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I am reading this book about the doomed Arctic voyage of the Karluk. I am a quarter of the way through, and--this thing is a horror movie for real.
First some background on the expedition: It was put together by Stefansson, who wanted to discover a continent under the Arctic ice cap. He got backing, but only if they left that year, in 1913. So he threw the expedition together. Bought some old crap wooden whaling ships, including the Karluk, hired a bunch of thoroughly inexperienced scientists based on their enthusiasm. The first captain he hired took one look at the ship and went oh, hell no. The expedition was supposed to have two teams--one to go north, one to stay with the Inuit and learn about their culture and language. Leaving Nome, Stefansson was in such a rush, he through the supplies and people higgledy piggledy onto ships. People weren't on the same ship as their trunks or equipment, the supplies were completely disorganized, no one had winter clothing, they had no idea how much or what food they actually had, they couldn't get to parts of the ship because of how everything was stowed, and it was listing because it hadn't been balanced.
No worries, Stefansson said. We'll rendez vous on Herschel Island (which is just north of the northern coast of the Yukon) and sort everything out there.
Right. You see where this was going.
They left in mid-July, which is fucking late in the season for Arctic exploration. And got stuck, almost immediately, in pack ice. The ship wasn't built to be able to break it, and the engine kept breaking down. They hoped this was just temporary and it would break up, but by August, it was pretty clear it wouldn't.
Here's where the horror movie stuff comes in.
Mid-August, Stefansson gets up one morning and says he's going to take a hunting expedition ashore and resupply the ship. He takes the two best Inuit hunters, his secratary, and some anthropologists (including one with my real first name as his last name--I'm glad he's not my namesake, because he's an idiot to have gone on this expedition). Stefansson takes the only winter clothes they have, the best supplies, the best dogs, and sets out the same day, even though it's almost dark.
After he leaves, those left on the ship start to realize--that was no hunting expedition. You don't take your secretary to go hunting.
On board, they had many books on previous polar expeditions, including the 800-page diary of George Washington de Long about his voyage on the Jeannette. The Jeannette set out in 1879 and got stuck in the ice. After drifting for 21 months, the ice finally crushed the ship, forcing what crew there was left to set out over the ice, and then through Siberia, where they died of starvation and exposure. There effects, and the diary, were found later. The last three entries were lists of the dead.
The Karluk was following the exact path of the Jeannette. Stefansson read this the night before his "hunting trip" and abandoned them.
Those left on the ship started having nightly conferences on the Jeannette, comparing their position, over and over, to that previous ship's.
Several of the scientists attempted a mutiny, demanding they be allowed to set out for land. By this point, though, it was September and fully winter. They were within five miles of Alaska's coast at one point, true, but no guaruntee they would have survived until they got to a settlement. Especially since most of these guys can't even ski.
Earlier on, two of the scientists had been sent out to try to rejoin the other ship. Two hours after they left, the ship sent someone after them with some letters. They found them twenty minutes away. All of them were soaked--they'd managed to fall in, break their boat, and spoil all their supplies.
On another occasion, a few guys were instructed to set out due south to look for seal holes. They got off the ship--and went due north. Someone from the ship had to run after them.
These are not guys who can survive off of the ship, which, I'm getting the feeling, is going to be deeply unfortunate for everybody.
Meanwhile, there are all these omens.
Like, one evening, one of the scientists sneaks up behind another one and beats the shit out of him for NO REASON. Completely unprovoked. He's sheepish about it the next day, and can't offer an explanation.
Also, they have their huskies, which they've been letting roam free on the ice around the ship. And the dogs are going more and more feral. They've started isolating and attacking the weakest members of the pack. During a blizzard, the crew tries to get them back aboard, and they won't let anyone anywhere near them.
Also, the Inuit on the ship started panicking immediately when they got stuck in the ice, while all the greenhorns were still oohing and aahing at the scenery. Look--if your natives are panicking? IT'S TIME TO PANIC.
Yeah. Quarter of the way through the book. Hmm, I wonder how this will end?
