the whole aspect of the case. The Southern party, of course, did not know that V.S. nor myself did not get any communication to that effect, and thinking it likely that we did they did not agree with the expense and enlargements of plans by V.S. last summer and my willingness to help him on with these plans. Nevertheless, Jenness said that personally they were glad to welcome me amongst them for my own sake, but as a representative of V.S. they would have nothing to do with me. I hardly think that V.S. saw any communication to that effect last year, or he would not have made plans for the extension of the trip until 1917 or have gone to the unnecessary expense he did to carry on the work. His method of doing business always seemed lax to me, even with square-dealing people, but when Louis Lane got hold of him he just worked V.S. for what he could and was sorry afterwards that he did not ask for more. He would undoubtedly have got[ten] it. Under the circumstances and the evidence at hand, I can only disagree with the method he used and not the action. Following his discussion with Jenness, Wilkins turned over to him the three skulls he had found on Victoria Island and received in return, if not as compensation, complete suits of Copper Eskimo skin clothing (for both man and woman) for the Gaumont Company. The activities at Bernard Harbour had now begun winding down, as the men organized their collections and notes in preparation for sailing to Alaska as soon as navigational conditions permitted. Wilkins spent the next several days developing and printing the 3a Special Kodak pictures he had taken. On 20 June he gave Dr Anderson a report of his activities and those of Stefansson and Storkerson since the previous August. In the report, he mentioned Stefansson’s plan to take the Polar Bear east through the Northwest Passage in 1917.9 Ten days later Wilkins accompanied Jenness, Patsy Klengenberg, and Jennie Kannayuk to the fishing creek several miles southeast of the base camp, where he photographed the Copper Eskimos catching fish that were swimming upstream.10 The following day he helped Cox complete the detailed topographic mapping of the harbour, which Chipman had undertaken initially. A blistered foot restricted his activities for the next two days.

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Fig. 66. Copper Eskimos spearing salmon in the “fishing creek” (Nulahugyuk Creek), three miles south of the Southern Party’s house at Bernard Harbour, 29 June 1916. (Photo 37080 by D. Jenness, e 002280199, nac )

Preparations for the departure of the Southern Party from Bernard Harbour continued unabated between the time of Wilkins’ arrival and 13 July. During the last ten days of this period, Wilkins photographed the camp, the members of the Southern Party (except Chipman, who was already en route south), Corporal Bruce, Inspector La Nauze, and his two prisoners, some of the dogs, and the Copper Eskimo family of Ikpukhuak, Jenness’s adopted family.11 The photographs Wilkins took at this time of Ikpukhuak and his wife Higilaq in their dress clothing, have been reproduced frequently and in many publications as representative of the early-day Copper Eskimos and their manner of dress.12 The scientists had their specimens packed and ready to load by 5 July. By 9 July everything was on board the Alaska except kitchen supplies, the dogs, and an assortment of leftover items. The ice in the inner harbour had broken up, and was followed quickly by the ice behind Chantry Island. Wide leads appeared between the Liston and Sutton Islands and Lambert Island, and the strait looked navigable along the Victoria Island coast. It was not yet possible, however, to get through the ice that blocked the route west of Chantry Island to the open water to the west:

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Fig. 67. Copper Eskimos Ikpukhuak and Higilaq in dress costumes, Bernard Harbour, 11 July 1916. (Photo 36913 by G.H. Wilkins for D. Jenness, e 002280200, nac )

Quite different conditions to last year, when at this time the North Star was still on top of the ice in the harbour. By the 12th we were practically loaded up, but it still remained for us to clear out what we needed from the house and store tent, and then stow the rest in the house before we left. We set about this on the morning of the 13th, expecting it would take us all day. We could live on the boat, anyway, as easily as we could ashore. By 5 p.m. everything was loaded and the caches finally arranged. One cache was prepared for the use of the Northern Party. I do not know just what is in this cache, but there is a quantity enough for 20 or 30 men for 6 months, I should say. That is staples, of course, as well as fuel. The fuel question is not serious, for a little wood still remains on the beach and more comes every year. In addition to the cache being left for the Northern Party, there was a large supply of goods left in the expedition’s house for the use of the Church of England missionary, Reverend Girling. Dr Anderson had arranged with Jenness’s friend Ikpukhuak to look after the house and all of the supplies

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Fig. 68. cgs schooner Alaska being loaded before heading west to Nome, Alaska, from Bernard Harbour, 13 July 1916. (Photo 51269 by G.H. Wilkins, e 002213617, nac )

until the arrival of Reverend Girling and his two companions from Clifton Point, which was expected to be shortly after the ice breakup in the strait. Reverend Girling and his men were then going to move into the abandoned house in return for watching over the cache of supplies for the Northern Party. Some expedition food and equipment (including a canoe) had been turned over to Ikpukhuak and his family as compensation for their services and to keep them there until the arrival of the missionaries, as the fishing run at the nearby creek had ended, and all of the other Copper Eskimos had moved inland in search of caribou. Ikpukhuak and Higilaq were going to work for Reverend Girling thereafter. After all personnel, supplies, equipment, and dogs were on board the Alaska, Wilkins and Jenness rowed to the shore to allow Wilkins to film the (simulated) departure of the Alaska and to take the last pictures of the base camp.13 Engine trouble on the ship delayed the procedures for about an hour, during which time Wilkins read a book in the house while Jenness had a last visit with his “family.” Finally the boat pulled out, and taking the last film, Jenness and I rowed to the Alaska and were hauled on board. 344

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25 Leaving the Arctic 1 3 j u ly – 1 1 s e p t e m b e r 1 9 1 6

Three years and one month after leaving Victoria, Wilkins and the scientists of the Southern Party cast a last look at their desolate Arctic home of many months, as the Alaska steamed slowly out of Bernard Harbour on its way west to Nome. Daniel Sweeney captained the sixty-five-foot schooner, which was carrying an overabundance of humans (twenty-six), dogs (twenty-two), equipment, and supplies. After clearing the harbour entrance, the Alaska encountered about a mile of light ice, which it sliced through readily: “The North Star could not have touched it, and it was close enough to have made it dangerous with the Mary Sachs. The Alaska proved to be a much better boat than one would expect from her appearance and to hear some of the men talk.”1 Names of the scientists were drawn to determine their hours on watch, because Dr Anderson thought that one of them ought to be on duty on each watch. With six scientists, the twenty-four-hour day conveniently divided into watches of four hours each: It fell to my lot to take the 12 p.m. to 4 a.m. watch, probably the worst, but I did not mind that for it allowed me to be free during the day time to take pictures. Also I could then well escape having to eat hot cakes and mush for breakfast, for I could get my own at 4 a.m., and Anderson called me and Jenness came on after me, for which I was rather thankful. It might have been Johansen. Eastward-moving ice in the strait forced the Alaska to seek shelter behind Cockburn Point for many hours. During the wait, Wilkins and several other men went ashore on an island immediately east of the point and photographed nesting Eider Ducks. Mid-afternoon on 15 July the Alaska was able to work through loose ice into open water and headed west in a heavy swell. A thick fog enclosed the ship that evening, forcing the helmsman to steer by compass, which was

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Fig. 69. Last view of the Southern Party’s house at Bernard Harbour, from the deck of the schooner cgs Alaska, 13 July 1916. (Photo 42407 by F. Johansen, pa 214046, nac )

unreliable because of the proximity of the north magnetic pole. Land appeared from time to time through the fog, but could not be identified. Finally, during a brief clearing of the fog, Jenness recognized Reid Island off their port bow, which lay off the coast of Victoria Island, and the hills beyond as those among which he had hunted the previous year. The Alaska had become turned about in the fog, crossed the strait, and was heading east along the Victoria Island coast! A little while later they recognized the Liston and Sutton Islands, and were able to resume their westward course. By this time several of the men were seasick from the heavy swell. Stopped by ice near Young Point, Captain Sweeney thought it prudent to tie up behind the point until a lot of the ice had moved east with the current. About that time his Eskimo wife Eunice gave birth to a son Daniel Jr. She was up and moving around the ship an hour later. Ice and fog prevented the ship from proceeding westward for several days. The ice finally opened a bit offshore on 22 July, and the Alaska proceeded westward for a few miles. Early the next morning,2 it pulled abreast of the missionary’s house and schooner Atkoon, about ten miles west of Clifton Point. A mass of ice about two miles wide separated the Alaska from the shore, however, preventing the scientists from having a last visit with Reverend Girling.

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The Alaska passed DeWitt Clinton Point about noon, making good headway with very little ice, but enduring a heavy swell. A small vessel lay close to the shore a few miles farther west, which Dr Anderson thought might be the El Sueno. That evening the Alaska reached Pearce Point, where a man waved them around the point into the harbour, near to the beach on which were several tents. Wilkins thought it a picturesque place and the first good harbour he had seen since Cape Barrow at the mouth of Bathurst Inlet.3 As the Alaska approached the beach, the man rowed out to it and climbed on board. He was Captain Christian (Charles) Klengenberg, originally from Denmark, who had been living and hunting with his family for several years around Franklin and Darnley bays. As previously mentioned, he was the father of Patsy Klengenberg, the young boy on the Alaska who had assisted the scientists around Bernard Harbour for the past year. Captain Klengenberg was well known to Dr Anderson and several of the scientists, but it was Wilkins’ first encounter with him. He noted: He is a tall, lithe, bright-looking man, aggressive, and one would judge from his appearance not at all scrupulous, a man who under guidance could be extremely useful. He could not, I think, be driven to anything, but could well be guided by making him want to do anything for himself. Klengenberg asked Dr Anderson if he would transport him and his family to Baillie Islands, towing their whaleboat. His request was quickly agreed to, and he hurried back to shore to load his goods, his wife, and their six children. That did not take long; then all of them, including Edna, the girl we heard so much of, came aboard. Her greeting with Patsy was not very effusive. The other children were quite well behaved. Edna was reserved, but not at all shy or stupid, such as country girls are. In fact, it was pleasantly surprising to find such pleasant unaffectedness, absolute naturalness in a girl who might easily have had some sense of superiority and convention. Her clothing was neater than any other girl I had seen along the coast. Edna (or Aetna) was at that time about eighteen years old. Her father told the scientists that the El Sueno, under Captain Alexander Allan, had left his place a few days earlier to supply some men trapping several miles to the east before it returned to Baillie Islands, but its engine was in poor condition and it had little gasoline. It was obviously the vessel they had seen west of De Witt Clinton Point. Klengenberg had not caught many foxes, but claimed he had made a wonderful discovery of copper. The geologist O’Neill quizzed him about this, having examined the rocks along Darnley Bay in the spring of 1915,

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Fig. 70. Captain Christian (Charles) Klengenberg and his family in front of their scow-schooner, Baillie Islands, 26 July 1916. Left to right: Edna, Jorgen, Mrs Kenmek Klengenberg (holding Bob), Patsy, Andrew, Captain Klengenberg, and Lena. (Photo 36912 by D. Jenness, e 002280198, nac )

but Klengenberg would not reveal where or in what state the copper occurred, leaving O’Neill skeptical of his claim. From Pearce Point the Alaska steamed across Darnley Bay through scattered patches of ice and a cloudy sky during the small hours of the night, reaching Cape Parry shortly after 6 a.m. The sun came out, and the Alaska anchored just west of the point to let the geographer Cox take a solar reading for latitude and longitude determinations. After obtaining a time sight with the transit, he built a little stone cairn a few hundred yards east of the natural rock bridge on the cape. Before that, however, As we were nearing the point, one of the dogs in the whale boat [became] excited and raved up and down fighting all he could reach. Dr. Anderson and Jenness went to stop him, and the Dr., thinking he was crazy, asked someone to get a gun and shoot it after he had thrown it overboard. Klengenberg, however, said the dog was only anxious to get on land, he had seen several others behave like this and not to shoot him. There was some uncertainty as to what to do, anyway Dr. Anderson 348

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Fig. 71. Captain Charles Klengenberg’s scow-schooner Laura Waugh, which he called the Homely Hippopotamus, at Baillie Islands, 26 July 1916. (Photo 51330 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214037, nac )

threw it overboard but nobody shot it until we were some distance off. Then O’Neill and Hoff [the ship’s engineer] fired several shots but missed each time. The dog meanwhile got nearer the shore. He did not swim direct but in circles, but got nearer and nearer the shore until getting nearer the beach and he then went straight ashore, but when landing could hardly walk. Klengenberg walked up to the beach to see it and came back saying that the dog seemed alright but had swallowed so much water that he could not walk. He was eventually left there and we proceeded on past Booth islands. The Alaska then crossed Franklin Bay and anchored just off the sand spit at the Baillie Islands shortly before midnight. Captain Fritz Wolki’s schooner Rosie H. was grounded near the beach inside the sand spit, its bow just at the water’s edge: “It had started to sail in the spring and sank with the ice and remained on the bottom. The water just went through her now like it would a liner, although it never came up so far as the upper decks and the living quarters.” leaving the arctic

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Tom Emsley was in charge of the Rosie H. while Wolki wintered at a house he had at the mouth of the Horton River. At the moment, however, Emsley was fishing somewhere along the coast. His wife and another man were living on the Rosie H. Captain Klengenberg’s scow-schooner, the Homely Hippopotamus,4 was on the shore nearby. A few weeks later, Klengenberg used parts of that schooner to build a warehouse when he established the first trading post near the mouth of the Coppermine River. Wilkins noticed that in addition to about twenty tents on the sand spit, there was now the Hudson’s Bay Company building, which had been under construction when he had been there the previous August. Once on shore he enquired about the goods and museum specimens he had left in Wolki’s storehouse the previous August, but no one knew what had happened to them. Stefansson had told him some months previously that he believed he had “asked for them to be taken to Herschel Island by the Ruby,” but the new Hudson’s Bay Company man at Baillie Islands, Larsen, knew nothing about it. This man Larsen, wrote Wilkins, was about the roughest-looking person I have ever seen. He told us that he had been at some station in northern Canada where there were only a very few people and he had asked to be shifted to a much more lively place. He must have been overjoyed when he saw Baillie Settlement with one house and two tents. The Alaska remained at Baillie Islands for the next two days. Wilkins photographed various scenes and people around the village, and Inspector La Nauze of the Royal North-West Mounted Police (rnwmp ) brought the two Copper Eskimo prisoners ashore, where the local Eskimos entertained them.5 Ikey Bolt had always intended to return to his home in Point Hope, Alaska, but now he suddenly announced his intention to leave the expedition and work for Captain Klengenberg for a year. At the end of that time he would marry Klengenberg’s daughter Edna. Ikey was paid off with stores and two drafts totalling $118 drawn on the Department of the Naval Service. Mungalina also left the expedition at Baillie Islands, where he intended to stay with a relative, Taulona. He was paid off with stores. Wilkins commented: He had everybody on the island for a friend for the time we were there and would have until a few days after we left, and then when all his things were distributed and eaten up, he would be going round cutting wood for the various houses for his meals, for the Eskimos here have absorbed so much of civilization that they no longer cared to feed others out of custom or sympathy.

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Fig. 72. Local Eskimos entertain Sinnisiak and Uloksak Avingak, the two accused Copper Eskimo prisoners of the Royal North-West Mounted Police, at Baillie Islands, 26 July 1916. (Photo 51352 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214038, nac )

Patsy Klengenberg likewise left the expedition at Baillie Islands in order to go east with his father and family. He was paid off in guns, ammunition, and stores, in accordance with a list of articles he had requested after consultation with his father. Their value came to $300, his wages for the previous fifteen months. The Alaska left Baillie Islands for Herschel Island on the evening of 26 July. With clear weather and a smooth sea, it had little trouble with ice during the next forty-two hours, but did encounter a lot of fog. In spite of that, however, it passed without difficulty through the shallow waters north of the mouth of the Mackenzie River and arrived without incident at Herschel Island early in the afternoon of 28 July. Members of the local police detachment, Hudson’s Bay Company man William George Phillips, and a Dr Doyle came out in the police boat to greet the Alaska and its passengers. Phillips was departing that same afternoon on the Hudson’s Bay Company schooner Fort McPherson to establish its easternmost trading post in the

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Fig. 73. “Main Street,” Herschel Island, 4 August 1916. (Photo 51366 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214040, nac

western half of the Arctic at Bernard Harbour. He was therefore pleased to hear about the place from Dr Anderson and some of his men. He was taking with him the Baillie Islands’ Eskimo Tadjuk for his assistant. A Church of England missionary, Reverend Edward Hester, was going east with the Fort McPherson to scout for other localities that might be suitable for the establishment of a mission, but he intended to return to Herschel Island with the ship. Wilkins went ashore at Herschel Island in search of mail and received three letters from home, one from the Gaumont Company, and one from a hitherto unmentioned friend, Patricia Hoey. He was relieved to hear that his mother was well when she last wrote. Also I asked for official mail for V.S. and looked that over. There was only one from the government, and that was of no importance. Therefore I considered myself free to continue to the outside, especially as mother was still alive and well ... The Fort McPherson had come down the river and had gone out the day we came in, with Mr. Phillips on board to establish a base in Bernard Harbour. The Gladiator, which was now sold to Ole Andreasen and had wintered at King Point

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Fig. 74. The Hudson’s Bay Company supply schooner Fort McPherson preparing to leave Herschel Island to establish a trading post at Bernard Harbour, 4 August 1916. (Photo 51372 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 211618, nac )

after being unable to reach civilization last year because of impassable ice west of Herschel Island, had gone west a few days before. Also the Anna Olga, now owned by Martin Andreasen, went the same day. He had ventured [wintered?] at Atkinson Point and had about 1000 furs. They both intended to go to Nome, outfit, and return. At Herschel Island, Inspector La Nauze received the unexpected news that he was appointed to Herschel Island and had to stay there for the winter. He was very disappointed, but could find no way out of it. He showed me all of his correspondence relating to the Eskimo prisoners and one to his chief asking that I be allowed to write up the story of the two prisoners. I don’t know if I shall get an answer or ever write it up, but it would make a good story.6 During his stay at Herschel Island, Wilkins met the Church of England missionaries, Archdeacon C.E. Whittaker and Reverend W. Henry Fry. He had heard much of both men from Stefansson, not all of it complimentary, but noted

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They were as nice as they could be to all of us that would allow them. Whittaker is going to Fort McPherson, and Fry is going to live at Herschel Island. He got married last year and has a nice girlish-looking wife who will doubtless spend a more or less miserable time at Herschel island. On 1 August, Wilkins assisted Dr Anderson in selecting goods and equipment at Herschel Island for shipment to the Northern Party’s base at Cape Kellett, Banks Island, “by any ship that happened to be going up that way” – they were delivered later that month by the Herman. During most of the rest of the time he was at Herschel Island, Wilkins developed and printed photographs, for the weather was dull and cloudy and unsatisfactory for taking pictures. The remaining Eskimos who had worked with the Southern Party around Bernard Harbour – Mike and his wife Sis, Ambrose Agnavigak and his wife Unalina, Adam Ovayuak and his brother Silas Palaiyak – now left the expedition. They were paid off in stores, cash, and drafts on the Department of the Naval Service, which the local Hudson Bay Company store would exchange for goods. The Alaska left Herschel Island on the morning of 3 August. With only nine men left on board, each one had to serve six-hour watches. At Kamarkak, some thirty miles west of Herschel Island, Captain Sweeney let off his Eskimo wife, Eunice, and their infant child so that they could be with her parents, who were supposed to be living nearby. There was only one native tent there at the time: several tents dotted the next point to the west, one of which was occupied by Eunice’s sister, Laura, and her husband, Gallagher Arey. Wilkins immediately recognized Laura, for she had accompanied his sled party on 22 January 1914, from Barter Island to the icebound Belvedere. The Alaska then proceeded to the U.S.A.-Canada international boundary, where Wilkins and the geographer Cox went ashore with a transit and obtained a time sight at the International boundary monument (longitude 141° West). This enabled some of the men to correct their chronometers. Fog and ice hindered the Alaska’s westward progress during the next few days. The house where the expedition members had lived at Collinson Point in 1913–14 was now unoccupied. A few miles farther west, with Wilkins at the wheel, the Alaska ran aground on a shoal, and it took four hours of risky manoeuvres with the dory and several of the men in rough water to winch the ship free. On 7 August the Alaska passed Harrison Bay and Smith Bay. Just east of Point Barrow they passed the Argo, the schooner belonging to Gallagher Arey and “Scotty” McIntyre that Wilkins had planned to purchase the previous summer. It was heading east with a load of trading goods.

