ARCTIC PATROL

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 96, 27 April 1929, Page 17

ARCTIC PATROL

REVICTUALLING POSTS

CANADA'S ANNUAL TASK

A BIG UNDERTAKING

The future''of-the Eskimo race in Canada's 'Eastern Arctic.islands mil to a. large extent depend, upon the coii- "... tinued. healthful vigour of those Eskimos on Baffin Island. This is the opinion of members of tho Dominion.'s 1928 expedition to the posts in the northern ■archipelago .-which, returned on board' the s.s. Beothic to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, recently; says a writer in "Can•adian "Resources;" The situation among . the 1800 native inhabitants of Baffin > Island is reported as most gratifying. Their" health generally is 1 very good.' The few. cases-of destitution in which relief had to be provided 1 during the past winter were entirely those of old people. Practically all the native settlements .on Baffin Island were visited by members of the various Eoyal Canadian Mounted Police detachments, during their patrols, and. tho natives 'are reported as being of a uniformly firio. type, well nourished, .'•: generally free' from disease, and-contented Pood animals wore plentiful, seal and walrus abounding. Tho fur.catch was reported as small, but this did not appear to have any detrimental effect upon the well-boirig of the" natives, although there was naturally a, diminution in 'the business of the traders. An epidemic amongchildren had occurred .during the winter; in the native. sett\c- .' ment around Frobisher Bay. , Thirty- '< ■; five deaths resulted, mostly of children under five years of age. ■ ;At the time the Beothie; called at-Lake Harbour, "'. .the nearest post, tile outbreak-had, entirely;'parted and the-natives, were in excellent health'and spirits. ',' ■ ■'. . PATROL SETS OUT. Last year's patrol to the northern islands left North .Sydney on 19th July •with Mr. George' P. Mackenzio of the North' West .Territories'and Yukon Branch Department of 'the Interior again the officer in charge. . Weather conditions during the voy- ' age of the . Beothic were very much tetter than those prevailing'during the 1927 patrol.: Fog was encountered b^ut in.the main the weather was.clear and ' bright, with, many days rivalling in ■warmth, midsummer days' in . more' southerly latitudes. After -^leaving. North Sydney, the Beothic encountered heavy seas in the gulf of St. rence and the Strait of Belle Isle. . In Baffin' Strait and bay, ice retarded the progress of the ship, but the .only serious, trouble s was experienced when the expedition was', in the vicinity of. tho post of .Bache : Peninsula, Canada's farthest north detachment. : Leaving North' Sydney, the - Beothie headed across the gulf of St. Lawrence. A rough.sea was encountered during tho night and,the ship had'to heave to to allow the deck-cargo to be re-lashed. Fog off the Labrador coast necessitated slow progress, but the expedition arrived safely at Godhavn, .■ Greenland, early on the morning of 26th July. The popularity of these, "goodwill", visits of the Beothic was seen in tho enthusiastic welcome given to Mr. Mackenzie and the members of: the expedition. Tho local Parliament, .which was in session, was adjourned, and| in the.absence of, the, Governor on official business in Denmark, .the visitors'were tho guests Of tho- Acting-Governor and ... other Danish : officials., .. In . the afternoon the officer in charge of the Canai dian expedition was the host on board the' Beothic,.over! 2.00. attending the moving picture show given ; on' deck. .The Beothie continued, her voyage at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, reaching Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, on-,3oth- July. Supplies and relief personnel wero landed, md Inspector C: E. -Wilc'ox.. . of! the Boyal Canadian Mounted Police, boarded the ship to accompany the expedition on the round of the posts in'order,with Inspector Joy, to make the annual inspection..- ' . ' AMONGST PACK ICE. Tho ship left .Pond Inlet on the same' .: day, and. reached Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, on 31st.'July. After reprovisioning this post, the Beothic was headed northward for the dash to. Bache Peninsula. on' Ellesmero Island. She arrived in Smith Sound on Bth August'and met, with., considerable heavy ice. In fact, ice conditions were "the.-worst, encountered in years. •Great pans of ice, miles in extent, of exceptional thickness, and piled moun- . tain high with snow, filled Buchanan and Flagler Bays, closing all avenues of approach to the post of Baeho Peninsula. ' The Bebthie attempted.to enterl Buchanan Bay through Eice Strait, but this also .was temporarily closed by . ice, and Captain Ealk, tho ship's master, had to find a,way through tho 'field to the east around Pim r Island. In .this he was successful and the ship proceeded about five miles into tho bay before it was again held up by ice. Members of. the Eoyal Canadian Mounted Police detachment at Bache Peninsula., who had been hunting wal.-' rus in tho open water in the lower reaches of Buchanan Bay, met the ship nt Bice Strait, 1 and went aboard. On the (Second day after the arrival of the Beothie in Buchanan Bay there was little change in ice conditions and it was deemed advisable to havo the inspection of the,post made, tho mails exchanged, and changes in the personnel effeteod so that in tho'event of the post not being reached, supplies could be left at Pram Havn and the patrol continued. Inspector Joy with a party proceeded to the. post by motor-boat, 'which was able to navigate •the comparatively open water between tho pack and the shore, and carried out these duties, the trip requiring twenty-eight hours. The expedition, on the return ■ : of tho party, took refuge in Tram Havn and remained there until the morning of the fifth day, when with conditions • unchanged, the supplies were landed arid the Beothie prepared to continue ,* her voyage. The stores'could be moved to the pott by dog-team or if ice conditions improved, by 'tho police power boat. '.-■'■ • BATTERING THROUGH. Little difficulty was' experienced in getting the ship out of Eice Strait, which.had cloared^of ice in tho intorval. However, in Smith Sound, about ten miles from the south end of the strait, the further-progress of the ship was barred by huge ice-pans, miles in extent. Captain Falk repeatedly sent the ship.against the barrier but without much success for a time, but,finally a change in the wind and the action of the tide'brought about a swinging movement of the ice and taking advantage of. this, the Boethic was forced in between tho milling ed^os of. the pans, and after several anxious hours "was steaming clear of the ice.' The ship continued southward, touching at ifcrk settlement on the coast of GreenliiJHl, where two nativo families whohad been on duty with tho police at Dundas Harbour, wero returned to their homes. Craig Harbour, Ellesmerc Island, was tho next point of call, and considerable supplies stored there wore taken aboard between Bth August and 11th August for distribution to other posts. The Boothic crossed Lancaster i Sound to Cape Sparbo, Devon Island, whero moving pictures of a herd of musk-ox \vere secured. A second call was paid to Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, on 13th August, and Inspector \ ■ •;.

