The Ice Master (55 page)

15
  “Umiakpik kunno! Umiakpik. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NLS

16
  “How we got. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NLS

17
  “raised a shout. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NAC

18
  “No, thank you. . . much.”Chafe,
The Voyage of the Karluk
, pp. 76-77, MMBC

19
  “Now that we . . .” Chafe,
The Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 77, MMBC

20
  “We're alive now. . .” Interview with Emily Wilson, daughter of Mugpi, December 30, 1999

21
  “it didn't mean. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NLS

22
  “I don't think. . .” Chafe,
The Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 77, MMBC

23
  “my head was. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NLS

24
  “all sorts of. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NLS

25
  “God bless the. . .” WLM, diary, September 7, 1914, NLS

26
  “as heartily as. . .” WLM, diary, September 8, 1914, NLS

27
  “All of you. . .” RAB,
The Last Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 314

28
  “No, sir. . . island.”RAB,
The Last Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 314

29
  “had thus reached. . .” RAB,
The Last Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 314

30
  “luxury unqualified” WLM, diary, September 8, 1914, NLS

31
  “I have clear. . .”WLM, letter to Mr. Mamen, November 7, 1976, NCS

32
  “It was as. . .” RAB
, The Last Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 317

33
  “We were questioned. . .” WLM, letter to family, September 12, 1914, NLS

34
  “I do not. . .” WLM, letter to family, September 12, 1914, NLS

35
  “Just think of. . .” WLM, letter to family, September 12, 1914, NLS

THE WAKE

1
  “Do you have. . .” WLM,
Karluk: The Great Untold Story of Arctic Exploration,
p. 160

2
  “I had no. . .” WLM, undated letter fragment, “Letters re. Members of the CAE,” NLS

3
  “grand fellows . . . grimmest.”WLM, undated letter to family of Hugh “Clam” Williams, NLS

4
  “There is not. . .” Chafe,
The Voyage of the Karluk
, p. 21, MMBC

5
  “I want to. . .” Robert Williamson, June 1959 letter to Vilhjalmur Stefansson, NAC

6
  “Please do not. . .” Williamson, undated letter to Stefansson, NAC

7
  “a sad occasion. . .” Untitled fragment, WLM Collection, NLS, DEP 357, No. 38

8
  “I very much. . .” M. Forbes Mackay, undated letter, NLS

9
  The Mamen brothers. . . Mrs. RMA, “Re: Translation of Mamen Diary,” June 19, 1930, NLS

10
  “I will do . . .” Valborg Mamen, letter to Mrs. RMA, November 10, 1925, NLS

11
  “Ellen, has had. . .” Valborg Mamen, letter to Mrs. RMA, November 10, 1925, NLS

12
  “The said death. . .” “Re. The Goods of George Breddy, Deceased,” Affidavit of W.L. McKinlay, November 5, 1923, NLS

13
  “Another member of. . .” Mrs. RMA, 1922 Memorandum, NLS

14
  “Over the years. . .” WLM, letter to John Raffles Cox, May 3, 1975, NLS

15
  “blankety blank liar”Mrs. RMA, letter to WLM, February 9, 1922, NLS

16
  “I think he. . .” Letter from Jim Lotz to WLM, June 5, 1977, NLS

17
  “I want to. . .” WLM, letter to Mrs. Cook, January 14, 1977, NLS

18
  “As far as. . .” WLM,
Karluk
, 2nd draft, Part 1B, p. 363, NAC

19
  “that a commissioner. . .” Unidentified newspaper clipping

20
  “no good could. . .” Charles Camsell, Deputy Minister of Canada, June 8, 1923, NAC

21
  “She's all I've. . .” The
New York Times
, “The Far Horizon,” June 22, 1938

22
  In the years. . . Horwood,
Bartlett: The Great Canadian Explorer,
p. 114

23
  “McKinlay is a. . .” RAB, letter to Dr. W.S. Bruce, November 12, 1914

24
  “Speaking of heroes. . .” WLM Collection, NLS, DEP 357, No. 25

25
  “When I die. . .”
Times Herald
, “Bartlett Here for lecture,” January 6, 1940

26
  “I owe that. . .” WLM, bookflap of
Karluk: The Great Untold Story of Arctic Exploration

27
  “My writing, I. . .” WLM, letter to Richard Diubaldo, February 1974, NLS

EPILOGUE

1
  “I am not . . .”
The Daily Colonist
, October 14, 1924

2
  “All seem to . . .”
The Daily Colonist
, October 14, 1924

Maps

William McKinlay's plan of the lower deck of the
Karluk
.

 

 

 

Plan of Shipwreck Camp, drawn by William McKinlay at Captain Bartlett's request.

 

 

 

A tracing of Mamen's detailed pencil sketch of Wrangel Island.

