An Arctic Whaling Diary : : The Journal of Captain George Comer in Hudson Bay 1901–1905 / / ed. by W. Gillies Ross.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Toronto Press eBook-Package Archive 1933-1999
• HerausgeberIn: Ross, W. Gillies,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2019]; ©1984
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Heritage
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (304 p.)

When the American whaler Era, George Comer, Captain, sailed from New Bedford, Mass, for Hudson Bay in the spring of 1903, some American newspapers warned that there might be forcible intervention by the Canadian government, for the expidition conincided with sudden alarm about the precarious state of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and the dispatch of the government steamer Neptune to assert authority over a region which had been the preserve of American whalers for over forty years. In the end common sense prevailed, for, although the Era's activities were closely watched by the Neptune, which wintered by her in the harbour ice near Cape Fullerton in 1903-4, and by the Neptune's relief vessel the Arctic in the winter of 1904-5, and although relations between government personnel and whalemen were not always harmonious, the Era was able to follow her usual whaling procedures, seeking bowhead whales from May to Sepetember in both years. George Comer, an experienced and skilful whaleman, was a disciplined recorder of daily events during all his whaling cruises and a vigilant and interested observer of the arctic environment and its native inhabitants. He compiled population figures, collected artifacts, photographed clothing and tattoo patters of the various Inuit groups who participated in the whaling operations, and made the first wax cylinder recordings of their songs and tales. His journal of the 1903-5 expedition gives a valuable and fascinating insight into the arctic whaling industry, the lives of the native people associated with it, and the beginnings of Canadian intervention in the area. Professor Ross enhances this information with an introduction, epilogue, and notes, which describe Comer's career and whaling, and explain and enlarge on references in the diary.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Voyage North (29 June - 23 September 1903) -- 2. Taking up Winter Quarters (24 September - 31 December 1903) -- 3. The First Winter (1 January - 10 May 1904) -- 4. Spring and Summer Whaling (11 May - 25 September 1904) -- 5. Preparing for Winter (26 September - 31 December 1904) -- 6. The Second Winter (1 January - 9 May 1905) -- 7. The Second Summer (10 May - 8 September 1905) -- 8. Voyage Home (9 September - 15 October 1905) -- Epilogue -- APPENDIX A. The schooner Era -- APPENDIX B. Crew list of the Era 1903 -- APPENDIX C. Stores carried on the Era 1903 -- APPENDIX D. Beaufort wind scale -- APPENDIX E. Minimum air temperatures at Fullerton Harbour (daily minimum temperature - 40°F or below) 1903--4 -- APPENDIX F. Sea ice thickness at Fullerton Harbour -- APPENDIX G. Details of whales killed in 1905 -- APPENDIX H. Whaling and trading returns 1905 -- APPENDIX I. Population of Eskimo groups -- APPENDIX J. General observations by George Comer -- APPENDIX K. Government expeditions 1903-5 -- Glossary -- Selected Bibliography -- Index