and Linguistic
Misunderstandings
essential learning process enabling a child to become a skilled hunter. The trick is to jump
as much as possible on broken ice patches, each piece is different. Not falling in the water
is the reward. One must know the difference between many aspects of ice, colour, age,
thickness and especially sea tides or wind generated movements. With time, this practice
becomes a valuable asset in traveling on ice. Some modern hunters can even drive
snowmobiles over very rotten ice.
The Franklin expedition crew were not experienced enough with this skill. I wonder if they
were severely beset in ice on purpose in September of 1846. Ice has different forms and
motions and recognizing it is the key. Was the ice near Cape Felix (King William Island)
unrecognizable until it was too late? Or did it move in so quickly that they didn't have time
to escape? Deciding to risk besetment in unknown Victoria Strait ice was the beginning
of the endfor Erebus and Terror. British Admiralty's slow response in rescue efforts
was not surprising, perhaps there wasn't any thought for contingency plans as failure
wasn't an option. Preselected rescue or contact points should have been chosen before
departure from England. No simple, in case of disaster measure insured the most
thorough search within a huge labyrinth of islands mostly covered with snow. What
happened after 105 sailors abandoned their ships is the great debate about this tragedy.
The old written sources give a glimpse through the wall of time and the scarcity found on
a foreign frozen land.
Of the many 19th Century Rescue expeditions, four stand out, they were led by visionaries
who used the concept of multicultural synergism. The achievement of great things through
the participation of various talents from diverse cultures is a late 20th Century concept which
is just becoming accepted practice. Incisive were Dr Rae (1854), Royal Navy Lieutenant
Leopold McClintock (1859), Francis Hall (1869) and US Army Lieutenant Schwatka (1879).
The four achieved more pertinent discoveries than all the other very expensive expeditions
must tread carefully when reading their work. Hired interpreters should have been fluent
in English and the dialects involved. Apparently they were not. Errors were introduced and
each story taken should be evaluated on a translation by translation basis. Here are a few examples:
Klutschak with Schwatka called woman "kuni", a kiss. Francis Hall in late 1869 should
haveknown that King William was an Island, but used the term King William land when
the Netsilik said "Qeqertaq","Kikituk": island. Proper translation depended on interpretation
skills, not learned in a day, month, but after several years of regular contact. Hall's work is
tainted by other irregularities. His stories are basically hard to believe. The very heavy dead
man with big teeth inside a cabin of an unscathed ship is one example from his American
notes. Inuit of old carried whole caribous on their backs for kilometers, yet it took five of
these strong hunters to lift one human corps. Although Dr Rae may have had a good
interpreter, Franklin expedition members didn't. Dr Rae earned the wrath of his Victorian
colleagues by asserting a story which related to cannibalism. Not all of Rae's findings
can be deemed accurate since some of them were learned by Inuit who encountered
Back River bound survivors, they communicated with gesticulation and sketches on the
surface of sea ice.
Leopold McClintock's interpreter, Petersen, translated the following from Pond Inlet Inuit:
"Two years ago (1856-7) some people who lived far beyond Igloolik, in a country called
A-ka-nee (probably the A-k-koo-lee of Parry), brought from there the information of white
people having come in two boats, and passed a winter in snow-huts at a place called by
the following names: A-mee-lee-oke, A-wee-lik, Net-tee-lik". This was an improper tran-
slation. Ameeleeoke is most likely Ametioke peninsula (on Melville), and the "place" is a
route from Igloolik-Ametioke- Arviliq(juaq)-Netsilik: The Igloolik-Ametioke-(Pelly Bay)-
(Spence Bay) Route, the rest of that segment is difficult to decipher despite good English.
turn of this Century by Inuit hunters, it attracted their attention and curiosity ever since, its sort
of a tourist site for them. It has no known prior history. Hollow on top, similar in appearance
with those reported by Franklin searchers on King William Island. This cairn is very poorly
placed, as it stands in fog or is frequently very near or in low clouds and almost always
immersed in very strong winds.
It measures almost exactly 6 feet in height and sometimes exceeds 36 inches in diameter.
