Ilatsiak - 40

Once the ships’ crews were ashore, together with the materials and supplies they would require for the coming months, the job of transporting everything southward began. As the weather and snow conditions in late April were perfect for moving supplies with the least amount of trouble, it was decided to off-load as much as possible in the event that the ships were crushed while they were away at Terror Bay and the Fish River mouth. A depot would be established at Victory Point as well as a message of explanation should any search party happen this way, something which was not felt to be likely. Surely at this time any search party would be combing the coast of Alaska and not have thought to come this far to the east.
Filling the boats to the gunnels with items didn’t normally pose much of a hauling problem for fit men as the boat-laden sled loads pulled relatively easily over the hard frozen snow in the Spring. The land along the west coast of King William Island being very flat was another help as no major hills would have to be crossed on their way south. With a little luck, the officers were confident that all the needed materials would be at the proposed first encampment site at Terror Bay on the southwest shore by the time open water arrived sometime in June. From there, the party would remain and hunt for caribou which has previously been seen in that area. When open water arrived in July, they would divide into the two groups. The first, Fitzjames’ Passage party, would head westward looking for leads in the ice large enough to permit the ships to sail southward, or failing that they would continue on in order to reach an outpost of the Hudson’s Bay Company perhaps near the mouth of MacKenzie’s river or the whaling camp on Hershel Island.
The second, Crozier’s party, would head towards Back’s Fish River to establish their semi-permanent hunting camp. There they would stay to either await their rescue or if their health returned sufficiently, they would head south via Back’s River taking the same route Capt George Back had taken 14 years previously.
To a man, everyone was finally in good spirits. After sitting and grumbling in the ice bound ships for nearly two years eating food which was getting worse by the day, finally something was happening. While it wasn’t the trip everyone had imagined when they had set out from London, at least the expedition was one its way southward and hopefully westward once again! The renewed morale would also be good for everyone’s health. The previous winter had brought with it more deaths than expected, especially among the officers.

• • •
David had tried it a few times but had never once been successful. This spring he would begin learning all over again. It seemed to be so easy for his father Agayuq, but of course he had had years of practice going back to childhood.
“That’s what I need, I guess. Years of practice...”
David could see the dark object lying on the gleaming snow of the Spring sea ice. A seal, lying next to its breathing hole. He got off the sled and settled the five dogs so they wouldn’t want to follow him as he carefully made his way towards the sleeping seal. He checked his harpoon, making sure the head was on securely. The last time the thongs holding it in place had been too lose and it had not penetrated the seal before twisting off pre-maturely allowing the seal to plunge unharmed into the safety of its hole in the ice. He readied his white sealskin screen between the cross-pieces of precious wood. This would allow him to get much closer before he adopted his seal-mimicking act which would allow him to get to within harpooning distance. To bring home his first seal would greatly please Agayuq, especially as Davidee, as they called him now, was out hunting on his own for the first time.
He cautiously peered over his white screen and checked again. The tiny black spot hadn’t moved. It was still there. He turned the sled on its side and began walking, the shield out in front of him, hiding his body. Every now and then he stopped and knelt down, controlling his breathing was important. The seal hadn’t moved. He began to approach it again. Its shape was becoming clearer. It seemed quite large and very dark against the snow. His mind began to question what kind of seal it might be. Surely a ringed seal, but it was so dark. It should be a light grey, surely, having been in the sun for this long.
David was close enough to begin making his final approach. He lay down on his side and began to imitate a seal lying on the ice, alternately pretending to doze, head down, and then raise his head for a look around. As the seal did the same thing then David would wiggled closer and closer. The seal remained still. Still? David realised the animal hadn’t moved. Not once. Not even to look around. Was it already dead? Had a bear killed it and left it? Something seemed odd about this seal, but what?
He watched it and the more he watched, the more certain he was that something was not right. Then he noticed something like a flap in the middle of its body seemed to lift up each time the breeze picked up. “What could that be?” David wondered. Slowly David rose up behind his screen for a better look. Then he stood up and dropped the screen. The object wasn’t a seal at all, it was a man. A man dressed in a dark blue Naval coat!