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The Alaska reached Cape Smyth opposite Charles Brower’s store shortly after midnight on 8 August. During a brief halt there, the expedition members caught up on the latest local news. Charles Brower now had fifteen children, and his cook, Fred Hopson, had inherited money from his sister, but continued to work for Brower. Ole Andreasen and the Gladiator had passed Cape Smyth on their way to Nome some while before, and his brother Matt in charge of the Anna Olga headed in the same direction on 6 August. Meanwhile Dr Anderson arranged to leave all but two of the Southern Party’s dogs with Brower and Hopson, as well as the old umiak and sleds. These were no longer needed, and Dr Anderson wanted the decks cleared before the Alaska faced the expected heavy seas en route to Nome. The Alaska encountered scarcely any ice south of Cape Smyth but did run into windy weather and nasty seas. Somewhere about Cape Lisburne, it started leaking worse than usual, and water flooded the engine room. The pump then failed to operate adequately, causing the engine to stop. Thoroughly discouraged with the situation, the engineer Hoff announced he would not be able to start it. Fortunately, Sweeney, Wilkins, Hoff, Cox, and possibly O’Neill collectively got the pump working again and the water level down, allowing Hoff to restart the engine. They reached Point Hope on 10 August, where during a brief stop the men slowed the ship’s leak by tightening the bolts of the stuffing box. While at Point Hope, Wilkins saw and photographed Jimmy Asatchuk, one of the two young Eskimos who left the Karluk with Stefansson, Wilkins, Jenness, and McConnell in September 1913.7 After leaving Point Hope, the Alaska followed the coast to Cape Thompson. Captain Sweeney wanted to continue along the north coast of Kotzebue Sound in case of further problems with the ship, but we persuaded him to go straight across, and it was just as well we did for by the time we reached Cape Prince of Wales we were into a rolling storm. The other bearing was leaking badly and the pumps were not working too well. This allowed a lot of water in the engine room and because of this and a fraction drive pump on the engine there was difficulty in keeping up the water circulation in the cylinders. The pulley would slip on the wet surface of the fly wheel. When within a few miles of the cape Hoff stopped the engines and would not start them again, and [we] rounded the cape finding a little shelter behind the sandspit at Wales. Wales was then a fairly large Eskimo village on the southeast side of Cape Prince of Wales. After the Alaska dropped anchor about a mile from the village on 11 August, three boats filled with Eskimos came out to the ship. From these people, Wilkins and the others on board learned that the U.S.

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Revenue Cutter Bear had gone north five days earlier and that Crawford, the former engineer of the Mary Sachs, had purchased a boat recently at Wales and was going to Minto Inlet on Victoria Island to trade with the Eskimos. Stefansson later reported that Crawford had teamed up with Leo Wittenberg, a man from Nome, and bought the schooner Challenge.8 Stefansson had considered buying it for the expedition in Nome in July 1913, but had found it to be unsatisfactory. A shift of wind resulted in the rapid departure of the three boatloads of Eskimos, who warned that the Alaska should seek shelter beneath a cliff at Tin City, about six miles along the coast. The men quickly got the Alaska underway and headed southeast for about six miles to a sheltered little bight just west of Tin City, and dropped its anchors one hundred yards from the shore beneath the steep cliffs. The little community was apparently abandoned. There they rode out the storm that enveloped them for a day and a half: It was a wonderful sight to see the clouds just passing over the cliff about 1000 feet high at that point, a light grey limpid mass curving over the top and half way down the cliff, and then scudding away over the ocean only to be thrashed and blown to disappearing just where they once more came in the full force of the gale. It was difficult to stand or walk against the wind so I sat at the bow with one foot on each anchor chain, dreading the least movement which might mean hauling them both in and shoving up again to the beach and dropping them and as we had both of them out with about 20 fathoms of chain, it meant some work with a hand wheel. Fortunately the anchors held, but the boat swayed back and forth on her lines like a tiger pacing its cage. A 3/4 moon showed at intervals through the rifts in the clouds, throwing ghostly shadows from the mast and rigging and reflections showed from the [ ] roof and the deserted shaft’s head and [ ] houses.9 It was the most weird experience that we had during our three years stay. The storm lasted all night, the next day and night, but the following afternoon we shifted position to a less gusty place. The winds finally dropped a little on 13 August and the skies cleared somewhat. Eagerly the men got the Alaska underway for Nome, but four hours later they were forced to drop anchor near the end of a long sand spit leading to the Reindeer Station at Port Clarence, as the wind had strengthened and the Alaska was again leaking badly. Setting forth early the following morning, the Alaska ran down the coast in a heavy swell and took shelter for a few hours at Sledge Island just outside Nome before anchoring about 4:30 a.m. half a mile outside Nome. The month-long voyage from Bernard Harbour was over.10

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Before the men were permitted to disembark, they had to undergo an examination by the local health officer, Dr Daniel Neuman. He soon came out on a tug and climbed on board the Alaska, along with Captain Joe Bernard. Bernard was about to sail back to Coronation Gulf on another trading venture. As Dr Neuman knew most of the men on board from when they had been in Nome in 1913, he “just asked us to come to the cabin and shook hands, judging from the look of us that we were strong and hearty enough to go ashore ourselves. He is just the same old sort as ever, does not seem to have changed at all.” Leaving the others on board, Captain Sweeney and Dr Anderson went ashore with the tug’s Captain Ross. Sweeney was to find and hire three sailors to look after the ship, thereby relieving the scientists of their custodial duties so that they could go ashore. Dr Anderson wanted to send a number of telegrams announcing their safe arrival at Nome and to obtain any mail for his Southern Party members at the post office. He also needed to arrange for the unloading of the cargo on the Alaska and the hauling of the ship onto shore. One of Dr Anderson’s telegrams went to the Department of the Naval Service in Ottawa requesting the immediate transmittal of $2,500 to cover travelling expenses to Ottawa for himself and his five scientific colleagues. Two years previously he had written Ottawa for a draft book to pay for assorted bills and for money to pay a few of the expedition’s Eskimos who wanted cash for wages. Late in 1915 he received only “a few loose blanks which V.S. evidently tore out of the back of the book and kept the rest,” but no cash.11 As a result, he had been forced to use drafts to pay his Eskimo employees in the summer of 1916. Dr Anderson suspected that Stefansson had commandeered the cash as well as the draft book. In a letter written early in 1916 to his wife, he wrote that Stefansson “had no money when he went out in the ice [1914], and had it to burn last summer, scattered new Canada bills right and left.”12 At Herschel Island in July 1916, the rnwmp handed Dr Anderson an envelope containing $240 in five-dollar bills, but no letter of explanation. He was told that Stefansson had taken most of the cash from the envelope in the summer of 1915. Obviously that had been the cash destined for Dr Anderson. This was confirmed after he got back to Ottawa, where he learned that the chief accountant of the Department of the Naval Service had, in May 1915, sent him a letter enclosing $2,500 in five-dollar bills in response to Dr Anderson’s request of August 1914. That letter reached Herschel Island the same summer and was among the Southern Party’s mail on the Alaska at Herschel Island when Stefansson reached there on 16 August 1915. According to the rnwmp , Stefansson promptly insisted on examining the mail destined for Dr Anderson before the Alaska sailed for

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Fig. 75. The main street of Nome, Alaska, 16 August 1916. (Photo 51405 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214042, nac )

Bernard Harbour and withheld for his own use some of the mail as well as $2,260 from the chief accountant’s letter,13 then sent the rest of the mail east a few days later on the El Sueno. Dr Anderson never forgave Stefansson for the theft of that money. After sending his telegrams, Dr Anderson returned to the Alaska. There had been no mail at Nome for his men, much to their disappointment. The remaining five members (Wilkins, Cox, Jenness, Johansen, and O’Neill) then all went ashore, eager to send messages of their safe arrival to their families and to obtain accommodation and get cleaned up at the Golden Gate Hotel: “When the Dr. came back without any letters we all wanted to get ashore ... We five went ashore with [Captain] Ross in the boat, and I went straight to the cable office to send wires home, to Gaumont and [the] New York Times and to La Nauze’s mother in Ireland.” None of the men had any cash, but Wilkins had two cheques: The Alaska Bank willingly changed the cheque for 87 dollars and said that they would put the other draft on the Bank of Commerce through, but it would cost 10 cents on the dollar. I thought I would try and save that much and would be able to if I should get the amount that the Naval Service Dept. should send. However, there was about 40 dollars left over from sending cables, so I looked round for the other boys and shared it with them.

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Fig. 76. The Log Cabin Club, Nome, Alaska, 16 August 1916, where the expedition members ate and socialized. (Photo 51408 by G.H. Wilkins, pa 214043, nac )

The cable office refused the report Dr Anderson had given Wilkins to send “collect” to the New York Times “until it was paid for or some guarantee was given for its payment. This was because the Globe had refused to take it when they had sent the 3000 word [cable] from V.S. last year.” Wilkins agreed to pay the costs if the two newspapers refused to accept them, but asked the cable office to enquire first if they would accept the charges. The New York Times accepted the collect cable,14 but the Globe in Toronto did not want it. They were the foremost newspapers in the United States and Canada at that time. The refusal by the Toronto paper probably had less to do with the cost involved and more to do with the country’s focus on the war in Europe and Canadian casualties at the time. The United States was not then officially embroiled in World War I and the latest exploits of Stefansson in the Arctic were still newsworthy items. The scientists were kept occupied for the next two weeks with afternoon teas, dances, dinner parties, and other social events, the likes of which they had not experienced for several years, if ever. During that time, however, they also got all of their specimens ready for shipment to Ottawa. Wilkins

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Fig. 77. The cgs schooner Alaska beached at Nome, Alaska, at the completion of the Southern Party’s Arctic activities, 27 August 1916. (Photo 39729 by Dr R.M. Anderson, pa 214045, nac )

took a variety of photographs of the town and of a nearby Eskimo village,15 then with his colleagues visited Dr Neuman to see his remarkable and extensive collection of Eskimo artifacts, which Wilkins thought was “probably the most complete in the world.” Later they visited Scotty Allen, the dog breeder. Allen had recently ordered a sled with a water-cooled airplane engine for propulsion, which Wilkins found of considerable interest and asked many questions about. Dr Anderson, meanwhile, was busy attending to assorted expedition arrangements, chief of which was the disposal of the Alaska. He had received instructions from Desbarats in the Department of the Naval Service in 1915 that all ships were to be returned to Victoria,16 but trying to take the unseaworthy Alaska south to Victoria made no sense whatever. After an exchange of cables with the Department of the Naval Service in Ottawa, he had the old schooner hauled onto the beach as the first step towards its ultimate disposal by sale.17 A crowd lined the dock on the morning of 28 August to see the scientists off on the coastal steamer S.S. Northwestern for Seattle. The steamer was anchored offshore, so all passengers, luggage, and freight were ferried by lighter to it and then hauled on board. The lighter was attached to the ship 360

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during the loading activities. Passengers stood on a gangplank, which was hauled to the boarding deck by a winch on the ship: The manner of embarking passengers is extremely crude, although safe with normal painstaking people. It was just an ordinary gang plank on slings with no support for the passengers or prevention from falling off except by the individual efforts of holding on to the ropes. Finally all members of the Southern Party were on board except Jenness, who was with the last load of expedition equipment on the lighter waiting to be hauled on board. Wilkins was busily getting settled in his cabin when he suddenly heard a scream and a thud: I wondered at the cause of the scream, but attributed the thud to the lighter being against the ship. Going outside, I noticed everybody looking over the side of the ship, and looking down saw two men stretched out on the lighter. One was black in the face and motionless. The other writhed and gurgled, the blood foaming at his mouth and running down over his face. A lady next to me told me that they had fallen off the plank when it was at its greatest height, leaned over backwards, and struck the lighter with their heads. The stewards hurriedly transferred all the baggage to the ship and lifted the men on the launch. One was apparently dead already and the other seemed badly hurt. Jenness had been standing next to the two men who fell off, and it was most fortunate for him that the man next to him, who was one of the victims, had not grabbed him for support. The two victims were taken ashore for treatment, but neither survived. A second accident occurred a few minutes later. The luggage was still being loaded when I noticed a man leaning against the steamer. The lighter moved away with the swell, and the man fell off, making a futile effort to hang on to a closed porthole, and fell into the water. There was a rush to help him and a little excitement. Nobody seemed to be able to see him for a moment or so, but soon he came up on the side of the lighter, and I saw it was Louis Lane. I realised then that there had really been no need for anxiety, for he is perfectly able to take care of himself in the water, and I have recollections of hearing how he had done that particular stunt on two previous occasions. However, I don’t think that it was intentional this time, for the water must have been awfully cold. Captain Louis Lane’s new ship, Great Bear, had been wrecked on Pinnacle Rock and abandoned just south of St Matthew Island on 10 August. He and his crew managed to reach St Matthew Island with provisions, tents, leaving the arctic

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Fig. 78. Five members of the Southern Party and friends on the coastal steamer Northwestern en route from Nome to Seattle, August 1916. Identifiable, left to right: (back row), Wilkins, O’Neill, and Cox; (front row) Jenness and Dr Anderson. (Photographer unknown)

and a stove, so had not been in a desperate state, but his plans for whaling, trading, and hunting big game that summer were shattered. He and the other survivors had been brought to Nome on 27 August by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Northwestern left Nome on the morning of 29 August and followed the inside passage south. When it reached the town of Seward, shortly after midnight on 3 September, Wilkins wasted little time in disembarking and getting through the town to the adjoining countryside: I can’t describe how glorious it was to hear the murmuring of the leaves after being away from them so long. I am afraid Miss Allen who was with me found me a very uninteresting companion at that time, for I just gloried in it and I was lost in ecstasy. It is hard to imagine now and to record in cold print how good it seemed. I was brought back to ordinary circumstances before long by the appearance of Mrs. Bunch and O’Neill, who had been looking for us all over the town. We wandered around the place and watched the day break and the sun gild the jagged tops, driving the blanketing steel-grey mist in the distance to the lower valleys only to be dispersed entirely a little later on. The boat was supposed to sail at 6 a.m., but by

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5:30 it was broad daylight so we went on board and to bed reluctantly, for although we were dead tired the trees still whispering called me.18 Later in the morning, the Northwestern stopped at La Touche in Prince William Sound to take on about 900 pounds of copper concentrate for the Kennecott Copper Corporation. Wilkins and several of the expedition’s members walked to the mine site. O’Neill met two college friends and one of his professors there.19 The next port-of-call was Valdez, where the steamer docked the following morning: Over the bridges on the way to the town, which was about half a mile away we could see hundreds of salmon struggling to get up the streams, struggling over the dead bodies of others who had failed in the attempt. The air was tainted with the smell of the rotten fish and hundreds of seagulls gorged themselves with what was to them the most tempting morsels, the eyes of salmon. At Cordova, while the steamer loaded salmon, Wilkins and Dr Anderson took a special fifty-mile railway excursion up the Copper River to see the Childs Glacier. Standing at a lookout point about half a mile distant in a chilly drizzling rain overlooking the glacier, Wilkins found it neither impressive nor picturesque, yet “it was wonderful.” The Northwestern then proceeded to Juneau, where it remained only briefly before proceeding to Ketchikan, which it reached early in the morning of 9 September. There the expedition’s naturalist, Fritz Johansen, disembarked, intending to proceed by boat to Prince Rupert and by train from there to Ottawa. Wilkins was impressed with the town: “It is a cleanlooking, aggressive little town, which looks inviting. I should like to spend a month or two here.” Soon after leaving Ketchikan, the Northwestern stopped to allow a woman to come on board from an arriving ship. She came directly to Wilkins’ breakfast table and quizzed Mrs Bunch about the accident at Nome, then about the expedition and its members: Mrs. Bunch was frightened by her abrupt business-like manner, and after breakfast she confessed to all who spoke to her that she thought the strange lady was a detective or a newspaper woman, and that is how the rumour started. It was amusing for the rest of the voyage to see the attitude of the various people towards her, some seeking publicity, the others shrinking. Nothing alarming happened, however, but just before reaching Seattle it was found out that she was a lawyer representing the lighter company who were suing the Alaskan company because of the accident and death of the two men.

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The Northwestern docked in Seattle at 2:30 p.m. on 11 September. Wilkins hastened ashore and cabled his news of Stefansson’s activities to the New York Times and the Chronicle in London. Then he spoke to reporters. Just how much he had changed from the modest young photographer he was at the start of the Arctic expedition is reflected by the headline that appeared in a Seattle paper a few days later – “Explorer travels 10,000 miles to go to war.”20 The accompanying article was about Wilkins’ activities and plans, not Stefansson’s. Mrs Anderson and the motion-picture photographer Will E. Hudson then joined the newly arrived expedition scientists. Hudson had visited and photographed some of them at Collinson Point in October 1913 and he photographed them again on this occasion.21 Mrs Anderson had arranged for her husband and his four colleagues to be driven around Seattle, followed by a dinner at the College Club. In the after-dinner speeches, Wilkins was the first one from the expedition to be called to the podium. There, in spite of the presence of Dr Anderson, he assumed the role of spokesman for the group and gave an outline of the whole expedition, something he would not have dreamed of doing three years earlier. His talk was well received.

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epilogue

From Seattle, Wilkins proceeded by steamer to Victoria and then by train to Ottawa, accompanied by Cox, Jenness, and O’Neill. Dr Anderson and his wife remained briefly in Victoria to enable him to complete some of his expedition business before continuing to Ottawa. In Ottawa, Wilkins stayed for nearly three weeks at the new and luxurious Chateau Laurier Hotel near the Parliament buildings. During that time he brought various government officials up to date on Stefansson’s activities, and prepared and submitted reports on his Arctic photographs, his geographical and meteorological observations, his collection of mammals and birds, and general notes on ice conditions, fuel supplies, fish and game, clothing requirements, winter travel, and dog sickness on the west coast of Banks Island.1 The detail and scope of these reports indicate how much Wilkins’ interests had broadened while he was in the Arctic. Being an intelligent, observant, and industrious young man, quick to learn, and curious about his world, he had rapidly acquired a basic knowledge about various fields of science from discussions with the multidisciplinary scientists of the Southern Party during his first year. Armed with this new-found knowledge and the confidence it gave him, he proceeded to make the first extensive mammal and bird collections on Banks Island, the island’s first accumulation of tide data, revisions to the coastline of Banks Island, and other scientific contributions, none of which would have come about had he chosen to pursue only his photographic interests. During the next two years while he was with the Northern (exploration) Party, his frequent philosophical discussions (and arguments) with Stefansson likewise undoubtedly served as the stimulus for his undertaking some of his remarkable adventures in subsequent years. Joining the expedition in 1913 as a first-rate photographer and cinematographer, he retained those qualifications when he left the Arctic in 1916, but he had also developed the leadership and visionary

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qualities that enabled him to become a world-renowned explorer.2 His three years in the Arctic thus proved to be the foundation years in the reshaping of his future, indeed, in the making of an explorer. His work in Ottawa completed, and having fulfilled his commitment to the Canadian Government, he took the train to Montreal on 9 October and sailed for London hoping to re-establish ties with his employers, the Gaumont Company and the Daily Chronicle.3 His stay in London was short-lived. On 4 December he sailed for Melbourne, Australia, on the steamship Coronthic to visit his widowed mother and siblings.4 Shortly after he got home, a family friend, General Hubert John Foster, helped him obtain a commission in the Royal Australian Air Force, and he was on his way back to England. There he became assistant to Frank Hurley, the official photographer for the Air Force, and was assigned the task of providing a photographic record of the Australian army in the war. Hurley had been Wilkins’ photographic counterpart on Shackleton’s 1914–17 Antarctic Expedition, which was the expedition Wilkins had mistakenly thought he was invited to join when he received the cable in 1913 (see prologue). Reaching France in July 1917, Wilkins and Hurley covered the entire Allied front, visiting every branch of the service, be they Australian, English, Irish, Scots, Canadian, American, South African, or French units. Wilkins subsequently photographed a wide variety of war scenes on the ground, including some at Ypres, and from the air.5 He also witnessed the downing of the German air ace, Baron Manfred von Richtofen, and photographed the baron’s wrecked plane.6 Wounded in action in 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross and bar. After the war Wilkins became involved in a series of incredible adventures, all making use of the experiences and love of exploration he developed while with the Canadian Arctic Expedition. One of the first of these was his attempt to become the first to fly a plane from England to Australia in September 1919, hoping to win the 10,000-pounds prize offered by the government of Australia. Engine trouble forced him out of the race. He then teamed up with a member of Shackleton’s 1914–17 expedition, John Cope, to explore and map the Antarctica coast by air, establish an Antarctic land base, and then fly to the South Pole and back late in 1920. That expedition was largely a failure because of inadequate funds, but Wilkins did manage to map thirty miles on foot of the Antarctica coastline. Wilkins then joined Shackleton on an expedition whose purpose, according to Thomas,7 was to circumnavigate the Antarctic continent in 1921, but Shackleton’s sudden death en route left Wilkins and the other members of the expedition to carry out his plans. Their ship proved unsuitable for the undertaking, but Wilkins did succeed in making a fine collection of birds on South Georgia which he later presented to the British Museum. 366