Very near are the remains of three tent rings with two rectangular caches. Again the tents
were very awkwardly placed exposed to winds from all directions, they needed good guy
ropes, suggesting a foreign origin.
top could have contained a note, but alas it is empty. The last free standing Victorian cairn is
in trouble. Prevailing winds deposit heavy ice accretions on its western side, time gave the
tilt you see in this picture. It will inevitably fall as the structures center of gravity will shift outside
of its base. Archaeologist may be needed to insure that this will be avoided unless it is
preferable to leave time let its rocks regain their original positions near ground level.
Umanak, the alleged site of the sinking of Erebus or Terror. The incident was witnessed,
but the story couldn't be said for lack of interpretation skills. It was March of 1849, a hunter
just arriving in Pond Inlet Baffin Island and the Captain of a whaler ship called the Chieftain
tried to communicate . Instead of talking, the Inuk drew a three part sketch showing one
ship listing on its side by the very profile of the island Umanak.
Ground Zero area is only accessible to Pond Inlet from late January to late May, because
of massive pack ice or open water. Having the name of the Inuk sketch maker would help.
Linked to this is the story of the singular sinking ship. Surviving orally even today: A ship
loaded with sick or dying people sank. The few survivors erected broken masts upwards,
much later hunters burnt the masts. Proof of survivors on Prince of Wales exists with a
legendary piece of whalebone found with the carved inscription 1851 very near ground
zero. In 1993 a marking, inscribed in blackish ink, on the side of the skull of an old bowhead
whale was seen and photographed, the numbers 18 and 5 could still be discernible. In
1851-52 Adam Beck a West Greenlandic translator was formal that expedition survivors
were killed by Inuit near Umanak (Greenland, south of Thule). I accidentally rediscovered
that communications between the Greenlandic and North Baffin Inuit was alive at the time
of Franklin. In 1859, McClintock noted that upon visiting a small Inuit village near Pond Inlet
the Inuit were exclaiming "pilletay" (sic) most likely "pillitin", rough North Greenlandic for
"give me", this word is completely different in Pond's dialect "kaitinga".
The fact that Thule Greenlanders and Pond Inlet Inuit were in touch most likely spurred
the story eventually reaching the ears of Adam Beck, a West Greenlander much mis-
understood during the Franklin search period, the Royal Navy didn't grasp what he was
trying to say, having Adam's original statements in Greenlandic would be quite helpful.
The real Umanak may one day be revealed....
front keel is perfectly similar to the one sketched by McClintock in his book "Voyage on the
Fox". This whaler was 28 feet long, 2 feet deep (from the front) and a surviving spar
measures 7 feet in length. Reading "Voyage on the Fox" you will find McClintock's words:
" A large boat 28 feet in extreme length, 7 feet 3" in breadth and 2 feet 4 inches in depth."
This was the very boat containing 2 bodies from the expedition along with a lot of other
artifacts. Found on the Northwest tip of King William Island, more bones and a few relics
were recently rediscovered at or near this site. On Prince of Wales, it took herculean
muscles to raise this boat approximately 30 to 40 feet above sea level.
The Ground Zero whaler is in extremely poor shape, the remaining wood was most
ironically spared by moisture. 19 and early 20th Century Inuit most certainly visited this
site sporadically.
Philippe Manik. The stern seen here was broken away from the keel. Milled wood was a
fabulously precious asset, most of this whale boat planks were plucked off by hand
(possible due to the fact that the boat was upright, freezing andmelting snow weakened the
structure), the remaining junk wood would have been burned if dry enough. Since this boat
lies in a slanted creek bed, the remaining wood is rotting at a much accelerated pace.
Compared to the world famous mummified wood forest on Axel Heiberg island (11-14
million years of age) this whaler's wood looks quite Jurassic. There is a need for on site
archaeological preservation, otherwise small and big whaler chunks will continue to wash
away in the ocean especially during the spring runoff season.
