OTTAWA — One hundred years ago, 17 members of a Canadian scientific exploration party to the Far North died in an Arctic odyssey called the First Canadian Arctic Expedition, probably in part because it was a government operation, under-funded and under-equipped.
A new expedition is being launched to mark that little-known adventure by retracing the event, and today’s technology makes it possible for all of us to go along – figuratively. It’s much safer this time because it’s not a government operation, so there’s less chance of bureaucratic bungling. Also, it won’t be as cold, since most of us will have the comforts of our homes and will be part of the adventure by electronic connections.
Driving force behind the memorial expedition is Ottawa biologist, historian and documentary filmmaker David Gray. He makes it clear that despite the high casualty rate of the original expedition, it was not a failure. Those who survived continued their missions, bringing back maps of land Canada didn’t know it had, and thousands of samples of the western Arctic’s culture, geology, flora and fauna.
In 1968, Gray, a Victoria native with a doctorate from the University of Alberta, was studying muskox, and his research steeped him in the work of the 1913 adventure. He was being guided by the handwritten notes of those intrepid researchers. A connection was made. He came to know those scientists through their notes, and has not missed a year since, returning to the Arctic to support and advance their work.
Now he has assigned himself a new task. He wants to make certain the accomplishments of those 1913 adventurers continue to be recognized. They kept working until 1918 and earned a place in history. It could be argued they have such a place because they are known by historians. Try this test: Ask friends and family if they recognize names like Capt. Robert Bartlett and Vilhjalmur Stefansson, or a ship called the Karluk.
If you get a positive result, it’s probably from somebody who has been to the Museum of Nature, since it set up a special display about the expedition in February, marking the start of 100th anniversary celebrations.
The largest in the three-ship expedition was an aged wooden whaler called Karluk. Two smaller sailing ships with small gasoline engines completed the fleet. The idea was a voyage of discovery into Canada’s western Arctic. The Karluk became trapped in drifting ice that took it westward until it was crushed hundreds of kilometres north of the Arctic coast of Russia.
All survived the sinking but then faced the prospect of surviving a long winter on the ice in one of the most brutal environments on the planet. Four men decided to try to a southward trek to land, and were never seen again. Arctic cold, starvation and lack of medical care claimed another 13. A party went out to establish a line of food caches to the south. Their bones were found on an island in 1929.
It’s an epic story that can’t be summed up in a newspaper column. It was touched on early this year by Canadian Geographic.
Originally the 1913 expedition was to be funded by American interests, but Prime Minister Robert Borden saw risk in a non-Canadian expedition mapping Canadian territory. When the Karluk went missing, it became a major story. Gradually time, distance, and possible political embarrassment, put the story on the proverbial back burner.
Gray has launched the current expedition under the title The White North has Thy Bones, a line from a Tennyson poem honouring explorer John Franklin, who went missing in the Arctic after setting out in 1845 to try to navigate the Northwest Passage across the top of Canada. The line was also inscribed on a memorial to Franklin in London.
Members of the current party include descendants of the original expedition.
A press release written by Gray supporters says they’re looking for “closet historians” interested in linking up with the adventure. Although the Canadian Government has pledged its support for the project, that hasn’t included money. Donations are being sought, and in return donors will get an electronic front seat. They will also get a DVD of the adventure when it’s completed.
It’s “now or never” say supporters. A warming Arctic is causing disturbances to 10 sites to be investigated, and artifacts are disappearing into the sea.
An online campaign can be found on the Internet at by Googling The White North Has Thy Bones (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-white-north-has-thy-bones). Gray can be contacted at email@example.com or 613-821-2640.