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Fig. 79. Lieutenant G.H. Wilkins in his Royal Australian Air Force uniform, 1917. (Photographer unknown; published by permission of The Ohio State University Archives, Papers of Sir George Hubert Wilkins, rg 56.6, box 35, No.9)

Greatly impressed with his exploring and collecting abilities, the British Museum later, in 1922, asked Wilkins to lead a collecting expedition to northern Australia. With three scientists knowledgeable in botany, mammalogy, and ornithology, he headed to Australia’s Northern Territory early in 1923 for nearly two and a half years, some of which he spent with a small tribe of nomadic cannibals. He ultimately returned to London with many species of mammals, reptiles, birds, plants, fish, and insects, as well as several boxes of fossils and mineral samples, for which he was well rewarded.8 Between 1926 and 1928, Wilkins made three attempts to fly from Alaska to Europe, a dream he had developed while in the Arctic with Stefansson. His first two attempts failed, but on his third, in April 1928, he and a U.S. Army pilot, Lieutenant Ben Eielson, successfully flew more than 2,500 miles non-stop from Point Barrow, Alaska, over the near-polar regions of Canada and northern Greenland, and landed in the Norwegian archipelago of Spitzbergen some twenty hours later when their gas supply ran low.9 This flight confirmed Wilkins’ belief that polar flight was possible. He was epilogue

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later knighted by King George V of Great Britain for his achievements, thereafter being known as Sir Hubert Wilkins. Flushed with the success of his Arctic flight, Wilkins decided to make the first flights over Antarctica. With financial backing from the American publisher William Randolph Hearst, he and pilot Eielson left New York in September 1928 with the little monoplane they had used to cross the Arctic and another plane just like it. Operating from Deception Island, 800 miles south of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, they initially flew south over the Bransfield Strait to Graham Land, crossed it, and then charted many miles of the unknown coast of the Weddell Sea. During this flight Wilkins also discovered eight islands, three channels, and a strait. He made a second flight to Antarctica and charted more land, but was not successful in finding a place to establish a land base on that continent. His flight did prove, however, the value of using an aircraft in territorial reconnaissance mapping. The following August, 1929, Wilkins was a passenger on the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin on its historic first flight around the world from Lakehurst, New Jersey, via New York, Paris, Berlin, northern Russia, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Chicago. The trip took twenty-one days. Wilkins was under contract with the newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst to photograph and write about the trip, but had such an enjoyable time that he looked upon the much-publicized flight as a highly enjoyable vacation. Shortly after his return, Wilkins married Suzanne Bennett, an Australian actress he had met in the United States, then delayed their honeymoon in order to lead yet another expedition to photograph and map Antarctica with aircraft. Flying out of Deception Island again, he soon discovered that the northern limit of the pack ice was 600 miles closer to Antarctica than the previous year, the result of an unusually warm season. Thus prevented from establishing a base within flying distance of Deception Island, he arranged to “borrow” the steamer William Scoresby and proceeded south with one pontoon-equipped airplane and a small Austin automobile fitted with eight wheels and chains for land operations, an early form of snowmobile. The ship steamed west beyond Peter I Island, then south, with Wilkins making reconnaissance flights over parts of the continent to extend his mapping, until the steamer ran short of fuel and Wilkins and his expedition members were forced to return north. Wilkins and Suzanne then flew to Switzerland on the Graf Zeppelin for a month-long honeymoon in Switzerland. While there he formulated plans for his last great adventure, an attempt to cross the Northwest Passage under the polar ice. He and Stefansson had argued the relative merits of flying the Arctic or exploring it by submarine sixteen years earlier while huddled in a snowhouse on Banks Island. Having now proven to his satisfaction

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Fig. 80. Sir Hubert Wilkins at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, in 1957, a year before his death. (Photo by A.L. Washburn, published with his permission).

that aircraft could operate in both the Arctic and Antarctic, Wilkins wanted to test Stefansson’s idea about the use of submarines in polar regions. Wilkins soon persuaded the United States Navy to sell him for one dollar an old submarine that was due to be scrapped. Following extensive renovations, he joined a carefully selected crew in 1931 and proceeded to Spitzbergen and from there to the polar ice, which they encountered some 600 miles from the North Pole. At that point the captain found that the submarine had lost its diving rudders. Wilkins’ plans to go through the Northwest Passage had to be called off, but he did succeed in making the first submersions ever attempted beneath the polar ice. Polar and sub-polar air travel became a reality two decades later. Polar surface and submarine navigation and exploration likewise proved feasible by the 1950s, though on a more limited scale. Between 1932 and 1936, Wilkins returned to the Antarctic for a few months each year, serving as second-in-command on mapping expeditions

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led by Lincoln Ellsworth. His experiences during those journeys remain largely untold. In August 1937, Wilkins was called upon to head a search for six Russian aviators who, with their four-engine transport plane, had disappeared during a flight over the North Pole to test a proposed trans-Arctic passenger route. The Soviet Embassy in Washington contacted Stefansson, then president of the Explorers Club, and he recommended his close friend Wilkins to lead the search. Wilkins quickly obtained the use of a Consolidated pby type flying boat and crew and flew north to the little Copper Eskimo settlement of Coppermine (now Kugluktuk), on Canada’s central Arctic coast. From there he navigated the search plane on a series of radiating flights hundreds of miles north and northwestward, over Victoria Island, Melville Island, Banks Island, and Prince Patrick Island and beyond. On one occasion his pilot landed the big flying boat on the southeast side of Prince Patrick Island when fog enshrouded the mouth of the Coppermine River, rendering a landing there impossible. This was undoubtedly the first occasion that a large aircraft landed safely among Canada’s Arctic islands. Wilkins continued the aerial search for the missing Russians northward from Barter Island until September, then renewed the search with a smaller aircraft from Barrow and Aklavik in the winter, all to no avail. No trace of the missing Russian aviators was ever found.10 This was Wilkins’ last major Arctic adventure. Thereafter he served as consultant for the United States military, became active with the fledgling Arctic Institute of North America, travelled widely, lectured frequently, and was involved in many other activities having to do with the Arctic or Antarctic. After his death in 1958 at age seventy, his ashes were carried north by the American nuclear submarine Skate and scattered on the ice at the North Pole following a brief memorial service on 17 March 1959, as he had requested. It was a fitting final tribute to one of the twentieth century’s great polar explorers.

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appendix 1

Birds Collected by G.H. Wilkins on Banks Island, 1914 Data from Ornithology Section, Canadian Museum of Nature, Gatineau, Quebec Field No.

Museum Genus and No. Species

Name

Date Collected

Locality

816 817 818 819 820 827 828 844 845 854 855 856 859

10074 10075 10076 10077 10078 10085 10086 10102 10103 10112 10113 10114 10117

Stercorarius pomarinus Stercorarius pomarinus Stercorarius pomarinus Stercorarius pomarinus Stercorarius pomarinus Larus thayeri Larus thayeri Somateria spectabilis Somateria spectabilis Branta bernicla nigricans Branta bernicla nigricans Branta bernicla nigricans Crocethia alba

Pomarine Jaeger Pomarine Jaeger Pomarine Jaeger Pomarine Jaeger Pomarine Jaeger Thayer’s Gull Thayer’s Gull King Eider King Eider Black Brant Black Brant Black Brant Sanderling

Sept. 3 Sept. 3 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Sept. 3 Sept. 17 Sept. 6 Aug. 30 Aug. 30 Aug. 31 Aug. 31 ca. Aug. 31 Aug. 24

860

10118

Crocethia alba

Sanderling

Aug. 24

865 866 867 868 869 870 871 873 874 875 876 877

10123 10124 10125 10126 10127 10128 10129 10131 10132 10133 10134 10135

Squatarola squatarola Squatarola squatarola Squatarola squatarola Lagopus lagopus Lagopus lagopus Lagopus lagopus Lagopus lagopus Lagopus mutus rupestris Lagopus mutus rupestris Lagopus mutus repestris Lagopus mutus repestris Nyctea scandiaca

Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Plover Willow Ptarmigan Willow Ptarmigan Willow Ptarmigan Willow Ptarmigan Willow Ptarmigan ssp Willow Ptarmigan ssp Willow Ptarmigan ssp Willow Ptarmigan ssp Snowy Owl

Sept. 4 Sept. 6 ca. Sept. 6 Sept. 12 Sept. 25 Oct. 7 Oct. 9 Sept. 5 Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 25 Sept. 26

Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Nr. C. Lambton Nr. C. Lambton Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett

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10136 10137 10138 10139 10140 10141 10142 10143 10144 10145 10146 10147

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Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Nyctea scandiaca Corvus corax Calcarius lapponicus Calcarius lapponicus Seiurus noveboracensis

Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Snowy Owl Common Raven Lapland Longspur Lapland Longspur Northern Waterthrush

Oct. 5 Oct. 13 Nov. 20 Dec. 8 Sept. 5 Sept. 5 Sept. 8 Sept. 6 Sept. 17 Sept. 3 Sept. 5 Sept. 11

Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett

Wilkins collected at least eight other specimens that were not given museum numbers. They may have been discarded or lost. They were one Snowy Owl, collected 19 Jan. 1915 at Cape Kellett, and five gulls and two ptarmigan, collected 28 Aug.–7 Sept. 1915 at Cape Prince Alfred.

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appendix 2

Mammals Collected by G.H. Wilkins on Banks Island (1914 except as indicated) Data from National Collections of Mammals, Zoology Division, Canadian Museum of Nature, Gatineau, Quebec Field No.

Museum Genus and No. Species

Name

Date Collected

Locality

897

2918

Thalarctos maritimus

Polar bear

Dec. 10

898

2929

Thalarctos maritimus

Polar bear

Dec. 10

– 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915A 916E 917B 918C 919D 920 921 922A 923B 924 925

2920 3012 3013 3014 3015 3016 3017 3018 3019 3020 3021 3022 3023 3024 3025 3026 3027 3028 3029 3030 3031 3032 3033

Rangifer arcticus Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam)

Caribou Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox

Oct. 11 Aug. 27 Aug. 27 Aug. 28 Sept. 9 Oct. 1 Oct. 1 Oct. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 6 Oct. 2 Oct. 7 Oct. 11 Oct. 11 Oct. 11 Oct. 11 Oct. 11 Oct. 12 Oct. 13 Oct. 13 Oct. 15 Oct. 15 Oct. 15

17 mi. se of C. Kellett 17 mi. se of C. Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett

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926 927A 928C 929 930B 931D 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939B 940C 941

3034 3035 3036 3037 3038 3039 3040 3041 3042 3043 3044 3045 3046 3047 3048 3049

Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam)

Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox

Oct. 15 Oct. 16 Oct. 16 Oct. 16 Oct. 16 Oct. 16 Oct 16 Oct. 16 Oct. 18 Oct. 18 Oct. 18 Oct. 18 Oct. 18 Oct. 18 Oct. 18 Oct. 22

942

3050

Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam)

Arctic fox

Oct. 22

943 944 945 946 947 948B 949A 950 951A 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 973 974 321

3051 3052 3053 3054 3055 3056 3057 3058 3059 3060 3061 3062 3063 3064 3065 3066 3067 3068 3069 3070 3071 3072 3073 3074 3075 3081 3082 3083

Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam)

Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox

Oct. 25 Oct. 26 Oct. 27 Oct. 29 Oct. 30 Oct. 30 Oct. 30 Nov. 1 Nov. 1 Nov. 1 Nov. 4 Nov. 11 Nov. 11 Nov. 12 Nov. 14 Nov. 14 Nov. 1 Nov. 17 Nov. 19 Dec. 8 Dec. 11 Dec. 11 Dec. 17 Jan. 8 Jan. 8 Fall Fall Fall 1913

903 3088 1049 3089

Lepus articus andersoni (nelson) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam)

Arctic hare Arctic fox

Dec. 4 Dec. 30

374

appendix two

Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett (inland) Cape Kellett (coast) Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett n . coast Alaska Cape Kellett Cape Kellett

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3511 3512 3513 3514 17027

Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Alopex lagopus innuitus (Merriam) Thalarctos maritimus (phipps)

Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Arctic fox Polar bear

unknown Oct. 17 Oct. 12 Dec. 30 Dec. 10

6?

17028 17029

Thalarctos maritimus (phipps) Thalarctos maritimus (phipps)

Polar bear Polar bear

Aug. 23 Sept. 2

83

17033

Thalarctos maritimus (phipps)

Polar bear

Dec. 10

81

17036

Thalarctos maritimus (phipps)

Polar bear

Dec. 8

A 84

Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett Cape Kellett 17 mi. se of C. Kellett Thesiger Bay Near Cape Kellett 17 mi. se of C. Kellett 30 mi. ne of C. Kellett

Three Arctic wolf specimens in the museum’s collection (Nos. 2793, 2794, 2795) from the Cape Kellett area, Banks Island, were collected by Wilkins on Sept. 9 and Dec. 14 and 15, 1914, respectively. They were for some reason catalogued under Dr R.M. Anderson’s name, although he did not set foot on Banks Island. Wilkins also collected “a sledge-load” of birds and mammals late in 1915 in northwestern Banks Island, according to Stefansson (1921, 493), which were to have been taken to Cape Kellett from the North Star base camp on the northwest coast of the island and shipped to Ottawa, but the museum has no record of them. Many caribou skins would have been included.

appendix two

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notes

abbreviations cae cmc cmn dc gsc nac nrc osu rnwmp

Canadian Arctic Expedition Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull (Gatineau), Quebec Canadian Museum of Nature, Aylmer (Gatineau), Quebec Stefansson Collection, Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Canada Canadian Permanent Committee On Geographical Names, Natural Resources Canada Byrd Polar Research Center Archives, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Royal North-West Mounted Police

preface 1 Wilkins did, however, take with him from the Karluk a small green notebook, “The Wellcome Photographic Exposure Record and Diary 1913,” which contains some entries between 17 June and 18 December 1913. The entries prior to 13 September are few and brief, and his handwriting is so small as to be almost unreadable. The notebook is in the Stefansson Collection, Wilkins Papers, box 1, folder 14, dc . 2 Charles Camsell, Deputy Minister of Mines, to Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, 6 February 1924, rg 42, vol. 478, file 84-2-32, vol. 3, nac . 3 Wilkins took his first photos of Banks Island on 23 August 1914. Just two weeks earlier on 9 August, Bernard (Ben) Kilian, the engineer on Captain Louis Lane’s schooner Polar Bear, had taken what are almost certainly the first photographs of Banks Island while that vessel was sailing along the island’s southern coast in search of whales (Bockstoce 1983, 106). Ironically, Wilkins had sup-

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plied Captain Lane with 600 gallons of distillate fuel at Herschel Island on 28 July, on written instructions left by Stefansson in March, which enabled Lane to visit the southern coast of the island before Wilkins got there (see chapter 9). 4 According to Wilkins’ diary, he collected 5 Pomerine Jaegers, 2 Thayer’s Gulls, 2 King Eider Ducks, 3 Black Brant Geese, 2 Sanderlings, 3 Black-bellied Plovers, 8 Willow Ptarmigans, 9 Snowy Owls, 1 Common Raven, 2 Lapland Longspurs, and 1 Northern Waterthrush. All were collected on the southern coast of Banks Island between August and November 1914. He also collected 8 other specimens (1 Snowy Owl at Cape Kellett, and 5 gulls and 2 ptarmigan at Cape Prince Alfred) in 1915, the whereabouts of which remain unknown. 5 Seven polar bears, 1 Arctic hare, 1 caribou, 3 wolves, and 72 Arctic foxes (all except one fox from near Cape Kellett, and all but 3 foxes between August and December 1914). Stefansson’s The friendly Arctic (493) states that Wilkins collected an assortment of mammal specimens in the fall of 1915 near Cape Prince Alfred, but they were probably left at the North Star camp and never retrieved.

prologue 1 The original cable is in the Wilkins Collection, location 127-15-1, box 13, folder 11, osu . 2 Wilkins’ name appears on the ship’s passenger list, Records of the Immigration Branch, rg 76, c -1a, reel t 4796, nac . 3 V. Stefansson to G.J. Desbarats, 23 378

notes to pages xviii–28

May 1913, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 475, file 84-229, vol. 1, nac . 4 V. Stefansson to Chief Accountant, Department of the Naval Service, 25 July 1913, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 476, file 86-229, vol. 2, nac . 5 Thomas 1961, 66.

chapter one 1 The San Francisco News of 22 December 1913 reported that Captain C.T. Pedersen, the man Stefansson originally hired to take the Karluk into the Arctic, had heard rumours when he was in northern Alaska that summer that a mutinous crew might have forced Stefansson to leave the Karluk because of bad feelings over provisions. I have seen no evidence that would support such an accusation. 2 They were taken by the magnetician, William L. McKinlay; one appears in his book, Karluk (1975, 130). McKinlay’s original negatives are with his papers (Dep. 357/57) in the National Library of Scotland, Edinborough. The National Archives of Canada has prints of these two pictures (pa 203460 and 203461). 3 A lead is a long narrow passage of water in the ice pack. 4 All quotations from Wilkins’ diary are given without a source reference, and longer excerpts are in italics with a ragged right margin. Quotations from other sources include a source reference, and longer excerpts have a justified right margin. 5 These are two narrow islands at the mouth of the Kogru River, on the south side of Harrison Bay. 6 Thomas 1961, 69.

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7 Negative no. 51449, National Museum of Canada Collection, Accession 1979-298, box 2000902511, nac . 8 Wilkins, Stefansson, and Jenness all misspelled the name of the settlement as Cape Smythe. McConnell used both correct and incorrect spellings. The official spelling is Cape Smyth, the nearby cape being named after William Smyth, mate on the H.M.S. Blossom, one of several British vessels sent to the western Arctic in search of the missing Sir John Franklin expedition in 1850. 9 Brower 1942, frontispiece. Brower spelled the name of his trading post with an e on Smyth (Brower 1942, 131).

4 Stefansson Collection, Stefansson Papers, box 4, folder 3, dc . 5 Some of Wilkins’ Balkan War experiences are included in Gibbs and Grant 1912. 6 Wilkins’ negative 51449, nac .

chapter three 1 Stefansson 1921, 84. 2 3 4 5

6 7

chapter two 1 T.A. Welsh to V. Stefansson, 27 February 1914, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 3, dc. A copy of Welsh’s letter to the deputy minister of the Naval Service, Ottawa, on the same subject is in the same folder. 2 Wilkins spelled Ikey Bolt’s Eskimo name this way in his diary. Stefansson (1921) spelled it Angutitsiak, while Jenness (1913–16, Jenness Papers, mg 30 b 89, nac ; S.E. Jenness 1991) spelled it Añutisiak, the ñ signifying a sound similar to “ang.” A few months later, at Collinson Point, the expedition members began calling him Ikey. The son of Akkevrak Ben Bolt of Point Hope, Alaska (Anderson Papers, Cash Book, box 10, file ac /96-076, p. 18, cmn ), Ikey Bolt became well known in later years as a trader around Coronation Gulf. 3 S.E. Jenness 1991, 35.

8 9

10

11

12

Ibid. Leffingwell 1919. Stefansson 1921, 86–9. Chipman’s diary contains many critical remarks about the state and operations of the expedition (Chipman Papers, Diary, mg 30 b 66, nac ). Harrison, 1908. Stefansson Collection, McConnell Papers, Arctic Diary, 14 December 1913, folder 26, dc . Stefansson 1921, 94. For more about Hudson and the activities of the men on the Polar Bear that winter, see Bockstoce 1983. Letter from G.H. Wilkins to The Editor, Daily Chronicle, London, 6 April 1914; copy in Stefansson Collection, Wilkins Papers, box 1, folder 1, dc . Dr Anderson had taken his official mail for Ottawa and personal mail from the various expedition members to the Belvedere, from where it would be taken to the police post at Herschel Island and from there would go south. On his way back to Collinson Point, Dr Anderson had encountered Stefansson, who was also heading for Herschel Island with mail, and they had discussed and disagreed over the latter’s plans (Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 18– 19 December 1913, cmn ). Wilkins’ negatives 50701, 50702, notes to pages 30–6o

379

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16

17 18

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and 50703, nac . See cmn , S.E. Jenness 2001, 189. Wilkins’ negative 50704, nac . Wilkins’ negative 50705, nac ; also Chipman’s negative 43258, gsc . Wilkins actually took two photographs on that occasion: negatives 50706 and 50707, nac . V. Stefansson to Dr R.M. Anderson, letter from Herschel Island dated 4 January 1914; R.M. Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Stefansson Correspondence file, cmn . Niven 2000, 51, 55–6, 59–60. Dr Anderson’s field notes for 12 October state simply and factually that the Elvira sank about 5:42 a.m. on 23 September (Anderson Papers, Field Notes, cmn ). He indicated no source for his information, but must have obtained it from Will Hudson, the photographer on the Polar Bear, who had just arrived at Collinson Point from the Polar Bear camp. However, Bernard Kilian, the engineer on the Polar Bear, was involved with trying to salvage the crippled Elvira at the time and reported that she was on fire, adrift, and sinking later that same day (Bockstoce 1983, 54). Although he apparently did not see her sink, his diary recorded his seeing her after Dr Anderson had stated she had sunk. That would mean that either Dr Anderson’s time of sinking or his date was wrong. It seems likely, therefore, that the Elvira sank on 24 September, not on 23 September as Dr Anderson reported.

chapter four 1 For additional information about the Belvedere in 1913–14, see Bockstoce 1983. 380

notes to pages 60–81

2 More information about Mogg can be found in Bockstoce 1977, 1983, and 1986. 3 Finnie 1978, 2–7. 4 Wilkins’ negatives 50769 and 50770, nac . 5 Stefansson’s letter was dated 24 January 1914 from the Mackenzie Delta. Johansen did not retain the original letter, but mentioned some of its contents in his diary. The diary, written in Old Danish, is archived in the Arktisk Institut, Charlottenlund, Denmark. A photocopy of Johansen’s diary and an English translation of it are in the Johansen Papers, mg 30 b 165, nac . 6 Johansen’s two-page letter from the Belvedere, 6 February 1914, is in the Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 3, dc . 7 Chipman’s half-page letter from Collinson Point, 11 February 1914, is in the Stefansson Collection,box 4, folder 3, dc . 8 Most of these supplies had been moved on the Polar Bear and the Elvira from O’Connor’s cabin at Collinson Point only the previous August (Bockstoce 1983, 46). 9 V. Stefansson to G.J. Desbarats, 14 February 1914 from Fort Macpherson, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 2, dc . Desbarats was the deputy minister of the Department of the Naval Service. 10 Wilkins’ letter from the Belvedere, 6 February 1914, is in the Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 3, dc . 11 O’Neill examined the geology of the Firth River south of Herschel Island (O’Neill 1924). 12 This one-page list, “Articles freighted from Belvedere to Martin Point,” is in the Anderson Papers, cae Collection, cmn .

