Description
Book SynopsisIn this third volume of In Those Days, Harper shares stories of the rise and fall of the whaling industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. At the turn of the nineteenth century, whale baleen and blubber were extremely valuable commodities, and so sailors braved the treacherous Arctic waters, risking starvation, scurvy, and death, to bring home the bounty of the North. The presence of these whalemen in the North would irrevocably alter the lives of Inuit. Along with first-hand accounts from journals and dozens of rare, historical photographs, this collection includes the myth of the Octaviusâa ship that drifted for twelve years with a frozen crewâencounters between sailors and Inuit, tales of the harrowing hazing rituals suffered by first-time crewmembers, and much more.
Trade Review"In this third volume of his In Those Days series, historian Kenn Harper gives a rare glimpse into the treacherous lives of 19th-century Arctic whalers, who followed the bowhead whale migration into the Canadian Arctic. Through harrowing first-hand accounts from journals and rare historical photographs, the book tells the stories of Arctic whalers, their pursuit of whale bone and oil, and the lasting impression they left on the Inuit with whom they interacted."—Canadian Geographic
