Christian Klengenberg More Suspicions”

Last week I introduced readers to Christian Klengenberg, a Danish cook who was one of the earliest white men to trade into the central Canadian Arctic.

Four unexplained deaths had happened on one of the Dane's early forays into Canadian waters, but a trial for one of those deaths had resulted in his acquittal before a court in San Francisco in 1907.

Many years later, another incident occurred that reminded old-timers all over again about the suspicions which clouded Klengenberg's reputation.

In 1924 Klengenberg sailed his own ship, the Maid of New Orleans, from Alaska into Canadian waters, filled with trade goods for his post on Victoria Island.

But first he stopped at Herschel Island, where he was informed of a Canadian government policy that prevented the landing of foreign goods in Canada from American ships. Klengenberg was a naturalized American citizen and his ship was American-registered. The policy therefore applied to him and would prevent him from bartering his trade goods with the Inuit for furs.

Klengenberg argued for the right to continue on to Victoria Island with the goods, but to land only items sufficient to supply his own immediate family.

Permission was granted, on condition that he stop at the RCMP detachment on Baillie Island. There, a young constable, MacDonald, was ordered to accompany Klengenberg to ensure that goods for trade were not landed at Victoria Island.

The trip to Klengenberg's post proceeded without incident. Klengenberg was reunited for a time with his family, then began the return journey to Baillie Island.

But on this leg of the voyage, Constable MacDonald mysteriously disappeared. Klengenberg himself recounted the incident succinctly in his memoirs: "He must have fallen overboard, but none of the crew saw the accident happen… Nothing was ever seen of him again."

A search of the icy waters ensued. A crew member took to a rowboat and returned from his search with MacDonald's caribou-skin parka and his notebook – he had found them floating in the water.

The mate, Henry Larsen, later in life to become famous in these same waters as the captain of the RCMP vessel, St. Roch, was not suspicious, writing many years after the fact, "It was impossible to ascertain why or how the constable had fallen overboard. We thought that perhaps he had gone up forward, where there was no railing, and had lost his balance while he was standing there. With the noisy engine going it would have been practically impossible for the helmsman to hear any cries for help, and from where he was standing he could not see the bow."

Larsen did find one detail perplexing though, adding, "How the constable had managed to get his parka off and put his notebook on top of it remained a mystery."

A later writer, historian H. G. Jones, took up this question when he wrote, "No one answered another obvious question: Why would, or how could, a man fighting for his life in icy water remove his caribou-skin parka and neatly place his notebook atop it before drowning?"

Both Larsen's and Jones's observations overlook one possibility, however. If MacDonald had just come from his cabin before toppling overboard, it's possible that he wasn't even wearing his caribou parka.

He may have been carrying it, intending to put it on while on deck, and fallen overboard while holding it. Removing the notebook from a pocket (if he wasn't carrying that too) might have been the last responsible act of a dedicated officer.

The ship reached Baillie Island with the flag at half mast and Klengenberg hastened to the post to report the drowning of Cst. MacDonald to the police officers there.

Then he continued on to Herschel Island to face Inspector Caulkin. Many on the island remembered the acquittal of 17 years earlier, and doubted Klengenberg's story. Some thought that he had landed more stores at Victoria Island than the inspector had authorized, hoping to profit from their sale, and that MacDonald knew about it and would have reported it to his superiors. This, they surmised, might have served as motive for disposing of MacDonald.

Inspector Caulkin conducted a thorough investigation. He had everything taken from the ship to the police storehouse. Henry Larsen later wrote, "Every single item was checked off on the list the captain had for customs purposes, and luckily for him, every item missing was found in MacDonald's notebook, which we had fished out of the water. This proved that everything was in order."

The case had aroused a great deal of interest because the unfortunate constable who had drowned happened to be the grandson of Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. MacDonald.

But with Caulkin's investigation having shown that no trade items were illegally landed at Victoria Island, no charges were warranted. The event was deemed to be a tragic accident. Once again, Christian Klengenberg had been vindicated.

Next Week – The final chapter in the life of Christian Klengenberg

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 kennharper@hotmail.com.