Photo and Map Credits

The author makes grateful acknowledgment to the following for permission to reprint photographs:

BC Archives: D-09078 (cover photograph), 3 (G-07484)

National Archives of Canada: 1 (C-018139), 2 (PA-074063), 4 (C-086412), 5 (PA-203456), 6 (PA-203452), 7 (PA-105125), 8 (PA-074058), 9 (C-070806), 10 (PA-074053), 11 (PA-203453), 12 (PA-074047), 13 (PA-074041), 14 (C-086406), 15 (PA-203460), 16 (PA-074059), 17 (C-071058), 19 (PA-074035), 20 (C-070808), 23 (C-071039), 24 (C-071032), 25 (C-071035), 26 (C-071034), 27 (C-071050), 28 (C-071045), 29 (C-071023), 31 (C-071020), 32 (PA-074084), 33 (PA-074074), 34 (PA-203447), 36 (Lomen Bros., Nome/PA-105130), 37 (C-025961)

National Library of Scotland: 18, 21, 22, 30, 35 (Lomen Bros., Nome/NLS)

Grateful acknowledgment is also made to Bowdoin College Library (The Robert A. Bartlett Papers, Special Collections & Archives) for permission to print a tracing of Bjarne Mamen's map of Wrangel Island which appears on page 397; and to Nancy Scott and the National Library of Scotland (Correspondence and Papers of William Laird McKinlay, DEP 357) for McKinlay's plans of the Karluk and Shipwreck Camp on pages 395 and 396.

Acknowledgments

I could not have written this book alone. Nor did I.

First and foremost, I want to thank Captain Robert Bartlett and the people of the
Karluk
for letting me tell their story. And I am grateful to William McKinlay for leaving me such a priceless legacy and for sharing his obsession in the materials he left behind.

There are three people without whom I could not have written this book. The journey would have been much less fulfilling had they not shared it with me. I thank my mother and fellow writer, Penelope Niven, for unconditional love, friendship, and endless support and for teaching me from childhood that anything is possible. I thank my father, Jack F. McJunkin, Jr., an artist himself, for bestowing on me a passion for truth, beauty, and all things adventurous. I thank John Hreno, III, for making the fairy tale come true every day, for being there for me in every way, and for giving me the greatest happiness.

I am lucky to have an incredible, amazing literary agent, John Ware, without whom none of this would have happened. Enormous thanks to him, as well as to my fabulous film agent, Martin Shapiro, and the splendid Carole Blake.

Tremendous gratitude goes to my superb editor Will Schwalbe, who has been absolutely wonderful to work with and who has helped make this experience such a positive one. Thanks also to Mark Chait, his top-notch assistant, and the wonderful team at Hyperion for their terrific work—Bob Miller, Martha Levin, Ellen Archer, Michael Burkin, Jane Comins, Phil Rose, April Fleming, and Breene Wesson. With them,
The Ice Master
has found a marvelous home.

The Ice Master
also found a marvelous home at Macmillan of London. Thanks to my sensational editor there, Georgina Morley, who has been such a delightful force, and her sterling assistant Stef Bierwerth. And to the entire outstanding Macmillan group—Ian Chapman, Jeremy Trevathan, Katie James, Caroline Turner, and Lisa Cropman—for everything.

I was fortunate to find the last remaining survivor of the
Karluk—
Mugpi. I owe her a special tribute for all she endured in 1913–1914, and all she has contributed here. I also thank her daughter, Emily Wilson, for her patience and time, as well as the other descendants of the
Karluk
's men, who have become a sort of family to me over the past two years—a family I am honored to be a part of. McKinlay's daughter, Nancy Scott, has been extraordinary, and endlessly generous in sharing the world of her father with me. She freely opened her home and McKinlay's life to me. And I want, too, to thank her “other Jennifer,” McKinlay's granddaughter Jennifer Byrd, for sharing her own insights.

It was the wish of Bjarne Mamen's mother that his diary and personal papers never be published in full. Yet Jens Anker and Sonja Carling, both relatives of Bjarne Mamen, have been kind enough to share with me what they could, while still respecting the wishes that were expressed long ago. Sandy Anderson's great-nephew, Peter Anderson, has likewise been generous and forthcoming with his uncle's materials. And Stuart Jenness, son of Southern Party anthropologist Diamond Jenness, has been a kindred soul and supporter from the beginning of this project. He has been a great resource and has offered indispensable information.

As I embarked on my research for the book, I was warned that the work would not always go smoothly. However, I never experienced anything but the utmost support and assistance from the following institutions and their skilled personnel: The British Columbia Archives (with special thanks to Michael Carter and Kelly Nolin); the Maritime Museum of British Columbia (special thanks to Lynn Wright); the National Archives of Canada (where Marcel Barriault, Marc Bisaillon, Hector Sanscartier, Michel Poitras, Jean Matheson, Larry McNally, Jim F. Kidd, Sere St-Denis, and David Samson were particularly helpful); the National Library of Scotland (thank you Colm McLaughlin, Karen Moran, Irene Danks, and Sally Harrower); Bowdoin College in Maine (with appreciation to Richard Lindemann, Jennifer C. Fradenburgh, Kathryn B. Donahue, Susan Burroughs, and Sean Monahan); Dartmouth College Library (Philip N. Cronenwett); and the Explorer's Club (Janet E. Baldwin).

In addition, I want to thank the following close, personal friends of William McKinlay for their kindness—Magnus and Mamie Magnusson and Lord George Emslie.

