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OVERLAND TO STARVATION COVE: WITH THE INUIT IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. 1878-1880.

Klutschak, Heinrich.

Edited and translated by William Barr. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1987. 261pp, cloth. $24.95, ISBN 0-8020-5762-4. CIP

Grades 11 and up
Reviewed by Cornelia Fuykschot

Volume 16 Number 4
1988 July


The search for a northwest passage from Europe to Asia has enticed and ensnared many brave men, the most famous of whom was probably Sir John Franklin, who sailed from England in 1845 with a very well equipped expedition of two ships and some 130 men. When he failed to return, many other parties searched for him without success. One small but intelligent party went overland from Hudson Bay, adopted the Inuit life-style, and found the remains of the Franklin expedition. At times, they came close to death themselves, but returned safely.

Heinrich Klutschak, the author of this account, was born and educated in Prague. It was he who finally, following Inult directions, found the remains of the last surviving members of Franklin's expedition on the northeast coast of Adelaide Peninsula. His account of the journey. Including the change from "white" to Inuit habits, together with his pen drawings and maps, offers a valuable addition to the history of arctic exploration.

Klutschak's story, now more than a century old, has, if anything, gained by the passage of time. It contains valuable Information on a number of Inuit groups, some no longer existing, and for this reason alone should be available in any school with Inuit students, who are entitled to have this small piece of history available to them. With its extensive information on arctic exploration in general and the many searches for the Franklin expedition in particular, the book is of Interest to the serious student and the casual reader alike.


Cornelia Fuykschot, Gananoque Secondary School, Gananoque, Ont.
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