ETA: Now one of the scientists has declared the grammaphone an abomination and sabotaged it. I'm telling you, it's straight horror movie up in here.
First some background on the expedition: It was put together by Stefansson, who wanted to discover a continent under the Arctic ice cap. He got backing, but only if they left that year, in 1913. So he threw the expedition together. Bought some old crap wooden whaling ships, including the Karluk, hired a bunch of thoroughly inexperienced scientists based on their enthusiasm. The first captain he hired took one look at the ship and went oh, hell no. The expedition was supposed to have two teams--one to go north, one to stay with the Inuit and learn about their culture and language. Leaving Nome, Stefansson was in such a rush, he through the supplies and people higgledy piggledy onto ships. People weren't on the same ship as their trunks or equipment, the supplies were completely disorganized, no one had winter clothing, they had no idea how much or what food they actually had, they couldn't get to parts of the ship because of how everything was stowed, and it was listing because it hadn't been balanced.
No worries, Stefansson said. We'll rendez vous on Herschel Island (which is just north of the northern coast of the Yukon) and sort everything out there.
Right. You see where this was going.
They left in mid-July, which is fucking late in the season for Arctic exploration. And got stuck, almost immediately, in pack ice. The ship wasn't built to be able to break it, and the engine kept breaking down. They hoped this was just temporary and it would break up, but by August, it was pretty clear it wouldn't.
Here's where the horror movie stuff comes in.
Mid-August, Stefansson gets up one morning and says he's going to take a hunting expedition ashore and resupply the ship. He takes the two best Inuit hunters, his secratary, and some anthropologists (including one with my real first name as his last name--I'm glad he's not my namesake, because he's an idiot to have gone on this expedition). Stefansson takes the only winter clothes they have, the best supplies, the best dogs, and sets out the same day, even though it's almost dark.
After he leaves, those left on the ship start to realize--that was no hunting expedition. You don't take your secretary to go hunting.
On board, they had many books on previous polar expeditions, including the 800-page diary of George Washington de Long about his voyage on the Jeannette. The Jeannette set out in 1879 and got stuck in the ice. After drifting for 21 months, the ice finally crushed the ship, forcing what crew there was left to set out over the ice, and then through Siberia, where they died of starvation and exposure. There effects, and the diary, were found later. The last three entries were lists of the dead.
The Karluk was following the exact path of the Jeannette. Stefansson read this the night before his "hunting trip" and abandoned them.
Those left on the ship started having nightly conferences on the Jeannette, comparing their position, over and over, to that previous ship's.
Several of the scientists attempted a mutiny, demanding they be allowed to set out for land. By this point, though, it was September and fully winter. They were within five miles of Alaska's coast at one point, true, but no guaruntee they would have survived until they got to a settlement. Especially since most of these guys can't even ski.
Earlier on, two of the scientists had been sent out to try to rejoin the other ship. Two hours after they left, the ship sent someone after them with some letters. They found them twenty minutes away. All of them were soaked--they'd managed to fall in, break their boat, and spoil all their supplies.
On another occasion, a few guys were instructed to set out due south to look for seal holes. They got off the ship--and went due north. Someone from the ship had to run after them.
These are not guys who can survive off of the ship, which, I'm getting the feeling, is going to be deeply unfortunate for everybody.
Meanwhile, there are all these omens.
Like, one evening, one of the scientists sneaks up behind another one and beats the shit out of him for NO REASON. Completely unprovoked. He's sheepish about it the next day, and can't offer an explanation.
Also, they have their huskies, which they've been letting roam free on the ice around the ship. And the dogs are going more and more feral. They've started isolating and attacking the weakest members of the pack. During a blizzard, the crew tries to get them back aboard, and they won't let anyone anywhere near them.
Also, the Inuit on the ship started panicking immediately when they got stuck in the ice, while all the greenhorns were still oohing and aahing at the scenery. Look--if your natives are panicking? IT'S TIME TO PANIC.
Yeah. Quarter of the way through the book. Hmm, I wonder how this will end?
ETA: Now one of the scientists has declared the grammaphone an abomination and sabotaged it. I'm telling you, it's straight horror movie up in here.