Volume 8, 1955 - The Arctic Circle - Home

IVOL, VIII NO.2THE ARCTIC CIRCULAR34to visit Eskimo Harbour and Johnson Island in the northern partof the Belcher group, and to return about August 20. Concernfor the party was felt when the mining engineer at Eskimo Harbourlearned that they were overdue, and at search was at once made.The first evidence of an accident was found on the west shore ofOmarolluk Sound, about eight miles north of the post, wherepart of the burned gunwale of the canoe in which the party hadbeen travelling, and charred bits of their equipment, were foundwashed up at the high tide mark.The R.C.M.P. detachment at Port Harrison wasnotified on September I, and sent an aircraft from Churchill toassist the Great v.11ale detachment with further searching, butno trace was found in any survivor. It is presumed that the partyof three must have drowned on August 6.Claude Desgoffe was born at Djidjelli, Algeria, in1927, and graduated from the University of Paris after specializingin anthropology. He took post-graduate studies at the Universityof Copenhagen, where he studied Eskimo culture. After fieldwork in Finland and Greenland, he spent the summer of 1954making anthropological studies of the Eskimo on the BelcherIslands (se~ pp. 19-23) with a scholarship from the McGillUniversity-Arctic Institute Carnegie Program. He was engagedby the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resourcesto continue his study of the life and social organization of theBelcher Islanders during the summer of 1955.Both Eskimo were young men."G" Division of the R.C.M.P.-The headquarters of "G" Division of the R.C.M.P.,which is responsible for all northern work, is at the R.C.M.P.Headquarters in Ottawa. The following list gives the membersin charge at headquarters and at the four sub-divisions.