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chapter five 1 In those days before radio, aerial photographs, and satellite-aided location devices, the determination of one’s geographic location required the use of high-accuracy watches known as chronometers and the determination of the elevation of the sun exactly at noon with the aid of a sextant. The cae had few chronometers, but it was essential for Stefansson to have one when he explored for land north of the Alaskan coast. 2 Stefansson 1921, 120–2. 3 Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 8 March 1914, cmn . 4 Notes written by Dr Anderson on a copy of Stefansson’s letter to him of 24 January 1914, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 476, file 84-2-28, vol. 2, nac . 5 Stefansson 1921, 111–23. 6 Thomas 1961, 46–7. 7 Stefansson 1921, 122. 8 Dr R.M. Anderson to Mrs R.M. Anderson, 28 June 1914, Anderson Papers, mg 30 b 40, vol. 7, file 11, nac . 9 This was the last occasion that Wilkins showed motion pictures during the expedition. 10 This letter is in the Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Stefansson Correspondence file, cmn . 11 V. Stefansson to G.H. Wilkins, onepage letter, 12 March 1914, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 3, dc . A copy is in the Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Wilkins file, cmn .

chapter six 1 Named by the explorer Robert Edwin Peary in 1906 after George

2

3 4 5 6 7

Crocker, who had made a considerable financial contribution to Peary’s 1905–06 Arctic expedition to reach the North Pole. On that expedition Peary sledded along the northern coast of Ellesmere Island and crossed to the northern tip of Axel Heiberg Island, from where he claimed that he saw the snow-clad summits of mountains far to the northwest. Curiously, his journal contains no mention of such a sighting (Berton 1988, 551–65). Donald B. MacMillan, a member of Peary’s 1905–06 expedition, sought to mount an expedition in 1912 in search of the land Peary claimed he saw in 1906. However, MacMillan’s expedition, known as the “Crocker Land Expedition,” was delayed a year owing to the unexpected death of its co-leader, George Borup (Allen 1962, 148–9). Stefansson 1921, 144. Wilkins’ negative 50776; see also pa 2144013, nac . Wilkins’ negatives 50777 to 50782, nac . Wilkins’ negatives 50783 to 50785, nac . Wilkins’ negatives 50793 to 50802; see also pa 214015, nac .

chapter seven 1 See chapter 5, note 11. 2 For a detailed description and history of the shore whaling near Point Barrow, see Bockstoce 1986, 231– 54. More about the early days of shore whaling and an entertaining account of Brower’s own life appear in his autobiography (Brower 1942). 3 His two-page letter is in the Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Wilkins file, cmn . notes to pages 84–1o5

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4 Wilkins’ negatives 50818 to 50824, nac .

chapter eight 1 V. Stefansson to G.H. Wilkins, handwritten three-page letter dated 6 April 1914, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 3, dc . 2 Ibid. 3 G.H. Wilkins to V. Stefansson, 9 June 1914, copy in Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 3, dc . 4 Stefansson, n.d., “The most unforgettable character I’ve met,” Stefansson Collection, Wilkins Papers, dc , 12–13. 5 Dr R.M. Anderson to Mrs R.M. Anderson, 28 June 1914, Anderson Papers, mg 30 b 40, vol. 7, file 11, nac . 6 V. Stefansson to Dr R.M. Anderson, 6 April 1914, Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Stefansson Correspondence file, cmn . 7 Stefansson had originally asked Wilkins to make an inventory of O’Connor’s supplies at Demarcation Point, but Jenness ultimately made it. 8 Thomas 1961, 83. 9 Stefansson Collection, McConnell Papers, Arctic Diary, 17 June 1914, folder 28, dc . 10 Ibid. 11 Stefansson Collection, McConnell Papers, Arctic Diary, 9 July 1914, folder 28, dc . 12 A list of the items McConnell gave to Wilkins on 16 July is in the Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 13, dc . 13 Wilkins used the term “distillate” for a kerosene-type fuel produced during the distillation of crude petroleum. This fuel was used not only for the gasoline engines of 382

notes to pages 115–49

ships such as the North Star and the Polar Bear but also for cooking. 14 The Alaskan Eskimo Oyuriak and his family were camped at the mouth of Clarence Lagoon while Wilkins was nearby. Wilkins took two photographs of the camp (Wilkins’ negatives 51441 and 51442, nac ).

chapter nine 1 The original copy of this agreement is in the Stefansson Collection, Wilkins Papers, box 1, folder 1, dc . An abridged version is in Dr Anderson’s Field Notes, 8 August 1914, Anderson Papers, cmn . 2 There has been controversy for many years about the identity of the four skeletons found on Herald Island by Captain Louis Lane in 1924. In Dr R.M. Anderson’s view, the evidence recorded by Captain Lane rendered it almost certain the men were not the scientist’s party as stated by Wilkins but the party of the first mate, Sandy Anderson. Crich (1990) argued to the contrary, because her uncle, Stanley Morris, was the sailor accompanying the scientists, but Niven (2000) favoured Dr Anderson’s interpretation. There the matter rests. 3 Thomas 1961, 84–5. 4 A copy of these instructions, together with comments added later by Stefansson, is in Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 476, file 84-2-29, vol. 3, nac .

chapter ten 1 Thomas 1961, 86. 2 The name Smoking Hills is given to the cliffs along about one hundred

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8 9

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miles of coastline overlooking Franklin Bay both north and south of the mouth of the Horton River. The oxidation of concentrations of pyrite in bituminous shales near the base of these cliffs results in local spontaneous burning, giving off dense clouds of pungent smoke. First recorded in 1826 by Dr John Richardson, a member of Sir John Franklin’s exploration party, these unusual rocks are of Late Cretaceous age. They have been burning for many years. Captain J. Bernard sold his collection of some 3,000 Eskimo artifacts from Coronation Gulf to the University of Pennsylvania (Macbeth 1923). Thomas 1961, 87. The skin of this bear, the first one shot by Wilkins and possibly the first animal specimen collected from Banks Island, is now in the collection of the Canadian Museum of Nature (specimen 17028). It is now named the Masik River after a Russian trapper named August Masik, whom Stefansson met near Cape Kellett in 1917 and employed for a year. A list of items left in the cache, signed “Geo. H. Wilkins, Commander,” is in the Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 6, dc . Thomas 1961, 88. Five Pomerine Jaeger specimens collected by Wilkins near Cape Kellett on 3 and 4 September 1914 are in the Ornithology Section collections (specimens 10074 to 10078), cmn . See appendix 1. See, for example, Stefansson’s comments following Wilkins’ letter to him, dated 7 February 1915, concerning the exchange of schooners

at Herschel Island the previous August (Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 476, file 84-229, vol. 3, nac ). 11 Thomas 1961, 88.

chapter eleven 1 Thomas 1961, 89. 2 Wilkins’ negatives 50869 (Stefansson), 50870 (Storkerson), and 50871 (Andreasen), nac . 3 Stefansson 1921, 263. 4 The “logs” Wilkins observed were, in fact, the trunks of larch trees that grew in the area more than 730,000 years ago. Glacial studies in the 1980s established that the trunks were in non-glacial, terrestrial sediments underlying the oldest glacial deposits on Banks Island (Fulton 1984; Vincent 1989). These preglacial sediments, named the Worth Point Formation, overlie the Beaufort Formation, which is of Miocene age, and underlie the oldest glacial deposits, which are Pleistocene in age, both at the locality Wilkins mentioned (now called Duck Hawk Bluffs) and a few miles north of Cape Kellett at Worth Point Bluffs. The “logs” occur in a peat zone in the Worth Point Formation that is up to sixteen feet thick. This zone also includes assorted partly decomposed shrubs and herbaceous plants interpreted as reflecting an open subarctic forest-tundra environment at that time. They mark the last time that big trees grew on Banks Island. The “pine cone” Stefansson reportedly observed probably came from older Miocene sediments in which there is evidence that there once existed widespread spruce and larch forests on Banks notes to pages 149–66

383

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Island. The Miocene climate was warmer than that reflected by the peat and tree trunks near Cape Kellett. The Worth Point Formation is not yet precisely dated, but is thought to be Late Pliocene (Vincent 1989). 5 Manning 1956, 24. 6 V. Stefansson to G.J. Desbarats, Report for 16 September 1914 to 29 January 1915, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 476, file 84-2-29, vol. 2, nac . 7 G.J. Desbarats to The Gaumont Co. Ltd., London, 10 July 1917, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 477, file 84-2-32, vol. 1, nac . Wilkins’ salary was thus three times that of the scientists Jenness and Beuchat (S.E. Jenness 1991, xxxi).

4

5

6 7 8

with the attraction of trappers to that locality in the early 1920s and ultimately in the establishment of Sachs Harbour. His short report with its original tidal data is in the Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 476, file 84-2-29, vol. 3, nac . Three of the wolf specimens from Cape Kellett (2793, 2794, and 2795) are in the collection of the cmn . Many years ago they were incorrectly attributed in the museum’s catalogue and database to Dr Anderson as collector, rather than Wilkins. Dr Anderson was never on Banks Island. Stefansson 1921, 287. These skins are in the collections held by the cmn . See appendix 2. Stefansson 1921, 291.

chapter twelve chapter fourteen 1 2 3 4 5

Stefansson 1921, 281. Museum specimen 2920, cmn . Stefansson 1922. Wilkins 1931. Telephone communication to Stuart E. Jenness, 1976.

chapter thirteen 1 The whereabouts of the twenty-four negatives taken by Stefansson is not known. Wilkins reported that he was unable to make good prints from them at the time (1914) because of their low contrast, so they may have been discarded. 2 Two of these bear skins (specimens 2918 and 2929) and both fox skins (specimens 3071 and 3072) are housed today in the collections of the cmn . See appendix 2. 3 These early fox-trapping successes near Cape Kellett had much to do 384

notes to pages 166–88

1 Wilkins’ use of the name Storkerson Inlet indicates that Stefansson had told him that he was giving that name to the bay. It is now officially known as Storkerson Bay. 2 This river, officially named the Bernard River in 1954, is one of the largest on Banks Island. 3 Wilkins at the time understood that Stefansson intended to cross to Prince Patrick Island before commencing his second exploratory ice trip. 4 Cape Gifford is shown on the 1859 British Admiralty chart about halfway between Cape Prince Alfred and Cape Wrottesley, but is not a recognized geographic feature today and hence is not identified on modern maps. The feature Wilkins described as a fjord may have been the coastal indentation just east of Shel-

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ter Island (first named in 1954), because he mentioned a low sandy island lying about 600 feet offshore immediately west of the fjord. Some observations made by Captain Collinson on H.M.S. Enterprise a few weeks after Captain M’Clure may have been incorporated on the map as well. This was a surprisingly astute observation for one with as little geological training as Wilkins had. The rocks are indeed comparable both in type and age – Cretaceous sandstones and shales. The sedimentary material found west of Cape Lambton and along the entire west coast of Banks Island is much different, being largely unconsolidated sediments of a much younger age. It was the Norwegian-made Bovril brand of pemmican, similar to what had been used by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen on his epic voyage through the Northwest Passage in 1903–06. Amundsen had recommended it to Stefansson at the start of the cae . Stefansson used the name Wilkins River in a Canadian government report published in 1916, but the name was never approved officially. In 1954 the river was named Bernard River after Captain Peter Bernard of the Mary Sachs. Stefansson introduced the name Bernard Island in honour of the same Captain Bernard in 1921. The name Wilkins Bay was given in 1954 to the embayment at the mouth of Bernard River between Bernard Island and the Banks Island coast. Stefansson 1921, 482. Studies since then have indicated that the livers of polar bears are especially rich in vitamin A, which the bears derive

10

11

12

13

14

primarily from the vitamin-rich bearded seals they eat. An excess of vitamin A eaten by humans produces a toxic condition known as hypervitaminosis, which resembles scurvy, and can prove fatal (Rodahl 1949a, 531; 1949b, 531). V. Stefansson to G.H. Wilkins, handwritten letter dated 6 April 1915, in Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 8, dc . G.J. Desbarats was the Canadian government official to whom Stefansson reported on his activities whenever possible. He was the deputy minister of the Department of the Naval Service, which had shouldered most of the financing of the expedition. Wilkins’ negatives 50881 to 50892, nac . Six of these photographs later appeared in Stefansson’s book The friendly Arctic (1921, 206–7). Wilkins neglected to mention the fourth member of the ice party, Ole Andreasen. Stefansson gave the name Brock Island – after the director of the Geological Survey of Canada involved with the organization of the cae – to the island on whose southwest coast he and his men first landed. He named the island that lay farther east Borden Island, after the prime minister of Canada at that time. The islands remained so named until 1947, when the crew of a United States Army Air Force B29 aircraft testing long-range navigation techniques in the Arctic discovered that “Borden Island” was in reality two large islands. The name Borden Island was then retained for the northernmost of the two, and the name Mackenzie King Island, after the prime minister of Canada

notes to pages 188–2oo

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in 1947, was given to the southernmost and larger of the two. The sea-covered ocean between the two islands, which Stefansson had thought to be a long embayment and named Wilkins Sound in honour of his colleague, has since been renamed Wilkins Strait (Dunbar and Greenaway 1956, 389–90, 501). 15 Stefansson 1913.

chapter fifteen 1 Raddi Lake and Kellett River were not officially named until 1993 and were therefore unnamed features when Wilkins sledded by them. Both features were named by the explorer Tom Manning (S.E. Jenness 1997, nrc archives, 37, 51). 2 Wilkins was unaware that he was an early witness here to the commonality of the Eskimo language, now called Inuktitut, from northern Alaska across the Canadian Arctic. 3 One of the objectives of the cae ’s Southern Party was to ascertain the distribution of rumoured copper deposits in the central Arctic and to assess their value. 4 Larter and Nagy 2001, 394; Gray 1987, 23. 5 Harington 1990, 143. 6 Ugruk is the Eskimo name for a bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus). 7 S.E. Jenness 1991, 417–18. 8 Thomas 1961, 92–3. 9 Wilkins refers here to Kuptana, the shaman Uloksak’s second wife. She was younger and prettier than the first wife, Kukilukkak, who was the more capable huntress. The middle-aged lady who served him marrow bones on this occasion was probably the latter. Uloksak forcibly took a third wife, Haqungaq, from 386

notes to pages 200–30

her first husband the next spring. Uloksak was the only polygamist Wilkins encountered among the Copper Eskimos. 10 Small laundry shops operated by Chinese men were plentiful in Canadian and American cities (and judging from Wilkins’ comment, Australian cities as well) before World War II. 11 Probably Ikotak, Uloksak’s adopted son 12 D. Jenness 1922.

chapter sixteen 1 The quotations by Wilkins in this chapter are taken from both his diary and his later typed narrative of his trip to Coronation Gulf. Neither version is complete by itself. 2 This film, unfortunately, has not survived. Many of the other films mentioned in this chapter have survived, however. 3 Wilkins’ negative 50901, nac . 4 Well-rounded, -oriented, and -elongated hills 50 to 150 feet high, called drumlins, are clustered around Bernard Harbour and other areas northwest of Coronation Gulf. They are underlain by sand, gravel, and boulders, and were deposited during the last glacial episode perhaps 15,000 years ago. 5 The caribou recommenced their annual migration to and from Victoria Island across Dolphin and Union Strait from the mainland in the 1980s after years of governmental study and control. 6 This 25 May photograph is catalogued under Jenness rather than Wilkins, although the latter took the photograph. It is Jenness nega-

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tive 37218, nac . Wilkins returned on 17 June and took five more pictures of the corpse and nearby artifacts (Wilkins’ negatives 50936 to 50940, nac ). The British explorer John Franklin introduced the name Moore Islands in 1821 when he and his men paddled their canoes east along the coast from the mouth of the Coppermine River. These islands, now known as the Sir Graham Moore Islands, form a series of narrow and elongated rocky bodies about twenty-eight miles east of the Coppermine River and a few miles north of the mainland. Similarlyshaped islands, now called the Berens Islands, lie north of these, but were not visible to Franklin so were not shown on the Admiralty chart. To reach the Moore Islands, Wilkins would have had to pass through the Berens Islands without seeing them in the fog, an unlikely event in view of their density. Aerial photographs reveal no obvious sand spit on any of the Sir Graham Moore Islands but one prominent sand spit on the north side of one of the Berens Islands. This is probably where Wilkins found the Eskimo settlement. Wilkins’ negative 50918, nac . Wilkins neglected to indicate the nature of the container brought by the little girl. It was apparently filled with assorted caribou bones. The little girl, whom Wilkins had earlier mistaken for a little boy, was Kaipanna, the daughter of one of the two women accompanying Wilkins’ party. Wilkins is here referring to the Eskimo camp near the Southern Party’s base camp.

chapter seventeen 1 The original letter, barely readable, and a typed copy are in the Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Stefansson Correspondence file, cmn . 2 Diubaldo 1978, 116–18. 3 Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 31 May 1915, cmn . 4 Stefansson had given Wilkins power of attorney to act as his emissary and assume his authority to issue orders on the Southern Party. Dr Anderson took the view that Stefansson did not have that authority, hence neither did Wilkins. This disagreement had been one of the main reasons for the clashes between Stefansson and Dr Anderson and stemmed from the federal government having placed the expedition under the jurisdiction of two federal departments – the Department of the Naval Service, which was responsible for most of the expedition’s costs, and the Geological Survey of Canada, which had supplied many of its scientists and their equipment. 5 Years later, in his biography of Wilkins, Lowell Thomas wrote that Stefansson knew essentially nothing of the trouble Wilkins had had with Crawford, and that Wilkins had said nothing to Stefansson about it in case he needed Crawford to be his engineer on the North Star. From Stefansson’s diary, however, it is apparent that he did know of Crawford’s behaviour when drunk. Wilkins’ account reveals that Dr Anderson also had little liking for Crawford. Stefansson later mentioned in The friendly Arctic (1921, 447) that Wilkins discharged Crawnotes to pages 230–49

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ford after the North Star reached Baillie Islands. Wilkins did not mention doing so. Chipman Papers, Diary, 31 May 1915, mg 30 b 66, nac . This ten-page handwritten letter from Bernard Harbour, primarily a diatribe against Stefansson, bears no salutation nor obvious clue as to its recipient – omissions that may reflect the intensity of Dr Anderson’s anger at the time of writing. The letter, however, is among the correspondence from Dr Anderson to his wife, and can be assumed to have been written to her (Anderson Papers, mg 30 b 40, vol. 8, file 1, nac ). Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 2 June 1915, cmn . Dr R.M. Anderson to Mrs R.M. Anderson, 31 May 1915, Anderson Papers, mg 30 b 40, vol. 7, file 15, nac . Chipman Papers, Diary, 31 May–6 June 1915, mg 30 b 66, nac . The original letter, when I examined it in the late 1980s before the museum moved to its new facilities, was in a blue envelope on which Dr Anderson had written “given to Mr. G.H. Wilkins but returned.” This letter is now in the Anderson Papers, cae Collection, Stefansson Correspondence file, cmn . Dr Anderson copied his second letter in his Field Notes, 2 June 1915, Anderson Papers, cmn . Wilkins’ two-page note is in the Anderson Papers, cae collection, Wilkins Correspondence file, cmn . Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 2 June 1915, cmn . Dr R.M. Anderson to Mrs R.M. Anderson, 30 May 1915, Anderson

388

notes to pages 249–65

Papers, mg 30 b 40, vol. 7, file 15, nac . 16 Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 3 June 1915, cmn . 17 Ibid.

chapter eighteen 1 Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 5 June 1915, cmn . 2 His name was spelled differently by the various Southern Party members. Mupfi, Dr Anderson’s spelling of the name, is preferred here because of the latter’s greater knowledge of the native sounds and because Dr Anderson knew Mupfi better than most of his men did. The other spellings were Mugfa (Wilkins), Mupfa (Chipman), Mapfa (Cox), and Maffa (Jenness). 3 The author visited this locality in the summer of 1989 and found the three arcuate rows of stones (weirs) in the same position in the stream. They are shown in several of Wilkins’ pictures, negatives 51055, 51056, 51057, 51070, and 51071, nac . A small wooden house was on the eastern side of the stream in 1989, which belonged to Amy Ahegona of Coppermine (now Kugluktuk). Amy was the son of Jenny, daughter of Higilak, and Diamond Jenness’s “adopted sister” in 1915 and 1916. He told me that he still fished there in the summer as his relatives had done so many years before. 4 Wilkins’ handwriting for these two sentences in his diary is crowded and extremely difficult to decipher. I believe I have interpreted it correctly. 5 D. Jenness 1922, 202.