Joy left the ship to make- his temporary headquarters ut this posh Continuing up Lancaster Sound to Beechoy Island, the expedition established ;i

cache for the use of Inspector Joy during his patrols next spring. Keturning, Pond Inlet was again visited, on 15th August, being approached through Navy Board inlet. The ship continued south along tho coast of Baffin Island and. touched at the Hudson's Bay Company's trading post and nativo settlement of Clyde Biver. Pangnirtung, on Cumberland Sound, was reached on the' morning of 20th August. Dr. L. D. Livingstono disembarked at this point to establish headquarters here for his year's work among the natives of Baffin "Island. Before the ship'sailed on the evening of the 23rd the framework of Dr. Livingston's house had been erected, to bo completed with -the aid of the other residents at this post. 'HOMEWARD BOUND. The next'port of,call was Lake Harbour ,on the southern" coast of Baffin Island, which was reached on ,the afternoon lot" 25th August. Crossing Hudson Strait the Beothic touched at Port Burwell,) after, which the run down ' the Labrador , coast was begun. Without further, incident the expedition arrived in the port of North Sydney on 2nd September, 1928, forty-five days after sailing on the northern patrol. Tho 1928 patrol of the Arctic islands posts was a successful one, and the reports brought back from the north were satisfactory. ■ All of ■ the posts were visited, re-provisioned, and.considerablo scientific and othet data we're collected during the voyage.