The Type and Number of Expeditions in the Franklin Search, 1847-1859

Forty-nine books and articles published during the last 140 years give two dozen different figures for the number of expeditions that participated in the search for Sir John Franklin (1847-59). The figures range widely, from 17 to more than 70. According to the classification of expeditions presented here, 20 search expeditions, 11 supply expeditions, and one relief expedition (a total of 32) were directly involved in the Arctic search, and four bi-purpose expeditions contributed in some way, making a total of 36. Three aborted search expeditions failed to reach the Arctic.Quarante-neuf livres et articles publiés au cours des derniers 140 ans donnent une vingtaine de chiffres différents pour le nombre d'expéditions ayant participé à la recherche de sir John Franklin (1847-59). Les chiffres varient très largement, allant de 17 à plus de 70. Selon la classification des expéditions présentées ici, 20 expéditions de recherche, 11 expéditions de ravitaillement et une expédition de relève (total de 32) sont intervenues directement dans la recherche effectuée dans l'Arctique, et quatre autres expéditions à double mandat y ont également participé d'une manière ou d'une autre, ce qui fait un total de 36. Trois expéditions de recherche interrompues n'ont pas réussi à atteindre l'Arctique

The Earliest Sound Recordings among North American Inuit

On 7 November 1903, Captain George Comer of the American whaling schooner Era recorded on a phonograph a few songs of the Aivilingmiut and Qaernermiut in northwestern Hudson Bay (Ross, 1984:73). These appear to have been the earliest sound recordings ever made among the Inuit of Canada and Alaska. The recordings made by Diamond Jenness among the Copper Eskimos (1914-1916) and those made by Christian Leden among the Padlimiut (1914-1916) have hitherto been considered as the earliest, but Comer's first recording preceded these by more than a decade and his pioneering work should be recognized

William Penny (1809-1892)

To William Penny belongs the distinction of undertaking the first maritime search for the ships of Sir John Franklin. ... One of Penny's concerns was that the arctic regions north of Canada, which were ostensibly British on the basis of many discovery expeditions since Frobisher's in 1576, might fall to the United States if Britain failed to exert her authority there. [He applied for a land grant in 1852 to forestall the plans of American whaling interests to establish bases on Baffin Island. Unfortunately, this was denied.] ... By expanding the frontier of the Davis Strait whale fishery, by developing the technique of wintering on board whaleships, by pointing the way into Lancaster Sound for subsequent Franklin searches, and by initiating the first missionary presence on Baffin Island, William Penny influenced the course of Euro-American activity in the eastern Arctic during the nineteenth century

Canadian Sovereignty in the Arctic: The Neptune Expedition of 1903-04

Prior to 1903, Canada did not effectively exercise jurisdiction over its Arctic territories, where men of various nationalities carried out whaling, hunting, trading and mining without any restriction. The Dominion Government Expedition of 1903-04 on board the Neptune constituted the first significant step towards the assertion of Canadian authority in the eastern Arctic, particularly in Hudson Bay. Its members established a police post, implemented customs procedures, prohibited trade in the hides of musk-ox (an endangered species), and informed the Eskimos that Edward VII was their king. In addition to demonstrating the Dominion Government's authority over its Arctic territories, the Neptune Expedition helped to promote the decline of the whaling industry, which for decades had provided the economic basis of Eskimo life in certain regions

Alan Gordon Richard Cooke (1933-1989)

Alan Cooke, a person well known to all those interested in the history and development of the subarctic and arctic regions, died in Montreal on 11 July 1989, after an illness of several months. After entering Dartmouth College in 1951, he worked with a geological field party in northern Quebec during the summer of 1953 and soon came under the influence of Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who with his famous collection of polar books, pamphlets, and letters had just taken up residence at Dartmouth. These two events set Alan firmly upon a long trail of northern studies, which he followed for the remaining four decades of his life as traveller, researcher, writer, consultant, and editor. By the time Alan graduated from Dartmouth he had already compiled a comprehensive bibliography of northern Quebec, which a decade later, with considerable expansion, was published in two volumes as the Bibliography of the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, co-authored with Fabien Caron. ... [Alan] ... earned a Ph.D. in 1970 with an analysis of the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Chimo operation in the early nineteenth century. During the 1960s and early 1970s he enjoyed a close association with the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge and for three years edited its journal Polar Record. He also served as a research analyst on the staff for the Arctic Bibliography published by the Arctic Institute of North America. In 1975 he moved back to Montreal to undertake freelance editorial work. ... Alan's career included jobs as assistant librarian and/or curator of manuscripts in two of the world's best polar libraries, the Stefansson Collection at Dartmouth College and the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge. ... his knowledge of the North was not gained merely from the printed page ... [but from first hand experience in such places as McGill's Subarctic Research Station at Schefferville, the Mackenzie Delta, Fort Simpson, and the Noatak River region of Alaska.] ... his most significant and enduring scholarly contribution was the book The Exploration of Northern Canada 500 to 1920; a Chronology (1978), co-authored with Clive Holland. This indispensable annotated compendium of subarctic and arctic expeditions and events has already had a positive influence upon northern scholarship and writing, and there is no reason to think that its value will ever diminish. ..

The Annual Catch of Greenland (Bowhead) Whales in Waters North of Canada 1719-1915: A Preliminary Compilation

The international composition of the whaling fleets that sought Balaena mysticetus north of Canada before 1915 has long been a deterrent to the compilation of a complete set of voyage and catch data. Using unpublished whaling logbooks and journals, manuscript annual summaries of Dutch and British whaling, and other sources, the author assembles data annually for each of the whaling grounds of Davis Strait, Hudson Bay, and the Beaufort Sea, which indicate that more than 29,000 whales were secured. Considering gaps in the coverage and the mortality of wounded escaped whales, the total kill during the whaling period may have exceeded 38,000. This reconstruction is considered preliminary; additional research could improve the completeness and accuracy of the information