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chapter nineteen 1 The supplies and equipment are itemized in Dr Anderson’s Field Notes, 9 August 1915, Anderson Papers, cmn . 2 Dr Anderson formally submitted the name Bernard Harbour to the Geographic Board of Canada on 29 July 1920, for the small narrow bay sheltered by a sandy island (later named Teddy Bear Island). The bay was named after Captain Joseph Bernard, the first white trader in Coronation Gulf, who wintered at that locality in 1912– 13 and in August 1914 suggested the bay as a safe harbour for the cae . Dr Anderson had used the name Bernard Harbour in a report to the Department of the Naval Service, which was published in 1916. For reasons now unknown, the name was, in 1924, assigned instead to the large outer harbour sheltered by Chantry Island, and that is its current usage. The small inner harbour remains unnamed. 3 Anderson Papers, Field Notes, 9 August 1915, cmn . 4 The wording of the note is recorded in Dr Anderson’s Field Notes, Anderson Papers, cmn . 5 Natkusiak told Wilkins later that Cox and O’Neill had spent most of the time from 14 June to 2 August smoking their pipes while Natkusiak and Mupfi caught fish. O’Neill also recorded in his diary (O’Neill Papers, Diary, 25 June 1915, mg 30 b 171, nac ) a strange conversation he had with Natkusiak when he was camped at the mouth of Tree River near several Copper Eskimo families. Natkusiak suddenly asked him if he would like to

“try a woman” that evening and seemed surprised when O’Neill responded negatively. Not satisfied to let the matter rest, Natkusiak added that during the recent sled trip from Cape Kellett “Mr. Wilkinson [Wilkins] tries one sometimes” and “He like him all right.” There is no mention in Wilkins’ diary of any such incident, and in view of the little contact he had with any Eskimos during that trip the remark would appear to have been fabricated. 6 Christened Eunice, she was Anayu Annarihopopiak, daughter of an Alaskan Eskimo named Kiana, whom Wilkins had met while en route to the Belvedere the previous 22 January. 7 The land later proved to be two islands, now known as Borden Island and Mackenzie King Island (see chapter 14, note 14).

chapter twenty Thomas 1961, 95. Stefansson 1921, 457–8. Probably the Bernard River. These financial arrangements are mentioned in Wilkins’ diary but not in Stefansson’s diary. 5 One of the items supplied the Southern Party in overabundance at this time was rolled oats. Dr Anderson, before leaving for the Arctic in 1913, had ordered a good supply to be shipped to Herschel Island in the summer of 1914, as he expected their original supply would have been nearly used up. When that supply failed to arrive, owing to severe Arctic ice conditions, he submitted a new order for delivery in 1915. Stefansson reached Herschel Island a few

1 2 3 4

notes to pages 267–87

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weeks after Dr Anderson went east in 1914, and being unaware of Dr Anderson’s recent order, submitted an additional order for the Southern Party, including rolled oats. In August 1915 enough rolled oats arrived at the Southern Party’s headquarters in Bernard Harbour to feed the entire white and native population of the central Arctic for several decades! Even after the ethnologist Jenness used large amounts of the oats to pack and protect the Eskimo artifacts he shipped south to the National Museum in Ottawa in 1916, the Southern Party cached about 2,100 pounds at Bernard Harbour when it returned south that same year. 6 McConnell 1915a, 349–60; 1915b, 672–85. Several of the photographs accompanying these articles were taken by Wilkins. 7 Mike was the young sailor from the Polar Bear Wilkins had met on 29 October. No additional identification was provided.

chapter twenty-one 1 Wilkins’ activities as set forth in chapters 21 to 25 are based largely on the contents of a typescript copy at Dartmouth College. In 1960, Stefansson appended a memo stating that the manuscript was typed sometime in the 1920s from the original diary, which had faded and was difficult to read. Stefansson’s memo included the following words of caution: “As with my own diaries of the 1908–12 and 1913–19 expeditions, these entries by Wilkins in any year should be read in the light of what he wrote later.” 2 Wilkins recorded her name as Ik390

notes to pages 287–303

tuktowik; Stefansson spelled it Uttaktuak. She was from the Baillie Islands region, but her father’s mother was from Coronation Gulf or Victoria Island and had blue eyes, according to Stefansson (1921, 468–9), and was probably one of his “Blond Eskimo.” 3 Wilkins’ four-page typed report on his activities at Bernard Harbour the previous June is in the Stefansson Collection, Wilkins Papers, box 1, folder 19, dc . Stefansson’s request on this occasion for Wilkins’ private account of his conflict with Dr Anderson and the other scientists at Bernard Harbour reveals he was fully aware of their animosity towards him. In view of the furor that followed Stefansson’s later charges of threatened mutiny by Dr Anderson and his men at Collinson Point (Stefansson 1921, 111–22), he was probably already planning to attack them publicly and sought Wilkins’ letter as supporting evidence. I have not found such a letter among either Wilkins’ or Stefansson’s papers and suspect Wilkins did not write one. 4 The brief text of M’Clintock’s record is given in Stefansson’s The friendly Arctic (1921, 321–2). Stefansson later delivered the original document in person to M’Clintock’s widow in London (Neatby 1966, 396). 5 Wilkins’ negatives 51099 and 51098 respectively, nac .

chapter twenty-two 1 Wilkins’ handwritten diary has a word here that could not be deciphered by either Stefansson or the typist in the early 1960s, or by

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myself in the early 1990s. It was left as a blank space in the typescript copy. No photograph of this historical document was catalogued by the National Museum of Canada during the period when the expedition photographs were recorded, nor is one among Wilkins’ photographs at the National Archives of Canada or the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The picture he sought to take may never have been taken. Cape Gifford is shown on the 1859 British Admiralty Chart 2443, but the name was never officially approved. This direction was added in ink by Stefansson on the typescript copy of Wilkins’ diary. The modern topographic maps now show Cape Crozier in about the same position as Cape M’Clure appeared on the older map. Cape M’Clure today lies between Cape Wrottesley and Cape Crozier. Stefansson later named them Castel Bay and Thomsen River. The bay’s name thus recognizes its discoverer, and the river’s name remembers Charles Thomsen, Stefansson’s sailoremployee from the Mary Sachs, who lost his life near its mouth the following winter. Wilkins’ negatives 51109 and 51110, nac . Wilkins’ negatives 51112 to 51124, nac . Henry Gonzalez was first officer on the Polar Bear in the summer of 1915 when Stefansson bought it from Captain Louis Lane. Stefansson then made Gonzalez the ship’s new captain (Stefansson 1921, 395). Stefansson 1921, 482. See chapter 14, note 9.

11 Stefansson 1921, 487–8.

chapter twenty-three 1 V. Stefansson to G.H. Wilkins, 12 October 1915, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 8, dc . 2 Breddy’s shooting death was merely reported by Bartlett and Hale (1916, 320) and only passingly questioned by McKinlay (1975, 135–6). Niven (2000, 287 ff) set forth considerably more detail and interpretation of the circumstances of Breddy’s death, giving credence to Hadley’s accusations as reported here by Wilkins. 3 In his personal account of the fate of the Karluk and the people on it, McKinlay (1975) strongly praised Captain Bartlett’s efforts to protect those who had been on board and to obtain their rescue many months later. Five years later, when I visited McKinley in Glasgow, he repeatedly spoke of Bartlett with much admiration and praise. Hadley’s comments, recorded over several pages in Wilkins’ diary, may therefore reflect Hadley’s personal feelings towards Bartlett more than an accurate statement of events. 4 Captain Richard Collinson and his crew wintered at this locality with H.M.S. Enterprise in 1851–52 during their search of the western Arctic for Sir John Franklin and his men. 5 Wilkins agreed with Stefansson’s unwillingness to supply guns and ammunition to the Eskimos, on the grounds that once so armed they would kill far more animals than their needs, and within ten or fifteen years either exterminate or drive all of the animals from the district. notes to pages 303–22

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6 Stefansson 1921, 567. 7 Kudlak (Stefansson spelled it Kullak) had met Stefansson in the fall of 1915 on the east side of Banks Island. Upon learning that people were supposed to be at Cape Kellett, he had said he would come there later in the fall. This he had done, bringing his wife, Neriyok, their daughter Titalik (“Liklalak” in Wilkins’ diary), who was about ten, and a younger boy, Herona. Kudlak’s wife had been pregnant on that occasion, and Kudlak had given Stefansson a dainty pair of white sealskin slippers in an arrangement wherein he expected Stefansson to ensure that Neriyok had an easy delivery and produced a boy. Neriyok subsequently died at childbirth or shortly thereafter, and Kudlak and his people blamed Stefansson for having murdered her. Stefansson later wrote in The friendly Arctic (1921, 566) that Wilkins had demonstrated considerable bravery in visiting a community where Kudlak and relatives of the dead Neriyok resided, because of the Eskimos’ inclination to obtain blood revenge, but that he might not have realized the great risk he had taken. 8 Wilkins’ negatives 51168 to 51177, nac . 9 Stefansson 1921, 566–7. 10 Kogmalluk (Stefansson spelled it Kogmollik) was a term originally used by Point Barrow Eskimos for natives living to the east with whom they sometimes fought (Stefansson 1919, 155). By 1914 when Wilkins was at Herschel Island, it was used by the local people for the littleknown Eskimos who lived farther to the east. 392

notes to pages 322–32

11 Neither Stefansson nor I could decipher the word Wilkins wrote here in his original diary. The typist fared no better and left a space in the typescript copy of the diary. The text suggests a small metal container for matches. Wilkins may have used a local Australian term. 12 Thomsen reached Cape Kellett from Liddon Gulf in the spring of 1916, bearing instructions from Stefansson to return as soon as possible with his wife and children, travelling by way of the Polar Bear. Disregarding these instructions, Thomsen remained at Cape Kellett for the summer. In August the Herman arrived with mail, supplies, and material for sled construction. Captain Bernard then built two sleds, and he and Thomsen headed up the west coast of Banks Island in October to take the mail and supplies to Stefansson’s camp on Melville Island. Both men froze to death two months later near Mercy Bay on the island’s north coast (Stefansson 1921, 646–54). 13 V. Stefansson to G.H. Wilkins, 4 May 1916 from Cape James Murray, New Land, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 13, dc . 14 In 1916 Stefansson gave the name Wilkins Sound to what he thought was a deep embayment in the newly discovered land he called Borden Island. His name Wilkins Sound was corrected to Wilkins Strait after the discovery in 1947 that his “Borden Island” was really two islands (see chapter 14, note 14 for more details). 15 G.H. Wilkins to V. Stefansson, 1 June 1916, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 13, dc .

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chapter twenty-four 1 The boy probably obtained the rifle in some other manner, because Jenness’ detailed list of items he traded with the Copper Eskimos between December 1914 and April 1916 shows no rifle exchanged with anyone for two dogs (S.E. Jenness 1991, 684–6). Wilkins did not identify either the boy or the old man. 2 The schooner Atkoon, belonging to the Church of England’s missionary Rev. H. Girling, had been driven ashore at Clifton Point in Amundsen Gulf. 3 Sweeney had been captain of the Alaska since the summer of 1914. Wilkins had met him briefly in January 1914 at Collinson Point and occasionally thereafter until August 1914. Wilkins probably did not recognize Sweeney at Bernard Harbour in June 1916 because Sweeney was recovering from a serious illness and looked pale and weak. He had cut his hand on 4 May while working on the Alaska and had developed blood poisoning. Jenness treated him as best he could until Dr Anderson returned from Bathurst Inlet early in June and took charge of the bedridden patient. Sweeney narrowly escaped losing his arm if not his life (S.E. Jenness 1991, 598). The corporal mentioned by Wilkins was Corporal W.V. Bruce, rnwmp , who had come east to Bernard Harbour from Herschel Island on the Alaska in August 1915 seeking information on two French Oblate priests, Fathers Rouvière and Le Roux, who had not been heard from since 1913. 4 For details on the trials of Uloksak

5

6

7

8

and Sinnisiak, see Moyles (1979). However, Moyles did not realize that there were two Copper Eskimos named Uloksak known to the various members of the expedition (including Wilkins) at Bernard Harbour, and regrettably attributed some of the traits and ultimate fate of the shaman Uloksak (who was Uloksak alias Meyok) to the prisoner (who was Uloksak alias Avingak). This confusion, although clarified many years later (S.E. Jenness 1992), still appears in current literature (Freeman 2003, 59). Constable D.E.F. Wight (not White) was the third member of the rnwmp sent to the western Coronation Gulf region for information about the two missing French priests. He had accompanied Inspector La Nauze and his Mackenzie Delta Eskimo interpreter, Ilavinirk, to Coronation Gulf and Bernard Harbour from Herschel Island by way of Great Bear Lake. After the two Eskimo suspects, Uloksak and Sinnisiak, were arrested, Constable Wight and Ilavinirk returned to Herschel Island by the route they had used to reach Coronation Gulf. Mail containing news of his mother’s death is implied here. Fortunately that was not forthcoming, and he was able to return to Australia and visit her about six months later. Wilkins left a space here in his original diary. He may have had a word like “collaboration” in mind. The instructions for the scientists to return south came from the Geological Survey of Canada, whereas the instructions advocating that some of the scientists take charge of notes to pages 336–41

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ships to look for Stefansson came from the deputy minister of the Department of the Naval Service. This was a prime example of the kind of problems created when the cae was required to operate under the direction of two Canadian government departments. These problems, which arose from time to time, plagued Dr Anderson especially, for he was responsible for the scientists of his Southern Party and to the Geological Survey. Wilkins appears to have been unaware that the two government departments were not coordinating their instructions. Stefansson, on the other hand, seemed little troubled by this departmental conflict. Dr Anderson copied Wilkins’ report in his Field Notes, 20 June 1916, Anderson Papers, cmn . Wilkins’ negatives 51183 to 51193, nac . Wilkins’ negatives 51194, 51266, 51267 (camp); 51196, 51198 to 51209, 51215 to 51218, 51236 to 51238, 51240, 51241 (cae members); 51197 (Corporal Bruce); 51210 to 51214 (Inspector La Nauze); 51259, 51260 (two prisoners); 51219 to 51221, 51244, 51245, 51261 to 51265 (dogs); and 51224 to 51235, 51246 to 51251 (Ikpukhuak’s family), nac . Wilkins’ negatives 51232 to 51235, nac . Wilkins’ negatives 51278 to 51280 (simulated departure of Alaska), 51273 to 51277 (base camp), nac .

chapter twenty-five 1 As this was Wilkins’ first voyage on the Alaska, he was naturally interested in comparing its ability in ice 394

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2 3 4

5 6

7 8 9

with that of the Mary Sachs and the North Star, with which he was already familiar. 23 July 1916, the last dated entry in Wilkins’ diary. Wilkins’ negative 51301, nac . In the summer of 1909, Captain Klengenberg traded a small dinghy for a scow at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, repaired and modified it, and sailed it east, ending up the following summer in Franklin Bay alongside the wrecked steam-whaler Alexander. There, using material he salvaged from the wrecked vessel, he further modified his scow, transforming it into a schooner “of sorts,” and then sailed it about Amundsen Gulf in search of a good hunting area. After two years in Darnley Bay, he took his scow-schooner to Baillie Islands in the summer of 1915 to trade his furs for supplies and left it there. He evidently called his scowschooner the Homely Hippopotamus “because of the great river on which she first swam” (MacInnes 1932, 272), but its real name, Laura Waugh, is prominently displayed on its stern in a photograph taken that 26 July 1916 by Wilkins (photo 51329, nac ). Wilkins’ negatives 51318 to 51357, nac . Wilkins never did get around to writing an account of the prisoners Uloksak and Sinnisiak. Wilkins’ negative 51390, nac . Stefansson 1921, 598. Two words in Wilkins’ original diary could not be deciphered by Stefansson or the typist and were left as blank spaces in the typescript copy. I was unable to decipher them either.

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10 Wilkins’ diary, although typed at some time in the 1920s, provides the most complete record of the activities of the Southern Party members at Nome and subsequently until they reached Seattle. Jenness’s diary and Cox’s notes ceased when they approached Nome on 14 August, O’Neill’s and Johansen’s some time earlier. Dr Anderson’s field notes continued beyond 14 August, but mention little on the men’s activities for he was too busy attending to the many arrangements required to dispose of the Alaska and to get his men and equipment safely on their way south. 11 Dr R.M. Anderson to Mrs R.M. Anderson, letter dated 17 January 1916 from Bernard Harbour, Anderson Papers, mg 30 b 40, vol. 8, file 1, nac . 12 Ibid. 13 Dr R.M. Anderson to G.J. Desbarats, 1 August 1916, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 478, file 84-2-33, vol. 1–2, nac . 14 It was published by the New York Times on 17 August 1916. A clipping is in the Stefansson Collection, box 6, folder 20, dc . 15 Wilkins’ negatives 51405 to 51410 (Nome scenes), 51411 to 51421 (Eskimo village scenes), nac . 16 G.J. Desbarats to Dr R.M. Anderson, 16 November 1914, Records of the Marine Branch, rg 42, vol. 478, file 84-2-33, vol. 1–2, nac . 17 Dr R.M. Anderson’s negatives 38916, 39221, 39729 to 39732, nac . 18 Anita Allen, a niece of Captain Louis Lane, was heading for New York to study at the Columbia School of Journalism. Mrs Bunch

was the wife of the general passenger and freight agent of the Alaska Steamship Company. 19 This professor was probably Dr Alan M. Bateman of Yale University, whose work for Kennecott Copper Corporation between 1913 and 1916 in Alaska and British Columbia helped launch him towards subsequent world fame as an economic geologist. O’Neill had studied with Professor Bateman and received his Ph.D. degree in geology from Yale in 1912. 20 Seattle Sun, 17 September 1916. 21 Hudson’s 35-mm motion-picture films are in the Will Hudson Collection at the Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, Washington. Many of his Arctic experiences as photographer on the Polar Bear in 1913–14 are related in his book Icy Hell, published in 1937. The National Archives of Canada has two photographs of the expedition members taken at Collinson Point in October 1913, photographer not known, but probably Hudson. These are identified as pa 138643 and h -23.

epilogue 1 G.H. Wilkins 1916, Anderson Papers, cmn ; G.H. Wilkins 1918. Copies of his reports are in the Stefansson Collection, Wilkins Papers, box 1, folder 22, dc . 2 Few people today remember Wilkins or know of his contribution to Canadian history and science. His memory is perpetuated, however, in three Arctic geographic features that bear his name: Wilkins Bay, Wilkins Strait, and Wilkins Point. The bay lies immediately east of notes to pages 356–66

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Bernard Island on the west coast of Banks Island, hence is close to the locality where Wilkins beached the schooner North Star in 1915. The name was proposed by the explorer, Tom Manning, in 1954. The strait separates Borden and Mackenzie King islands; it was originally called Wilkins Sound in 1915 by Stefansson before he realized that these were two islands rather than one. Wilkins Point lies at the east end of Queen Maud Gulf and was named by the Canadian Hydrographic Branch in 1959 to commemorate Wilkins’ death. 3 Nothing is known about Wilkins’ subsequent meetings with his employers in London, but he did not work for either of them again. 4 G.H. Wilkins to Fritz Johansen, 28 November 1914 from London, Stefansson Collection, box 4, folder 13, dc .