Memorial Expedition in 1993, alleged that this whaler was from the Thule era (1000-1600
AD), Thule being a shorter definition than "present day Inuit ancestors". It was used by the
Thule Inuit for Inshore whaling as the claim went. To fit this hypothesis, this very British in
dimension 2 inches long square nail, must have been exported to Denmark, Vikings would
have left by coincidence a 28 feet long and 2 feet deep whale boat somewhere around
ground zero. The Norse were perhaps bored of making so many new discoveries.
And now for something completely serious: Logistics of the boat at ground zero. Leopold
McClintock estimated weight of the King William whaler to be 700 to 800 lb., planks and
row were modified or changed in order to reduce weight. Since PoW Island whaler remnants
fit the dimensions of this boat, one can estimate how many people pulled it out of the water
and brought it 210 feet from shore at about 30 feet of elevation.
First who placed it up so high and when? There is no reason in elevating this boat at that
height. It was moved from a beautiful rose shallow sandy beach, not deep at all for 20 meters
or so. Near shore water level is a few centimeters for 5 meters, barely enough to keep this
boat afloat. Heavy ice could not have damaged this whaler if placed very near the beach.
There is also no practical logic in placing it in a creek bed. It was most likely pulled up in the
fall. The frozen creek would have provided much less friction. After laboring so hard , the sight
of ice should have dissuaded the owners from leaving it over wet summer grounds, not doing
so suggests a reckless or desperate behaviour. Snow on the other hand, causes a lot offriction, this abrogates movement from early winter to late spring. Leaving us with ap-
proximating a very near date of placement: August 25 to September 20. Inuit wouldn't have
left this precious vehicle in a creek bed, they would have stored it a few meters near shore
on a flat but slightly higher dry surface, perhaps wedged amongst a few big rocks. This
leaves us with the only possibility of desperate Europeans placing the boat more elevated
than necessary for reasons which are quite obscure. How many people carried or pulled
pounds. The rest is left to experience in moving things. Seven strong persons, pulling an
individual load of 150 lb. at a distance of 200 feet should suffice. A significant number of
people needed for transport, negates even more Inuit involvement. Forgetting common
sense, seven or so hunters could have done it, but this would have guarantied no secrecy
or the beginning of a very good story. Since there is no such tale, the likelihood of so many
people keeping a secret away from the rest of the Inuit world is remote.
What were they doing there? Exposed evidence tends to support that they were surviving
with very little materials. The boat people removed original whalebone ribs from a nearby
ancient sod house and scattered them away, perhaps to live in the lower than ground level
flat rock floor. Fastening a canvas over the ruined sod house would have ensured comfort
from usually significant Westerly and Northerly winds. A strange tent ring with flat rocks for
guy ropes is right next to the sod house, the occupants burnt wood within the hearth (un-
heard of inside Inuit Tupit). The beginning of the destruction of this whaler preceded a
decision, whether to have a boat or heat; a dreary choice. There is some evidence that
these boat people headed North and most likely built THE GREAT CAIRN, Inukshualuk,
they were then well on their way to Cape Walker... Estimating that inshore whaling Inuit
bought this boat and burnt it after a while, is at best, a very weak hypothesis.
There is no sign of whalebones from a recent (150 year old) kill, only ancient Arvit /
Bowhead ribs and vertebra going back or predating the Thule Era. There is absolutely no
record of a whaling ship venturing anywhere near Peel Sound. Few Inuit stories are pertinent,
they knew it was there, and that's all.
meters away from sea shore, measures 5 and 3/4 inches square and was broken on one
end by a very powerful force. It lies in a dried up creek delta 6 hours walk from ground zero.
There can be no sign of scouring from any thick ice flow by this shore on account of the very
shallow red sandy beach which extends itself for several hundred meters into the sea. This
means that the beam floated to this site when there was water in a long gone delta.
The sparse dry land vegetation growing near this piece indicates age, I estimate 100 to
200 years), the creek flows 100 meters or so away from this wood beam. Only a few big
pieces like this one escaped the scavenging hunter/beachcomber of old. A lucky piece of
wood could have been useful for so many essential things, most beached wood chunks
were put in good use until the late 1970's. This piece reminds me of the squared timber
installed for the locomotive engines powering Erebus and Terror. If you have any knowledge
about British naval construction history, please comment on other possibilities.
ICE
SKETCHES