Taissumani, Aug. 6
Arctic Mail Delivery – Gjoa Haven to Fullerton 1905
KENN HARPER
In March 1905, whaling master George Comer was comfortably ensconced in his vessel, the Era, at Fullerton Harbour in the extreme south-western corner of Foxe Basin, where he and his crew were spending their second winter.
Nearby an official Canadian government vessel, the Arctic, was also wintering; its captain was Joseph-Elzear Bernier but the expedition was under the overall command of J. D. Moodie. The previous year another official Canadian expedition on the Neptune had travelled to Fullerton and established the first police post in the eastern Arctic.
Far to the north-east, a Norwegian, Captain Roald Amundsen, was also spending his second winter.
He had taken his sloop, the Gjoa, across the Atlantic and through Lancaster Sound, and reached King William Island in 1903. His wintering location was the small harbour, Gjoa Haven, that he named after his ship.
On March 18, Comer noted in his diary that the Canadian steamer had received some unexpected mail.
“This evening a sled arrived from Chesterfield Inlet to trade, two natives stopping at the steamer and two coming here to trade,” he wrote. “Those that went to the steamer brought a letter from a ship which is making the Northwest Passage. Gjoa is the way her name is spelt, Captain R. Amundsen. This letter, it is reported, leaves them all well, a crew of seven men, and they were in lat 68° 38’ north, long 96° west, frozen in. The letter left them October 15, 1904. The letter has been brought by a native known as Blockhead.”
It is well-known that whalers and most northern explorers had difficulty with Inuit names. They mangled their spellings and often resorted to nicknames. But Blockhead is a particularly unattractive name.
His real name has been recorded as Artungelar, and of course there are various other spellings recorded for it. He was a well-known Inuit guide for white explorers, having guided David Hanbury on his explorations of the interior of the Keewatin Region.
He had even ventured south at one point, visiting Winnipeg. There he had “become acquainted with all the latest discoveries such as the telephone, railways (he described them as ‘komatiks on wheels of iron pulled by iron dogs’) , electric light, and – whisky.” When Amundsen met him he “tried to explain that the teetotal movement was the latest advance in the region, but he would not listen to it. At last he asked straight out for some spirits…”
Artungelar’s sled trip had departed Gjoa Haven on Nov. 28 (not Oct. 15, as Comer had thought) and it had been a difficult journey of four months.
Three of his four dogs had died on the way and he carried only a piece of cloth for shelter. No doubt he set up a windbreak of snowblocks at night and used the cloth to fashion it into a makeshift tent.
Three days before his arrival at Fullerton with Amundsen’s precious mail, Artungelar suffered an accident. His gun had accidentally discharged and his hand was “badly shattered” by a bullet.
Despite this accident, he was ready to leave again for Gjoa Haven on March 26. Amundsen had made a request to purchase eight sled dogs from Fullerton.
In fact, between them Comer and Moody sent 10, having purchased them from Inuit camped near the ships. Artungelar took these dogs in charge and set out to rejoin Amundsen.
He expected to be there by the first of June. In fact he had plenty of time; Amundsen did not leave Gjoa Haven until the summer of 1905 and finally reached San Francisco in 1906.
Artungelar’s long journey is but one example from Arctic literature, of the heroic efforts Inuit in the service of explorers made to get the Arctic mail out.
Taissumani recounts a specific event of historic interest. Kenn Harper is a historian, writer and linguist who lives in Iqaluit. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
