Taissumani: April 23, 1910 – Bernhard Hantzsch’s Final Journey

KENN HARPER

Bernhard Hantzsch was a German ornithologist intent on exploring the natural history of southern Baffin Island. In 1909 he traveled on a whaling vessel, the Jantina Agatha, to Cumberland Sound. His backers had provided him liberally with trade goods with which to hire Inuit, but his plans went awry before he even reached Blacklead Island, the whaling and mission station that he intended to use as his base. The Jantina Agatha sank, and with it Hantzsch’s trade goods. No lives were lost – everyone was rescued by Inuit manning two whaleboats.

The crew of the Dutch vessel had to winter unexpectedly, along with Hantzsch and Reverend Greenshield, on Blacklead Island, living largely on the largesse of the Inuit. It was a winter of deprivation and near starvation. The following spring, Hantzsch was struck with the full impact of the loss of his cargo. He had hoped to use his ample supply of guns, ammunition and tobacco to entice healthy young Inuit men without families to accompany him into the Baffin interior. With most of his supplies gone, he was only able to hire three men in middle age, loyal and friendly to be sure, but without the vigour of the young men he had hoped for. Moreover, they insisted on traveling with their families.

On April 23, 1910 the party set off on their epic journey with three dog teams and a whale boat.

It was a grueling journey. Hauling the boat on one of the sleds, the party wended their way northwest among the many islands that lay off the coast of Cumberland Sound, before heading inland up a fiord and then up a river to the height of land, then descending to Baffin Island’s huge inland sea, Nettilling Lake. By then summer was upon them, and the boat proved its worth. They used it to cross the lake, and set up their summer camp at Tikirarjuk on its western shore.

From this point, one hunter returned to Blacklead Island, leaving the German scientist with two hunters, Aggakdjuk and Ittusakdjuak [both spellings in Hantzsch’s orthography] and their wives.

Although they had travelled farther inland than any white man had ever done before, albeit along a route difficult but well-known to the Inuit, it wasn’t far enough for Hantzsch. His goal was the shores of Foxe Basin. To that end, they took to the boat again to travel from Nettilling Lake down a large river, the Kuukjuaq. [This is one of many “Kuukjuaq’s” that scatter the Inuit map of the Arctic, for the name means simply “big river.”]

By late September the party was sledging north along the shores of Foxe Basin. They finally established their winter camp at the mouth of a river which today bears Hantszch’s name. Hantszch shared winter quarters with Ittusardjuak and his wife, Sirkinirk – the missionary at Blacklead had described her as “a model of diligence, industry and neatness.” From this bleak camp, the scientist conducted his surveys.

It was a desperate winter. This starvation coast was devoid of population for a very good reason – the hunting was abysmal. For most of the winter they were unable to find seals. The Inuit managed to take an occasional caribou. Finally, on May 1, Ittusakdjuak killed a polar bear. It would prove to be both their salvation and their ruin.

Some time after eating their fill of bear meat, all of the party began to complain of stomach pain and fever. It is likely that they had contracted trichinosis, a disease caused by eating the uncooked or inadequately-cooked meat of certain species, among them bear and seal. The Inuit recovered. “The noble Ittusakdjuak!” Hantszch wrote, as his illness progressed. “He is not only a strong, indefatigable worker, good-tempered and obliging, but now… he does all our tasks without a trace of impatience…”

For Bernhard Hantzsch the end came quickly. On May 24 he recorded in his journal:

“Storm, falling and drifting snow, fog… Ittusakdjuak ventures out to hunt; thick fog soon drives him back…. Feel even worse than before, and can barely move. Is this to be the end of all my glorious dreams?” The next day, he wrote, “I am more dead than alive… Feeling worse all the time.” And the following day, he wrote his last journal entry, “May 26. Hardly slept, burning headache, cold compresses.”

He lingered for a few more days, too weak to write. In early June, 1911, he died. His scientific work remained undone. His Inuit companions, distraught at his loss, buried him in a grave of rock on the barren shores of Foxe Basin.

[In a later column I will write about the Inuit reports of Hantzsch’s death.]

Taissumani: A Day in Arctic History recounts a specific event of historic interest, whose anniversary is in the coming week. Kenn Harper is a historian, writer and linguist who lives in Iqaluit. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.