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5 Many of his fine war photographs are included with the Sir George Hubert Wilkins Papers at the Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University Archives, Columbus, Ohio. Sadly, they are uncaptioned. 6 Thomas 1961, 105–6. 7 Thomas 1961, 148. More recently, Alexander (1998, 192) stated that the destination and purpose of this expedition (which proved to be Shackleton’s last) were still unclear when it set out for the Antarctic, and that it might even be to look for Captain Kidd’s treasure. Curiously, Alexander made no mention of Wilkins being a member of the expedition. 8 For an account of his Australian expedition, see Wilkins 1929. 9 Wilkins 1928. 10 Wilkins 1938.

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references

archival sources Byrd Polar Research Center Archives, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Wilkins Collection

Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, Natural Resources Canada Jenness, Stuart E. 1997. Banks Island names and their origins. Bound manuscript.

Canadian Museum of Nature Archives, Aylmer (Gatineau), Quebec Anderson, R.M. Papers. cmn ac \1996-077 Series a Canadian Arctic Expedition Collection Field Notes 1913–16, Canadian Arctic Expedition, 8 vols. Wilkins, G.H. 1916. General report on explorations on Banks Island, Victoria Island, and Melville Island; 1914–1916: Mammology, ornithology, marine biology, botany, geology, topography and geography, and general notes. Typed notes of G.H. Wilkins in grey, bound notebook. Jenness, Stuart E., comp. 2001. Photographs and films of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–1918: A catalogue. Bound 281-page manuscript. A copy is also housed in the Archaeology Archives, Canadian Museum of Civilization.

National Archives of Canada, Ottawa Anderson, R.M. Papers Chipman, K.G. Papers Diary, Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–16, 3 vols. Jenness, D. Papers Diary, Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–16, 3 vols. Johansen, Fritz. Papers O’Neill, J.J. Papers Diary, Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–16.

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Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire Stefansson Collection McConnell Papers Arctic Diary 1913–14. Typed copy. 19 September 1913–13 September 1914. Box 1, folders 26–8. Stefansson Papers Wilkins Papers Diary, 1913–16, box 1, folders 2–12. Stefansson, V. n.d., “The most unforgettable character I’ve met,” 23-page manuscript, box 3, folder 9.

published sources Alexander, Caroline. 1998. The endeavour: Shackleton’s degrading Antarctic expedition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Allen, Arthur James. 1978. A whaler and trader in the Arctic, 1895–1944: My life with the bowhead. Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company. Allen, Everett E. 1962. Arctic odyssey: The life of Rear Admiral Donald B. MacMillan. New York: Dodd, Mead, & Company. Anderson, R.M. 1918. The Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913: Report of the Southern Division. Annual Report of the Department of the Naval Service for the Fiscal Year ending March 31, 1917. Ottawa: J. de L. Taché, Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 11–47. Bartlett, R.A., and R.T. Hale. 1916. The last voyage of the Karluk, flagship of Vilhjalmur Stefansson’s Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913–1916. Toronto: McClelland, Goodrich & Stewart. Berton, Pierre. 1988. The Arctic Grail: The quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole, 1818–1909. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. Bockstoce, John. 1977. Steam whaling in the Western Arctic. New Bedford, Mass.: Old Dartmouth Historical Society. – 1986. Whales, ice, and men: The history of whaling in the Western Arctic. Seattle: University of Washington Press. – ed. 1983. The voyage of the schooner Polar Bear: Whaling and trading in the North Pacific and Arctic, 1913–1914, by Bernard Kilian. New Bedford, Mass.: New Bedford Whaling Museum. Brower, Charles D. 1942. Fifty years below zero: A lifetime of adventure in the far north. London: Robert Hale Limited. Crich, G.E. 1990. In search of heroes: An historical novel. Air Ronge, Sask: Northwinds. Diubaldo, Richard J. 1978. Stefansson and the Canadian Arctic. Montreal: McGillQueen’s University Press. Dunbar, Moira, and Keith R. Greenaway. 1956. Arctic Canada from the air. Canada, Defence Research Board. Ottawa: Queen’s Printer. Finnie, Richard S. 1978. Stefansson’s unsolved mystery. North/Nord 25, no. 6 (Nov.–Dec.): 2–7. Freeman, Randy. 2003. Justice for All? Up Here 19, no. 6: 31–2, 59. 398

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Fulton, R.J., ed. 1984. Quaternary stratigraphy of Canada: A Canadian contribution to IGCP Project 24. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 84-10. – ed. 1989. Quaternary geology of Canada and Greenland. Geological Society of America Decade of North American Geology series, vol. k -1. Gibbs, Philip, and Bernard Grant. 1912. Adventures of war with cross and crescent. London: Methuen & Co. Gray, David R. 1987. The muskoxen of Polar Bear Pass. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry & Whiteside; Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences. Grierson, John. 1960. Sir Hubert Wilkins: Enigma of exploration. London: Robert Hale Limited. Harington, C.R. 1990. Ice age vertebrates in the Canadian Arctic Islands. In Canada’s missing dimension: Science and history in the Canadian Arctic Islands, ed. C.R. Harington. 2 vols. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature, 140–60. Harrison, Alfred H. 1908. In search of a polar continent 1905–1907. London: Edward Arnold. Hudson, Will E. 1937. Icy hell: Experiences of a newsreel cameraman in the Aleutian Islands, Eastern Siberia and the Arctic fringe of Alaska. New York: Frederick Stokes. Jenness, Diamond. 1922. The life of the Copper Eskimos. In The Copper Eskimos, report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–18, Part A. Ottawa: F.A. Acland, Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty. Jenness, Stuart E., ed. 1991. Arctic odyssey: The diary of Diamond Jenness 1913–1916. Hull, Quebec: Canadian Museum of Civilization. – 1992. Letter to the editor. Arctic 45, no. 2: 208–9. La Nauze, C.D. 1917. Reports regarding the Great Bear Lake patrol and the arrest of the murderers of Reverend Fathers Le Roux and Rouvier [sic]. In Report of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police for the year ending September 30, 1916. Ottawa: J. de LaBroquerie Taché, Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, Appendix O, 190–253. Larter, N.C. and J.A. Nagy. 2001. Calf production, calf survival, and recruitment of muskoxen on Banks Island during a period of changing population density from 1986–99. Arctic 54, no. 4 (December): 394–406. Leffingwell, E. de K. 1919. The Canning River region, Northern Alaska. United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper 109. Manning, T.H. 1956. Narrative of a second Defence Research Board Expedition to Banks Island, with notes on the country and its history. Arctic 9, no. 1: 2–77. MacBeth, Madge. 1923. Daring Captain Joe and his Teddy Bear. Toronto Star Weekly, April 7, 1915. MacInnes, Tom, ed. 1932. Klengenberg of the Arctic: An autobiography. London: Jonathan Cape. McConnell, Burt M. 1915a. The rescue of the “Karluk” survivors. Harper’s Magazine, February, 349–60. – 1915b. Over the ice with Stefansson. Harper’s Magazine, April, 672–85. McKinlay, W.L. 1975. Karluk: The great untold story of arctic exploration. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Moyles, R.G. 1979. British law and Arctic men. Saskatoon, Sask.: Wester Producer Prairie Books. ref erences

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Neatby, L.H. 1966. Conquest of the last frontier. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. Niven, Jennifer. 2000. The ice master: The doomed 1913 voyage of the Karluk. New York: Hyperion. O’Neill, J.J. 1924. The geology of the Arctic coast of Canada, west of the Kent Peninsula. Part A in Report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–18, vol. 11. Ottawa: F.A. Acland, Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty. Rodahl, Kaare. 1949a. Toxicity of polar bear liver. Science 164, no. 4169 (24 September): 530–1. – 1949b. Hypervitaminosis and scurvy. Science 164, no. 4169 (24 September 1949): 531. Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. 1913. My life with the Eskimo. New York: Macmillan Company. – 1921. The friendly Arctic: The story of five years in the Arctic. New York: Macmillan Company. – 1922. The Arctic as an air route of the future. National Geographic Magazine, August, 205–8. Thomas, Lowell. 1961. Sir Hubert Wilkins: His world of adventure – a biography. New York: McGraw-Hill. Vincent, J-S. 1984. Quaternary stratigraphy of the Western Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In Quaternary Stratigraphy of Canada: A Canadian contribution to IGCP Project 24, ed. R.J. Fulton. Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 84-10: 88–100. – 1989. Quaternary geology of the Northern Cordilleran Interior Plains. In Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland, ed. R.J. Fulton. Geological Society of America Decade of North American Geology series, vol. k -1: 100—37. Wilkins, Sir Hubert [also G.H., Sir G.H.]. 1918. Report of George H.Wilkins on the topographical and geographical work carried out by him in connection with the Canadian Arctic Expedition. Report of the Department of the Naval Service for the year ending March 31, 1917. Ottawa: J. de L. Taché, Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 65–70. – 1928. Flying the Arctic. New York: Grosset & Dunlop. – 1929. Undiscovered Australia: Being an account of an expedition to tropical Australia to collect specimens of the rarer native fauna for the British Museum, 1923–1925. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. – 1931. Under the North Pole: The Wilkins-Ellsworth Submarine Expedition. New York: Brewer, Warren and Putnam. – 1938. Our search for the lost aviators: An Arctic area larger than Montana first explored in hunt for missing Russians. National Geographic Magazine, August, 141–72.

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Adluat, Fred: at Thomsen’s cabin, 55; to Harrison Bay, 67; to Flaxman Island, 104 Aetna, see Klengenberg, Edna Aiva, 29 Akseatak: house of in Harrison Bay, 27; takes Stefansson to fishing lake, 28; Jenness to winter with, 35, 48; family starving, 109 Aksiatak, 260; Wilkins films family of at fishing lake, 260; visits scientists at Bernard Harbour, 266; steals canvas, 266 Alak, 44, 46–7 Alaska (schooner), 105, 346, 347–50, 355, 356, 360; purchased unseen for use of Southern party, 8, 9; icebound at Collinson Point, 56; at Herschel Island, 137, 351; icebound at Baillie Islands, 217; leaves Bernard Harbour, 345; reaches Nome, 356 Alex (son of Stefansson and Pannigabluk), 73, 93 Allen, James, 19; whaling station of, 20 Anderson, Dr R.M., 58, 85, 104, 105, 270, 355, 363; second-in-command of cae , xvi; supervises loading of Karluk, 7; at Victoria (photo), 8; visits Belvedere, 56; selects winter quarters, 57; discusses plans with Stefansson, 379n11; letter from

Stefansson, 65, 66; suggests Wilkins go to Belvedere, 66; reaction to Stefansson’s requests, 81–2; views on Stefansson’s ice trip, 82, 83; Collinson Point confrontation with Stefansson, 86; receives summary of plans from Stefansson, 90; receives letter of instructions from Stefansson, 125; instructs Wilkins about collecting birds and mammals, 126; instructed to send search party, 138; asks Wilkins to search for Stefansson, 138; asks Wilkins to take Mary Sachs, 140; hunting agreement with Uloksak Meyok, 222; angered by demands in Stefansson’s letter, 245; confrontation with Wilkins, 248–56; refuses to give up North Star, 253; accepts Chipman and Cox’s compromise over North Star, 255; collecting and skinning bird specimens, 259, 268; to Cape Barrow, 268; has Ikpukhuak look after cae house, 343; agrees to transport Klengenberg family, 347; selects supplies at Herschel Island for Northern Party, 354; cables Ottawa for travel money, 357; disposes of Alaska, 360; met in Seattle by Mrs Anderson 364; to Victoria, 365

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Andreasen, Martin (“Matt,” trader), 84; loss of furs on Elvira, 67; at Clarence Lagoon, 84; sells supplies and schooner to Stefansson, 84–5; cabin of, 128, brother of Ole, 128; bought Anna Olga, 353; wintered at Atkinson Point, 353; headed for Nome, 355 Andreasen, Ole (trader), 71; met Stefansson in 1912, 71; cabin of, 71, 81; brother of Martin, 85; hired by Stefansson, 85; on Stefansson’s first ice trip, 94 ff; reaches Cape Kellett, 161; demanded special pay, 165; ill from bear liver, 183; on Stefansson’s second ice trip, 197; reported lost on ice trip, 273; leaves expedition, 287; bought Gladiator, 287, 352; headed for Nome, 355 Anglo-American Polar Expedition, 52 Angopkana, 31: house of, 30, 109; last to see Karluk, 30 Anna Olga (schooner): at Clarence Lagoon, 129; owned by Captain Stein, 130; sold to Martin Andreasen, 130, 353; McConnell goes west on, 132; winters at Atkinson Point, 353; headed for Nome, 355 Annette, Billy (prospector), 137 Arctic islands discovered by Stefansson, 200, 385n14 Arden, D’Arcy (prospector and trader), 339 Argo (schooner): at Langton Bay, 252; Wilkins authorized to purchase, 254; jointly owned, 354; passes Alaska, 354 Ascetchak, Jimmy: hired by Stefansson at Point Hope, 9: on hunting trip from Karluk, 15; a song-maker, 25; fears crossing Smith Bay, 39, leaves expedition, 47 Atigiak (also Attigiriak), 221, 227 Attorina (wife of Atigiak), 221 Aunty (Eskimo seamstress), 80 402

index

Banks Island, early photographs of, xviii, 377n3; zoological collections from, xviii; Wilkins’ first view of, 151; Wilkins establishes base camp on, 155–8; Stefansson ends first ice trip on, 161; new base camp on, 191; Stefansson starts second ice trip from, 196–7; North Star’s winter camp on, 280–1; lignite (coal) seams on, 308–9; corrections to coastline of, 309–10; Stefansson party crosses to Melville Island from, 312; Wilkins hunts on northeast coast of, 329–30 Barrow, Alaska: Charles Brower at, 32; Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading station at, 32; relationship to Cape Smyth, 34 Barter Island, description of, 81 Bartlett, Robert (captain of Karluk), 6, 15, 16, 143, 318; no western Arctic experience, 6; at Victoria, 8 (photo); argued with Stefansson, 16; rescued, 141 Bauer, W.J. (“Levi,” crewman on Belvedere), 99, 145, 162, 180; hired as cook on North Star, 126; drunk at Herschel Island, 142–3; drunk on Mary Sachs, 146; teaches Wilkins about fox traps, 169; prepares Thanksgiving dinner, 178; guards meat cache, 179; makes liquor at Cape Kellett, 193; joins Polar Bear, 287 Bear (U.S. Revenue Cutter), 33 Beaufort Sea: oceanographic studies of, 84; Stefansson’s first ice trip over, 91; feeding ground of bowhead whales, 103 Belvedere (steam whaler and freighter), 20, 74; icebound, 20, 33, 56; information about, 68; cae supplies on, 68; news of Stefansson from, 94 Bernard, Joe (captain of Teddy Bear and nephew of Peter Bernard), 149 Bernard, Peter (captain of Mary Sachs), 9, 55, 64, 94, 95, 141, 156, 157;

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arrives with Stefansson, 84; serious head injury, 96; repairs leaking Mary Sachs, 149; catches many foxes, 178; death of, 392n12 Bernard Harbour, 205, 245–57, 296; Southern Party headquarters at, 219; origin and use of name, 268, 389n2 ch. 19; Ikpukhuak left in charge at, 343; Southern Party departs from, 345 Bernard Island, 186, 187, 191, 192, 279, 294; cache on, 290, 299 Bernard River, 191, 194, 384n2 ch. 14, 389n3 ch. 20 Beuchat, Henri (anthropologist), 79; at Victoria (photo), 8, 79 Blond Eskimos, 182; Wilkins to photograph, xv; Wilkins looks for, 318, 323 Blue, Daniel (engineer on Alaska), 57, 144; burial on Baillie Islands, 274 Bolt, Akkevrak Ben (father of Ikey Bolt), 379n2 ch. 2 Bolt, Ikey Angutisiak, 50, 101, 379n2 ch. 2; joins expedition, 36; fears crossing South Bay, 39; leaves expedition at Baillie Islands, 350; joins Klengenberg family, 350; to marry Edna Klengenberg, 350 books, cae collection of, 57 Boyle, Joe (mate on Belvedere), 73 Breddy, G. (crewman on Karluk): shooting of, 318, 391n2 ch. 23 Brower, Charles, 33, 38, 103, 143; “King of the Arctic,” 31; Stefansson party guests of, 34; establishes whaling station at Cape Smyth in 1888, 103; starts trading station, 103; whaling camp of, 111; ice camp near Point Barrow, 116; family of, 355 Bruce, Corporal W.V.: with Inspector La Nauze, 339 camera, motion-picture, 239; left on Karluk, 17; one on Polar Bear, 58; one on Belvedere, 58; Wilkins exam-

ines and buys one, 75, 80; Wilkins makes repairs to, 329 cameras, still, 89 Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913–16, xv; established, 4–5; photographs from, xv; Northern and Southern parties, 7; scientific personnel of, 8 (photo); initial conflict over authority on, 82; prime mission of, 84; dual governmental authority over, 85; Wilkins’ contract ends with, 119 Cape Barrow, 273 Cape Gifford, 188, 305, 384n4 ch. 14, 391n3 ch. 22 Cape Halkett, 25; houses at, 28; Wilkins collects whale meat at, 43 Cape Kellett, 153, 154; unloading the Mary Sachs near, 155–6; constructing the base camp near, 158; Stefansson’s appearance at, 163; Christmas at, 181; tide readings taken near, 181; freighting for second ice trip from, 183; Wilkins’ departure for Coronation Gulf from, 206, 207; Wilkins arrives with North Star at, 275; two children born at, 276 Cape Lambert: Wilkins passes by, 244; Wilkins examines corpse near, 229–30 Cape Lambton, 151; Wilkins ties up Mary Sachs near, 152; rocks similar to those at Cape Wrottesley, 189, 385n6 ch. 14 Cape Prince Alfred, 183, 190, 201, 285; Stefansson’s second ice trip departs from, 196–7 Cape Smyth (Barrow, Alaska), 20, 35, 103, 116; Stefansson party heads for, 25, 31; relationship to Barrow, 34; mail leaving from, 36; Wilkins reaches, 110; misspelling of, 379n8 Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station, 31–2 Cape Smythe Whaling Company, 103–4 Cape Wrottesley, 309, 391n5 ch. 22 index

403

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Captain, use of title, 128 card playing, by Alaskan Eskimos, 70 caribou, Banks Island, 162; forty-nine killed, 162; Peary Caribou, 171; meat cache, 192; forty-eight shot, 282; transported to base camp, 283 caribou, Colville River, 15, 49; current scarcity of, 17 caribou, migration changes of, 229, 386n5 ch. 16 Castel, Aarnout (best crewman on Belvedere), 129; reaches Collinson Point, 65; painting North Star, 129; to continue on North Star, 246; discovers unknown bay and river, 309, 391n6; on New Land, 330 children, births of: at Cape Kellett, 276; on the Alaska, 346 Chipman, Kenneth G. (geographer), 56, 259; at Victoria (photo), 8; in charge of Mary Sachs, 9; lengthy discussion with Stefansson, 56; declines role on first ice trip, 78; threatens to leave expedition, 251; suggests compromise to Stefansson’s demands, 255; packs overland via Great Bear Lake, 339; diary, 379n5 ch. 3 Christmas dinner, 60–1; at Collinson Point in 1913, 58–61; Cape Kellett in 1914, 181; on the trail in 1915, 294 chronometer, need for, 382n1 ch. 5 Clark, John (cinematographer on Elvira), 75; sells motion-picture camera to Wilkins, 80 Collinson, Captain Richard (captain of H.M.S. Enterprise), 210 Collinson Point, 57, 64, 83, 104; two ships at, 51; house of Southern Party at, 57; Wilkins shows movies at, 58; Christmas dinner, 60; search for Andre Norem at, 61–2; New Year’s Eve activities, 63; conflict, 86–7; Wilkins heads for Barrow from, 105; Wilkins returns to, 119; winter quarters of Southern Party, 119 404

index

Colville River: Karluk icebound near, 11; Leffingwell mapping east of, 52 confrontation, Stefansson vs Dr Anderson: at Collinson Point, 85–6; at Bernard Harbour, 245–56 contracts of ships’ crewmen, 55 Copper Eskimos: understanding dialect of, 210, 386n2 ch. 15; remember Stefansson and Natkusiak, 213, 233; perform drum dance, 227, 234; curiosity of, 227; gramophone concert for, 227; filmed by Wilkins, 227; village on Berens Islands, 233; Natkusiak’s marriage negotiations with, 234; interest in Wilkins’ wristwatch, 237; offer food to Wilkins, 237; kindness of, 261 Coronation Gulf, 270–1 corpse of Haviron, 229, 250, 386n6 ch. 16 Cottle, Mrs (wife of Captain Cottle), 73; Wilkins’ description of, 73–4, 76 Cottle, Steven F. (captain of Belvedere), 68–74, 77; Wilkins’ description of, 73, 76 Cox, John R. (geographer), 348, 354; at Victoria (photo), 8; heads east to make coastal survey, 91; shown how to operate North Star’s engine, 142; surveys Stapylton Bay, 218; briefs Wilkins on Southern Party, 218; completes mapping of Bernard Harbour, 341 Cox-O’Neill party: leaves for Coronation Gulf, 258; Wilkins locates camp of, 272; activities of, 273, 389n5 ch. 19 cutbank: near Pitt Point, 30, 41; near Flaxman Island, 55 Cram, G.W. (schoolteacher at Cape Smyth), 34 Crawford, James, (engineer of Mary Sachs), 55, 62, 69, 102, 167, 205, 257, 285; drunk at Teller, 9; trapping agreement with Stefansson, 105; drunk at Herschel Island, 142;

