Mukpie: Point Barrow Eskimo girl, youngest survivor of the S.S. Karluk, 1914.

The last voyage of HMCS Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, ended with the loss of the ship and the subsequent deaths of nearly half her complement. On her outward voyage in August 1913 Karluk, a brigantine formerly used as a whaler, became trapped in the Arctic ice while sailing to a rendezvous point at Herschel Island. After a long drift across the Beaufort and Chukchi seas the ship was crushed and sunk. In the ensuing months the crew and expedition staff struggled to survive, first on the ice and later on the shores of Wrangel Island. In all, eleven men died before help could reach them.

Mugpi, who later was known as Ruth Makpii Ipalook, became the very last survivor of the Karluk voyage, dying in 2008 after a full life, aged 97.

December 27, 2013 | Categories: History, Photography, The Drama Of It All, Weird | Tags: Arctic, Canadian Arctic Expedition, Eskimo, Eskimo girl, History, HMCS Karluk, Mukpie, outward voyage, Photo, Photography, Point Barrow, S.S. Karluk, Society, Survivor, youngest | Leave a comment