Mike and Akpalialuk visit Scotland – Part 1

In my last column, the little ship Albert had reached Button Point, near Pond Inlet, to rescue Jamie Florence who had been there for three years.

How the little vessel reached him is a story in itself.

In 1919, Henry Toke Munn, owner of the Arctic Gold Exploration Syndicate, and Capt. John Murray were in Halifax where they outfitted the Albert, hired a crew, and sailed for Baffin Island in late June.

In Davis Strait, ice prevented the ship from going immediately to Button Point on Baffin Island, where Jamie Florence watched and waited.

So they turned back to Cumberland Sound, where they resupplied William Duval’s station at Usualuk. (Duval was a former whaler who had taken an Inuit wife and was employed by Munn at the time).

Capt. Murray had trouble with his crew of inexperienced sailors — the bo’sun, or deck boss, was crippled with rheumatism and completely useless. But at Duval’s station, Murray came across a competent Inuit boat-hand known by Inuit and whites alike as Mike — his real name was Kanajuq — and took him and his son, Akpalialuk, about 13 years of age, aboard for the rest of the voyage.

The crew list for the Albert in 1919 lists Kanajuq Mike as Caneioo, and his son Akpalialuk as Ackpiluargjew. (Crew list of Albert, 1919. Maritime History Archive, Memorial University)

Murray already knew Kanajuq Mike, because Murray had whaled and wintered some years previously in the Repulse Bay area.

Akpalialuk was the son of Mike and his first wife whose name may have been Angiaruk. Some say she was from Naujaat, others say she was a Nattilingmiut.

The couple had two children. Qajarjuaq, born around 1905 and later known as Joe Curley, was Akpalialuk’s older brother.

Qajarjuaq was adopted by his uncle, Kanajuq Mike’s brother Angutimmarik — a man who worked for Scottish whalers for years and was known to them as Scotch Tom — and his wife Aglak.

Here is what Qajarjuaq told writer Dorothy Eber about Angutimmarik: “My [adoptive] father was the captain’s man. In those days, the Scotch and the Americans had their Inuit leaders, and my father, Scotch Tom, my uncle who adopted me… was the man for the Scottish people.”

John Murray was well-known to the Inuit and well-liked by them. They called him Nakungajuq — the cross-eyed one. He treated them well.

Qajarjuaq said: “John Murray sent my father lots of gifts and parcels… He had a lot of weapons, all kinds of rifles. He was always receiving gifts, and many were expensive.”

In 1916, Murray had moved Duval and a group of Uqqumiut from Cumberland Sound to Southampton Island where Munn thought the prospects would be good for a hunting and trading station. Aivilingmiut from the Kivalliq coast were attracted to the post and Mike, who was one of them, found employment there.

His first wife had died, and so he also found a wife there, a young woman named Qilavvaq (Kilabuk), daughter of Viivi (Veevee), Duval’s brother-in-law.

The station was not successful. When Munn decided to close it two years later, Murray relocated the Uqqumiut back to Usualuk. Mike, with his new wife and his son Akpalialuk, went with them.

At Usualuk in 1919, a short-handed John Murray recruited Kanajuq Mike for the rest of that season’s voyage.

He took the unusual step of signing Mike on as a crew member but Mike refused to be separated from his son, Akpalialuk. So Murray signed him on as well, even though he was just a boy.

I was fortunate to find the crew lists for the Albert for that year. Such lists are a valuable tool for a researcher, because they provide some personal information about the crew members.

In this case, Kanajuq Mike’s age is given as 49, Akpalialuk’s as 12. This implies a birthdate for Mike of about 1870 and for Akpalialuk of about 1907. The spellings of both their names are mangled, but recognizable.

With Kanajuq and Akpalialuk aboard, Murray took the Albert out of Cumberland Sound and into Davis Strait. He found the ice along the Baffin coast to be extremely heavy, so he crossed the strait to follow the coast of Greenland north, then crossed Melville Bay to the Baffin coast.

They finally reached Button Point on Sept. 12. This was very late in the season, and Jamie Florence had despaired that a ship would ever arrive for his relief. The prospect of another winter in isolation with no supplies weighed heavily upon him.

He had ceased to even keep a lookout for a ship, for he felt he could not bear another disappointment. Then, on a mid-September day, shouts from the Inuit brought him to his door. The ship had arrived.

A small boat came ashore, picked up Florence and took him to the Albert. Captain Murray was relieved and not a little surprised to find that Florence was still alive and in apparent good health.

Sadly, Murray did not record any of the interactions between Mike and the Tununirmiut of Pond Inlet.

Qajarjuaq told Dorothy Eber, “My original parents, Mike Kanajuq and Angearok [Angiaruk] his wife, came over [to the Repulse Bay area] from Pond Inlet.”

If that statement is correct, Mike may have had relatives there. And if not relatives, then quite likely acquaintances. The Inuit of the Iglulik and Repulse Bay area were related to the Tununirmiut and often travelled there to trade with whalers.

The Albert remained at Button Point for eight days.

For the Inuit, this must have been a time of visiting and storytelling, of getting to know one another, and – as visitors everyhere do – of talking of common acquaintances and seeking to establish relationships.

The Albert left Pond’s Inlet on Sept. 20, her destination Peterhead, Scotland. It was to be one of the most harrowing voyages any on board had ever made.

Taissumani is an occasional column that recalls events of historical interest. Kenn Harper is a historian and writer who lived in the Arctic for more than 50 years. He is the author of “Minik: The New York Eskimo” and “Thou Shalt Do No Murder,” among other books. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.