Summary of New Information in Dorothy Eber’s "Encounters on the Passage" (2014)

In the 1990s and 2000s the journalist Dorothy Eber assembled an important collection of Inuit oral histories from various communities with knowledge of Franklin's party. The original taped interviews are housed at the Archives of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, and excerpts from these interviews and synthesized descriptions were published in Eber’s book Encounters on the Passage. Relating stories that were passed down from one generation to the next, the Inuit interviewed by Eber displayed a remarkable knowledge of details originating with their ancestors. The original witnesses reported encountering members of Franklin’s party directly, and more often, finding evidence of the former presence of the missing explorers. Among other new stories, Eber's Inuit informants provided fascinating accounts of the possible over wintering on one of Franklin's ships manned by members of his expedition at Imnguyaaluk (the Royal Geographical Society islands) off the west coast of King William Island. Other stories related to sightings of a vessel – either a ship or a boat manned by Eureopans, that reportedly sank off the northeastern coast of King William island, either near Matty Island, or possibly in the vicinity of Josephine Bay on the nearby coast of the Boothia Peninsula. The reports of a wreck appeared to coincide with Inuit oral accounts reported by Major L.T. Burwash of the Canadian Department of the Interior in 1931, concerning "the wreck of a large vessel [that] lay submerged off the northeastern extremity [a small island] of Matty Island.” (Eber 2008 p. 97) Other stories recorded by Eber described first-hand encounters between Inuit and members of the Franklin party, during which it was reported that the Inuit shared seal meat with the explorers. Readers are encouraged to read the excerpts from the interviews carried out by Dorothy Eber with Frank Analok, Tommy Angattitauraq, and Lena Kimiatook, all posted in the Archives section of this web site.

About this document ...

  • Written by: Lyle Dick
  • Date: 2014
Sunken ship