The Ice Master (56 page)

George Malloch, geologist, on board the
Karluk
in June 1913. His comical, easy-going nature provided welcome comfort to his shipmates.

 

 

 

Alexander “Sandy” Anderson, promoted to first mate when his predecessor was dismissed before the expedition set sail. His youth and relative inexperience were fully compensated for by his enthusiasm and dedication to duty.

 

 

 

Bjarne Mamen, at twenty-two the youngest member of the scientific staff, begged to join the expedition and was accepted despite his lack of experience.

 

 

 

William McKinlay relaxing on the deck of the
Karluk
. A Scottish schoolmaster, McKinlay had long dreamed of being an explorer but until now his only experience of the Arctic was from the books he had read.

 

 

 

Kuraluk and Kiruk (who became known as “Auntie”) with their two children, Helen, then aged eight and Mugpi, aged three. They were hired to hunt and to sew winter clothes for the members of the expedition.

 

 

 

Chief Engineer John Munro who, though lazy and ineffectual, was left in command on Wrangel Island by Captain Bartlett.

 

 

 

George Breddy, the
Karluk
's stoker, and one of the more volatile crew members. His instability and deviousness would lead to one of the most traumatic incidents of the entire expedition.

 

 

 

The
Karluk
forcing a path through the ice pack in August 1913, as an early winter set in.

 

 

 

With the
Karluk
trapped in the ice, the scientists and crew began to unload supplies onto the ice pack.

 

 

 

Vilhjalmur Stefansson, a renowned explorer who believed that anyone could survive in the place he called the “friendly Arctic.”

 

 

 

“Goodbye, Stefansson. We did not then know that those of us who were left on your luckless ship were not to see you again.” From the notes of Fred Maurer, September 1913.

 

 

 

Bjarne Mamen in the regulation polar explorer's kit. The clothes on board were thin hand-me-downs, purchased cheaply, and not issued to everyone.