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drunk on Mary Sachs, 146, 150; trapping success, 181; hostility towards, 195; starts on second ice trip, 197; discharged by Stefansson, 197; troublemaker, 249, 387n5; rehired by Stefansson for Alaska and discharged, 287; buys schooner Challenger, 355 Crocker Land, 91; named by Robert Peary, 381n1 ch. 6 Dawson police patrol, mail carried by, 57 Deadman Islands, Wilkins camp on, 232 Demarcation Point, trading camp near, 79, 126 Department of the Naval Service, 36; financed expedition, 85; Stefansson and Johansen responsible to, 85; appointed Stefansson leader, 85; Stefansson criticizes Dr Anderson in letters to, 86; issues conflicting instructions, 340, 393–4n8 De Salis Bay, 179, 182 De Salis River, 208 Desbarats, George J. (deputy minister, Department of the Naval Service), 86, 198, 385n11, 360 diaries: of Wilkins, xvi, 36; of McKinlay, 16; of Jenness, 36; of McConnell, 36; of Chipman, 379n5 ch. 3; of Johansen, 380n5 distillate: leaking of, 186; lent to Captain Lane, 136, 382n13 Dixon, Joseph (ornithologist on Polar Bear), 72, 137 drumlins, 386n4 ch. 16 drunken crewmen at Herschel Island, 142–3 Dutchess of Bedford (schooner), 52 Edna (launch), 144; problems with, 147; repaired by Crawford, 165; beached at Storkerson’s camp, 168 Elson Lagoon, 31

Elvira (schooner), fate of, 66–7, 380n18 Emsley, Tom (caretaker of schooner Rosie H.), 279 Enterprise, H.M.S., 210 Eskimo, usage of word, xvi–xvii Eskimo women, kindness of, 41, 51 Esquimalt, B.C.: naval yard at, 5; Karluk at, 5–6 fatal accident at Nome, 361 field glasses, Eskimos’ suspicions of, 211 films, motion-picture, by Wilkins, xvii; sent to London, xvii–xviii; lost in fire, xviii; taken around Victoria, 7; lost on Karluk, 17; in Coronation Gulf, 236; at fishing lake, 261; at fishing creek, 262; of seal hunting, 329 Finnie, Richard S. (long-time friend of Stefansson), on Stefansson’s son, 73 fish, used for dog food, 132, 263 fishing lake (now Teshekpuk Lake): Akseatak at, 43; Wilkins reaches, 43; Stefansson arrives at, 45; Wilkins leaves, 47 Flaxman Island, 20; Leffingwell’s house on, 52, 106 Foggy Island Bay, 51 food, Eskimo, Wilkins’ first taste of, 27 Fort McPherson, mail from, 84 Fort McPherson (hbc schooner), leaving Herschel Island for Bernard Harbour, 351, 353 foxes, abundance on Banks Island, 181, 384n3 ch. 13 foxskin name, 70 fox skins, Banks Island, 384n3 ch. 13; Crawford’s collection of, 202; Wilkins’ collection of, 373–5 Franklin, Sir John, last expedition of, 91 French Joe (cook on Polar Bear), 78; hired to cook at Martin Point, 79, 81 index

405

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Gaumont Company, London, xvi; Wilkins an employee of, xvi; hires Wilkins, 4; lends Wilkins to cae , 119, 139; instructs Wilkins to return to London, 138; two Copper Eskimo costumes given to, 341; Wilkins returns to, 366, 396n3 geographic features named after Wilkins, 395–6n2 geological observations by Wilkins, 189, 385n6, 308 Girling, Rev. Herbert, 337, 344, 393n2 Gladiator (schooner): bought by Stefansson, 286; given to Captain Lane, 286; sold to Ole Andreasen, 352; wintered at King Point, 352; headed to Nome, 353 Golden Gate Hotel, Nome, 8, 358 Gonzalez, Henry (Polar Bear captain), 313, 315–16, 391n9 government instructions: to send search party, 138; to return south, 341; confusion resulting from, 393n8 Grierson, John (biographer of Wilkins), xv Guninana (“Minnie,” wife of Alignak), 200; source of Eskimo folklore, 305 Hadley, John (carpenter), 9, 10, 17; shares Stefansson’s cabin on Karluk, 10; Karluk survivor, 296; joins Polar Bear, 296; tells about Karluk, 318; dislike of Captain Bartlett, 318 Haqungaq (third wife of Uloksak Meyok), 226 Harrowby Bay, 148 Harvard-Smithsonian Expedition 1913–14, 58 Haviron, corpse of, 229, 386n6 ch. 16; photographed by Wilkins, 230, 259 Hazo (photographer on Belvedere), 74; has Gaumont motion-picture camera, 74

406

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Herman (whaling ship): arrives at Herschel Island, 141; with news of Karluk, 141–2 Herschel Island, 17, 65, 205; destination of Karluk, 11; government instructions reach, 138; Herman brings news of Karluk to, 141 Hester, Rev. Edward, 352 Higilak (wife of Ikpukhuak), 343 Hopson, Fred (cook for Charles Brower), 31, 35, 355 hospitality of Minto Inlet Eskimos, 324 Hudson, Will E. (Seattle newspaper photographer), 58, 364 Hudson Bay post, Baillie Islands, 350 hunting trip: from Karluk, 11, 15, 17–18; up Hulahula River, 104; with Stefansson on Banks Island, 170; from North Star camp, 282–5 Hulahula River, 69, 104 Hurley, Frank (war photographer, Royal Australian Air Force), 366 Iakok, 105; house of, 52; family of, 69; arrives at Collinson Point, 105; helps Jenness with archaeological dig, 126 ice party, Stefansson’s first, 91; cameras taken by Wilkins on, 89; departure from Martin Point, 94; route of, 95; accident, 96; Wilkins returns from, 98–100; support party returns from, 120; appears at Cape Kellett, 161 ice party, Stefansson’s second, 183; route of, 196; personnel of, 197, 385n13; equipment of, 199–200; ends at Cape Kellett, 276 Iglisiak (shaman), performs seance, 264–5 Ikpik (cousin of Jerry Pyurak), 29, 43; house of, 29 Ikpukhuak: Jenness spending summer with, 229; with wife Higilak, 343; left in charge of cae house, 343–4 Inuit, usage of word, xvii Inukok, 69; accompanies Wilkins, 102

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inventory of Duffy O’Connor’s supplies, 382n7 ch. 8 Investigator, H.M.S., 213 Jeannette, voyage of studied by Stefansson, 16 Jenness, Diamond (anthropologist), 223; at Victoria (photo), 8; hunting trip from Karluk, 15; left possessions on Karluk, 17; ague attack, 22; needs sled transportation, 28; recuperates at Cape Smyth, 34; gets quinine for ague attacks, 35; to winter with Akseatak’s family, 35; is concerned about Karluk, 36; to accompany Wilkins, 37; frostbitten, 41; argues with Stefansson, 46; stays with Akseatak’s family, 48; arrives at Collinson Point, 95; food shortage forces to leave Akseatak’s, 109; has camp near archaeological site, Barter Island, 126; assisted by Iakok, 126; sympathetic to Wilkins’ decision to join Stefansson, 126; helps Wilkins with inventory of Mary Sachs, 141; spending summer on Victoria Island, 229; seeks to squelch Southern Party’s hostility towards Wilkins, 340; says goodbye to Ikpukhuak’s family at Bernard Harbour, 344 Jennie. See Kannayuk, Jennie; see Thomsen, Jennie Jerry. See Pyurak, Jerry Jimmy. See Ascetchak, Jimmy Johansen, Fritz (botanist and marine biologist), 56, 63, 64, 74, 81, 85, 120, 226, 251; at Victoria (photo), 8; teaches Wilkins to play chess, 63; meets Stefansson’s Eskimo wife, Pannigabluk, 73; Wilkins’ revised opinion of, 78; agrees to conduct oceanographic studies, 87; complains of inadequate opportunity for studies, 89, 221; takes tidal measurements, 94; takes first depth reading on ice

trip, 95; takes sea-water temperature, 97, 98; depth soundings, 120; collects insects, plants, marine species, 259; in charge of cae camp, 268; admiration for Stefansson, 304; leaves expedition at Ketchikan, 363 Jones, John (second engineer on Polar Bear), burial of, 317 Jones Islands, camped on by Wilkins, 108 Kannayuk, Jennie (daughter of Higilak), 341 Karluk, (cae flagship), 5–7, 30, 35, 54, 58, 76, 91; leaves Esquimalt for Nome, 8; separated from Mary Sachs, 9; trapped in ice, 11; icebound off Colville River, 11, 15; following drift course of Jeannette, 16–17; hunting party leaves from, 16; disappears, 21; Stefansson’s strange departure from, 66; ultimate fate of, 141 Kaudluak, 238; marriage arrangement of, 240; escapades on trip to Bernard Harbour, 240–4; marriage to Natkusiak fails, 257 Kellett River, 159, 208, 386n1 ch. 15 Kiana: camp of, 69, 72, 80; father of Laura, 70 Kilian, Bernard (engineer on Polar Bear), 377n3; first photographs of Banks Island, 377n3 Kilian, Herman (crewman on Polar Bear), 329; leaves Storkerson letter at Mercy Bay, 310; joined by Wilkins, 315 Kilian, Martin (crewman on Polar Bear): freighting supplies, 298, 302, 306; crossing M’Clure Strait, 312; arrives from New Land, 330; to survey north coast of Victoria Island with Storkerson, 331 King George V, Wilkins knighted by, xvii Kiruk, 18

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Klengenberg, Captain Charles, 145, 150; camp of at Pearce Point, 259; requests ride on Alaska, 347; Wilkins’ first meeting with, 347; family of taken to Baillie Islands, 348; scow-schooner of, 349 Klengenberg, Edna (also Aetna, daughter of Captain Klengenberg), 347; to marry Ikey Bolt, 350 Klengenberg, Patsy (son of Captain Klengenberg), 259–60 Knight, Lorne (crewman on Polar Bear), 296, 316 Kogmalluk, 324, 392n10 Kopuk (uncle of Ikey Bolt), 51, 106 Kudlak, 276, 392n7; visits Cape Kellett with family, 276; seeks compensation for death of wife, 322; looks more European than other Eskimos, 323; threatens to kill Wilkins, 327 Kukilukkak (first and oldest wife of Uloksak), 222, 226 Kunaluak (neighbour of Akseatak), 37, 44 Kuptana (second wife of Uloksak), 222, 226, 386n9; hostess for meal, 227; with Uloksak and Wilkins to Coronation Gulf, 229–44 Kuraluk, 26 “Lady McGuire” (elderly woman), 31 Lambert Island, ice experience near, 269 Lane, Louis (captain of Polar Bear), 149, 377n3; goes south over mountains, 58; owner of Polar Bear, 72; returns to ship, 133; obtains distillate from Wilkins, 135, 377–8n3; hunting whales in Beaufort Sea, 135; takes Stefansson to Herschel Island, 285; sells Polar Bear to Stefansson, 285–6; his new schooner wrecked, 261; falls into ocean at Nome, 361 Laura (also Nanmuk, daughter of Kiana), 70

408

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Laura Waugh (Captain Klengenberg’s scow-schooner), at Baillie Islands, 349, 394n4 leadership styles of Stefansson and of Dr Anderson, 85 Leffingwell, Ernest de Koven (U.S. geologist), 23, 49, 67, 91, 106, 118; house on Flaxman Island, 52, 69; mapping north Alaskan coast, 52; piloted Mary Sachs to Flaxman Island, 53; dislike of Stefansson, 53; argues with Stefansson, 54; his views on cae , 54; offers Graphlex camera to Wilkins, 54; brings bottle of whisky for Christmas, 59; tells story about Daniel Sweeney, 64–5; returns to Flaxman Island, 67; settles in California, 67 Le Roux, Father Guillaume (murdered Oblate priest), 222, 231 letters of instruction from Stefansson: to Dr Anderson, 125; to Peter Bernard, 125; to Wilkins, 125 lignite (coal), seams of, northern Banks Island, 308, 309 Log Cabin Club, Nome, 8, 359 Lopez, Mrs (wife of Pete Lopez), 275; Iktuktowik (or Uttaktuak) from Baillie Islands, 390n2 Lopez, Pete (Portuguese sailor from the Rosie H.), 275 Mackay, Alistair Forbes (surgeon on Karluk), 5 Mackenzie River: visited by Stefansson, 85; mapping on, by Chipman, Cox, and O’Neill, 137 Maguire, Rochfort (commander of H.M.S. Plover), 31 mail, 317; taken to Fort McPherson, 65; received via Barrow, Fort McPherson, or Dawson, 84; reaches Herschel Island, 134, 138; for Wilkins at Baillie Islands, 274; waiting for Wilkins at Polar Bear

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camp, 293; expected by Wilkins at Herschel Island, 340, 393n6 Malloch, George (geologist), at Victoria, 8 (photo) Mamen, Bjarne (assistant topographer), at Victoria, 8 (photo) Martin Point, 78–9, 92, 93, 96; tide readings at, 94; Stefansson’s ice party departs from, 94 Mary Sachs (schooner): purchased by Stefansson at Nome, 9; heads north from Teller, 9; piloted by Leffingwell, 53; on beach at Collinson Point, 56; Chipman and Stefansson have long discussion on, 56; arrives at Herschel Island, 139; Wilkins put in command of, 140; sails for Baillie Islands, 145; searches for Klengenberg camp, 150; crosses Amundsen Gulf to Banks Island, 150–1; unloaded, 155; hauled onto beach near Cape Kellett, 156 McBride, Sir Richard (premier of British Columbia), inspects the Karluk, 7 McClintock, Captain F.L. (member of British naval group searching for Sir John Franklin), record of found by Stefansson, 296, 390n4 McConnell, Burt M. (secretary for Stefansson), 6, 17, 30, 34, 35, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59, 64, 89, 96, 131, 134, 287; on hunting trip from Karluk, 15; typing Stefansson’s letters, 36; reaches fishing lake, 45; complaints of, 62; going west to get Jenness, 65, 67; brings mail to ice party, 95; brings important Stefansson letter to Wilkins, 120; one-year contract expires, 129; comments on Wilkins’ behaviour, 129; writes Canadian prime minister, offering to lead rescue parties, 130; leaves expedition, 131; goes to Nome on Anna Olga, 131; considered uncooperative by

Wilkins, 132; forms plans to rescue Karluk survivors, 142; his articles on expedition published, 288, 390n6; on ship that rescues Karluk survivors, 296 M’Clure, Robert (captain of H.M.S. Investigator), 210 McKinlay, William L. (meteorologist and magnetician): at Victoria, 8 (photo); diary of, 16; believed that Stefansson deserted Karluk, 16; opinion of Captain Bartlett, 318, 391n3 McMillan, Donald (American explorer), 1913 expedition of, 91 Mike, 289, 390n7 Mikkelson, Eljnar (Norwegian explorer), 23, 91 Mikkelsen-Leffingwell expedition, 65 (familiar name for Anglo-American Polar Expedition 1906–07), 52 Minto Inlet, 215; Wilkins’ trip to, 319–29 missionary. See Girling, Rev. Herbert Mixter, Samuel (crewman on Polar Bear), 80 Mogg, Billy (acting captain of Polar Bear), 71–2, 210 “Moore Islands,” incorrectly named, 232, 386n7 Mott, Hulin S. (mate on Polar Bear), 80 mukpouras, 29 Mungalina, 137, 350 Munro, John (chief engineer of Karluk), 8 Mupfi (guide for Cox-O’Neill party), 258, 388n2 Murray, James (oceanographer): at Victoria, 8 (photo); with Shackleton in Antarctica, 9 muskox, Banks Island: repopulation of, 214; survived glacial period, 214 Nahmens, Otto (captain of Alaska), 55, 68; trapping agreement with Stefansson, 105

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native copper, source of, 327 Natkusiak, Billy, 52, 68, 104, 131, 180, 182–3, 221–3; assisted Stefansson, 51; at Collinson Point for Christmas, 62; takes Wilkins to Point Barrow, 105–11; returns to Collinson Point with Wilkins, 118; on Mary Sachs to Banks Island, 145; searches for Stefansson with Wilkins, 158–61; hunts with Stefansson, 170–8; goes east with Stefansson, 180, 182; with Wilkins to Bernard Harbour, 205–18; with Wilkins to Coronation Gulf, 229–32; barters for widow Kaudluak, 240; difficulties with Kaudluak, 240–4; establishes camp at Cape Prince Alfred, 285; eager to go to New Land, 312; on New Land, 330 New Land, 276, 389n7 New Year’s Eve, at Collinson Point, 63 New York Times report, 359, 394n14 Noice, Harold (crewman on Polar Bear), 296, 314; on New Land, 330 Norem, Andre (cook at Collinson Point), 59; lost on Christmas Eve, 59; search for, 61–2; commits suicide, 105 Northern Lights, 94 Northern Party, 7, 126, 164, 172, 205, 218, 282, 296, 318, 332, 344; Wilkins second-in-command of, xix, 247; use of Karluk for, 9; Storkerson hired for, 77; new Northern Party, 77, 128–9, 296; base camp of at Martin Point, 78; needs of, 125; supplies of traders Andreasen and O’Connor for, 128–30; salary to Wilkins if he joins, 138; getting North Star from Southern Party for, 200; sending mail from, 205, 218; Crawford’s services terminated with, 249; Stefansson resupplies, 286; Wilkins no longer needed for, 335; cache at Bernard Harbour for use

410

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of, 343; goods at Herschel Island for shipment to, 354 North Star (gasoline schooner), 85, 127, 130, 142, 218, 250, 261, 272, 274; bought by Stefansson, 85; Wilkins’ opinion of, 128; to Herschel Island, 132; ready to sail to Banks Island, 134; Stefansson angry not to have, 162; Wilkins to Bernard Harbour to get, 195; confrontation at Bernard Harbour over, 245–56; salvaging of partly sunken, 259; waits for Stefansson at Cape Kellett, 276; winterbound near Bernard Island, 281; abandoned by Stefansson, 303 Northwestern (coastal steamer), 362, 364 Northwest Passage, Stefansson’s plans to sail through, 303 Norway Island, Stefansson’s ice trip lands on, 162 oceanographic studies of Beaufort Sea, 84 O’Connor, Duffy (trader) 51, 79, 128; at Demarcation Point, 55; Stefansson purchases supplies of, 79, 84 Olsen, Louis (sailor on Alaska), 77, 82 O’Neill, John J. (geologist), 56, 84, 251, 271–2, 347, 363, 365, 395n19; at Victoria, 8 (photo); heads east for Firth River study, 83; mapping Mackenzie River delta, 137; heads for Coronation Gulf with Cox, 258 Oyuriak and family, at mouth of Clarence Lagoon, 382n14 Palaiyak, 318; afraid of Kudlak, 323; hunting with Wilkins, 329–30; with Wilkins to Bernard Harbour, 335, 337–8; left expedition, 354 Pannigabluk, 72, 129, 145; mother of Alex, 72; relationship to Stefansson, 73; hired as seamstress, 93; with Wilkins to Clarence Lagoon, 127

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Pannigavlu, 119; died at Collinson Point, 118; burial at Flaxman Island, 118 Pappurak, 52 Pauline Cove, Herschel Island, 135 Pedersen, C.T. (captain): recommends purchase of Karluk, 6; sails Karluk to Esquimalt, 6; quits expedition, 6; reports rumour about Stefansson deserting Karluk, 17; captain of Elvira, 66; captain of Herman, 141; arrives at Herschel Island, 141; reveals news of loss of Karluk, 141; rescued Captain Bartlett, 141; reports Karluk survivors on Wrangel Island, 141; reprimanded for rescue actions, 142 Pedersen, Peder L., 84 pemmican, 26; “Amundsen” vs Underwood varieties, 191, 193; cached, 290, 293 photographs by Wilkins of Arctic, xvii Pikalu, family of, 69; arrives at Collinson Point with Storkerson, 81; with Captain Lane, 133; meets Stefansson and Wilkins, 314; reaches Polar Bear, 316 Pitt Point, 30; cutbank near, 30, 41, 110, 117 Plover, H.M.S., 31 Point Barrow, 29, 31; three houses at, 34; shore-whaling activities at, 103; northernmost point of continent, 103; Wilkins heads for, 115 Point Epworth (bay at mouth of Tree River), 271; North Star leaves cache at, 272 poker, learned by Alaskan Eskimos, 29 polar bear, 180, 197; shot by Wilkins on Banks Island, 151–2; becomes museum specimen, 383n5 ch. 10; stalks Wilkins, 312 polar-bear liver, illness from eating, 193, 313–14; toxicity symptoms of, 193, 385n9; Stefansson’s liver-eating experiment, 313