I am blessed with wonderful friends and family who have been nothing but supportive during this time in my life. My soul sister, Melissa McKay, deserves numerous mentions for her constant encouragement, laughter, joy, and commiseration. My oldest friend in the world, Joe Kraemer, deserves many thanks as well for knowing me backward and forward, and for keeping me eternally young. I also give thanks to my beloved grandmother Eleanor Niven and my remarkable aunts and uncles, Lynn Duval Clark, Phil Clark, Doris Knapp, Bill Niven, and Paula and Reid Sturdivant. My cousins have always been more like siblings to me, and they are Lisa Von Sprecken, Derek and Lisa Duval, Shannon Meade, Erik Sturdivant, Evan Sturdivant, and, my other “sister,” Ashley Hurley. Thanks to Patsy and Charles McGee, Frankie and Harry Gamble, and Jimmy and Polly McJunkin. Special thanks to Gayle Keller McJunkin and my little brother, John Keller. And, of course, to my loyal literary cats, Percy Shelley (who never left my side while I was writing) and George Gordon, Lord Byron (who provided much-needed comic relief).

My west coast mother, Judy Kessler, and my dear friend and partner in crime, Angelo Sourmelis, have become my second family. Scott Berenzweig has kept me laughing and has always been there for me when I needed him. And thanks to the “Brother of my Soul” (who wishes to remain anonymous) for Lord Byron and literary discussions. There are friends too numerous to name, but I must mention David Solomon, George Liggins, Phil Fitzgerald, Annie Ward, Carol Edwards, Kyri Smith, Brian Loeser, Lisa Brucker, Bobbie Jo Dombey, Amy Bordy, Jill Lessard, Lori Watanabe, Robert Hamilton, Curtis Atkisson, III, Michael Hawes, Deak and Beth Reynolds, Mike and Melanie Kraemer, Jane and George Silver, Norman Corwin, Barbara Hogenson and Jeffrey Couchman, Loffie and Rob Tyson, Betsy Sulavik Gallagher, Michael Brunet, Mary Ellen Kay, Mike Bertram, and James Earl Jones.

There are others who should be thanked. I benefited greatly from James Ronald Archer's diligence and persistence. Dr. James Meade was my medical consultant on hypothermia, nephritis, and every other polar malady known to man. Craig R. Harvey, chief coroner of LA County, shared with me his professional opinion on the details of George Breddy's death. Thanks to Dr. Roger K. Wilkinson for sharing his knowledge of Alister Forbes Mackay; to Adam Hyman and MPH Entertainment for offering their material; and to Richard Diubaldo, an expert on Vilhjalmur Stefansson and the Canadian Arctic. I am also grateful to my favorite photographer, Lisa Keating, and to Peter Martin, Harold A. Pretty, Greg Schenz, Bob Higashi, Brad Wagner, Sharon Obermann, Dan and Dorothea Petrie, the Renfrewshire Taxi Company in Scotland, the American Film Institute and
Velva Jean,
and Joe Kaiser, for teaching me “pure economy of words.”

I also send special thanks to my high school guidance counselor who told me I should take secretarial classes, just in case my writing career didn't work out—and who, in saying so, helped inspire me to make it happen.

And on that note, to those who have inspired me—my mother, first of all, along with Anne Brontë, George Sand, and Jane Austen.

Steve Goddard deserves a paragraph of his own for leading me to the remains of Sandy Anderson's party. It was his fortuitous e-mail that alerted me to the auction on eBay. And thanks, too, to Jerry and Vangie Lee, for selling me the artifacts and for posting them on eBay in the first place.

I want to pay tribute to McKinlay's granddaughter, Tricia Scott, who is no longer here. And to the late Lucy Kroll, who believed in me years ago, before I was old enough to understand.

Finally, there are several important people in my life whom I will always miss, and with whom I wish I could share this experience now: Jack and Cleo McJunkin, who made me feel like the center of their world; Olin Niven, for knowing instinctively when he was needed and for teaching me the true meaning of the word “gentleman”; and Dick Knapp, who should have lived to see this book, and many more.

 

 

 

Captain Robert Bartlett, the ice master whose leadership and courage rallied the crew of the
Karluk
when disaster struck.

 

 

 

The scientific staff of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913, taken in Nome shortly before the
Karluk
sailed. Front row, left to right: Dr. Alister Forbes Mackay, Captain Robert Bartlett, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Dr. Rudolph Martin Anderson, James Murray, Fritz Johansen. Back row, left to right: Bjarne Mamen, Burt McConnell, Kenneth Chipman, George Wilkins, George Malloch, Henri Beuchat, J.J. O'Neill, Diamond Jenness, John Raffles Cox, William McKinlay.

 

 

 

HMCS
Karluk
in Victoria Harbour in June 1913. The ill-equipped, run-down ship attracted huge crowds to speed her departure.

 

 

 

Diamond Jenness and William McKinlay aboard the
Karluk
in June 1913. Jenness, an anthropologist, and McKinlay, a magnetician, were known as the twins because of their short stature.