An Epic Rescue 110 Years ago Today!

Captain Bob Bartlett was perhaps Newfoundland’s most famous mariner. A sea captain and Arctic explorer of world renown, the Brigus native is credited with saving the lives of crew of the Karluk. Today, September 7, is the 110th anniversary of that rescue!

The Karluk, an American-built Brigantine, was part of a Canadian Arctic Expedition organized by Canadian anthropologist Viljalmur Stefansson. Its 1913 mission, with a total of 25 scientists and crew members on board, was to explore the geography and science of the polar region between Alaska and Russia.

In September, just a couple of months into the voyage, the Karluk became marooned by ice.  Stefansson and a small party left the ship to hunt for food for the crew.  (He eventually made his way to land but his focus seemed to be on continued exploration. He never saw the Kurluk again.) The ice forced the Kurluk (and its men) to drift in westerly and northerly directions for four months. The weather was often foggy and stormy, and there was no way to control the vessel.

In January, shortly after Captain Bartlett and his crew had evacuated the vessel, ice crushed the Karluk and it sank. The men were surrounded by many miles of sea ice. Their lives were in serious jeopardy.

Captain Bartlett led the stranded crew members for over a hundred kilometers across the ice, on foot! They eventually made it to Wrangel Island, which was desolate and unpopulated.

A few days later, in a valiant effort to find help, Captain Bartlett and an Inuk guide started walking across sea-ice, hundreds of kilometers westward towards Siberia.

The other crew members remained on Wrangel Island for six months. Conditions were brutal, and hunger became an issue. Frostbite resulted in some amputations, and illness caused deaths of at least two of them.

Bartlett and his guide finally arrived on the Siberian coast. They found a community and summoned Ottawa to send a rescue team for the men on Wrangel Island. After hitching rides on several ships during the following weeks, Captain Bartlett made it to Alaska where he met Captain Swenson of the King and Wing. Together they sailed north to Wrangel Island and rescued the remaining crew. That was September 7, 1914, one hundred ten years ago today.

The King and Wing brought the men south where they were transferred to the United States Revenue cutter Bear. The crew members were soon reunited with their loved ones.

Captain Bartlett and his Inuk guide, Kataktovik, are credited with saving the lives of all but 11 crew members of the Karluk.

Readers are invited to celebrate this amazing rescue by sharing this post.

Josette Abruzzini is a native Newfoundlander who lives "south of the border". She is a retired educator and an eclectic writer. Most of her stories have either to do with science, the arts, or Newfoundland. To learn more about her writing journey visit Josette Abruzzini/STEAM Educator/Writer .