Polar Bear camp: in Alaska, 126; Wilkins arrives at in Alaska, 127; on Victoria Island, 316 Polar Bear (schooner), 58, 71, 286, 332; icebound east of Barter Island, 58; reaches Herschel Island, 135; hunting whales, 137; bought by Stefansson, 276; icebound on northwest coast of Victoria Island, 293; Stefansson plans to sail through Northwest Passage on, 303 power of attorney to Wilkins, 248, 387n4 pressure ridges and open water north of Martin Point, 99 priests, Oblate: Eskimo murderers of, 222; cabin of, 231; belongings of in possession of Uloksak Meyok, 231 Pyurak, Jerry: hired by Stefansson at Point Hope, 9; on hunting trip from Karluk, 15; leaves expedition, 34 Raddi Lake, 208, 386n1 ch. 15 “Red Calico.” See Sweeney, Mrs Eunice religious service by Alaskan Eskimos, 42 Robilliard Island, 187, 279 rnwmp station, Herschel Island, 136 Rouvière, Father Jean-Baptiste (murdered Oblate priest), 222, 231 Ruby (hbc supply ship): fails to reach Herschel Island, 220; at Point Barrow, 274; at Herschel Island, 285 St James Hotel, Victoria, 6 seasickness: on Mary Sachs, 147; on North Star, 270 Seymour, Anna (wife of William Seymour), 287; on Polar Bear, 287; accompanies Wilkins to Minto Inlet, 318; shows Wilkins where Captain Mogg wintered, 320; afraid of Kudlak, 323 Seymour, William (second mate on Belvedere), 73, 316; invited to join index

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Northern Party, 127; Wilkins tows whaleboat of, 132; on Polar Bear, 287; as first mate on Polar Bear, 318 shamanistic inquest over death of Haviron, 259 shore whaling, history of, 381n2 ch. 7 shore-whaling crew waiting for whales, 115 “Shotgun,” repairs Wilkins’ boot, 80 sickness: headcolds at Collinson Point, 88. See also Jenness, Diamond; seasickness Sinnisiak (murderer of French Oblate priests), 222 skeletons on Herald Island, identity of, 382n2 ch. 9 small boats, annual arrival of at Herschel Island, 137 Smith Bay, crossing of, 30, 38, 40, 110 snowblindness: of Johansen, 81; of Wilkins, 106, 110,186, 312 snowhouse village, Minto Inlet, 324 Southern Party, 7; division of supplies for, 7; provisions on Belvedere, 33; winter quarters at Collinson Point, 46, 119; Stefansson’s reunion with, 56; description of Stefansson’s interference with, 82; members well educated, 163; members responsible to Geological Survey of Canada, 163; members question Stefansson’s authority, 163; Wilkins to assert authority over, 196; members’ activities, 217–18; winter quarters near Coronation Gulf, 218–19; Wilkins’ conflict with members of, 245–56, 340; Eskimo assistants of leave expedition, 350–1, 354; members board coastal steamer, 361; members attend dinner in Seattle, 364 Southern Party base camp: location unknown, 206; Wilkins finds at Bernard Harbour, 219; Wilkins’ description of, 220; last view of, 346; Ikpukhuak left in charge of, 343

412

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Split-the-Wind (also Emiu), 293, 310, 311; fleetfooted, 293; freighting with Stefansson, 302; missing, 302; to Natkusiak’s camp at Cape Prince Alfred, 302; freighting with Wilkins, 306; warns Wilkins about polar bear, 312; becomes sick after eating polarbear liver, 313; heads north with Stefansson, 315 Spy Island, 21, 33 Stapylton Bay, 216; Cox surveying of, 218 Stefansson, Viljhalmur, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 30, 34, 46, 47, 50, 52–4, 55, 57, 78, 84, 86, 90, 92, 96–7, 128, 163, 170–1, 180–3, 194, 196, 205, 282, 286, 287, 293, 296–7, 303–5, 311, 314, 331, 357, 389n4 ch. 20, 389n5 ch. 20; initiates expedition, 4–5; made leader of the cae 1913–16, 5; seeks personnel, 5; meets Wilkins, 6; at Victoria, 8 (photo); purchases Alaska and Mary Sachs, 9; his desertion of Karluk rumoured, 16; leads hunting party from Karluk, 17–18; heads for Cape Smyth, 25; makes new plans, 35; sends Wilkins to fishing lake, 36; arrives two weeks late at fishing lake, 45; departs for Collinson Point, 48; reaches Collinson Point ahead of Wilkins, 56; leaves for Herschel Island, 58; sends letter with instructions for Dr Anderson, 65; goes to Fort McPherson, 65, 83; Eskimo son of, 73; proposes ice trip north from Martin Point, 77; hires Storkerson for ice trip, 77; asks for Southern Party equipment, 82; arrives at Collinson Point with mail, 84; obtained O’Neill’s pocket chronometer, 84; hired Ole Andreasen for ice trip, 85; confrontation with scientists, 85–6; makes verbal and written attack on Dr Anderson, 86;

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suggests Wilkins film whale hunting, 90; leaves Martin Point with ice party, 94; his support party returns to shore, 120; invites Wilkins to join Northern Party, 123; asks Wilkins to bring North Star to Banks Island, 123; initiates Wilkins–Dr Anderson conflict, 125; Wilkins leads search for, 138; appears with party at Cape Kellett camp, 161; irritated by change of schooners, 162; develops new plans, 164; recommends good salary for Wilkins, 169; shows disregard for government instructions, 169; discusses Coronation Gulf trip plans with Wilkins, 175; plans for second ice trip, 183; asks Wilkins to get North Star from Dr Anderson, 195; begins second ice trip, 196; route of second ice trip, 196; sends Wilkins and support party back to shore, 197; aim of second ice trip, 200; letter of to Dr Anderson delivered by Wilkins, 245–6; letter of creates conflict at Bernard Harbour, 248–56; buys Polar Bear, 274; goes to Herschel Island, 274; instructs Wilkins to proceed to Cape Kellett, 274; decides to freight supplies to Melville Island, 303; plans to abandon North Star, 303; abandons plans for ice trip northwest of Banks Island, 309; starts across M’Clure Strait for Melville Island, 312; receives news Storkerson has headed for New Land, 314; offers Wilkins command of Polar Bear, 314; exploring New Land, 330; commandeered Dr Anderson’s travel money, 357 Steen, Paul (American sailor from schooner Transit), 111 Stein (captain of Anna Olga): visits Wilkins, 130; sells Anna Olga to Martin Andreasen, 130

stone fish traps of Copper Eskimos, 263, 342, 388n3 Storkerson, Elvina (wife of Storker Storkerson), 145; gives birth at Cape Kellett, 276; at Polar Bear camp, 330 Storkerson, Storker (Norwegian exsailor), 97, 302, 314, 315; trapping on Mackenzie River, 65; hired by Stefansson for ice trip, 77; instructed to build base camp at Martin Point, 78; takes supplies to Martin Point, 80; member of Mikkelson-Leffingwell Expedition, 91; expresses views on ice trip, 94; trapping camp of, Banks Island, 185; on Stefansson’s second ice trip, 199; tells Wilkins about second ice trip, 276; was to lead ice trip northwest from Banks Island, 302; fails to meet Stefansson at Cape Prince Alfred, 309; leaves note for Stefansson at Mercy Bay, 310; heads north of Melville Island, 314; plans to map New Land, 314; with family at Polar Bear camp, 330 Sullivan, James Cockney (cook on Alaska), 216; wants to leave expedition, 267 Sweeney, Daniel (crewman on Belvedere), 64, 99, 100, 287, 338, 393n3; Leffingwell’s story about, 64; brings letter for Dr Anderson from Stefansson, 65; returns to Belvedere with Wilkins, 68; assists ice-trip party at Martin Point, 100; marries Eskimo girl, 274; takes Alaska to Herschel Island from Baillie Islands, 274; captains Alaska from Bernard Harbour to Nome, 345 Sweeney, Mrs Eunice, (“Red Calico,” wife of Daniel Sweeney), 274, 389n6; gives birth on Alaska, 346; leaves expedition at Kamarkak, 394; sister of Laura and Gallagher Arey, 354, 389n6 taboos of Copper Eskimos, 263 index

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Tadjuk (Eskimo hbc assistant at Bernard Harbour), 352 Teller, Alaska: repairs of Alaska at, 9 tents used: Burburry, 18, 24, 129; bellshaped, 18; Pikalu’s square one, 69; Inukok’s round one, 69 Teshekpuk Lake, 77 Thanksgiving Day, 49; McConnell explains feast to Wilkins, 49 Thetis Island (Amauliktok): Stefansson’s hunting party lands on, 19 Thomas, Lowell (author of biography of Wilkins), xv; inaccuracies of stories by, xv; on Crawford’s drunkenness, 9, 143, 148; on Eskimo’s food shortage, 28; on wage demands of Mary Sachs crew, 150; on Wilkins’ caribou hunt, 157–8; on finding Stefansson, 161; on northward progress of North Star, 279–80 Thomsen, Charles (sailor on Mary Sachs), 55–6, 64; trapping foxes, 55; stops trapping and rejoins expedition, 105; trapping agreement with Stefansson, 105; with Wilkins to Banks Island, 145; transporting caribou to base camp, 177; with Wilkins to establish base camp, 184; ill from eating polar-bear liver, 193; tells Wilkins of Stefansson’s summer 1915 activities , 285; concerns over safety of, 324; to return north by way of Polar Bear camp, 329, 392n12; overdue at Polar Bear camp, 331; death, 392n12 Thomsen, Jennie (seamstress wife of Charles Thomsen), 55; brings clothing to Collinson Point for men, 64; with Wilkins to Banks Island, 145; gives birth at Cape Kellett, 276; hunting with family (“Jennie Topsy”), 289 Thule people of Alaska, ancient dwellings of, 167 “Topsy.” See Thomsen, Jennie

414

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Transit (barque wrecked near Cape Smyth), 33; sailors from at Cape Smyth, 34 trapping agreement of Stefansson with Thomsen, Nahmens, Crawford, 105 trials of Uloksak and Sinnisiak, 339, 393n4 Turkish-Bulgarian War, 87 Uloksak Avingak (murderer of French Oblate priests), 222 Uloksak Meyok (shaman): two wives of, 222, 386n9; three wives of, 226; leads caribou hunt, 228–9; accompanies Wilkins to Coronation Gulf, 229–44; strange behaviour of near Haviron’s corpse, 229, 231 wages of hired help, Martin Point, 78–9 Walker Bay: Captain Richard Collinson wintered in, 210 whales, bowhead: Eskimo hunting of, 103 whaling ships: from San Francisco and Seattle, 103; seeking whale oil and baleen, 103 Wight, Constable D.E.F., (White): with Inspector La Nauze, 339, 393n5 Wilkins, George Hubert (official cae photographer), xv, 9–10, 28–9, 40, 43, 45, 52, 56, 89, 93, 102, 112, 114, 131, 159, 164, 207, 250, 260–2, 290–1, 293–6, 300, 303, 307–8, 313, 320–1, 353; Arctic diary of, xvi; employee of Gaumont Company, xvi; sent all photographs and films to London, xvii–xviii; knighted in 1928, xvii, 328; collections from Banks Island, xviii, 371–5; contribution to cae , xviii–xix; second-incommand of Northern Party, xix, 180; early years of, 3–4; becomes devotee of photography, 4; takes flying lessons, 4; invited to join cae ,

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4–5; describes Karluk, 5–6; meets Stefansson, 6; at Victoria, 8 (photo); leaves Karluk on hunting trip, 15; leaves cameras on Karluk, 16; route from Karluk to Cape Smyth, 20; describes Cape Smyth, 34; complains about Stefansson, 36, 46, 194, 195, 294, 303; heads party to fishing lake, 37; recalls Balkan War experiences, 39; miserable twenty-fifth birthday, 41; nets of unsuitable at fishing lake, 44; describes Stefansson-Jenness argument, 46; expresses concerns for Jenness, 48, 89; route to Collinson Point, 50; at Leffingwell’s house, 53; comment on Leffingwell, 54; growing disillusionment with Stefansson’s competency, 56; reunion with Southern Party, 56; develops pictures and mails them to London, 57; shows motion-picture films, 58; has good opinion of Dr Anderson, 63; studies book about birds and mammals, 63; taught to play chess, 63; helps build tide-gauge house, 64; expresses concern over Leffingwell’s mental state, 67; trip to Belvedere, 68–73; describes Louis Lane, 72; meets Pannigabluk and Alex, 72; describes Captain Cottle and Mrs Cottle, 73; awaits Stefansson’s arrival at Belvedere, 75; criticism of Johansen, 75; learns of ice-trip plans, 76; describes Storkerson, 78; initiates expedition activities, 79–80; obtains motion-picture camera, 80; agrees to be on Stefansson’s support party, 82; builds darkroom, 83; little involved during Collinson Point confrontation, 86; expresses loyalty to Dr Anderson, 87; finds Pannigabluk and son at Martin Point, 93; helps Johansen with tidal measurements, 94; admires Northern Lights, 94; to Belvedere for film, 100; and burial of

Andre Norem, 105; sled journey to Cape Smyth, 105–10; snowblindness, 106, 110, 186, 312; gets eye lotion for snowblindness, 111; visits Brower’s whaling camp, 111; frightening umiak ride of, 113–14; unable to film whale hunt, 116; develops and mails pictures, 116; sled journey to Collinson Point, 116–19; expects to leave expedition, 119; receives new instructions from Stefansson, 120; is asked to join Stefansson’s Northern Party, 123; to be on cae payroll, 124; jeopardizes employment with Gaumont Co., 125; route to Clarence Lagoon, 126; takes charge of North Star, 126; hires Pannigabluk as seamstress, 127; repairs North Star engine, 130; leaves Clarence Lagoon, 132; reaches Herschel Island, 133; waits for mail, 134; lends distillate to Captain Lane, 136; mail for instructs to return to London, 138; asked by Dr Anderson to search for Stefansson party, 138; takes command of Mary Sachs, 140; requests written statement for change of ships, 140; comments on people on Mary Sachs, 145; starts for Banks Island, 145; route to Banks Island, 146; collects first biological specimens, Banks Island, 156; dredges for marine life, 157; searches inland for Stefansson, 157; finds Stefansson’s beacon, 160; reunion with Stefansson, 162; comments on Stefansson’s summer activities, 165; takes Storkerson family to trapping camp, 168; salary from Department of the Naval Service, 169; hunting with Stefansson and Natkusiak, 170–7; skins and measures caribou, 171; collects first Peary caribou specimen, 171; lives solely on meat, 171; kills first caribou, 172;

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415

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alone guarding camp, 172, 192; alone in snowhouse on twenty-sixth birthday, 174; argues theology with Stefansson, 177; discusses Arctic uses of airplanes and submarines, 177; notices comet, 177; stalks polar bear alone, 180; briefly in charge of Cape Kellett camp, 180; likes title “Second-in-Command,” 180; cleans fox, caribou, and wolf skins, 181, 384n5 ch. 13; takes tidal readings at Cape Kellett, 181; hardest worker Stefansson has known, 182; asked to establish new base camp, 183; route to northern Banks Island, 184; discusses second ice trip with Stefansson, 185; geological observations of, 189, 312, 385n6; expects to be with Stefansson on second ice trip, 190; notes errors on Banks Island map, 190; river named after him, 192, 385n8; favoured over Stefansson as leader, 194; criticizes Stefansson’s decisions, 195; leaves Stefansson’s ice party, 197; planned trip to Coronation Gulf, 202; sled route to Bernard Harbour, 206; meets first Copper Eskimos, 209; describes Copper Eskimo snowhouse, 209; trades with Copper Eskimos, 211, 214; describes unusual Arctic char, 213; crosses ice to Cape Bexley, 215; meets Cox’s survey party, 217; reaches Southern Party base camp, 218; describes Southern Party house, 220; entertained by Uloksak Meyok and family, 222; comments on Copper Eskimo cheerfulness and hospitality, 223; comments on Johansen’s cooking and stinginess, 225; visits Copper Eskimo camp, 227; describes Copper Eskimo caribou hunt, 228; concerns about caribou slaughter, 229; starts for Coronation Gulf, 229; joined by Uloksak Meyok, 229; sled route to Coronation Gulf, 230; bur416

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ial site of Haviron, 230; visits Copper Eskimos in Coronation Gulf, 234; lack of privacy when among Copper Eskimos, 235; starts back to Bernard Harbour, 242; tormented by Eskimo women during trip, 243; hands Stefansson’s letter to Dr Anderson, 245; enjoys verbal feuding with Dr Anderson, 248; explains presence of Crawford, 249; enjoys his new authority, 251; and negotiations with Dr Anderson over North Star, 253–5; carries out photographic activities, 258; impressed by kindness of Copper Eskimos, 261; describes fishing activities, 263; witnesses fishing seance, 264–5; helps Johansen dredge for marine life, 266; heads North Star east to Cape Barrow, 268; excitement with ice near Lambert Island, 269; route of to Cape Barrow and Banks Island, 270; unloads supplies for Dr Anderson and men at Cape Barrow, 272; gets news of Stefansson and European war at Baillie Islands, 273; gets mail, 274; new instructions from Stefansson, 274; sails to Cape Kellett, 275; takes North Star up west coast of Banks Island, 276; supervises construction of winter quarters, 281; hunting with Natkusiak, 282; returns to Cape Kellett, 285; waits for Stefansson at Cape Kellett, 287; wants to survey west coast of Banks Island, 287; has twenty-seventh birthday at Cape Kellett, 288; troubled by thoughts of war, 289; requests opportunity to photograph Victoria Island Eskimos, 297; starts freighting supplies north for third ice trip, 298; reaches North Star camp, 299; waits for Stefansson, 301; blunt opinion of Stefansson’s summer activities, 305; starts freighting supplies to Melville Island, 305; sled route of to Melville

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Island, 306; corrects Admiralty chart, 309; criticizes Storkerson’s changes to trip plans, 310–11; eager to go to Polar Bear, 311; reaches Cape James Ross, 312; takes first photographs of Melville Island, 313; decides to leave expedition, 314, 332; says goodbye to Stefansson, 315; reaches Polar Bear camp, 316; from mail learns of father’s death, 317; looking for Blond Eskimos, 318; sled route of to Minto Inlet, 319; unpleasant encounter with Kudlak, 322; trades with Minto Inlet Eskimos, 322; comments on trading guns to Eskimos, 322, 391n5 ch. 23; his life threatened, 323; enjoys Eskimo hospitality, 324; female shaman flirts with, 325; returns to Polar Bear camp, 327; films sealhunting methods, 327; hunts on Banks Island, 327; visits third snowhouse village, 328; learns Stefansson has named body of water after him, 331, 392n14; establishes location of Polar Bear, 332; departs for Bernard Harbour, 336; crosses to mainland at Cape Bexley, 338; glad to complete last sled journey, 338; catches up on news, 339; arrival of stirs up animosity at base camp, 340; gives report of Northern Party to Dr Anderson, 341; visits Copper Eskimos at fishing creek, 341; helps Cox complete map of harbour, 341; photographs cae personnel and Ikpukhuak’s family, 342, 343; last to board Alaska, 344;

activities in Nome, 356–60, 394n10; cables New York Times from Nome about expedition, 359; acts as spokesman in Seattle, 364; prepares Arctic reports, 365; future of shaped by Arctic experiences, 366; reports to Gaumont Co. in London, 366; returns to Australia and family, 366; gets commission in Royal Australian Air Force, 366; return to England, 366; photographs Allied front, 366; war photographs of, 366, 396n5; wounded and decorated, 366; attempts first flight England to Australia, 366; joins Antarctic expedition, 366; joins last Shackleton expedition, 366, 396n7; makes fine collection of birds on South Georgia, 366; leads scientific expedition to North Australia, 367; flies nonstop Alaska to Spitzbergen, 367; charts part of Antarctica by air, 368; flies around world in Graf Zeppelin, 368; plans underwater crossing of Northwest Passage, 368; makes first under-polar-ice trip, 369; leads Arctic search for missing Russian flyers, 370; on first plane to land on a Canadian Arctic island, 370; consultant, lecturer, traveller, 370; ashes of scattered at North Pole, 370; geographic features named after, 395n2 Winter Cove: Captain Mogg and Olga winter at, 319, 391n4 ch. 23 Wittenberg, Leo: with Crawford buys schooner Challenger, 356

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