Arctic Artist Rupert's Land Record Society Series Jennifer S.H. Brown, Editor 1 The English River Book A Northwest Company Journal and Account Book of 1786 Edited by Harry W. Duckworth 2 A Country So Interesting The Hudson's Bay Company and Two Centuries of Mapping, 1670-1870 Richard I. Ruggles 3 Arctic Artist The Journal and Paintings of George Back, Midshipman with Franklin, 1819-1822 Edited by C. Stuart Houston Commentary by I.S. MacLaren Arctic Artist The Journal and Paintings of George Back, Midshipman with Franklin, 1819-1822 EDITED BY C. STUART HOUSTON COMMENTARY BY I.S. MACLAREN McGILL-QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY PRESS MONTREAL AND KINGSTON • LONDON • BUFFALO McGill-Queen's University Press 1994 ISBN 0-7735-1181-4 Legal deposit fourth quarter 1994 Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper Reprinted 1995 This book was Erst published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Publication was also supported by the Canada Council through its block grant program, by the President's Fund of the University of Saskatchewan and the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation through their publication grants programs, and by the generous donations of contributors mentioned in the acknowledgments. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Back, Admiral Sir George, 1796-1878 The journal and paintings of George Back, midshipman with Franklin, 1819-1822 Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7735-1181-4 i. Back, Admiral Sir George, 1796-1878 2. Franklin, Sir John, 1786-1847 3. Arctic regions - Discovery and exploration - British 4. Northwest Passage - Description and exploration - British 5. Arctic art 6. Great Britain - Exploring expeditions I. Houston, Clarence Stuart, 1927- II. MacLaren, I. S., HM276.N63I3 1994 305 C93-ogo589-x This book was typeset by Typo Litho Composition Inc. in 11/13 Fan-field. Contents List of Figures vii List of Maps viii Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii A Note on the Text xxvii George Back's Journal 1 Stromness to York Factory 3 2 York Factory to Cumberland House 7 3 Cumberland House to Fort Carlton 28 4 Fort Carlton to Fort Chipewyan 44 5 Fort Chipewyan to Fort Enterprise 65 6 To Point Lake and Return 84 7 Fort Enterprise to Fort Chipewyan 93 8 Fort Chipewyan to Fort Enterprise 109 9 Preparations To Leave Fort Enterprise 117 10 Descent of the Coppermine River 125 11 Exploring the Arctic Coastline 148 12 Point Turnagain to Obstruction Rapids 163 13 Obstruction Rapids to Moose Deer Island 182 14 Great Slave Lake to York Factory 201 vi CONTENTS Postscript 217 Figures 227 Commentary: The Aesthetics of Back's Writing and Painting from the First Overland Expedition I. S. MacLaren 275 Appendices 1 George Back's Letter to His Brother Charles, 25 May 1820 313 2 Back's Poem 318 3 The Franklin Expedition as Recorded in Hudson's Bay Company Post Journals 323 4 Back's Obituary in the Stockport Advertiser 356 Notes 361 Index 389 Figures (Pages 227—74) 1 Portrait of Mr Back. Edward Finden, engr. (after R. Woodman). 2 June 23^ 1821 A branch of Point Lake Copper Mine River. George Back. 3 Rocky defile Rapid - and a distant view of the Copper Mountains. George Back. 4 Rapid [12-13 Jufy I82ij. George Back. 5 Setting out on Point Lake -June 25 - 1821. George Back. 6 Expedition Passing through Point Lake on the Ice June 25.1821. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). 7 [Encampment on the Yellow Knife River, August 3, 1820]. George Back. 8 Entrance of the Yellow Knife River August 3 1820. George Back. 9 Rock with Tripe de Roche. George Back. 10 Stone near Fort Enterprise: Tripe de Roche. George Back. IT Canoes off Cape Barrow July 25 1821. George Back. 12 Expedition Doubling Cape Barrow, July 25.1821. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). 13 Broaching to, - Canoes crossing Melville Sound. George Back. 14 Canoe Broaching To, In a Gale of Wind at Sunrise. Aug. 23.1821. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). 15 Landing near Point Evritt. George Back. 16 Expedition Landing in a Storm, Aug\ 23.1821. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). viii LIST OF FIGURES 17 Crossing the barren lands. George Back. 18 Preparing an Encampment on the Barren Grounds, Gathering Tripe de Roche Src. Septr. 16. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). 19 Midnight Scene in Moores Bay. George Back. 20 Moore's Bay, Polar Sea: lat. 67? 48^. long no? $6w, with the Expedition under Captn. Franklin R.N. 29 July. 1821. (Midnight View). B. Audinet, engr. (after George Back). 21 [Canoes with Sails]. George Back. 22 [Waterfall]. George Back. 23 Holey Lake. George Back. 24 A Winter View in the Athapuscow Lake, by Sam^ Hearne, 1771. J. Saunders, engr. (after Samuel Hearne). 25 Great Slave Lake SE view Novemr 30 1820. George Back. 26 s.w. View Novemr. 24 1820. George Back. 27 Stone or Plain - Implements. George Back. 28 Indians &c. Carlton house — 1820. George Back. 29 Portrait of a Stone Indian. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). 30 Mouth of the Copper-Mine River —July 19 1821 — Midnight. George Back. 31 View of the Arctic Sea, from the Mouth of the Copper Mine River, Midnight. July 20.1821. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back). 32 a part of Massacre Rapid. George Back. 33 Rapid [14 July 1821]. George Back. 34 Falls of Wilberforce. George Back. 35 Upper Fall. George Back. 36 The Falls of Wilberforce. Estimated at 250 feet high. Edward Finden, engr. (after George Back and Robert Hood). 37 Buffalo. George Back. 38 Fort Chipewyan May 27* 1820. George Back. 39 July 20th 1820 Pelican Portage, Slave River. George Back. 40 View of the fall at Petit Portage Riviere Embarras Slave River February 13^ 1821. George Back List of figures ix 41 Carlton House from the Eastwd in the Plain Fehy 7* 1820. George Back. 42 Hudson's Bay Coy. Fort and the West" angle of the NW. with Isle a la Cross Lake, taken from the South" Eastf* Feby 28th 1820. George Back. 43 A. s.w. view of the N.w. Fort — Great Slave Lake — 1821. George Back. 44 Yellow Knife Indians GB Novemr. 1821. George Back. 45 Young Male Deer GBack Novemr 1821. George Back. 46 Slave Dance - Fort Providence November - 1820. George Back. 47 Sketch [Richardson's Barren Ground Brown Bear], George Back. 48 Map of Obstruction Rapid and environs, showing the expedition's route 24 Sept. — 5 Oct. 1821. George Back. 49 Admiral S1.^ George Back. William Boxall. 50 Letter, George Back to his brother Charles, Fort Chipewyan, 25 May 1820 (interior leaves; pages 2, 5, 7, and 3, 6, 8). 312